University of Missouri
– St. Louis
Professional
MBA: IS 5800
Syllabus
Fall, 2009
Instructor:
228 Computer Center Building
314.516.6288 (office)
314.516.6827 (fax)
Course
Description
On average, companies spend 3.5% of revenues on information technology (IT). Thus a company with $2 billion in sales will, on average, spend $70 million per year on IT. That same company may carry as much as $200 million worth of IT assets on the balance sheet. Do such IT expenditures generate value? This course is designed for general managers to help ensure the answer is "yes" for their organizations. Your role as managers may very well entail the successful implementation and diffusion of information systems. The course focuses on the proven practices in organizing IT departments, core IT capabilities, systems development life cycles, diffusion of innovations, gaining a competitive advantage through IT, managing large IT-based investment projects, and managing stakeholder expectations and perceptions of IT.
Course
Instructor
Dr. Joseph Rottman is an Associate Professor of Information Systems at the University of Missouri-St. Louis and a Research Fellow in both the Center for International Studies and the International Business Institute at the University of Missouri – St. Louis. He earned his Doctor of Science in Information Management from Washington University in St. Louis. He has conducted research and spoken internationally on global sourcing, innovation diffusion and public sector IT. He has conducted case studies in over 40 firms and has been engaged by Fortune 500 firms to analyze their offshore strategies. His recent book, Offshore Outsourcing of IT Work (with Mary C. Lacity) details models and practices IT professionals can utilize to effectively engage offshore suppliers and explores emerging outsourcing markets such as rural sourcing and the Chinese market. His publications have appeared in Sloan Management Review, MIS Quarterly Executive, Information Systems Frontiers, Strategic Outsourcing: An International Journal, IEEE Computer, the Journal of Information Technology, the American Review of Public Administration and Information and Management and leading practitioner outlets such as CIO Insight and the Cutter Consortium. He was the 2006 recipient of the Anheuser-Busch Excellence in Teaching award, and is on the editorial boards of MIS Quarterly Executive and the Journal of Information Technology.
Course Materials
Course Meeting Times:
Saturday September 12 1:30 – 5:30
Friday October 9 1:30 – 5:30
Saturday October 10 1:30 – 5:30
Friday November 6 1:30 – 5:30
Saturday November 7 1:30 – 5:30
Friday December 4 1:30 – 5:30
Absentee Policy for
Professional MBA – Online IS 5800
As our course only meets face-to-face a few times, it is vital that students attend all sessions. Please make attendance your number one priority. Your attendance is vital not only because you will be absorbing information, but because your class participation and insights are very valuable--you each add value to the quality of the contact hours. In the rare circumstance that a student must miss a class, please follow the following absentee procedure:
1. Please notify me (314-516-6288) and the graduate office (314-516-5885) as soon as possible
2. We will arrange an audio or video recording of the class
3. We will send the audio/video recording to the student
4. To motivate the student to listen/watch the audio/video recording, I will attach a set of short-answer questions about the recordings.
5. The student can email their answers to me one week after receiving the recordings.
Course Grades:
|
Assignments |
Weight |
Due Date |
|
100 |
9/28/09 10:00 AM |
|
200 |
10/06/09 10:00 AM |
|
100 |
10/10/09 (in class) |
|
250 |
11/06/09 and
11/07/09 (in class) |
|
250 |
12/4/09 (in class) |
|
Active Class
Participation and Discussion Boards |
70 |
On – going |
|
Quizzes |
30 |
Quiz 1 Due 10/1/09
10:00 am Others, On –
going |
|
Total: |
1000 |
|
Assignments:
Assignment 1:
Webpage Assignment (100 points)
Your assignment is to create a personal web page and it will serve two purposes:
1. The creation of a Òresume / face bookÓ to be used by faculty, staff and
students in the PMBA program,
2. Learn the technical skills needed to create, edit, post and view web
pages. These skills include HTML and Java Script
3. Develop empathy for IT people who code all day long.
The ultimate content, look and feel of your web page is up to you; however, your
assignment will be graded on the following core features:
1. Three in-line images including your photo (20 points)
2. A bulleted list (10 points)
3. A numbered list (10 points)
4. A table listing current IT issues in popular press (10 points)
5. A link to your email address (mailto:) 10 points)
6. A pop up window (using java script i.e.
onmouseover, onclick,
onkeypress etc.) (20 points)
7. The Wow! Factor (be creative!) (20 points)
Assignment
2: Essay: Does IT Matter? (200 points)
Read the following two articles: Carr, N., ÒIT DoesnÕt MatterÓ Harvard Business Review, Vol 81, 5, May 2003, pp. 41 – 49 and Freidman, Thomas, The World is Flat, Farar, Strauss and Giroux, New York, 2005 pages 3 – 199.
Answer the following Essay:
Compare
and contrast the views Carr and Friedman have concerning the impact of IT
on: a countryÕs competitive
advantage in the global market place, a companyÕs competitive advantage within
an industry in the global market place and an individualÕs competitive
advantage in the global market place.
Critique each authorÕs assumptions about the nature of IT. Be sure to clearly state your
opinion and support your position.
The essay should be between 8 and 10 double spaced pages using 12 point font.
Name
your assignment lastnameessay1.doc and turn it in MyGateway by the date due
above.
Assignment
3: Presentation: Nature of IT within an Organization
(100 points)
The purpose of this 15 minute presentation is to tie the concepts we learned in class and in the readings to the context of a specific organization. Each group is to create an IT profile of an organization with which a member is familiar.
Presentation content:
5 Minutes: The Big Picture: IT organizational structure: headcount of IT and entire company including contractors size of IT budget, total revenue etc.
10 Minutes: A detailed focus on something concrete and specific from IT department which highlights the Nature of IT. For example, an annual strategic IT plan including the budget, an acquisition request for capital IT investment, a master service level agreement, a major technology migration / roll out plan, detailed SDLC including examples of implementation. You may have other examples, and are encouraged to discuss those with me and then present them if they see appropriate. The goal of the presentation is to inform the audience of what a Òreal lifeÓ IT firm/department is. Place the file in MyGateway prior to the presentation.
Assignment
4: Oral Group Presentation (250
Points)
Each of the groups will present a 60 minute presentation to the class. These presentations will substantially explore a topic. Possible topics include, but are not limited to:
o The role of the CIO
o Business to Business Exchanges
o IT Entrepreneurship
o Business Intelligence
o Open Systems
o Green IT
o A DOI Analysis of an emerging technology
o A firm-level SDLC analysis and implementation
o Using IT as a Competitive Weapon
o Customer Relationship Management
o Social networking sites (MySpace, FaceBook, Second Life) and their role (or potential role) in customer service, order fulfillment, etc.
o Approved topics
Each group should research at least 10 external references such as journal articles, newspapers, or relevant websites. A minimum of 5 of these references must be from refereed journals like Sloan Management Review, MIS Quarterly, MIS Quarterly Executive, etc. A demonstration of how to access these journals will be provided in class.
Groups are highly encouraged to use a case study approach. Case studies comprise original interviews from internal and external stake holders, a review of company documents. In the rare case where a group does not have access to an organization suitable to this approach, other options exist and the group should approach me for those options.
Presentation Content
10 Minutes: Overview of topic including: general statistics, importance to general managers, economic impact of topic.
30 Minutes: Detailed, concrete illustration of topic using case data.
10 Minutes: Extrapolation and generalization of topic including best practices for general managers. Goal here is to engage the audience.
10 Minutes: Detailed and interactive questions and answers. The team should budget this time throughout the presentation (not only at the end). Learn and incorporate lessons from your audience into the presentation.
Each group will create PowerPoint slides and provide a copy of the slides for the instructor and classmates. Print two slides per page.
Each group will also provide an electronic copy of the presentation for distribution in the MyGateway site. Label your presentation Assignment4GroupX.ppt and turn it into MyGateway by the deadline.
General Notes:
DO NOT PLAGIARIZE!!! YOU CAN NOT USE ANYONE ELSEÕS WORDS UNLESS YOU CITE THEM.
The sources you find are the beginning of the content, not the end!
Please submit your slides (a draft of the presentation) to me at least a week prior to the presentation for review and feedback.
Assignment
5: Final Group Paper (250 Points)
In addition to the presentation on your topic, your group will develop a research paper on your topic. Groups should use your presentation as an outline of a much more detailed report. Be sure to cite all inputs into your paper. Feel free to submit a draft of the paper and I will give you high level feedback.
The papers are typically 40 – 50 pages double spaced. However, quality is more important that quantity. You are encouraged to submit drafts for a quick read and directional feedback.
Turn in one paper copy and turn in an electronic copy in MyGateway. Label your file Assignment5GroupX.doc
Detailed Class Schedule
Readings and Quizzes: These papers will be discussed and email quizzes will be given during the semester:
Nelson, R, Ò IT Project Management: Infamous Failures, Classic Mistakes, and Best PracticesÓ MIS Quarterly Executive Vol. 6 No. 2 / June 2007
Weill, P., "Don't Just Lead: Govern: How Top Performing Firms Govern IT," MIS Quarterly Executive, Vol. 3, 1, March 2004, pp. 1-17.
Kaarst-Brown, M., ÒUnderstanding An OrganizationÕs View of the CIO: The Role of Assumptions About IT, MIS Quarterly Executive, Vol. 4, 2, June 2005, pp. 287-301.
Levinson, M., ÒCIO and CEO: How to Work with Your Boss,Ó CIO Magazine, Oct 1, 2004.
Additional topics will include systems development methodologies and innovation diffusion.
First
Discussion: Read the Nelson
article and discuss in the Communication Section in MyGateway
First
Quiz: Read the Weil, Kaarst
– Brown, and Levinson articles.
A quiz based on the article will be distributed in MyGateway.
Quiz
to be completed by 10/1/09 10:00 AM.
Two other quizzes will take place during the semester.
Saturday, September, 12th 1:30 – 5:30
Topics: 1. Course overview, introductions,
individuals assigned to groups,
group interaction/acclimation and group topics discussed.
~
1 Hour
2. Why General Managers need to
understand IT ~1 hour
3. Webpage Creation
Lecture
/ Lab / Hands on HTML JavaScript
~
2 hours
Friday, October, 9th 1:30 –
5:30
Topics: 1. Guide to effective presentations
lecture / discussion
Lecture
by Rottman ~ 1 Hour
2. Diffusion of Innovation
Lecture
by Rottman ~ 1 hour
Read Diffusion of Innovation Chapter one,
JIT article and diffusion
slides prior to class
3. Systems Analysis and Design
Methodologies
Lecture
by Rottman ~ 2 hours
Print
and read slides
Saturday, October 10th 1:30 – 5:30
Topics: 1. Group Presentations for Assignment 3
~1.5 hours
Group
1 <15 minutes
Group
2 <15 minutes
Group
3 <15 minutes
Group
4 <15 minutes
Group
5 <15 minutes
Group
6 <15 minutes
Group . . .
2. Lecture by Rottman: Organizational
Competitiveness
Print
and read slides
Friday, November, 6th 1:30 – 5:30 Group Presentations
Group
1 ~ 1 hour
15
minute break
Group
2 ~ 1 hour
15
minute break
Group
3 ~ 1 hour
NOTE: Dr. Keith Womer, Dean of the CoBA will
moderate this class.
Saturday, November, 7th 1:30 – 5:30 Group Presentations
Group
4 ~ 1 hour
15
minute break
Group
5 ~ 1 hour
15
minute break
Group
6 ~ 1 hour
Group
. . . . ~1 hour
NOTE: Dr. L. Douglas Smith, Professor and
Director of the CBIS will moderate this class
Friday, December, 4th 1:30 – 5:30 Role of the CIO (Featuring real CIOs):
1:30 – 2:30 Guest Speaker, Mr. Eric Gorham, CIO, REJIS
2:45 – 3:45 Guest Speaker, Mr Andrew Orstadt, CIO Washington University
4:00 – 5:00 Guest Speaker, Mr. Mark Showers, CIO Reinsurance Group of America and former CIO, Monsanto Corporation