December13, 2010
Course Syllabus and ScheduleSpring12011
MET AD 648 INTRODUCTION TO ECOMMERCE -ONLINE
DR. KIP BECKER
COURSE DESCRIPTION: MET AD 648 INTRODUCTION TO ELECTRONIC COMMERCE
The course provides a detailed examination of how businesses cansuccessfully use Internet and Web technology. Students are introducedto the concepts and problems associated with electronic commerce.Topics include comparison of e-commerce procedures, payment mechanisms,applications in different industry sectors, security, the challenges of startingand maintaining an electronic business site, as well as a comparison withtraditional business practices.
COURSE OBJECTIVES:
The objective of the course can be summed up quickly as helping you to appreciate the rapid growth associated with internet enabled business as well as some of the difficulties. It is my objective to introduce you to the general issues, technical (security, WEB and Internet systems, payment mechanisms, etc.) and non-technical (strategy, marketing, business development, etc.). In addition, I will want you to become acquainted with some development tools. One such tool is the Blogger which is a general communications tool. Blogger is being used by teenagers and private publishers to discuss everything from a teen’s favorite record to comments by private individuals (and now companies) concerning your company. Politicians, TV anchors and firms have underestimated the power of the Blog. Several have been very sorry for this underestimation. Blogs are easy and kind of fun. They are a rapidly growing national and international communications medium and something you should understand.
Throughout the course the student is introduced to the Ecommerce environment relating to B2B, B2C as well as B2G. In pursuing these objectives, the course will employ the following:
- Online Lectures reviewing text information in a valued added manner with enhanced discussions of chapter topics.
- Development of a Blog.
- Interaction in discussion groups to communicate about on-going text, lecture and discussion questions.
- Development of a functional design which is the first step to designing a web site(for profit or not for profit) with explanations of the design, purpose, audience and interactions.
- Readings from text, cases, and recent information sources. In an effort to:
- Combine theory and practice.
- Combine the strategic with the tactical.
- Use relevant concepts to analyze and assess complex Internet enabled business situations.
- Gain an understanding of the different areas of the company that are affected by internet enabled technologies.
KIP BECKER
Dr. Kip Becker is an Associate Professor and the Chairman of the Department of Administrative Sciences. He has published over thirty articles and book chapters both nationally and internationally in the areas of international management, electronic commerce, strategy, marketing and global service sector issues. He is on the Board of the International Management Development Association and the Editor of the Journal of Transnational Management. He is on the editorial review board of The Journal of Teaching in International Business. He has owned a waterfront restaurant and is president of Northwind Management International which conducts management training and consulting with companies, governments, and associations worldwide. Prior to entering academe' Dr. Becker's experience included positions with: TDX systems of Cable and Wireless Ltd. in marketing, the U.S. Department of Justice, a special task force in the Regan administration and as a U.S. army helicopter pilot during Viet Nam and Desert Storm. He holds a second degree black belt in TKO Karate. For a complete resume with publications see:
COURSE MATERIALS:
The material for the textbook and cases is provided below and the University Bookstore has the text and cases. I do want to point out a caution should you decide to order a used text online. I have found that ordering times can greatly vary if you are not ordering directly from source. In some cases students have not received text or they have been too late to be of use. Be careful if you select to go to other sources for your text that you are sure that you will receive it in sufficient time for the course. You must have the book the first day of class as we start off with a lengthy reading assignment the first week. No excuses! There is some merit to checking with the sender as to when you will receive the book if time is short.
I am very much aware of the climbing cost of text so have attempted to reduce your costs by offer the text as a custom book which is available from the book store. I have organized the custom book so as to reduce the price. The custom version does not have all the chaptersas I have deleted the chapters that we are not using. This results in a price 1/3 the cost of the full text.The book can be purchased as a complete book at a much higher cost should you desire that and the choice of text format is yours. Just be sure to have the book available and the correct edition (6th) upon the start of class as there will be assignments in week one that you will be expected to complete.
Custom Text:E-commerce: Business,Technology,Society 2010
Be sure you have 6thEdition Kenneth Laudon and Carol Guercio Traver,
ISBN for the bookstore shorter text (less cost) is 10: 0558465196
Or ISBN 13: 9780558465193
Publisher: Pearson,Copyright: 2010
CASES: (COURSE PACKAGE FROM BU BOOKSTORE)
NOTE:You MUST have this material by the beginning of the course as # 1 is required reading for the first weeks.)
- Blogging: A new play in your marketing game plan (bh 281/0007-6813)
- Air France (KEL 319)
- Ford Fiesta Movement (INSEAD 510-015-1) (01-2010-5664)
- Second Life Mercedes-Benz Enters the Metaverse (HHL reference no 308-389-1)
COURSE GRADING:
Your final grade will be based upon the following:
Note:Some weeks have two discussions or assignments and in those cases they will be averaged to provide one discussion or assignment grade for the week.
- Online interaction, discussion groups,
(6weekly discussions)30%
- Weekly Assignments24%
(Weeks 1,2,3 and 4)
- Functional Specifications Site Project10%
(Weeks 5 and 6 assignment)
- Comprehensive Exam36%
GRADING PROCESS:
While there is no fixed absolute number of grades in any one level,it is important to note that high grades reflect an excellence in the understanding of class material and organization of thought. In addition, as an important aspect of any class, whether online or in a classroom, is the shared thoughts and insights of the class members’ grades will also reflect an individual’s contributions to the class. I will follow the BostonUniversity,MetropolitanCollege, recommendations concerning grading standards. As such, A and A- grades are awarded for superior class work. This generally means that those that receive A level grades have distinguished themselves above others in the class(top 20%). I have no specific grading distribution other than to respect the college’s A level distinction of superior work.
Timely Presentation of Materials Due
Please Note: All work requests from me or facilitators (Tests, assignments, paper etc.) have due dates. These are the LAST DATES that stated material is due. This means that it is a good idea to personally target dates before that date as your personal completion date to avoid difficulties. Please consider this a fact and not a subject for discussion. Datesare often viewed by students as the date to turn in an assignment. I view assignment due dates as the LAST DATE in which to turn in an assignment. With this warning please note that I am not inclined to accept late work and if late work should be accepted it will only be done only after considerable weighting of rationale and with penalty. Please recognize that to consistent in grading requirements that no extra or “outside of syllabus” work can be considered. Your grade will be determined according to syllabus requirements.
DISCUSSION GRADING AND TIME FRAMES:
Class Participation
You are asked to keep up on a weekly basis. The essence of this course is learning a set of ideas and knowing how they apply in international business situations. Mastering the material requires you to assess, think, and form judgments, so high quality online participation is essential. High-quality participation includes substantive contribution to case discussions, insights into topics we are discussing, questions regarding relevant topics, and online interactions with others. There is not much time to accomplish quite a bit so it is essential that you do not fall behind. Please see timely presentation section regarding assignments and due dates. I would recommend that you attempt to keep ahead to provide some individual flexibility in case a problem arises during the course.
Please note:that we expect you to participate in the weekly online discussions as we would expect you to participate in a classroom discussion. This means, just as in classroom, we look forward to your posting more than one discussion item. Remember that Discussions should be like classroom discussions. That is to say they should be a discourse and ongoing throughout the week. Often students ask, “When should I post my discussion to the board?” The answer to that is you should be active throughout the week and post early to stimulate discussion and several additional times to respond to others. If everyone waited until the end of the week or Saturday, there certainly would not be much of a discussion. There would be a list of single postings. It would also not be possible to give much thought to other’s contributions. This would leave the discussion board without much enthusiasm or interactive spirit. I truly want you to be part of the BostonUniversity community and the community of my classroom. I look forward to reading your postings and learning from them. I know that the other students do as well.
On Informed Contribution
Informed discussion is not to be confused with opinion. Each student came into the class with an opinion on lots of things. I have rarely found a member of a class not to have opinions on most everything. Some are even strong opinions. Some of the opinions are founded in fact and some are treated as fact but are really judgments that have been formulated by association with printed or verbal inputs coming from newspapers, magazines, family and friends. Understanding what you believe is one important aspect of maturity. Understanding what others believe, and why they believe it, is equally (if not more) important and may be what education is really all about.
ASSIGNMENTS:
You will have weekly assignments that will require you to answer specific questions, do practical assignments or discuss more fully specific aspects of the material that is being submitted that week. Please be sure to be complete in your answers but to the point as well. We are looking for informed responses not just opinions in assignments so back your work with references and data when appropriate and provide an informed discussion.
WHEN ARE THINGS DUE?
The first week runs from January 18 through January 23rd. Weeks run Monday through Sunday. ALLASSIGNMENTS AND DISCUSSIONS CLOSE on Sunday midnight ET. To be fair to all students this is set into the software so after that time assignments and discussions will not be able to be posted. We have to end sometime and move on and since Boston is the home of the BostonUniversity we use ET.
DATES FOR EACH WEEK – Spring 1 2011Week / Close of Discussion and Assignment submissions NOTE: All weeks close Sunday midnight ET
1 / January 18 through January 23
2 / January 24 through 30
3 / January 31 through February 6
4 / February 7 through February 13
5 / February 14 through February 20
6 / February 21 through February 27
FINAL EXAM / March 2 through March 5 (Midnight ET)
EXAMS:
There will be a comprehensive final exam. The exam will cover information from lectures, discussions, videos, cases and readings. The exam is closed book/closed notes and (please note) closed online material. The exams will be structured to promote and reward learning, thinking and understanding. This will require memorization of important issues and terms as well as the ability to discuss concepts in an informed manner. The test will contain both true/false, fill in blanks and a few very short written responses.
Note: Access to online material for the weeks will not be available during the testing period. Please be sure to have taken notes on any online materials that you may need to study from during the exam week.
On Scheduling Your Exam:
The exam period is open for several days to provide for different student needs. I encourage you to schedule the exam at the earliest time your schedule permits to assure you do not run into personal problems which might interfere with your completing the exam within the permitted time frame. Remember that several schools use these testing centers and some can only accommodate a small number of students at any one time. Sign up early to assure you lock in the time and day you desire.
A Note Concerning Proctored Exam:
The department requires proctored exams for our online courses. We do this to guarantee that we can offer you the assurance that all students are on an equal playing field during the examination process, that we know who is taking the exam as well as that conditions for the exam are consistent for everyone. Without this it is difficult to answer the question, “how do we know who is really taking the exam and how can we be sure someone is not getting assistance? Because of the proctored process you can feel confident that we have done everything possible to protect the quality of your Boston University degree. It is something that you can be proud of and distinguishes us apart from most other online programs.
An additional consideration for you is that, in addition, the proctoring process provides an environment where a second person can attest to technological difficulties that might occur during the testing situation. While we do not experience many difficulties, some have happened and students have found it reassuring when a proctor was available to verify the difficulty and assist in correcting the problem. The department has adopted two methods of offering the proctored exam. One is by attending a proctored test center and the other is by using the proctor cam software which allows you to work from your computer. Check with the Distance Department if you have questions about which would be most appropriate for you.
On Memorization:
I would expect you to represent what you have learned from this course well (as well as representing me well) in the future. Since I would not expect you to carry notes or the text once you complete the course it is paramount that you either tattoo on your body, or impress in your mind, important concepts in order to speak, and act, intelligently once we have parted. As tattoos are awkward to refer to and often not viewed positively by most business cultures that leave me not many alternatives other than requesting you put to memorization important material. Many students tend to commiserate with each other claiming they will only forget. I can only respond that I will admit that I have forgotten a lot of what I learned. I will also acknowledge I remember everything of what I have not learned. Bear with me on this as while you are learning this now I really intend you to put it to use later.
REQUESTS FOR MAKE UP EXAMINATIONS OR LATE DISCUSSION/ASSIGNMENTS:
I strongly advise you to avoid requesting a make-up exam as: (1) Our exam can be taken from any location in the world over the recognized time frame and (2) It is a disservice to others in the class who have organized their schedules to assure the timely presentation of materials and examinations.
I recognize that, infrequently, devastating situations arise that could make it essential to miss the exam. Any request to make up the examination must relate to a fairly catastrophic event which made fulfilling the requirement impossible. Such requests will be reviewed, by me, on an individual basis and verification of the incident will be expected to be submitted at the time of any such request. I hope that you will understand that I do not do this to penalize any individual student but to attempt to assure that there is a level playing field and the total class feels confident that no one has a unique or unfair advantage.
Weekly Discussions Are Graded In the Following Manner
Discussion Grading Rubric / Description for Scoring Each Week’s DiscussionsActively responding to another student’s initial submission means entering at least one response to another student’s initial submission. Short responses such as ‘I agree’, will not be counted as a response. You must provide the rationale on why you agree or disagree with another student’s initial submission. (Additional information can be found in Appendix A)
A
and
A- / Exceptional Participation – Met all of these conditions:
- Submitted own initial contribution for each discussion topic.
- Actively responded to several other students in week’s discussions for each topic of the week and did so in an engaging and frequent manner. Student is engaged in discussions throughout the week and is commenting on others as well as submitting own work. The online behavior of the A level would be similar to a classroom student that is actively engaged, well prepared with weeks readings and involved throughout the class session.
B+ / High level Participation – Met all these conditions:
- Submitted own initial contribution for each discussion topic.
- Actively responded to several other students in week’s discussions for each topic of the week and did so in an engaging and frequent manner. Is involved actively throughout the week building on others discussions and making own submissions.
B / Average Participation – Met all of these conditions:
- Submitted own initial contribution for each discussion topic.
- Actively responded to a few other students in week’s discussions for each topic of the week. Tended to respond toward the end of the period so that it was more difficult for others to respond to the comments.
B- / Low Level Participation – Met all these conditions:
- Submitted own initial contribution for each discussion topic but was not engaged in others submissions.
- Limited responses to other students in week’s discussions for each topic of the week. Would be considered to be generally below the average contributions of the class.
- Tends to be opinion rather than new material of a value added nature
C / Minimal Participation
- Submitted own initial contribution for each discussion topic
and either of the following:
- Did not respond to another student’s submissions
- and/orLow quality of comments
F / Inadequate Participation
- No participation or participation without contribution or recognition of others and would be considered failing level work.
ACADEMIC CONDUCT AND INTELLECTUAL HONESTY:
This course will strictly follow the Code of Academic Conduct of Boston University. I do not deal with these issues personally but refer matters to the Metropolitan College Student Conduct Committee. Please keep this in mind. The Metropolitan College Bulletin states: Academic conduct promoting the desired educational environment of the College involves behavior which refrains from cheating on exams, plagiarism, misrepresentation or falsification of data, theft or destruction of examinations or papers, or alteration, forgery, or knowing misuse of academic records or documents or other similar behavior. The internet has made plagiarism even easier, and be aware that text from the Internet is a bona fide form of plagiarism that could result in dismissal fromBostonUniversity. This applies in any course at BostonUniversity.