Adjunct Professor
Technology & Innovation
KelloggSchool of Management
2001 Sheridan Road
Evanston, IL 60208 / Voice Mail: 847-491-2029
Internet Mail:
Fax: 847-491-5071
Spring Quarter, 2005
TEC 911 The Strategic Impact of Information Technology
This course focuses on a key strategic question: “What shapes the information technology (IT) strategy of an organization?” The Strategic Impact of Information Technology covers the key factors that influence how an organization uses information and the business systems that create this information. Executive management is faced with making tactical and strategic decisions based on the “best information available” and yet recent surveys conclude that there is going skepticism that organizations are not getting real value from their information technology investments. Why the disconnect? This course will look at how organizations have successfully, and not so successfully, utilized IT driven business systems to achieve specific business outcomes.
The Strategic Impact of Information Technology will address how organizations use their business systems to drive:
process improvement and process innovation
customer relationship management, and
supply chain management
The course utilizes both readings and case studies to engage the students. Together they lead the Kellogg MBA student to a deeper understanding of the factors that determine how information technology is leveraged to achieve business outcomes. The course is aimed at all students and requires no previous knowledge of information technology.
Why is this course being offered?
It's clear that the demand on well-run organizations will continue to increase. Management teams are aggressively trying to service their customers more intimately, gain productivity out of their workforce, change their cost structure throughout their value chain and be more innovative in product and channel strategies. An effective general manager must understand the impact of information technology on all aspects of an organization’s business model including interactions with its customers, suppliers, employees and stakeholders. As we shift from the industrial economy to the "network" economy (an economy where electronic connections between all stakeholders is the norm), the critical organizational success factors will include well-disciplined management teams who are information technology competent. Organizations, as a part of network, will compete on a global scale in an increasingly electronically connected economy; therefore access to timely, accurate information will be a strategic requirement for success.
Organizations that have properly shaped their information technology strategy and culture are producing some remarkable results. Information technology is one of the key enablers to implementing both efficiency-based change and transformational change within organizations. All organizations adapt and adjust on a continuous basis; most of this change is incremental, affecting only a single process or function, a sub-process, or the work of a specific individual or work group. Transformational change is quite different because it encompasses many processes, many departments, many functions and, sometimes, many business units. It is important for general managers to know when evolutionary change should be utilized versus when transformational change should be utilized. Understanding the strategic role of information technologyas an organizational change platform is a key element of this course. Current technology and business trends are discussed on a regular basis along with case studies, which look at the contextual issues surrounding the impact of these technologies.
What will I learn in this course?
The objectives of this course are to:
- Understand the factors that determine an organization’s information technology strategy and to recognize the human behavioral issues in implementing information technology-based organizational change.
- Learn how to derive an effective IT strategy to achieve business outcomes of:
Improving the organizational productivity
Increasing the control and integration of information for managerial decision-making
Creating new revenue sources; improved market positioning; increased competitive advantage
How is the course designed?
The design of this course encompasses the following themes:
- Strategic Orientation: The course is taught at the general manager’s level and is designed to focus on the essential role of information technology in achieving business outcomes. We will not be dealing with the “technical” aspects of information technology, rather the uses of information technology to affect organizational change.
- Case Study Discussion: A portion of the classes will be dedicated to discussions to better understand the case study organization’s motivation for utilizing information technology given the context of their business strategy and their competitive market position. Kellogg MBA students will be strongly encouraged to provide insightful contributions regarding the implications of the key points raised in the case study.
Evaluation
Students will be evaluated on the following basis:
Group ComponentWeight
Group Debate 20%
Group Presentation 20%
Individual Component
Case Analyses 40%
Class Participation 20%
100%
All students are expected to prepare for each class by carefully reading the case(s) or other assigned readings.
Each student will work with their study group on the group assignment. The group assignment requires the active involvement of all group members. Each member of the study group will assess the overall contribution of the other members of the study group. This will be done in writing and e-mailed to the professor at the end of the course. Instructions regarding the peer contribution will be provided in class.
There will be nomidterm and there is nofinalexamination.
Assignments submitted late will receive a lower grade.
Course Workload
The workload for this course is medium-heavy. The assignments consist of:
- readings
- reading case studies and preparing write-ups for assigned cases
- preparing for your group presentation project
Assignments
GROUP DEBATE: “IT Doesn’t Matter”
Students will form study groups so that each group has no more than 4 people. In the May 2003 issue of Harvard Business Review Nicholas Carr wrote an article entitled “IT Doesn’t Matter” and in June 453 articles about Carr’s article. What’s all the fuss? Student groups will be divided in those who will argue the pro and con side of this highly controversial article. Standard debate rules will be covered in the first class meeting.
GROUP PRESENTATION TOPIC
Each student group will be assigned a topic to be analyzed and presented in class. The presentation should not exceed 30 minutes. Presentations are be prepared using PowerPoint and the presentation should contain complete speakers notes. A soft copy of the presentation must be submitted on-line to the course web site. In the first class meeting, topics will be assigned.
Criteria for Class Contribution
Contribution to class discussion is a very important part of the learning process and to this course. You will not do well in this course unless you contribute in class. Grades for class contribution will be evaluated on the quality of the insights provided. Quality insights have one or more of the following characteristics:
- Offer a different, unique and relevant perspective on the issue.
- Assist in moving the discussion and analysis forward.
- Build or expand on the comments of others. Active listening skills are encouraged.
- Provide relevant connections to research you conducted outside of the assigned material for the case.
Do not restate the surface facts from either the discussion or the readings.
At the end of the course I will ask you to self-grade your Class Participation by sending me an e-mail with your self-grade. To help you assess your Class Participation, please use the following guidelines:
15 points: I read most of the required reading.
16 points: I read all of the required reading.
17 points: I read all of the required reading, and participated in some of the class discussions.
18 points: I read all of the required reading, and participated in most of the class discussions.
19 points:I read all of the required reading, and participated in all of the class discussions and offered insightful answers to questions and/or offered insightful comments related to the class discussions.
20 points: I read all of the required reading, participated in all of the class discussions and offered insightful answers to questions and/or offered insightful comments related to the class discussion. I regularly cited outside research/reading and applied it to the class discussion. My classmates recognize me as a class discussion leader.
Class Attendance
Students are required to attend every class and to be fully prepared. Missing class without prior notification will severely detract from the student’s grade. Students must e-mail me if they cannot attend class. More than two class absences will automatically lower the student’s grade by one level. If students get to class late, do not walk in and distract the class…take the first available seat. To compensate for an unavoidable absence, extra credit assignments may be discussed with the professor.
The Strategic Impact of Information Technology
TEC 911Course Outline
Week 1STRATEGIC ALIGNMENT
Learning Objectives:
Each course at Kellogg is different and therefore the purpose of the first class meeting is set expectations as to what you should expect from this course. Also, the initial lecture will set a foundation of course principals, which will be utilized throughout the remaining sessions of the course.
Reading assignment:
- Course Overview
- Lecture slides: “The Strategic Impact of Information Technology”
Week 2IT AS AN ENABLER OF PROCESS IMPROVEMENT AND PROCESS INNOVATION
Learning Objectives:
How a company uses IT depends on many factors: state of the industry, competitive position, value discipline, etc. The USAA case and the Internal Revenue Service case will give students an opportunity to explore how two organizations use IT to address urgent strategic business issues. One organization is very successful, while the other fails to reap the benefits of IT-enabled process innovation.
Reading assignment:
- "United Service Automobile Association (USAA)" Case
- "Cisco Systems: Managing Corporate Growth using an Intranet” Case
- “IT Doesn’t Matter” HBR Article R0305B
Week 3BUILDING A BUSINESS PLATFORM
Learning Objectives: Most medium to large organizations have supported their business processes with aged information systems, called “legacy” systems. In the late 80’s software became available to the commercial-off-the-shelf market that represented a complete or near complete replacement for legacy system. These modern, integrated systems are called “Enterprise Resource Planning” (ERP) system and today represent one of the largest sectors of the software market. However, successful implementations are not easily found. In the assigned cases we will evaluate key management decisions, which ultimately separated, the successful from the unsuccessful implementation of ERP systems. In addition, we will learn how Cisco added Web-enabled IT capabilities to their ERP platform to unlock the strategic value of the information in the ERP system.
Reading assignment:
- "ERP Common Myths versus Reality”
- "Cisco Systems, Inc.: Architecture ERP and Web-enabled IT" Case
- "Tektronix, Inc.: Global ERP Implementation" Case
Week 4KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT
Learning Objectives: Perhaps the most interesting topic during this class will be “What is knowledge and how do you manage it?” Both the Buckman and Anderson cases will give the students ample opportunity to understand the use of knowledge management and the derived organizational benefits in the context of a product and a service company.
Reading assignment:
- "Buckman Laboratories" A & B Cases
- “Knowledge Management at Andersen Consulting” Case
Week 5 MANAGING CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIPS WITH IT
Learning Objectives: In the latest generation of marketing strategies, most companies adopted a “customer-centric” perspective. Unfortunately, as the two Customer Relationship Management (CRM) cases, the easy part is changing the strategy, the hard part is executing on that strategy. These cases will highlight two quantitative approaches to CRM and students will learn the plusses and minuses of each approach.
Reading assignment:
- "Owens & Minor, Inc" A & B Cases
- “E-Loyalty: Your Secret Weapon on the Web” Article
Week 6MID-COURSE GUEST LECTURE
Reading assignment:
- Pre-reading for guest lecturer to be distributed from the course web site.
Week 7MANAGING THE SUPPLY CHAIN WITH IT
Learning Objective: Raw materials, work-in-process, inventory and goods in transit represent a sizable investment by manufacturing firms of all sizes. The ability to electronically “see” this investment using complex supply chain management systems is the focus of this class. The case demonstrates the power of a new IT-enabled business model (Dell) and its influence on a traditional business (Ford).
Reading assignment:
- "Ford Motor Company Supply Chain" Case
- The Power of Virtual Integration HBR Article
- “Lucent Technologies: Global Supply Chain Management” Case
Week 8AUTOMATING OPERATIONAL AND MANAGERIAL PROCESSES
Learning Objectives: Organizational cycle time is determined by two sets of processes. One is a set of Operational processes and the other is a set of Managerial. Together they determine how rapidly an organization can respond to a market need. The Mrs. Fields’ case and the No Excuses Management case provide a unique compare and contrast perspective on the topic of organizational cycle time and the role of IT as a platform for driving change in core processes.
Reading assignment
- "Mrs. Fields' Inc." Case
- "No Excuses Management" Case A & B
- "Evolution and revolution as organizations grow" Article
- "Managing by Wire" Article
Week 9IT-BASED TRANSFORMATION
Learning Objectives: IT can be used for process improvement and process innovation. However, when used by management to innovate the entire business model, it leads to business transformation. A major distribution company tries to become an e-business leader in one case, while in the other case; an international expeditor uses e-business as its transformational platform.
Reading assignment:
- "WW Grainger." Case
- “FedEx Transformation Through E-Business” Case
- “Leading Transformational Change” Article
Week 10E-GOVERNMENT
Learning Objectives: The largest procurer of IT is the US Federal Government. Yet few people would offer the US Government as an example of best practices when measured from the US citizens’ perspective. The leader in the governmental use of IT is Singapore. TradeNet is one of the most innovative uses of IT in any government and is part of a master plan to offer an entire suite of systems to the Singaporean people. Students will get both the pluses and the minuses of such an intensive information society as Singapore.
Reading assignment:
- "Singapore TradeNet: A Tale of OneCity" Case
- “Singapore TradeNet: The Tale Continues” Case
- “Singapore Unlimited: Building a National Information Infrastructure” Case
- Network Lecture
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TEC 911 Course Syllabus
Prepared by: Professor Raj Gupta