THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT DALLAS
SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT
MIS 6302: Information Technology Strategy & Management (cross-listed with)
AIM 6349: Information Technology Strategy and Control
FALL 2010
Course Outline
Instructor: Dr. Indranil R. Bardhan
Office: SOM 3.414
Office Phone: 972-883-2736
Office Hours: Wednesday 6-7 pm
Class Hours: Wednesday 7 – 9:45pm
E-mail:
Text: AIM 6349 / MIS6302 readings packet in bookstore (Mandatory). Students have the option of downloading electronic copies of readings articles through the UTD Electronic Journal Database (JSTOR) and purchasing the cases directly from the HBS Publishing web site.
Topic Outline: Major topics include:
· IT Assessment and Scenario Planning
· IT Architecture
· IT Governance
· IT Sourcing & Offshoring
· Balanced Scorecard
· Project Management
Student Learning Objectives
This course is designed to provide students with the basic background and skills that will allow them to assess and develop IT strategies for managing IT organizations, including but not limited to the assessment of existing IT strategies and engage in strategic IT planning sessions. The key learning objectives include developing a solid understanding of:
(a) Using scenario planning techniques to visualize IT and business options.
(b) Design and development of enterprise IT architecture.
(c) Assessment and development of IT governance strategies to manage effectively.
(d) Assessment and development of IT sourcing strategies.
(e) IT planning and reporting tools for monitoring and assessment of IT projects.
Course Overview
There is much confusion and misunderstanding in the information technology (IT) community. Many do not understand the purpose of the technologies that they deploy. They do not understand why the IT industry is a $2.0 trillion-plus worldwide industry growing at over 10% per year. Some think the purpose is to “reduce costs,” some think it is to “help in making better and faster decisions,” and others think it is to simply improve productivity. This understanding is very near-sighted and shallow.
The purpose of IT is to enhance competitiveness. It is to provide a robust resource for the building, compounding and sustaining of competitive advantage for the enterprise. Cost reduction, expedited decision making, and improved productivity, while important, are but specific instances of this greater purpose. In the new millennium, the purpose of IT is to provide the foundation of competitive advantage for the enterprise. This course has been designed to explore the strategic management and control issues associated with information technology. This course provides a framework to understand how IT strategy aligns with business strategy and how to develop an enterprise-level information technology strategy. In this course, you will learn how the core competencies of IT strategy are applied in the e-business context and will enable you to understand what are the key information requirements for developing an IT strategy, how to develop an information systems architecture, conduct IT sourcing analysis, and value and manage IT investments. The course will provide real-world case studies related to the issues of IT strategy and control in different industries.
Upon completion of the course, you should be able to explain what IT strategy is and how it addresses customer needs, recognize the conceptual components, tools, and techniques associated with each of the IT strategy competencies, and apply these competencies to specific real-world applications and research areas. You will also be exposed to the Strategic Enterprise Management (SEM) module within SAP and how it is used to develop performance management and reporting templates including the balanced scorecard and management cockpit. This is a very useful capability for business analysts, accountants and IT managers for understanding the business value and impact of IT.
This course is intended for MBA as well as graduate (M.S.) students in Accounting, MIS, Management Science, Operations Management, and Computer Science, who intend to specialize in Information Technology Management. Typical career paths would include (but not limited to) positions as business analyst, IT manager, software manager, IT auditor, and IT management consultant.
Course Format
Classes will include a mixture of lectures, case discussions, published articles, student participation, and class presentation by students. The articles will provide the basis for lectures on various topics related to IT strategy development and execution. The Harvard Business cases will provide the framework for class discussion, and we will outline the key lessons learned for each situation. Students will be evaluated based on a mid-term exam, take-home final, group case analysis, and class participation.
Lecture notes will be provided electronically via eLearning. It is your responsibility to print and bring a copy to class. Lecture notes are meant only for students who register for this course. On occasion, I will supplement the lecture notes with readings from other sources such as McKinsey Quarterly and the business press. Occasionally, I will invite guest speakers to lecture on specific topics related to emerging topics related to IT Strategy and discuss specific applications within their organizations.
Grading
Course grades will be based on the following components:
- Class participation (15%): You are expected to prepare beforehand for each class, participate actively in the discussion of cases and readings, and contribute to the learning experience in class. Attendance will be taken at each class; students should bring their nameplate to each class.
- Group case analysis and presentation (25%): The class will be split into groups. Each group will discuss the group case in class which I will assign during the semester. Specific case assignments will be provided in advance. Case analysis and presentation is a group effort, and each presentation should be approximately 30 minutes in duration. All students, including those not assigned to a specific case, are required to familiarize themselves with the case beforehand and participate in case discussions in class.
- Mid-term Exam (30%): There will be a take-home, individual mid-term exam. Students will be tested on the course material taught until that time.
- Final Exam (30%): The final exam will be a take-home, individual exam during finals week. Students will be tested on the course material taught through lectures, readings and case discussions.
Grading Policy: The following grading policy will be adopted for the class: A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-, D, P (pass), F (Fail). The weighted average score (based on the above) table will be used to determine your grades at the end of the course.
Prerequisites
There are no prerequisites for this course. However, it is restricted to graduate students enrolled at UTD. Students are not permitted to audit the class.
CLASS SCHEDULE
I. I. Overview of IT Strategy / · Why companies need an IT strategy
· IT strategy competencies / · "Strategy and the Internet" HBR March 2001 (Porter).
· “The Real New Economy” HBR October 2003 (Diana Farrell).
II, III, & IV.
Scenario Planning / · How does scenario planning impact IT strategy?
· Business strategy options
· IT strategy options / · “Using scenario analysis to manage the strategic risks of outsourcing” Sloan Management Review, Summer 1995, 36(4), page 61-71.
· “Strategic Planning: A tool for strategic thinking” Sloan Management Review, Winter 1995, pp. 25-40.
· “UPS Strategic Planning” HBS Case, 2006, 9-306-002.
V, VI & VII.
IT Architecture / · Baseline IT analysis
· Gap analysis
· Technology selection
· Implementation IT architecture / · “IM/IT Architecture and Infrastructure” Chapter 6, Austin and Boxerman’s textbook on Information Systems for Healthcare Management.
· “Cisco Systems Architecture” HBS Case, Nov. 2005, 9-301-099.
· “Air Products & Chemicals” HBS case, August 1995, 9-196-017.
VIII & IX.
IT Governance / · Types of IT governance structures
· Organization change management processes / · "Six Decisions your IT People Shouldn’t Make” HBR Nov. 2002, (Ross & Weill).
· “A Matrixed Approach to Designing IT Governance” MIT Sloan Management Review, Winter 2005, pp. 26-34.
· “Zara: IT for Fast Fashion” HBR Case
Mid-Term Exam (take home)
X & XI. IT Sourcing & Offshoring / · Factors affecting sourcing decisions
· Application Service Providers
· Offshoring / · "Taking the Measure of Outsourcing Providers” MIT Sloan Mgmt. Review, Spring 2005 (Feeny, Lacity & Willcocks).
· Getting Offshoring Right” HBR Dec. 2005 (Aron & Singh).
· “Outsourcing at Office Supply Inc.” Kellogg Business School case, HBS Publishing, 2009
XII & XIII.
IT Planning & Reporting / · IT planning and project management
· Balanced scorecard and strategy maps
· Performance analysis and reporting; Business Analytics / · “Having Trouble with your Strategy: Then Map it” HBR Sep – Oct 2000 (Kaplan & Norton).
· “Competing on Analytics” HBR Jan. 2006 (Davenport).
XIV. Organizational Impact and IT Value / · Business value of IT
· IT alignment / · “The IM/IT Portfolio Management Office” Chapter 4, Austin and Boxerman’s textbook on Information Systems for Healthcare Management.
· “B&K Distributors: Calculating return on investment from a web-based customer portal” Kellogg case study.
Miscellaneous Topics (if time permits) / · Social Networks
· Software as a Service (SaaS) / · “A Practical Guide to Social Networks” HBR March 2005 (Cross, Liedtka, and Weiss).
Final Exam (Take home)