Mgmt 274A Special Topics in Information Systems
Managerial Implications of Emerging Information Technologies
Spring, 1996

Grade and Evaluation Criteria

Team Project (40%)

Class participants are to self-select themselves into team of four (4) members. Each team is to choose an industry or industry-segment to provide a contextual focus for the course.

The team project is to prepare a written report (this is to be a paper based final project) assessing the potential contribution of information technologies to an industry successfully meeting the strategic challenges it faces.

The report will have four sections:

  1. The Industry Today (max 2 pages).
  2. The Strategic Challenges: Three to five critical success factors, key strategic factor, major issues or challenges the industry must successfully address to thrive over the next decade (max 1 page per challenge).
  3. Information Technology Opportunities: Evaluate five of the emerging information technologies, and discuss in class in terms of their contribution to the resolution of the issues or challenges?
  4. The Industry Tomorrow: What would be the potential impact of implementing the various information technologies? Will your industry be transformed by them? If so, how? In addition to the written report, each team will give a computer based presentation on its project to the entire class. The instructor will endeavor to have an industry manger attend class the day of the presentations.

    The teams will be identified the first class session and the industry selection and critical success factors are due the third class session. The written report is due the tenth class session, and the oral presentation will be at the final exam session. Please see the class schedule for specific Team Project due dates.

    Technology Note (30%)

    Each student is to develop an Web-based "note" on an emerging information technology. These notes will be distributed to the entire class via the Web and will be used as the basis of weekly class discussions. The note is to be prepared for managers who have some familiarity with technology and general computer terms (a la Mgmt 404 knowledge in terms of our Anderson School environment). However, the note should have pointers (bibliography or WWW links) that would allow someone to delve deeper if interested.

    The note is to consist of three parts:

    1. A general description of the technology, what it can do, how it works. This needs to contain sufficient information for a manager to understand the technology so that they can participate in a "buy -- don't buy" or "implement -- don't implement" type discussion.
    2. An annotated set of pointers to web sites (at least three) where an interested reader can obtain more information (descriptive or technical) regarding the technology.
    3. A bibliography of sources used to prepare the note with an indication of the search path and/or on-line databases used to located the material.
    Each class member is to select a technology they would like to learn more about, however no two people on the same team may pick the same technology. It may turn out that one of the technologies investigated does NOT have high potential value for the critical success factor identified by a team, and hence need not be a criteria when selecting a technology.

    Students are to use on-line resources to search, locate, and when possible, to retrieve the information on the selected technology. Specifically, search at least three on-line library article databases to acquire at least three non-Web based sources (e.g., newspaper or journal articles which are either on-line or in a traditional bound copy, books, or journals not available on-line). In addition, using the Web search engines, students are to locate at least three Web sources of information.

    Preparation of the technology note is to be an individual effort.

    Technology notes will be due by mid-night on the Monday before the topic is discussed in class. Distribution to the class will be via the class Web pages. Please see the class schedule for specific due dates.

    Personal Web Pages (20%)

    Each individual is to develop a set of Personal Web Pages used to link key ideas from this class, and possibly other classes, in such a way that they can move from topic to idea and vice versa.

    The goal of the Personal Web Pages is for the student to construct a personal cognitive map of his/her journey through the program with links to extend the MBA content into his/her professional careers. The idea is to create, what one student called, "reference points" which can be used to guide the student to concepts or models encountered throughout the program.

    Having reference points means that course notes, models, and other materials from one class readily available to be used in future situations. Re-accessing the material at some future point (months or years later) means the student must develop an internalized an overall structure -- some level of personal organization -- which allows the student to go back and find specific items. Thus, the Personal Web Pages.

    Class members will be asked to demo their Personal Web Pages during the third, sixth, and ninth class session. Please see class schedule for specific dates.

    Class Participation (10%)

    The thrust of the class discussions will be to answer the question "will the technologies explored apply to help resolve the challenges facing a particular industry?" This is the student's opportunity to put on his/her visionary hat and extrapolate into the future. The students who prepare each technology note will participate as a "local expert" to handle questions and lead the discussion on their technology.

    Since learning and exploring ideas occur independent of time and location, class participants are encouraged to communicate questions and comments to the instructor and other students via e-mail using the class mail list: sp96274a01.

    Last Updated January 27, 1996
    jason.frand@anderson.ucla.edu