GBUS 695 A - "E-Commerce: The Management of Technology"
Instructor: Phil Gorman
E-mail philip.c.gorman@csun.edu
WWW: http://www.csun.edu/~pcg24892/
Office: BB 4221
Office phone: (818) 677-4515
Office hours: Tuesday 1:00-2:00; Thursday 5:00-6:00
OBJECTIVES AND OVERVIEW
In this course, we will take a "systems" view of the changes in the world that are altering the avenues to business success. Specifically, we will examine changes in communications technologies and their linkages with globalization of the economy, changes in the demographics of the U.S. population, and changing lifestyles in general. Simultaneously, we will be adding these forces together to build the complex picture of how the managerial landscape is currently changing, and the ways in which it is likely to further change in the near future. The result for you will be a better understanding of (a) how to anticipate the major but gradual -- and, for that reason, often hard to see -- shifts in the forces underlying business success, and (b) how you personally can fit into the managerial picture. We will likely have one or more guest speakers, who will be involved in businesses tackling many of the issues we will discuss in class, visit in order to help us learn more about how these forces are driving business change today.
GRADING
All assignments must be emailed to me at philip.c.gorman@csun.edu. Paper copies will not be accepted.
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Assignment |
Weight |
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Individual (50%) |
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10% |
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20% |
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20% |
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Group (50%) |
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20% |
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30% |
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Total |
100% |
"Movers & Shakers write-up
Click on the "Movers & Shakers" link on the left-hand side of
the
Business
Week ebiz WWW pages. Choose one of the movers & shakers and address the
following in no more than 1000 words: (1) What cultural/demographic shifts did
the mover/shaker take advantage of, and how? (2) What are the economic forces
driving the mover/shaker's business ideas? (3) How did the mover/shaker
anticipate and take advantage of technological changes? (4) What ethical or
governance issues are raised by the mover/shaker's business model? (5) Will the
mover/shaker's business ideas result in profits? Why? How? If so, for whom?
Class participation/commitment
The learning process will work best
if students come to class prepared to discuss and question the assigned
reading material. Since your verbal contribution is an important part of
the learning experience for you and all students in the class, an appropriate
number of points is attached. Class attendance is a component of the class
participation and commitment grade.
All students will have more than ample opportunity to verbally contribute to the classroom discussion. You can do so simply by raising your hand at any time. Further, you may be called upon randomly to take the lead in various aspects of the discussion, especially to summarize a case for us at the beginning of class. When you contribute verbally to the class discussion, I and the rest of the class will probably be thinking about your contribution along the following dimensions:
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Relevance - Does the comment bear on the subject at hand? |
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Causal Linkage - Are the logical antecedents or consequences of a particular argument traced out? |
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Responsiveness - Does the comment react in an important way to what someone else has said? |
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Analysis - Is the reasoning employed consistent and logical? |
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Evidence - Have data from the case, from personal experience, or from general knowledge been employed to support the assertions made? |
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Importance - Does the contribution further our understanding of the issues at hand? Is a connection made with other cases we have analyzed? |
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Clarity - Is the comment succinct and understandable? Does it stick to the subject or does it wander? |
Midterm exam
The format of the midterm exam will
be some combination of short and long essays. The exam will
ask some questions about material that we will have covered in class and
some questions about material covered in the assigned readings.
In-class group exam
The evolving "knowledge economy"
demands the ability to deliver fast, high quality judgments on key questions
on short notice. This exam will reflect that type of work environment.
Your workgroup will be the same as the group for your group project; by
the time this exam arrives, your group should be working smoothly. At the
beginning of the exam time, the assignment will be given to your group;
by the end of the exam time, your group will have prepared and emailed
a document containing your best answer(s). Resources you may use to build
your answer(s) include, but are not limited to: class materials (book,
cases, etc.), telephones, WWW, email, etc. In short, this will test your
group's ability to work quickly, innovatively, and efficiently; this assignment
will not test your memory.
Group research project
Details of the group research project will be provided during a
regular class meeting time.
MISCELLANEOUS NOTICES
Any instances of academic dishonesty will not be tolerated and I will deal with them under the guidelines stated in the Undergraduate/Graduate Catalog. Sources used in performing research for assignments in this course must be properly cited (see the "Style Guides" section of http://library.csun.edu/ebooks.html if you need clarification on this matter). The plus/minus system may be used when final grades are assigned. Students may be required to complete online evaluations of faculty. Students may be given brief investigative assignments in preparation for guest speaker visits. Each student will be required to fill out a confidential feedback form evaluating the contribution of each member his/her group; these evaluations will affect individuals' grades in cases in which it is clear that a group member was not contributing a fair share of the group effort. Students may be required, near the end of the course, to fill out on-line evaluations of the course and instructor.
COURSE MATERIALS (* indicates items available at Matadors bookstore; $ indicates items available at Amazon.com)
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*$ Tapscott, Don (1999). Creating Value in the Network Economy.
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*$ Negroponte, Nicholas (1996). Being Digital.
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*Packet of selected articles & book chapters
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CLASS SCHEDULE (may change; check
WWW page frequently)
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Date(s) |
Topic |
Preparation |
Key Event(s) |
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Thurs. 8/31 |
Introduction + Demographics & Culture |
Seeing Things as They Really Are (or click here for user-friendly MS-Word version)
"Forces Creating Change" (in packet)
"Cybercommunities: Better Than Being There?" (in packet) |
your info. sheet is due tonight! |
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Thurs. 9/7 |
Economics of Information
Technology |
Pay Whom for What When (Part I)
Pay Whom for What When (Part II)
"Strategy and the New Economics of Information" (chapter in Creating Value...)
"Making Business Sense of the Internet" (chapter in Creating Value...)
Being Digital (book)
Computer's Impassivity an Extra Stress for Kasparov (hyperlink)
Kasparov vs. IBM's Deep Blue Computer (hyperlink)
"Information and Things" (in packet) |
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Sat. 9/9 |
Ethical Issues + Governance |
"The Political, Legal, and Ethical Environments" (in packet)
"The Power of Information" (in packet)
"The Digital Divide" (in packet) |
TBA
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Thurs. 9/14 |
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Get the assignment and a brief Lee Peterson bio |
Lee Peterson, CEO of DigitalSquare, visits class |
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Thurs. 9/21 |
Virtual Organization |
"Changes: How is the Practice of Work Evolving?" (in packet)
"Community: What Different Relationships Are We Forming?" (in packet)
"N-Gen at Work" (in packet)
"Fair Process: Managing in the Knowledge Economy" (in packet)
"Covert Leadership: Notes on Managing Professionals" (in packet)
"The Coming of Knowledge-Based Business" (chapter in Creating Value...)
"The Dawn of the E-Lance Economy" (chapter in Creating Value...)
"Trust and the Virtual Organization" (chapter in Creating Value...)
"The Real Value of On-Line Communities" (chapter in Creating Value...) |
"Movers & Shakers" write-up due |
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Thurs. 9/28 |
Marketing |
"Real-Time Marketing" (chapter in Creating Value...)
"The Coming Battle for Customer Information" (chapter in Creating Value...)
"Developing Products on Internet Time" (chapter in Creating Value...)
"The Digital World" (in packet)
"Pricing in an Online World" (in packet)
"E-Business Value Strategies" (in packet) |
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Thurs. 10/5 |
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Midterm exam |
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Thurs. 10/12 |
Knowledge Management
Culture + leadership |
"Information Politics" (in packet)
Actually, It Is Like Brain Surgery
"Building a Culture for Growth" (in packet)
"Sustaining Culture Day to Day" (in packet)
"Leadership Communication" (in packet)
"Generating Ideas and Innovation Through Leadership" (in packet)
"Information Behavior and Culture" (in packet) |
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Sat. 10/15 |
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In-class group exam |
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Thurs. 10/19 |
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Group project presentations |
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Phil Gorman, Ph.D. |
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Assistant Professor of Management |
voice (818) 677-4515, (818) 677-2457 (Dept.) |
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Department of Management |
fax (818) 677-6265 |
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COBAE-8376 |
Office: Business Bldg. 4221 |
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Northridge, CA 91330-8376 |
