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JOHN CABOT UNIVERSITY
COURSE CODE: "MGT 362"
COURSE NAME: "Management in the Digital Economy"
SEMESTER & YEAR:
Spring 2024
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SYLLABUS
INSTRUCTOR:
Cesare Pisani
EMAIL: [email protected]
HOURS:
TTH 11:30 AM 12:45 PM
TOTAL NO. OF CONTACT HOURS:
45
CREDITS:
3
PREREQUISITES:
Prerequisites: MGT 301
OFFICE HOURS:
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COURSE DESCRIPTION:
Disruptive innovation, as well as technological, social and economic changes are key characteristics of the “New Economy," drastically impacting all aspects of businesses and social life. Information Technology (IT) is at the center of the Digital Transformation of companies for the optimization, redesign or reinvention of their business in response or in anticipation to the disruptive impact of emerging technologies and new business models.
All managers are directly or indirectly concerned with IT, either because they work in the IT department or because they are involved in the definition, purchase, deployment, and usage of IT infrastructures, software, and applications. This course will provide students with a basic understanding of IT as an introduction to the changing managerial role in organisation.
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SUMMARY OF COURSE CONTENT:
On January 2007 during a sales conference a sales person holding a piece of metal and plastic said: “after this nothing will be the same!” And nothing was the same!
On November 30th, 2023 ChatGPT was unleashed! Will this change everything again? How?
Smartphone is in the twilight zone, which will be the next Big Thing? Generative AI? AR/VR? The Metaverse?
Why Blockchain appears to be less cool than it was just about one year ago? Is crypto dead?
Why well established companies fail in face of smaller undertakings embracing a new disrupting technology?
Why most of us don’t know or don’t remember Kodak or Blockbuster or Blackberry?
Why startups are so cool and impactive?
Together we will address these and other questions, try understand the complex dynamics of innovation in the Digital Era and be able to take conscious and educated decisions to improve the competitive position of the company we work for or to foster the creation of disrupting startups.
In addition to providing the traditional elements of classical Information Technology, i.e. business analysis, IT governance, information security, this course will present the exploitation of emerging technologies in management and will show in detail the growing importance of modern trends related to the digital economy. Ample space will be devoted during the course to the most recent developments of Artificial Intelligence (Generative AI, Foundation Models, Transformers, LLM). Opportunities and risks related to the exploitation of AI will analyzed. Blockchain as a shared and programmable validation tool will be studied; significant attention will be also paid to cybersecurity, to the use of big data and to Smart Manufacturing (i4.0), key elements in the field of products production and services provision.
The course approach will be based on the presentation of a given innovation, the existing applications, and the future developments. In order to help students to better understand the issues that need to be faced in the real life, first-person business cases of innovation management will be presented.
Course slides will be made accessible to students after each lesson. Some of the books and documents presented in the bibliography will be presented and discussed with students during the lessons.
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LEARNING OUTCOMES:
Students will be able to:
Understand the Dynamics of the Digital Economy in the Web 1.0, Web 2.0, Web 3.0.
Acquire the basics of the major Trending Technologies (Social Networks, Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain and Cryptocurrency, ERP and Cloud Computing, Cybersecurity) and use such technologies to anticipate innovation and disruption in a given industry.
Exploit “classical” IT Management Disciplines and participate in the IT management decision process of the company they work or will work for.
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TEXTBOOK:
| Book Title | Author | Publisher | ISBN number | Library Call Number | Comments | Format | Local Bookstore | Online Purchase |
| Information Technology for Management 12th edition Wiley | E. Turban et al. | Wiley | 978-11-1980-252-5 | | | | | |
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REQUIRED RESERVED READING:
| Book Title | Author | Publisher | ISBN number | Library Call Number | Comments |
| The Phoenix Project | Gen Kim et al. | IT REV | ISBN 978-1-942788-29-4 | | |
| The Innovator’s Dilemma Harvard Business | C. Christiansen | Review Press | 978-1-63369-178-0 | | |
RECOMMENDED RESERVED READING:
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GRADING POLICY
-ASSESSMENT METHODS:
| Assignment | Guidelines | Weight |
| Participation | Presence and Participation in the Class | 15% |
| Test | On line individual test at the end of each module. Open Notes. | 30% |
| Group Work | Open Notes Group Works on Case Studies at the end of each module. Group grading will be the average of the peers evaluation, the professor evaluation and the self-evaluation. All the evaluations will be anonymous. | 30% |
| Final Exam | Individual test on the topics presented in the course | 25% |
-ASSESSMENT CRITERIA:
AWork of this quality directly addresses the question or problem raised and provides a coherent argument displaying an extensive knowledge of relevant information or content. This type of work demonstrates the ability to critically evaluate concepts and theory and has an element of novelty and originality. There is clear evidence of a significant amount of reading beyond that required for the course.
BThis is highly competent level of performance and directly addresses the question or problem raised.There is a demonstration of some ability to critically evaluatetheory and concepts and relate them to practice. Discussions reflect the student’s own arguments and are not simply a repetition of standard lecture andreference material. The work does not suffer from any major errors or omissions and provides evidence of reading beyond the required assignments.
CThis is an acceptable level of performance and provides answers that are clear but limited, reflecting the information offered in the lectures and reference readings.
DThis level of performances demonstrates that the student lacks a coherent grasp of the material.Important information is omitted and irrelevant points included.In effect, the student has barely done enough to persuade the instructor that s/he should not fail.
FThis work fails to show any knowledge or understanding of the issues raised in the question. Most of the material in the answer is irrelevant.
-ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS:
Disruptive innovation, as well as technological, social and economic changes are key characteristics of the “New Economy," drastically impacting all aspects of businesses and social life. Information Technology (IT) is at the center of the Digital Transformation of companies for the optimization, redesign or reinvention of their business in response or in anticipation to the disruptive impact of emerging technologies and new business models.
All managers are directly or indirectly concerned with IT, either because they work in the IT department or because they are involved in the definition, purchase, deployment, and usage of IT infrastructures, software, and applications. This course will provide students with a basic understanding of IT as an introduction to the changing managerial role in organisation.
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ACADEMIC HONESTY
As stated in the university catalog, any student who commits an act of academic
dishonesty will receive a failing grade on the work in which the dishonesty occurred.
In addition, acts of academic dishonesty, irrespective of the weight of the assignment,
may result in the student receiving a failing grade in the course. Instances of
academic dishonesty will be reported to the Dean of Academic Affairs. A student
who is reported twice for academic dishonesty is subject to summary dismissal from
the University. In such a case, the Academic Council will then make a recommendation
to the President, who will make the final decision.
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STUDENTS WITH LEARNING OR OTHER DISABILITIES
John Cabot University does not discriminate on the basis of disability or handicap.
Students with approved accommodations must inform their professors at the beginning
of the term. Please see the website for the complete policy.
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SCHEDULE
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The course is structured in nine modules of four/six 1¼h classes. Each module may include a lecture, a classwork on a business case and an individual test online. For the classwork the students will be organized in groups; the grading will be the average of a peer evaluation, a professor evaluation and a self-evaluation.
1. Jan 16th, 18th, 23rd - MODULE 1 - The Technological Cambrian and Innovation Dynamics
Presentation of the Course: Schedule, Assignments, Tests, Grading
First-hand Business case: TIM San Marino “The living lab of TIM Group”
How to analyse the dynamic of emerging technologies: Gartner Cycle of Hype.
Reading Assignment: Gartner Hype Cycle
Classwork: Analyse a trending technology using Gartner Hype Cycle
Test on IT (anonymous and ungraded)
2. Jan 25th, 30th, Feb 1st - MODULE 2 - Disruptive Innovations: The Innovator’s Dilemma
Why do successful new technologies cause great firms to fail?
Sweet Spots; Dynamics of Disruptions; The Innovator’s Solution;
First-hand business case: VoIP Vocaltec’s Disruption Case.
Reading assignment: C. Christiansen The Innovator’s Dilemma Introduction 1-19
Classwork: Using The Innovator’s Dilemma framework (wherever applicable), analyse a case of technological disruption (ChatGPT vs Google Search, Kodak vs Digital Photography, iPhone vs Blackberry, Netflix vs Blockbuster)
On line Test on the Innovator’s Dilemma Model
3. Feb 6th, 8th, 13th - MODULE 3 - The Digital Economy and Social Media
Definition of Digital Economy, History, Business Models, Economic Rules.
Social Networks (SNS) in Business: Advertising, Branding, Customer Care. Major SNS platforms: Facebook, LinkedIn, X (fr Twitter), Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube.
Reading Assignment: Social Media differentiation
Classwork: From a managerial standing, analyse a Social Network Platform pro’s and con’s and plan a marketing/publicity campaign on it. On line Test on the Digital Economy and Social Media
4. Feb 15th , 16th , 20th, 22nd – MODULE 4 - Artificial Intelligence
History of AI. Neural Networks. Deep Learning. Supervised and unsupervised learning. Backward Propagation. Transformers, ChaGPT, Bard, Anthropic. AI Business Applications. AI Ethical Issues.
Reading Assignment: The Master Algorithm – P. Gonzales Times HE
Classwork: analyse Generative AI ChatGPT applications for business.
On line test on Artificial Intelligence
5. March 5th , 7th, 12th, 14th MODULE 5 – Blockchain: Cryptocurrencies, NFTs and Web 3.0
Money and Trust; Different Kind of Money; Centralized vs Decentralized Ledgers; Fiat Money Pro’s and Con’s; Satoshi Nakamoto White Paper; Hashing Algorithm SHA256. Blockchain, Bitcoin, Merkle Tree, Proof of Work,
Mining, BTC Explorer, Wallets; Altcoin, Proof of Stakes, ICO, Altcoi: Ethereum, Litecoin, Monero, Ripple, Decentralize Finance (DeFi), NFTs
Reading Assignment: Bitcoin Wallet, Will web3 reinvent the internet business?
Classwork: Choose your Bitcoin Wallet and (plan to) create it.
On line test on Blockchain and Cryptocurrencies
6. March 19th 21st 26th MODULE 6 - Information Technology Management and ERP
Information Technology and Information Systems Definition and Classification. IT Governance. System Development.
ERP; Legacy and Evolution; Supply Chain Management; CRM; Enterprise Social Platforms; Systems Selections; VAR and Vendors.
Reading Assignment: Top ERP Vendors – Panorama Consulting
Classwork: You are the Account Manager of an ERP Vendor (SAP, Oracle, MS Dynamics): present your ERP solution to the Client Company
On line test on Technology Management and ERP
7. March 28th April 2nd, 4th - MODULE 7 - Cloud Computing
Computer Architecture: CPU, Memory, NIC; Operating Systems and Applications. Computers Clusters. Virtualization. Private and Public Cloud. SaaS, PaaS, IaaS, DaaS.
Reading Assignment: Cloud Competitive Scenario – The Economist, Gen Kim et al. The Phoenix Project Page 15-24
Classwork: You are the Account Manager of an Cloud Vendor (AWS, Google, Oracle, Azure): present your Cloud solution to the Client Company
On line test on Cloud Computing
8. April 9th 11th - MODULE 8 - Cybersecurity
Cyberthreats; Cyberwar, Actor State, Objectives of Cybersecurity; Malware, Ransomware, Hacking; Internal Threats
Reading Assignment: Data Breach Cost 2021 Report - IBM
Classwork: Analyse and Discuss a major 2021 Cyber Attacks
On line test on Cybersecurity
9. April 16th 18th 23rd - MODULE 9 - i4.0, 5G Mobile, Global Satellite Communication
Telecommunications: Satellite, 5G; IoT
Industry 4.0 (i4.0) – Smart Manufacturing
Reading Assignment: The Forces of 5G – The Economist
Classwork: analyse Starlink Project and its environmental impact
On line test on 5G and Satellite Communication
10. April 30th – Final Exam
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