Course Syllabus
Contact Information
Course Details
For a list of course activities, scroll to the bottom of this page.
Course Prerequisites
None
Course Materials
Reading
- Guiding the Digital Transformation of Organizations [GDTO] Second Edition by Sambamurthy and Zmud Legerity Digital Press. The book is now open source and available for download.
- There are also numerous cases and other readings. These will be available to you in the course. There are three cases you will need to purchase from the Harvard Business Review site.
Software
We will be using technology in this class to manage, visualize, and analyze data.
- SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) will be used to interact with our class database.
- PowerBI is a visualization package.
Detailed information about the course materials and how to access them can be found on the Course Resources page.
Grades
Breakdown
| Activity | Description | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Participation | Live Session attendance and engagement with cameras on or written summary of Key learnings. Peer Evaluation activity plus other a few other items |
5 |
| Quizzes | Multiple-choice quizzes over readings and recorded lectures | 15 |
| Lab Assignments | Labs activities. | 20 |
| Case Study Presentations | Individual presentations on assigned cases. | 15 |
| Case Study Discussions | Discussions on the Case Study Presentations | 10 |
| Disruptive Technologies Report | Write up on a chosen topic. | 25 |
| Individual Project: Reflective Memo | Individual, 500-word reflective written response. | 10 |
| Total | 100 |
Scale
| Percentage | Letter Grade |
|---|---|
| 90–100% | A |
| 80–89% | B |
| 70–79% | C |
| 60–69% | D |
| Below 60% | F |
I will apply a 90% (A); 80% (B); 70% or lower (C) cutoff system for grades.
Course Components
Participation
In order to get the most out of this course, it is important for you to actively engage with the course materials, your peers, and me. As you read the assigned materials and watch the pre-recorded lectures, please take notes to add to Live Session discussions and activities. You will earn participation points by joining the Live Sessions. If, for some reason, your schedule or other commitment prevents you from joining in real time, don't despair. You'll have a chance to earn participation points by watching a recording of the Live Session and submitting a 'make-up' activity.
Quizzes
Quizzes are multiple-choice assessments that will be administered through our course website. Each quiz covers material from the weekly readings and pre-recorded lectures. They are open book and designed to incentivize becoming familiar with the weekly material as we move through the class. Quizzes are posted at least one week prior to the quiz due date and you must submit the quiz before our Live Session on the day the quiz is due. This is automatically enforced, with no exceptions. You are allowed to drop your lowest quiz score to address unforeseen circumstances (e.g., illness, job interviews, etc.).
Lab Assignments
Every manager must have the skills and knowledge to automate simple business functions, manipulate data, and develop insight for making decisions. Lab Assignments offer an opportunity to sharpen your skills and competencies with databases, visualization, and programming. You will write a simple program to accomplish a business task, retrieve data formulate answers to assigned managerial queries, and explore data and develop insights using visualization techniques. More details about these lab assignments will be provided during the early part of the term.
Case Study Presentations
You will complete one case study presentation that you will select at the beginning of the course. (Again, I expect everyone in the class to have read through and thought about each of the cases even when a case is not assigned to your group). All the cases are posted on the course website. The specific question to be answered in preparing the presentation is provided below. The presentations will be given via pre-recorded videos that will be posted on the provided discussion boards. Then, in the Live Session, we will summarize the online discussion and highlight some key takeaways.
Case Study Discussions
Individuals who were not assigned to do a video Case Study Presentation that week will respond to two videos that were shared in the discussion. Select two videos that address two different case questions for each discussion.
Disruptive Technology Report
This report showcases your disruptive technology research in no more than six single-spaced pages, including references. Use tables, charts, and bullet points as appropriate to provide your answers and make key points clear, similar to the format you would use if you presented information to senior management.
Reflective Memo
You will submit a 500-word Reflective Memo that communicates the significance of what was learned during the course in a concise format. Your memo will reflect on the relevance of the course content to your career and professional goals.
Course Policies
Communication
The best way to get a hold of me is through email. I will generally respond within 24 hours M-F. I will try to respond as quickly as possible during the weekends but it may not be until the tail-end of the weekend before you receive a response. I am open for appointments to discuss issues via Zoom. Please contact me about setting up zoom appointments if needed.
For general questions about the course, feel free to use the Course Help Board. For anything private (grades, special accommodation, group issues), please contact me directly. I am most accessible via e-mail as I check my e-mail throughout the day. Please put MIT-5602 in the email subject line.
I will do my best to respond to you within 24 hours, but it may take me longer over the weekend.
Late Policy
I will accept late case write-ups and lab homework but there will be a 20% penalty for every 24 hours an assignment is late. Therefore an assignment that is 5 days late will receive a zero. If there are extenuating circumstances, you will need to discuss those with me as soon as possible.
Incomplete Grade
A grade of I (for incomplete) will not be given under normal circumstances. Not performing well in class, not being able to complete an assignment in time or being out of town during a test are inadequate reasons for requesting or granting an incomplete. Only circumstances beyond your control (such as a severe illness), which will need to be documented, may warrant a grade of I.
University Academic Policies and Student Support
Access the University Academic Policies Document.
Course Summary:
| Date | Details | Due |
|---|---|---|