I  Instructor
 

 Name:  Sarv Devaraj
 Office:  377 College of Business Administration
 Phone:  631-5074
 Email:  sdevaraj@nd.edu
 Class: 3:00-5:45, Wednesday
Room: 159 MCOB

Office Hours: 4:00-5:30, Mon, Tues and by appointment
 

II  Course Philosophy

To survive in today’s competitive business environment managers have to make appropriate technological choices, and effectively manage the social and technical aspects of technologies in place.  The underlying concepts and methodologies are applicable to both manufacturing and service industries.  Applications discussed will include manufacturing and information technologies.

Through a combination of lectures and cases the following learning outcomes are anticipated:
a) Understand the relationship between technological choices that managers make and overall business objectives
b) Conduct an economic justification of technological choices
c) Evaluate the role of information technologies for competitiveness
d) Study the impact of emerging technologies, such as Ecommerce and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)systems
on business performance
e) Understand techniques, pros, and cons of benchmarking
 

III Course Content

A. Economic Justification of Modern Technologies, Technology Payoffs
B. Role of Emerging Technologies - Ecommerce
B. Technology for Competitive Advantage
C. Linking Technology to Business Strategy
D. Choosing technologies - Analytical Hierarchical Process (AHP)
E. Technology as a Socio-Technical System
F. Role of Emerging Technologies – Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems
G. Benchmarking
 

IV Materials

The course packet containing cases and readings is available at the Copy Shop

Additionally, handouts will be provided by the instructor.
 

V Requirements

Team Project (20%)

The team project can be of the following types:

(i) Develop a technology strategy for a specific company
(ii) An analysis of technology adoption or technology evaluation decisions made by a specific company
(iii) A technology cost-benefit analysis
(iv) An industry analysis of technology trends, forecasts, etc.

I have a personal preference for the first three types.  Students are encouraged to collect data on technology-implementation related issues, perform analyses, and submit a report.
During the last week of the semester every team will make a presentation on their project as well as submit a written report outlining the details of the project.
 

Individual Write-ups (10%)

On days when cases will be discussed in class, all students are expected to turn in a one-page report that addresses the key issues and questions in the case.  This can be in the form of bullet points.

New Developments in Technology (15%)

Please see details provided later
 

Class Participation (15%)

All students are expected to actively participate in class discussions and presentations.  What you get out of this course is directly proportional to your interest and participation in the course.

Exams (40%)

Two exams (a midterm and a final)

 VI Course Schedule
 
 

August 28	Introduction to MOT
Sept 4	Economic Justification of Technologies  Readings:  1. Strategic Cost Analysis of Technological Investments  2. FBP Inc.  3. Justifying New Manufacturing Systems
Sept 11	Technology Implementation at McKinsey    Guest Speaker: Michael O' Connor From McKinsey
Sept 18	Emerging Technologies(1) – Ecommerce  Readings:  1. Ford Motor Company: Maximizing the Business Value of Web Technologies
Sept 25	Technology and Business Strategy  Readings:  1. Managing Technology as a Business Strategy  2. Sharp Technology: Technology Strategy
Oct 2	Technology Forecasting – S Curve    Readings:  1. Jumping the Technology S-curve
Oct 9	Technology Evaluation Guest Speaker
Oct 16	Midterm Exam
Oct 23	Mid-semester break
Oct 30	Technology Choice - Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP)  Readings:  1. Eli Lilly and Company  2. A Modified Analytical Hierarchical Process for Automated Manufacturing Decisions
Nov 6	Technology & Social Factors  Readings: The Internal Revenue Service
Nov 13	Status Report on Projects Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
Nov 20	Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)  Readings:  1. Vandelay Industries ERP Project Due
Nov 27	Benchmarking – Harvard Business School Video
Dec 4	IT Payoff Issues and Wrap up
Dec 11	Project Presentations

 
 
 

 New Developments in (Information) Technology

Technology is changing at a rapid pace, so much so that a lot of material that appears in textbooks is already outdated by the time the book is published.  Therefore, it is imperative that we rely on other sources to keep abreast of the latest developments in technology.  These sources include, but are not limited to, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Business Week, CIO, and Information Week, etc.

Twice during the semester each team will be expected to read one or more of these publications and select an article that (in your opinion) is particularly significant event/announcement of a new development in (information) technology.   Each team should present their choice in class and discuss the technology.

Another possibility is for you to select an article from a journal which covers technology and technology issues such as Sloan Management Review, Harvard Business Review, MIS Quarterly etc. that you think is particularly significant and make a presentation on why you think it is particularly significant. Your grade will be determined by the quality of the presentation as judged by the rest of the class.
 

Evaluation of Project Presentation

Your project and new developments in technology presentations will be evaluated on the following criteria

Content: interesting and informative content
Visual aids: text and graphics
Communication: speech and body language
Handling of Q & A: responses clear and complete
Clock Management: good use of allowed time
 
 

Case Collection and Readings

1. FPB Inc.

2. Strategic Cost Analysis of Technological Investments

3. Justifying New Manufacturing Systems: A Managerial Approach

4. Ford Motor Company: Maximizing the Business Value of Web Technologies

5. Jumping the Technology S-Curve

6. Managing Technology as a Business Strategy

7. Sharp Technology: Technology Strategy

8. Eli Lilly and Company: Drug Development Strategy (A)

9. A Modified Analytical Hierarchy Process for Automated Manufacturing Decisions

10. The Internal Revenue Service: Automated Collection System

11. Vandelay Industries, Inc.