Mgmt 274A Special Topics in Information Systems
Managerial Implications of
Emerging Information Technologies
Spring Quarter 1996
Thursdays, 1:30 - 4:30
Room C303
The Course Vision (or what this class is all about)
This discussion-oriented course is designed to take what you have learned in the
MBA program and use it to evaluate
emerging information technologies
in terms of their applicability to solving the strategic issues facing
industries as they prepare for the 21st century. This course is set in the
context of what is happening in today's business environment, specifically with
the information technologies which underlie our global economy and play a
necessary role in the re-conceptualization of our industries. This is not a
course for technologists, but for all managers who must thrive in the
information age. The focus is on the impacts of technology, not the technology
itself. However, the student will gain an understanding of several emerging
information technologies. Reading and case material have been selected to focus
on the interactions between organizational and technological forces. To
facilitate discussions and interactions, the class size will be limited to 16
students.
Objectives (or what you should take away)
Class participants will be challenged to ask questions, seek answers, and
acquire skills which lead to the accomplishment of four course goals, two
conceptual and two pragmatic:
-
Strategy:
Evolve a strategy for evaluating emerging information technologies in terms of
their potential for organizational impact.
-
Role of Information:
Understand how information is used in an organization and the implications for
selecting appropriate technologies to support this use.
-
Information Access:
Perfect on-line information search and retrieval skills for analysis and
presentation in guiding decision making and action.
-
Information Integration:
Build a set of Web pages which link concepts and materials used in the class
with key ideas from your other MBA classes.
Grade and Evaluation Criteria
Class Sessions and Assignment Due Dates
Classes meet weekly, Thursday afternoons 1:30 - 4:30. However, some class
assignments, specifically, the technology notes, will be due on the Monday
before the class meets so that the material can be posted to the class Web site,
and everyone will be able to read the material before attending.
Please see the
class schedule
for specific dates.
Text, Readings, Surfing, and Guest Lecturers
2020 Vision by Stan Davis and Bill Davidson (NY: Simon & Schuster,
1991) explores paths to the date just 24 years away. We'll use their definition
of informationalization (analogous to industrialization) to identify
critical or key success factors for industries to prosper into the next century.
Background on the various information technologies studied during the term will
be provided by
technology notes
prepared by each member of the class. These notes, to be presented as a series
of Web pages, will consist of descriptions and summaries of information, as well
as pointers to other web sites. The notes will be posted to the class web
server by midnight, Monday, before the class session when the technology is to
be discussed. The notes will then be available for everyone to read beginning
Tuesday.
The Hughes Space and Communications Scheduling (HSC) in an Integrated Factory
case will be used to explored the role of information politics in any
technological introduction. The entrepreneurial manager at HSC who struggled to
bring about organizational change will join the class to share his experience,
beginning where the case ended.
The course instructor will make every attempt to invite an information
technology manager from each of the industries which students select for their
class projects to participate during the quarter.
Suggested reading for understanding potential "ultimate" impact of information
technologies, any of the books in the
Robot Series
by Isaac Asimov.
Prerequisite
Managerial Computing (Mgmt 404) or consent of instructor.
Feel free to send questions or suggestions to
jason.frand@anderson.ucla.edu
Last Updated March 20, 1996
jason.frand@anderson.ucla.edu