Assignments

LEC # TOPICS ASSIGNMENTS
Introduction
1

Course Introduction

  
Role of the Organization in IT
2 Should the General Manager Care to Learn IT?
  • Case: "Autoventa Diaria S. A.: Memorandum to the CEO and the CMO/CIO Crisis."

Questions:

  1. Considering the business and IT background information, what is your opinion of the behaviors of Jaime Paton and Ramon Ligero during the events described in the case? And that of Rosendo Banus?
  2. In this situation, what should Jose Ochoa do? Why? Consider and evaluate the different possible alternatives. What criterions seem relevant to make a decision?
  3. What should Jose Ochoa do, if anything, to prevent similar events in the future? Are your suggestions easy to implement? Why?
  4. What aspects related to technology should Jose Ochoa know? How can it acquire the relevant know how?

 
Positioning and IT
3 Re-Positioning the Value Proposition Through IT
  • Case: "Virtual Distribution on the Internet and the Transformation of the Publishing Industry."
 Questions:
  1. What should Jack Mason do?
  2. What do you think of the various analyses presented by the Readers Inn management team?
  3. What kind of technology details should Jack Mason know before making a decision and on an ongoing basis?
4 Aligning Programs and Processes
The MIT View of the Firm

 
5 Electronic Markets and Supply Change Management
  • Case: "Baxter Healthcare Corp.: ASAP Express."

Questions:

  1. What is your evaluation of the evolution of the American Hospital Supply system during the years described in the case?
  2. What made ASAP a success?
  3. From the point of view of Baxter, what is the impact of the success of its own system in industry transformation?
  4. What should be the next action that Baxter should undertake to keep its leadership?
  5. If you had to set up a new company to enter the hospital supply market in 1993, how would you do it?
6 Designing an Industry-wide Information Architecture (I): "Under the Hood" of a Commercial Website

 
7 Designing an Industry-wide Information Architecture (II): Transaction Streams  
8 A View Into the Future: Web Technologies Basics and the Semantic Web

Technology Assignment (PDF)
IT-Enabled Operational Effectiveness
9 SAP in Manufacturing
What Should the CEO Know About ERPs?
  • Case: "Implementation of SAP at CELSA (B)."

Questions:

  1. Why did CELSA decide to introduce SAP?
  2. From the point of view of CELSA, what are the pros and cons of introducing SAP?
  3. What would you do if you were Mr. Juan Bach? How should Mr. Rubiralta help Mr. Juan Bach?
  4. How much should the CEO know about SAP?
10 Aligning IT and the Organization: Role of Artificial Intelligence and Other Forecasting Technologies
  • Case: "Mrs. Fields' Cookies."

Questions:

  1. Objectively, what indicators do we have of the results of Mrs. Fields' Cookies before the acquisition of La Petite Boulangerie (LPB)?
  2. What are the key aspects of Mrs. Fields' Cookie's business?
  3. If you were Debbie Fields, what would you do with LPB? What would you do to prevent the future situations like the one created in 1988?
11

The Central Nervous System of Automated Virtual Manufacturing Plants

Guest Speaker: Jim Miller, VP Supply Chain & Logistics, Cisco Systems, Inc.

http://www.cisco.com

  
12

Linking Process Modeling Architecture with ERP The Case of American Meter Company, ARIS and SAP

Guest Lecture: Ed Brady, IT Director, American Meter Company

http://www.americanmeter.com

 
13 The Little-man Computer

SQL/LMC Assignment Handed Out
14

IT and Productivity. Cost Reduction of IT Automation Within Intel Manufacturing Plants

Guest Speaker: Stanley Stanzyk, Automation Manager in Charge of Computing Cost Reduction. Intel Corp.

http://www.intel.com

  • Case: "IT/Automation Cost Reduction in Intel's Manufacturing Environment."
 Questions:
  1. What would you propose to achieve a 30% to 50% cost reduction in computing spending over the 18 months following the events described in the case?
15

Embedded Intelligence, RFIDs and the Auto-ID Initiative

Guest Speaker: Prof. Sanjay E. Sarma, Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Co-Founder and Research Director of the Auto-ID Center at MIT

  
16 Introduction to Databases, Data Modeling and XML  
IT Implementation and Delivery
17

Role of Senior Management in the Implementation Process
The Case of Handheld Devices

  • Case: "American Crown (Condensed)."
 Questions:
  1. What does American Crown seek to achieve with the new system? Are the objectives reasonable? Why or why not?
  2. What are the key issues related with the use of the system? What is the root cause of these issues? What do you think about the way the implementation process has been managed?
  3. What would you do to improve the situation?
  4. What would you suggest James R. Carlsen do to prevent similar conflicts in the future?
18 Designing an Industry-Wide Information Architecture (III): Computer Security/Cryptography

SQL/LMC Assignment Due
19

Implementing Computer Vision Solutions in Manufacturing

Guest Speaker: Pam Lipson, Founder / CEO, Imagen Inc.

 Technology Assignment Due
20

Steel Manufacturing and Cross-Company Processes
Delivering an Industry-Wide IT Solution

Guest: Richard Rowe, Founder of RoweCom

  • Case: "Steelscreen.com Challenges in Aligning Technology and Strategy in B2B."

Questions:

Read the case first and prepare answers to the following questions.

  1. Who benefits more from a steel B2B offering? Why?
  2. What are the strengths of Steelscreen.com? In the long run, how many steel portals will exist?
  3. What are the challenges that Arve is facing?
  4. Adapting the Steelscreen product to the specific needs as reported by the market could cost at least $20 million. Would you suggest investing this amount of money in product development?
  5. What should Arve report back at the next management meeting in Sweden?
  6. What kind of technology details, if any, should Arve know? How should he acquire the required IT knowledge?
Conclusion: The Future of IT, Manufacturing, and You
21

Artificial Intelligence and the Robots of the Future

Guest Speaker: Prof. Rodney Brooks Director, MIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory

http://www.ai.mit.edu/

  
22 Strategic Framing: Broadband Technologies and the Information Value-chain
  • Case: "Excite@Home: Betting on a Broadband Revolution"
 Questions:
  1. Read the case and prepare a strategic positioning for how you would position Excite@Home at the time of the case.
Take Home Final Handed Out (PDF)
23

What Should the CEO Know About Manufacturing?

Wireless Technologies and 3G Guest Speaker: Lars-G?ran Hansson, Manufacturing Processes, Ericsson

http://www.ericsson.com

 Questions:
  1. What are the reasons behind the success of NTT DoCoMo with I-mode in Japan?
  2. Why have there been some delays in the deployment of 3G?
  3. How should NTT DoCoMo translate the success of its I-mode platform to other parts of the world such as the U.S. or Europe?
  4. How much should the NTT DoCoMo CEO know about IT and manufacturing?
24 Course Closure Take Home Final Due