64080 Brandyberry

BAD 64080 - Emerging Hardware and Software Technologies - SYLLABUS Spring 2015

Kent State University Management & Information Systems Department

Instructor:

Dr. Alan A. Brandyberry

Class Times:

12:30-1:45 pm, Rm. A325 Business Administration Building

Office Hours:

Mondays: 1:45 pm – 4:45 pm, 9:20 pm – 9:50 pm;

Wednesdays: 1:45 pm – 3:15 pm (and by appointment)

Office:

A425 Business Administration Building

Phone:

330-672-1146 (email strongly preferred)

Email:

abrandyb@kent.edu (preferred contact method - please put 64080 somewhere in subject line)

Web Site:

http://learn.kent.edu/

Catalog Description:

This course investigates technological innovation in organizations. Topics include both creative innovation and the organizational adoption of existing innovations.

Prerequisites:

Graduate standing

Learning Objectives:

Understand Adoption and Diffusion of Technological Innovation

 Understand the process of innovation diffusion through a social system.

 Understand and apply technology acceptance models

Understand Creative Technological Innovation

 Understand innovative processes

 Learn what organizational characteristics foster innovation

 Understand the interaction between strategy, knowledge and innovation

Specific Emerging Technologies:

 What are the emerging technologies of today?

 How may these technologies affect management and/or society today and in the near future?

 What are the likely technologies of the future (3-10 years) and how will these likely impact management?

Applied Learning:

 Student applied projects and informational presentations.

Required Texts:

None.

Attendance, Preparation, & Participation:

The material that is to be discussed in class should be read by the student before class. Attendance will be taken and whenever you are not present you will miss activities that cannot be made up. Missing class or portions of class will reduce your attendance/participation grade correspondingly. Students should be prepared to discuss the reading material, assigned cases and discussion or review questions. Failure to prepare and participate will also reduce this portion of your grade.

Cases & Assignments:

Students will be required to submit periodic written cases and/or research assignments for credit. These assignments will be described and assigned on a weekly basis.

Current Events:

Every other week every student will bring in an article from an applied online or paper source that deals with identifying an Emerging Technology or with issues pertaining to managing or implementing the technology. You will turn in a copy of the first page of the paper along with required discussion notes covering the discussion issues below. Notes could be as short as a half page to a page – I just want to see evidence that you considered what you were going to discuss on the topic prior to class.

Be prepared to discuss in class:

 What is the technology?

 What makes it "Emerging"?

 Why this article is of interest to the class.

 The managerial and/or societal implications of the technology and the article. Who is likely to be affected?

Project/Paper:

Projects can range from very technically-oriented (such as programming web services, integrating systems using XML or other techniques, cloud computing architectures, developing and implementing genetic algorithms, etc., etc.) to the

completely non-technical. Non-technical projects usually take the form of a research paper where students investigate a topic in-depth (more information on required content will be provided separately). Examples of potential topics include: investigating the management and strategic issues associated with the implementation of any emerging technology in organizations; emerging technologies associated with "green" computing such as green data centers; and emerging technologies associated with combating increasing security threats such as viruses, worms, and cyber-terrorism (just some examples - there are literally thousands of potential topics to choose from). Class time during this phase will consist of project reports and feedback sessions.

Examinations:

We will have only one exam, this will be around the midterm and will cover the first two learning objectives above. This exam will be administered on an open-note, open-book policy and will consist of short answer, short-essay, and essay type questions. Any notes written by the student may be used by the student (photocopies of other student's notes or original copies of other students notes from this or other classes are not acceptable). Only the books/articles/other materials used in this course may be used. Books, notes, and any other test material may not be shared. Note: Please do not assume that since it is open book that you do not have to study! You should study the material as if these tests were closed book. Most of your responses will have to come from your own knowledge; you will not have time to look up/learn all the material during the exam. Use your book/notes to remind you of lists, a few forgotten definitions, etc., the concepts should already be known to you.

Students may feel free to inquire into any aspect of examinations or their scores during office hours. However, to encourage quick resolution of problems or concerns which may arise, issues must be raised with the instructor within two weeks following return of the exam. If the instructor is not contacted prior to that time the examination will be considered closed and grades finalized.

Attendance Policy:

Students are responsible for all in class announcements and material whether absence is excused or unexcused. Missed assignments will not be made up. In certain cases (emergencies) the score will be dropped. All other cases receive a score of zero. Four or more unexcused absences will result in a zero score for the attendance/participation grade. Less than four unexcused absences will reduce the grade accordingly.

Access:

In accordance with university policy, if you have a documented disability and require accommodations to obtain equal access to this course, please contact the instructor during the first week of the semester. Disabilities must be documented through the Office of Student Disability Services located in the Michael Schwartz Center.

Grading:

POINTS Exam 200 (31%) Attendance/Participation 50 (8%) Assignments 100 (15%)

Current Events 100 (15%) Final Project/Paper 200 (31%) Total 650 (100%)

The following scale indicates the minimum course percentage required for each letter grade:

Letter-grade determinations will be made on the following percentage basis (your score rounded to the nearest whole number): A >93; A- 90-92; B+ 87-89; B 83-86; B- 80-82; C+ 77-79; C 73-76; C- 70-72; D+ 67-69; D 60-66 F <60. A lower curve may be substituted at the discretion of the instructor. Grade curving is only done at the end of the term for final grades. Do not try to anticipate the curve - target the score that will get you the desired grade on the straight scale above. Students are welcome at any time to inquire into their current grade status.

Grading Miscellaneous:

No "extra credit" will be considered. I often am requested to provide extra credit work to students who are not satisfied with their current scores. Although I appreciate the willingness to do extra work, the concept of extra credit does not function in courses where a curve may be applied to the final grades. In this environment, students are penalized if they do not do the extra credit work, which should not be the case.

"Incompletes" and "In Progress" grades will only be given in cases where unforeseeable and unavoidable circumstances have made it impossible to complete the work required for the course in time. Although I do understand that many of you work, have family obligations, and may be taking other courses, you are expected to adjust your course loads so you can allot sufficient time to the courses you are taking. If you choose to overload yourself, you will have to live with the consequences.

That said, please contact me with any problems you are having with the course. I may not be able to offer you extra credit or an incomplete but I will do anything in my power (that is ethical and upholds the academic integrity of myself and the university) to make this course a positive and successful learning experience for all students who are willing to put in the effort required.

TENTATIVE SCHEDULE: Week Topics Readings (others will be added)

Jan 12, 14

Course Introduction

What is an ‘emerging technology’? What is an innovation? What does adoption and diffusion mean?

 Diffusion.ppt

 Innovation.ppt

Jan 21

Current research concerning adoption of emerging technologies. Technology acceptance models…what can we learn from them?

Assignment # 1 Due.

 Venkatesh et al. 2003 (do not focus on the statistics and methodology – look at the models).

 Cloud Computing Case

Jan 26, 28

Determinants of organizational innovation. The first mover paradox. Crossing the chasm.

(Lots of reading so no written assignment due.)

 Damanpour, 1991 (again, do not get bogged down in the stats)

 Christensen I

 Christensen II

 Linowes (Summary of Moore’s “Crossing the Chasm)

Feb 02, 04

Knowledge and Innovation: Absorptive Capacity.

Post-Adoption Usage Issues (e.g. what exactly is “usage”?): Assimilation Gaps.

Assignment # 2 Due.

 Xerox Case Handout

 Cohen and Levinthal, 1990

 Fichman & Kemerer, 1999

Feb 09, 11

Post-Adoption Usage Issues: Discontinuance Integrating Technology and Strategy

Assignment # 3 Due.

 TBA

 Ambidextruous - HBR

Feb 16, 18

Design and Evolution of a Technology Strategy

Assignment # 4 Due.

 Cegielski, Reithel, & Rebman, 2005

 Kohli & Melville, 2009

Feb 23, 25

Enactment of Technology Strategy: Developing the Firm's Innovative Capabilities.

 TBA

Mar 02, 04

Enactment of Technology Strategy: Developing the Firm's Innovative Capabilities.

 TBA

Mar 09, 11

Selection of Student Emerging Technology Topic and Project: Introduction

Mar 16, 18

Midterm Exam

Mar 23, 25

Spring Break

Mar 30, Apr 01

Specific Emerging Technologies – all students present their course project proposals. Proposals due at class time on Mar 30th.

This section on down will have few assigned readings – you will read a lot for your project.

Apr 06, 08

Specific Emerging Technologies – selected student and instructor presentations and student/instructor project consultation.

Apr 13, 15

Specific Emerging Technologies – selected student and instructor presentations and student/instructor project consultation.

Apr 20, 22

Specific Emerging Technologies – selected student and instructor presentations and student/instructor project consultation.

Apr 27, 29

Specific Emerging Technologies – selected student and instructor presentations and student/instructor project consultation.

May 07

10:15 am - 12:30 pm

Project Presentations – Final Projects Due

The Following Policies Apply to All Students in this Course:

A. Students attending the course who do not have the proper prerequisite risk being deregistered from the class.

Students have responsibility to ensure they are properly enrolled in classes. You are advised to review your official class schedule (using Student Tools on FlashLine) during the first two weeks of the semester to ensure you are properly enrolled in this class and section. Should you find an error in your class schedule, you have until Sunday, January 25 , 2015 to correct the error. If registration errors are not corrected by this date and you continue to attend and participate in classes for which you are not officially enrolled, you are advised now that you will not receive a grade at the conclusion of the semester for any class in which you are not properly registered.

B. Academic honesty: Cheating means to misrepresent the source, nature, or other conditions of your academic work (e.g., tests, papers, projects, assignments) so as to get undeserved credit. In addition, it is considered to be cheating when one cooperates with someone else in any such misrepresentation. The use of the intellectual property of others without giving them appropriate credit is a serious academic offense. It is the University's policy that cheating or plagiarism result in receiving a failing grade for the work or course. Repeat offenses result in dismissal from the University.

C. For Spring 2015, the course withdrawal deadline is Sunday, March 22 , 2015.

D. Students with disabilities:

University policy 3342-3-01.3 requires that students with disabilities be provided reasonable accommodations to ensure their equal access to course content. If you have a documented disability and require accommodations, please contact the instructor at the beginning of the semester to make arrangements for necessary classroom adjustments. Please note, you must first verify your eligibility for these accommodations through Student Accessibility Services (contact 330-672-3391 or visit http://www.kent.edu/sas/index.cfm for more information on registration procedures).