MIS 40095 Spring 2010 Datta

Syllabus

Special Topics in MIS: Global Project Management and Team Dynamics

Professor: Dr. Pratim Datta

Semester: Spring 2010

Class Meetings: Tuesdays and Thursdays 12:30 to 1:45 pm

Office Hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays 10:30 am to 12:15 pm or via email (pdatta@kent.edu) to schedule an appointment.

Phone: (330) 672-1229.

Room: BSA 324A

Text: No textbook required for the first half. Textbook to be announced, if any, after the 1^st Midterm. Readings, Slides and Cases (will be provided)

Global Project Management

This course provides an overview of global project management from initiation through planning, execution, closing and with general emphasis on control. It is designed to augment the basics of domestic project management with information pertinent to the global project environment. The course begins with a practical look at investigating the cultural environment in order to understand the context of managing a global project. The course will further cover: Step-by-step initiation of a global project with emphasis on organizational culture as it relates to global projects; Global project planning aspects that augment typical domestic project planning (i.e. managing foreign offices and multinational teams); Fundamentals of communicating with different cultures; Familiarization with global law as it applies to international projects; Global contracts and business alliances; Generalities of negotiating in different cultures; Basic concepts for control and close-out of global projects.

More than ever, major decisions in global projects are made by collections of individuals, and groups and teams are responsible for executing tasks in the workplace. What happens when members of these groups get together to reach decisions and get things done? In this course, we will open up the black box of group functioning. We will also try to reveal the fundamental building blocks of group decision-making processes- a key issue in global project management.

STUDENT RESPONSIBILITIES AND COURSE FORMAT (refer to the Schedule for the calendar and specifics):

§         Class Attendance and Case Discussions: You are expected to be punctual for each class meeting. An absence, excused or unexcused, does not relieve you of any course requirements. Since attending class is a necessary condition for participation in other activities, you cannot afford to miss classes. You are expected to read the assigned text material before coming to class in order to make sessions more meaningful and productive. I am not too keen about makeups as they are unfair to other students.

§         Case, Article Discussions and Assignments: You are expected to read, analyze, and discuss all the assigned cases. You can be called upon at any time to present and discuss the assigned cases. Case presentations and discussions will focus on analyzing key issues and strategies for resolving those issues. Your quizzes, assignments, and exams will examine your understanding of the cases and articles. So please be prepared. The discussion and assignments will count towards 25% of your grade. 

§         Midterm Exams: There will be two midterm exams to test your knowledge of the topics covered in class. Midterm exams will comprise of multiple choice, true/false, fill-in-the-blanks, short answer questions, and one essay question. The midterm format will be discussed in detail later. The Midterms will count towards 30% of your overall grade.

§         Quizzes: There will be five (5) announced quizzes over the semester. Students will have the option of dropping the quiz with the lowest score. Quizzes will count towards 25% of your overall grade.

§        Presentation: Students will present in groups on one topic that will be assigned later in the semester. The presentation (called I Did Not Know That (IDNKT)) will deal with a latest issue in global project management. Students will write a short paper (6 pages, 1.5 spaced) on the issue and present it to the class using MS Powerpoint slides. Each presentation will last 15-20 minutes (depending on the number of groups). Students will vote on the best presentation and the winner will receive 5 bonus points out of total of 100. The presentation and paper will count towards 20 percent of your grades.

Students' Final Grade will be based on the following percentages:

The final course letter grade will be assigned according to the following percentage breakdown of total points earned as stipulated by Kent State University (+ and - will also be assigned).

The Following Policies Apply to All Students in this Course 
 

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

2. Students have responsibility to ensure they are properly enrolled in classes.  You are advised to review your official class schedule (using Student Tools/Flashfast) 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 Friday, January 30, 2009 to correct the error with your advising office.  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.

3. 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.  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.

4. Please make sure you know the course withdrawal deadline. Withdrawal before the deadline results in a "W" on the official transcript; after the deadline a grade must be calculated and reported.

5. 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 through Student Accessibility Services (contact 330-672-3391 or visit www.kent.edu/sas <http://www.registrars.kent.edu/disability/>  for more information on registration procedures; ).

Schedule (Tentative- assignments TBA over the semester)

Team Dynamics Exercise-LOST AT SEA [1]

You are adrift on a private yacht in the South Pacific.  As a consequence of a fire of unknown origin, much of the yacht and its contents have been destroyed.  The yacht is now slowly sinking.  Your location is unclear because of the destruction of critical navigational equipment and because you and the crew were distracted trying to bring the fire under control.  Your best estimate is that you are approximately one thousand miles south-south-west of the nearest land.

Below is a list of fifteen items that are intact and undamaged by the fire.  In addition to these items you have: 

• A serviceable, rubber life raft with oars which is large enough to carry yourself, the crew and all the items listed below.
• The total contents of all survivors’ pockets are a package of cigarettes, several books of matches and five one-dollar bills.

Your task is to rank the 15 items in terms of their importance for survival.  Using the scoring sheet provided place number one (1) by the most important, and so on through number 15, the least important.

·         Sextant

·         Shaving mirror

·         Five-gallon can of water

·         Mosquito netting

·         One case of U.S. Army C rations

·         Maps of the Pacific ocean

·         Seat cushion (flotation device approved by the Coast Guard)

·         Two gallon can of oil-gas mixture

·         Small am/fm radio

·         Shark repellent

·         Twenty square feet of opague plastic

·         One quart of 160-proof rum

·         Fifteen feet of nylon rope

·         Two boxes of chocolate bars

·         Fishing kit

You and the other members of your ” design team” will take this test individually, without knowing each other’s answers, then you will re-take the test as a group.  When working as a group you will share your individual solutions and reach a consensus - one ranking for each of the 15 items that best satisfies all group members.

LOST AT SEA – Scoring Sheet

Experts’ ranking will be provided at the completion of the exercise. Error points are the absolute difference between your ranking and the survival experts’ ranking (disregard plus or minus signs).