The prerequisite is either MBA 8473, CIS 8110, or MBA 8120/8220. 

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

This course examines the design of an organization’s structure and business processes.  The course primarily focuses on the application of information technologies to transform organizations and improve their performance.  Methods of introducing and implementing information technologies to enable organizational change are examined

COURSE OBJECTIVES:

Upon completion of this course, students should be able:

• To use information technology (IT) for redesigning business processes and organizations
• To understand the assumptions embedded in changing business with IT
• To evaluate problems in the planning and implementation of organizational change
• To assess the relationship of process reengineering to other initiatives to improve the performance of organizations
• To evaluate a variety of approaches to using IT to improve organizations
• To understand the behavioral and political issues surrounding the use of IT in organizational change.

COURSE SYLLABUS:

The full course syllabus is available on WebCT and that version is considered the actual syllabus. This brief mini-syllabus is distributed in class to give an overview of the course, readings, and evaluation criteria. See WebCT for the real syllabus (http://webct.gsu.edu). This copy expires September 8th.

EVALUATION:

	Attendance:	14%
	Class Participation:	20%
	Background Survey:	1% (if on time)
	First Exam:	20%
	Second Exam:	20%
	Group Project:	25%

Attendance & Participation. The course is designed primarily around case discussions, which cannot succeed without extensive preparation and participation by each student. It is important to attend all class sessions. If you have a personal emergency or work-related travel which will prevent you from attending class, please notify the professor in advance (or at your earliest convenience). Attendance and participation will be recorded each class, and count for over 1/3 of the course grade. If you know you will be missing any classes, please notify the professor in advance.

Exams. Exams will feature a mix of case analyses and objective questions on readings and lectures. The objective question portion will use WebCT’s quiz module. All exams are distributed in WebCT.

Final Project. The final project requires analysis of a real organization and a proposed design for improving a business process, using appropriate IT applications. Projects should follow the format prescribed by the handout titled "Project Template," which will be made available on WebCT at the mid-semester point. Projects should be performed by teams of 3 or 4 students, which you will organize during the class sessions in early September.

COURSE MATERIALS:

This course will use WebCT as the primary medium for distribution of materials, as well as for communication among students, and between the Professor and students. All readings that I am permitted to distribute for free will be available to download from the course WebCT site. For Harvard Business School case studies (which we cannot distribute for free), there is a course packet available for you to purchase from XanEdu Online Publishing (www.xanedu.com). You will purchase a course packet that says “CIS 8160 summer 2005.” (I am reusing the same course packet that I used last summer, when the course was numbered 8160). To be able to view your XanEdu files, you also need to download a digital rights management (DRM) program called File Open, which is a companion program to Adobe Acrobat. For detailed instructions to purchase access to the XanEdu reading packet, please see the link on WebCT.

There is a short book, which we will cover during the mid-to-latter part of the semester: Redesigning Enterprise Processes for E-Business, by Omar El Sawy, McGraw-Hill/Irwin, 2000. Each group should purchase at least one copy of the book before September 15. It is available through Amazon.com or at Half.com. Some book chapters will be available to download and read from XanEdu before that date.

Outline of Topics, Readings, and Exercises for Second Half of Semester:

8/25 Class 1. Introduction to the Course

·        In-class Exercise: Eye Need Help - Now! (this exercise will be distributed in class)

·        M. Hammer, "Reengineering Work: Don't Automate - Obliterate," Harvard Business Review, 1990.

·        T.H. Davenport and D. Stoddard, “Reengineering: Business Change of Mythic Proportions?” MIS Quarterly, 1994, 121-127.

9/01 Class 2. Business Process Reengineering

·        Pacific Bell: Centrex Reengineering (Harvard Bus. School case in XanEdu packet)

·        Bashein, Markus & Riley "Preconditions for BPR Success,” Information Systems Management, Spring 1994, 7-13.

·        Silver, Markus & Beath, “The IT Interaction Model,” MIS Quarterly, 1995. Excerpt from the original article at:www.bnet.fordham.edu/public/ics/msilver/itimhdo.htm

·        K.D. Sandberg, "Reengineering Tries a Comeback -- This Time for Growth, Not Just for Cost Savings,” Harvard Management Update, November, 2001, 3-6.

9/08 Class 3. Overview of Process Modeling

·        Chapter 1 (pp. 3-24) and 2 (pp. 25-43): El Sawy, Redesigning Enterprise Processes.

·        M-C. Boudreau and D. Robey, “Coping with Contradictions in Business Process Reengineering,” Information Technology & People, 9(4), 1996, 40-57.

·        Begin forming student teams for project

9/15 Class 4. Process Analysis

·        Guest Lecturer: Prof Arjan Raven, including demonstration of Holosofx software

·        Chapters 3 and 4: El Sawy, Redesigning Enterprise Processes for E-Business. (please note that some pages in Chap. 3 & 4 are deliberately omitted from the XanEdu pack) These include Chapter 3: pages 72-76; also Chapter 4: pages 77-78; 85; 87-88; 104.

9/22 Class 5. Project Communication, "Mental Models," and Process Change

·        Cisco Systems: Implementing ERP (Harvard Bus. School case in XanEdu packet)

·        D. Robey, J.W. Ross, and M.-C. Boudreau, "Learning to Implement Enterprise Systems: An Exploratory Study," Journal of Management Information Systems, 19, 1, 2002, 17-46.

·        Optional: M.J. Gallivan, “Meaning to Change: How Diverse Stakeholders Interpret Organizational Communication about Change Initiatives,” IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication, 2001, 44: 4, 243-266.

9/29 Class 6. IT and Learning in Organizations

·        Mann Gulch Exercise (exercise to be distributed in class)

·        Watch video about Mann-Gulch disaster (PBS’ Fire Wars)

·        D. Robey, N.A. Wishart, and A.G. Rodriquez-Diaz, “Merging the Metaphors for Organizational Improvement: Business Process Reengineering as a Component of Organizational Learning," Accounting, Management and IT, 5(1), 1995, 23-39.

·        Optional: Read this after class: K. Weick, “Drop Your Tools: An Allegory for Organizational Studies,” Administrative Science Quarterly, 1996, 41: 2, 301-313.

10/06 Class 7. Cultural Factors in Managing Process Improvement

·        R. Davison and M.G. Martinsons, “Empowerment or Enslavement? A Case of Process-based Organizational Change in Hong Kong,” Information Technology & People, 15, 2002, 42-59.

·        M.G. Martinsons and P.S. Hempel, "Chinese Business Processing Reengineer¬ing," International Journal of Information Management, 18(6), 1998, 393-407.

·        Xerox Hong Kong: Sales Activity Management Process (in XanEdu packet)

·        Optional: M.J. Gallivan, “The Importance of Organizational Culture Fit,” Failure and Lessons Learned in Information Technology Management, 1997, 243-257.

10/13 Class 8. Midterm Exam Session (take-home midterm exam due on 7/06)

·        In-class video about the folly of consultant-led organization change (Office Space)

·        “Making a Go of It Alone: Some Companies Reengineer without Consultants,” Reengineering Resource Center, http://www.reengineering.com/articles/aug96/goalone.htm

·        View Powerpoint slideshow about problems with consultant-led change

·        Optional: H. Karsten, “Collaboration and collaborative information technologies: A Review of the Evidence,” Database for Advances in IS, 2001, 30: 2, 44-65.

10/20 Class 9. Redesigning Unstructured Business Processes

·        M.T. Hansen, N. Nohria & T. Tierney, “What's Your Strategy for Managing Knowledge,” Harvard Business Review, 1999, 106-116.

·        Managing Knowledge and Learning at NASA – Jet Propulsion Laboratory (Harvard Business School case)

·        Optional: R. Scheepers, K. Venkitachalam, & M.R. Gibbs, “Knowledge Strategy in Organiza¬tions: Refining the Model by Hansen, Nohria & Tierney,” Journal of Strategic Information Systems, 2004, 201-222.

10/27 Class 10. Process Analysis 2 and Designing Virtual Organizations

·        L. Prusak and D. Cohen, “How to Invest in Social Capital,” Harvard Business Review, June 2001, 86-93.

·        Internet Securities, Inc.: Building a Business in Turbulent Times (XanEdu packet)

·        Short articles from FastCompany on “Sanity” (SAS) and “Insanity” (Trilogy Corp)

·        Optional: L. Willcocks, J. Hindle, D. Feeny & M. Lacity, “IT and BPR: The Knowledge Potential,” Information Systems Management, 2004, 7-15.

11/03 Class 11. Changing Employee Incentives for the Process-Centered Organizations

·        Short Group Presentations to introduce projects (about 10-12 minutes each)

·        Process Design Exercise (to be distributed in class; no reading before-hand)

·        M. Hammer and S. Stanton, "How Process Enterprises Really Work," Harvard Business Review, November-December, 1999, 108-118

·        A. Majchrzak & Q. Wang, “Breaking the Functional Mind-Set in Process Organizations,” Harvard Business Review, 1996, 93-99.

·        Optional: S. Sarker & A.S. Lee, “Using a Case Study to Test the Role of Three Key Social Enablers in ERP Implementation,” Information & Management, 2003, 40: 3, 813-829.

11/10 Class 12. Virtual Organizations, Virtual Teams, and Hybrid Teams

·        Town & Country Exercise by Dan Robey (in-class exercise, but read before class)

·        A. Majchrzak, A. Malhotra, J. Stamps, and J. Lipnack, “Can Absence Make a Team Grow Stronger?” Harvard Business Review, May 2004.

11/17 Class 13. The Challenge of Managing Global IT Outsourcing Processes

·        T. Davenport, “The Coming Commoditization of Processes,” Harvard Business Review, June 2005.

·        K. Kaiser & S. Hawk, “The Evolution of Offshore Software Development: From Outsourcing to Co-Sourcing,” MISQ Executive, 2004.

·        J. Liu & M.J. Gallivan, Offshore Outsourcing: What Are Its Implications for China? Submitted to Information Technology for Development, 2004; only pp. 1-11 required.

11/24 No Class. Thanksgiving Holiday – No Class.

12/01 Class 14. Other Topics in Managing Global IT Outsourcing Processes

12/08 Class 15. Summary and Recap of Key Issues

·        Final Project Presentations in Class – approximately 25-30 minutes each

·        Final Written Group Projects Due in Class

12/08 Exam Week.Final Exam Distributed via WebCT and Due During Exam Week