MTM 505/CVC 431
Technology, Cross-Cultural Organizations and the Poor
(Appropriate Technology)
Mission Statement
To educate and equip others to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ and to meet human needs in His name through
technology in both lay and professional ministry contexts.
Instructor:
Andrew Sears
Email:
andrew@techmission.org
Phone:
617-282-9798 x101
Course Description
This course is an introduction to Technology, Cross-Cultural Organizations and the Poor. This course will look at
business approaches and strategies for serving these groups that have been called "the majority world," "the twothirds world," "the other 90%," "the base/bottom of the pyramid" and "the poor." This course will analyze the
cultural and power implications of key trends such that have major implications for the poor and to create
organizational strategies to respond to these trends. It will help students apply principles of cross-cultural strategy
in developing organizational strategies and new product designs. It will help student understand the digital divide,
knowledge divide to be able to develop strategies for organizations to effectively respond. The final project will
enable students to analyze case studies of organizations and business strategies that were successful in serving the
poor and apply that toward organizational strategy.
Course Objectives
1 Understand low-cost business models and common strategies applied by businesses serving the Base of the
Pyramid and poor communities and apply those into organizational strategy.
2 Analyze the cultural and power implications of key trends such as social/peer production, the long tail,
mobile and online education that have major implications for the poor and to create organizational
strategies to respond to these trends.
3 Apply principles of cross-cultural ministry in developing organizational strategies and new product
designs.
4 Understand the digital divide, knowledge divide to be able to develop strategies for organizations to
effectively respond.
5 Analyze case studies of organizations and business strategies that were successful in serving the poor and
apply that toward organizational strategy.
NOTE: Grading in this course will reflect the student’s demonstration of their ability to achieve the above
course objectives.
Required Reading
Prahalad, C. K. (2009). The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid: Eradicating Poverty Through Profits,
Revised and Updated 5th Anniversary Edition (Revised.). Wharton School Publishing. 432 p. ISBN: 0-13700927-5.
Recommended Texts
London, T., & Hart, S. L. (2010). Next Generation Business Strategies for the Base of the Pyramid: New
Approaches for Building Mutual Value (1st ed.). FT Press. ISBN 0-13-704789-4
Benkler, Yochai. The Wealth of Networks: How Social Production Transforms Markets and Freedom.
(available free online) Yale University Press, 2007. 528 pages. ISBN: 0300125771
Brynjolfsson, E., & McAfee, A. (2011). Race Against The Machine: How the Digital Revolution is Accelerating
Innovation, Driving Productivity, and Irreversibly Transforming Employment and the Economy. Digital
Frontier Press. 98 pages. ISBN: 0984725113
Estimated Activities and Times
● Reading is measured at reading 25 textbook pages per hour and reading 20 journal pages per hour Total
reading for this course is 60 hours.
● Listening to recorded audio/video elements or live sessions (in-class equivalent) - 14.00 hours
● Discussion & Assignments (in-class equivalent) - 24 hours
● Final projects - 58.00 hours
Forum Expectations
We expect that students will spend at least one-two hours to post one initial message, one hour to read posts from
5+ students (presumes that a student doesn't read every post), and 60 minutes to post two reply messages. Forum
grading will be based on the following items:
● Forum posts should be 400-600 words.
● Students must demonstrate comprehension of the material and achievement of the related learning
objectives related to that forum.
● Students should demonstrate critical thinking and use outside material researched beyond the assigned
readings.
● The goal of course forums is to have scholarly dialog among peers combining both the strengths of inperson class discussion and providing concise, professional quality writing (similar to a well thought-out
academic or scholarly blog) and responding in a way that adds value to others writings
● Students are not required to use APA format for references in forum posts, but instead students are
encouraged to hyperlink relevant information when possible.
● Grading rubric: forums use the same high level grading rubric as for the final project including
● Content Knowledge (25%)
● Critical Thinking (25%). Note that critical thinking is very different from criticism.
● Communication (15%)
● Application (35%)
Final Project Instructions
Final Project Formatting
The final project uses the final project template linked in the online course. Except for Class Forum posts, all
written assignments should be double-spaced using 12-point font and 1-inch margins, and include a relevant
heading (name, date, assignment title), and subheadings where appropriate, which can be viewed in a Navigation
Pane. Please correct spelling and grammatical errors before submitting all assignments. Spelling, grammar, and
writing style will be taken into consideration in evaluating written work. Assignments should be submitted to the
Course Dropbox within Moodle. Every assignment should carry a filename that MUST include your name (Student
Name) and the assignment number, e.g. Jan_Smith_Minor1.doc
Written work must be reflective, balanced, analysis and be well-supported by references. Deep familiarity with the
biblical text will be appreciated as will the ability to showcase extensive theological reading and reflection and to
critically examine an issue from many points of view.
Students should use APA format for references. It is recommended that students use a bibliography tool such as
Endnote, Zotoro (free), Mendeley (free), etc.
Chapter 1. Literature Review (6-8 pages)
Write a review of the literature and media presented in this course. You should plan on approximately 8
double-spaced pages to review the materials. Dedicate one paragraph to each of the readings/videos
below. Your review should cover the following:
 What are the big ideas or takeaways from the material?
 How do you see those ideas being applied to 1) yourself and/or 2) your organization and/or 3) the
Christian world in general?
Chapter 2. Project (20-25 pages)
Your boss has decided to develop a new business unit/program division that will be focused exclusively
on using technology to serve the poor. He has asked you to use the knowledge you have gained this
course to form the basis of a research project where you will develop a strategic plan for how your
organization should approach using technology to serve the poor. If your organization already is focused
on using technology to serve the poor, then apply the principles in this course toward developing a
strategy for how your division or program can utilize these principles to better serve the poor.
Some specific sections that you might consider including are:
1. Develop a strategy and plan to improve your own access and your organization’s access to
knowledge and innovations.
2. Develop a strategy and plan to improve your own ability and your organization’s ability to pass on
knowledge and innovations to the poor and organizations serving the poor
3. Identify models case studies of effective organizations and models of using technology to serve the
poor. Conduct research on these organizations and include that research in your project as well as
lessons that might be applied to your organizations. Example case studies might be computerized
adult learning centers, youth programs using technology, corporate philanthropy, secular
nonprofit tech initiatives, Christian tech initiatives, etc.
The end goal is to product a useful document for yourself and/or your organization related to
information technology and the poor. Some example projects include:
 Adult Education Center or Youth Tech Program. Work with your instructor to identify a few of the
top adult education centers or youth tech programs in ministries and interview them and collect
resources on: 1) How their program works 2) What resources they use 3) Collect any documents
they are willing to share curriculum, templates, presentations, grant proposals. Then take this
material and develop a 1) Presentation proposal to senior management 2) A manual or plan you
can use to improve the operations of your organization’s program.
 Technology & Missions Organization. Evaluate your organizations current strategy in working
with the poor and the “majority world.” How can some of the principles in this course be applied?
Then take this material and develop a 1) Presentation proposal to senior management 2) A
manual or plan you can use to improve the operations of your organization’s program.
 Christian Technology Consulting Company. Identify models of corporate social responsibility of
other agencies in a similar line of business. Develop a strategy and plan for your organization to
more effectively serve the poor. Aspects you might want to consider are: discounts for certain
types of organization, technologies appropriate for the poor, ways to reduce cost structure for
serving the poor, how you will do technology transfer and training to improve the tech capabilities
of the organizations you are working with, etc.
Note on alternative media formats. If you prefer to do some portion of your project in an alternative
media format (Web, Powerpoint), then the page requirements should be such that they take the same
amount of time as producing the content in a paper format.
Chapter 3. Self-Evaluation, Reflection and Suggestions (2-3 pages)
This section is to provide room for self-evaluation, reflection and suggestions including the following
elements:
1. Reflects what you learned during this course and whether it met what you anticipated based on
the course’s desired learning outcomes (goals or objectives), as well as your personal goals for the
course.
2. We view all our whole program as an “open source” project where we are looking for students to
contribute to make it better for the next group of students. What resources, materials or people
would you suggest that might be able to contribute to this course? Any other suggestions for
improvement?
Late Policy
Coursework is scheduled over a seven-day week to provide structure for students residing on six continents. The
weekly schedule begins on Monday at 12:01AM US ET (USA Eastern Time), and ends on Sunday at 11:59PM US ET.
● Assignments submitted more than 1 week late (after the following Sunday) will lose 1 letter grade (i.e. "A"
becomes a "B")
● Assignments submitted more than 2 weeks late will lose 2 letter grades (i.e. "A" becomes a "C")
● All assignments and quizzes must be submitted by the week after the term ends or they will receive a
failing grade
● Extensions: professors may grant an extension if the student has a prolonged sickness or major family
crisis. The length of the extension is up to the professor’s discretion.
● Applications for extension must be submitted via the online extension request form at least 2 or more days
before the due actual date. If an extension is granted, no other courses may be taken until that course is
completed.
Week Eight is the last class session with assignments posted. All course work must be completed by the student
and submitted to the instructor by Friday of the tenth week of the course. No credit will be given for work
submitted after this date.
For more academic policies, please visit: http://www.cityvision.edu/cms/cv/academic-policies