Weatherhead School of Management
Case Western Reserve University
MBAC 423 — Information Design and Management
Summer 2005
instructor:
email:
office:
voice:
fax:
web site:
office hours:
Fred Collopy
collopy@cwru.edu
527 Peter B. Lewis Building
368-2144
368-4776
collopy.case.edu
posted on web site and by appointment
Objectives
Today it is self-evident that information and information technology are fundamental to
the practice of general management. The Management of Information Technology
component of the EMBA curriculum is designed to improve your understanding of both
information and the technology that supports it. Information technology supports all
business functions. From their genesis as automated accounting systems, information
systems have evolved to become the core of (and sometimes the impediment to) many
organizations’ competitive strategies. We will study both the challenges and the
opportunities that are the result of this pervasiveness.
Information systems are among the most complex systems in the world. As a
consequence people who have studied them have learned lessons that are applicable to
other complex systems, such as economies and organizations. We will approach our
understanding of information systems in a way that will keep an eye out for techniques
and insights that generalize to these.
We will investigate the strategic and operational use and value of information technology
in organizations. More specifically we will explore the role of information technology in
the strategy and management of organizations, and develop the skills to assess the
opportunities and challenges that result. The course will also help you become fluent with
and comfortable addressing the issues relating to the management of the IT function and
its resources.
Materials
A CaseNotes pack containing several cases and articles is available in the bookstore.
Other materials are on the course website.
Grading
Grading will be based equally on contributions to the classroom discussions and an essay.
Classroom Contributions
Much of your learning will occur as you prepare for and participate in class discussions.
Most people in business are evaluated much more on what they say than on what they
write. The classroom gives you the opportunity to hone your discussion and debating
skills. I encourage you to work with others to get ready for each session.
Your contribution will not be evaluated on what you know, but rather on what you
contribute to the class. Effective participation in a discussion has much more to do with
quality than quantity. In other words, using airtime without contributing to the
advancement of the discussion is not rewarded. Nor is mere repetition. A great
contribution is usually sensitive to the context that has developed to that point. It often
takes the analysis to a new level. If you are unfamiliar with this approach to education, a
good way to start is by getting involved early in a case discussion, when things are wide
open and fairly fluid.
Criteria for credit include attendance, punctuality, level of preparation, and
professionalism. I encourage you to engage in critical thinking, to challenge without
showing disrespect and to put forward your ideas for consideration.
Essay
By July 5th, you should turn in a brief (eight to ten page) essay in which you describe and
compare two implementation projects—one successful and one unsuccessful. Ideally
these will be projects that you had personal experience with, in most cases in your former
employment. If possible, you should interview others who have knowledge of these
projects, probably through email.
Policy on Cheating or Plagiarism
The Information Systems department does not tolerate cheating or plagiarism in any
form. Cheating or plagiarism will, at a minimum, result in a grade of ‘F’ for this course.
Ignorance will not be permitted as an excuse. If you are not sure whether or not
something you plan to submit would be considered either cheating or plagiarism, please
do not hesitate to ask me.
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Schedule
Tuesday June 21
J. Scott Armstrong, The systems approach (available online)
Richard J. Boland, Jr., Fordley car park (available online)
1:30–3:15
Systems thinking
Causal thinking teaches us a great deal about how the world works. But systems, which
are often characterized by unclear boundaries, circular causal chains and delayed impacts,
don’t always yield to simple causal logic. Systems thinking has been developed for such
situations.
3:15–5:00
The systems approach
The systems approach serves as a default technique that can be used to begin
understanding and developing a response to almost any complex situation. It starts by
recognizing multiple stakeholders’ objectives, proceeds through identifying measure for
each, imagining alternative ways of achieving them, and only then developing effective
programs.
Discussion questions:
 How could the Fordley car park meeting have been made more productive?
 What are the systems that were discussed during the meeting?
 What systems should be considered?
 What would you recommend?
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Thursday June 23
Peter Checkland & Sue Howell, The information system which won the war
Edward Tufte, Visual and Statistical Thinking: Displays of Evidence for Making
Decisions
Using the Temperature/O-Ring Failure data provided on the course web site, use Excel or
some similar business graphics package to create a graph that allows you to think about
and present that data meaningfully. This work may be done in groups.
1:30–3:15
Sense-making and the soft systems approach
One of the most interesting information systems that anyone has formally studied and
described is the one that Checkland and Howell wrote about in this chapter. It is
interesting because it played such a critical role in the defense of England during the
Second World War. But it is also interesting because there were no computers involved.
In reading their account of the invention and development of this important information
system, we are exposed to principles that are relevant to the development of systems
today—start with a careful account of the purposeful activity, work out what information
is required by the people doing it, collaboratively create support for that work, and use
the system as an opportunity for continuous learning.
Discussion questions:
 What characteristics of this system made it successful?
 What about the way the systems were developed contributed?
 When is the soft systems methodology most likely to be worth using?
3:15–5:00
Gathering and presenting information
One role of managers is to present information to others. Indeed, the value of any
analysis, argument, or opinion can be affected by how it is presented. Sometimes, the
effective presentation of information is all that stands between a good decision and a bad
one. Edward Tufte has written three books on the effective display of quantitative
information. We will look at what he has learned, including some lessons drawn from the
Challenger disaster.
Discussion questions:
 What is wrong with the materials that Thiokol engineers faxed to NASA?
 How could they be improved?
 What could Morton Thiokol managers have done to convince NASA not to
launch?
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Tuesday June 28
Thomas H. Davenport, Information Ecology—Chapter 4, Information Strategy
Davenport, Hammer and Metsisto “How Executives Can Shape Their Company’s
Information Systems,” Harvard Business Review, 1989
Consumer Products International
Biogenetica San Jose ITSA Replacement
After reading the Consumer Products International HR case, write a brief memorandum
to the project’s sponsors with recommendations on how they can improve their proposal.
Convey to them any questions, insights, or recommendations you have for their proposal.
1:30–3:15
Shaping technology strategy & the principles approach
Managers can shape their organization’s technology strategy by recognizing that at the
level of principles technology is not very different from anything else. Principles are
clear, direct statements of an organization’s beliefs about how it wants to use technology
over the long term. They can be very useful in maintaining a strategic perspective while
sorting through the details of technology decisions. We’ll learn what makes good
principles and how to engage managers in a process of articulating them.
3:15–5:00
Making the business case for IT
As with other large projects, information technology projects must compete for limited
capital resources. The criteria for evaluating them can be complex though. Sometimes the
benefits of a system are spread across many business functions or projects or are required
to meet competitive, legal or other pressures.
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Thursday June 30
Michel Avital & Betty Vandenbosch, SAP Implementation at Metalica (Read ONLY
Act 1, Scene 1 and the appendices)
Christensen, The Innovators Dilemma, Introduction & Chapter 1
Online Music Distribution in a Post-Napster World
Write a brief executive oriented memorandum that describes the potential of some
currently emerging technology to be disruptive in an industry that you are familiar with.
1:30–3:15
Information technology and systems implementation
Large system implementation efforts are often contentious and challenging. In addition to
testing cross-functional communication, they often highlight differences in technical and
managerial perspectives. Ethnodrama is used to re-create complex situations filled with
emotion and discovery. This one was produced with only minimal modification to
transcripts of meetings that took place during an actual SAP implementation. It should
help us to understand ERP (enterprise resource planning) systems and implementation
methods, to identify some of the critical success factors for implementing information
systems, to recognize some of the risks to implementation as well as some of the
dynamics that occur among team members, and to appreciate the repercussions that go
beyond the initial system implementation.
Discussion questions:
 How well prepared was Metallica to undertake the implementation of SAP at the
outset of the case?
 What was different about San Diego? How would you assess a successful
implementation?
 What are the risks involved in implementing integrated corporate systems and has
Metallica guarded against them effectively?
3:15–5:00
Disruptive technologies
Technologies can pose threats to whole industries. One hypothesis is that they often do
this by making a lower level of performance available at a lower price to customers that
needs only that. This provides a toehold from which they disrupt the industry.
Discussion questions:
 What about peer-to-peer makes it a potentially disruptive technology?
 What are the pressures that account for revenue declines of the music industry?
How can the relative importance of each be estimated?
 What kinds of business models might effectively be employed in the current
record industry situation?
 How might these same technologies affect other industries?
 What are some other potentially disruptive technologies?
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5/11/05
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