Kennesaw State University
DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE AND INFORMATION SYSTEMS
IS 8700, IS Strategy & Policy
Course Description:
Prerequisites:
A capstone course, which integrates the program's coursework into
comprehensive, IS policies and procedures, which support the
organization's mission. Students will review and evaluate actual
corporate IS strategies in a case-study format
IS 8005 or permission of the MSIS Director.
Textbook and Resources:
Applegate, Lynda M., Austin, Robert D., & McFarlan, F. Warren
(2009). Corporate information strategy and management: Text
and cases. Eighth Edition, Boston: McGraw-Hill Irwin.
Additional articles as assigned by the instructor.
Amoroso, D (2008). Strategic models, Class handout.
Instructor:
These textbook(s) will be used to support the learning outcomes for
this course, through readings, examples, and exercises.
Dr. Donald L. Amoroso
Office:
CL 3005
Email Address:
awoszczy@kennesaw.edu
Phone:
770.423.6005
Learning Outcomes:
As a result of completing this course, students will be able to:
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Understand why IS strategic planning is essential to
organizational success.
List and analyze the full range of benefits and potential pitfalls
associated with the strategic use of IS.
Recognize how an organization establishes the means to
manage IS as an integral part of its approach to strategic
management.
Identify components of the IS strategic plan.
Discuss current issues in IS strategic planning.
Understand how to use strategic models to create a
competitive situation for organizations.
Analyze and critique IS strategy journal articles.
Create a significant “strategic” technology policy focused on
an Asian country.
Understand how to develop a changes document for an ICT in
countries abroad.
Tentative Course Schedule
Note: All assignments due in class at 5:00 pm on date specified.
Topic
Reading Case/Project Due
s
Week
1
Introduction, IT and Strategy
AAM: 1
2
ONLINE: Discussion board on posted topics
3
Strategic models; MODEL: Generic
Strategies
A
Discussion of Li & Fung (A) Case
4
ONLINE: apply Generic Strategies Model
A
Case 1-2: LeapFrog Case Write-up Due
5
IT and the organization; MODEL: Five
Forces
6
ONLINE: apply Five Forces Model
7
Extending the Enterprise; MODEL: Value
Chain
8
ONLINE: apply Value Chain Model
9
Spring Break
10
Making the Case for IT; MODEL: Portfolio
Risk
11
Innovation Project Report (IPR)
Presentations
12
ONLINE: apply Portfolio Risk Model
13
Case I-1: Li & Fung (A) – Practice Case
Due
AAM: 2
A
Discussion of LeapFrog; IPR #1 Due
Case 1-4: Global Healthcare
Exchange Case Due
AAM: 3
Discussion of GHX Case; IPR #2 Due
A
Case 2-3: Ford Motor Company Case
Due
AAM:
4,10
Discussion of Ford Motor Case; IPR #3
Due
Articles
All IPR Presentation Materials Due
A
Case 3-1: Cathay Pacific Case Write-up
Due
Measuring Innovation; MODEL: Strategy &
Internet
Articles
14
ONLINE: apply Strategy and Internet Model
A
Discussion of Cathay Pacific; ITP #1
Due
Case 3-2: Royal Caribbean Case Writeup Due
15
Royal Caribbean Case Discussion
16
Cultural Strategy Report (CSR)
Presentations
FINAL EXAM
Instructional Technology Policy (ITP)
Presentations
Articles
Discussion of Royal Caribbean; ITP #2
Due
All ITP Presentation Materials Due
ASSIGNMENTS:
International Technology Policy Project (ITP) / 15%
In this project students will use published research to write a research paper arguing for ICT (informationcommunication-technology) infrastructure changes in an Asian country (to be assigned). You will need to
focus on the technology industry base in the country assigned and thoroughly understand the components of
that country, large IT organizations of the country, financials of the industry, competitiveness of the industry,
and recommend significant changes needed for the country’s ICT.
Participation / Presentations / Discussion Board Activity / 10%
Since this is a hybrid class, student participation in the classroom and in discussion board activity is essential
for success. In the classroom, meaningful contribution will be evaluated as it pertains to course topics and
case content. Silence and questions will not work in a case class. In the discussion board, students will be
evaluated on participation, timeliness of submissions, thoughtful analyses of the discussion board topics, and
communication skills. A critical component of all graduate courses is an active and lively debate and
discussion. Feel free to offer your comments and to challenge (in a positive way please!) other class members
on their observations during case study and/or other discussion board postings in WebCT. If you do not
participate much, it is impossible to get an A or B in the course. If you cannot make a class, you must notify
the instructor in advance.
Case Analysis / 60%
Students will be required to conduct case analyses for cases in the class and present a write-up based upon
thoughtful and timely analysis and contribution to the discussion. In addition to the individual submission of a
case study, students will be asked to engaged in group collaborative discussion during class in order to bring
together meaningful case discussion. Traditional case analysis uses some basic questions to drive the
analysis:
 What is the problem, update, strategy? The basic assumption is that there is no decision to be made if
there are no problems. To understand the problem, we need to know the business of the firm
(business model), how well the firm is doing (market share, profits, etc.), industry and competition.
What is (are) the decisions being considered and why? As the course progresses, we will see
analytical tools and frameworks to improve your analysis of the problem definition.
 What are the alternatives and recommendations? There is always the “do nothing” alternative. If
everything went well (rosy scenario) what would we like to do? If everything went wrong (doomsday
scenario) what should we do? What can we do in between the rosy and the doomsday scenarios?
What are the pros and cons of each alternative? What criteria should we use to select the most
suitable alternative in the case? Why are you recommending one alternative versus another? How
does this alternative satisfy your criteria? How will you implement the alternative you selected? How
much will each alternative cost?
Each case analysis should have the following headings and sections:
1. Problem definition
2. Research on where the company is now and competition
3. Strategic Model Analysis
4. Alternatives (follows from model analysis)
5. Technology and costs
6. Recommendation
Your case analysis should look like an industry white paper. The format should be single-spaced, 10-point
font, 2-3 columns, charts and graphics, color, headings and appropriate bulleted information. Grading of the
cases (as part of the 60%) will be as follows:
 Li & Fung (practice case)
 LeapFrog – 7%
 GHX – 8%
 Ford Motor Company – 10%
 Cathay Pacific – 15%
 Royal Caribbean – 20%
Innovation Project Report (IPR) / 15%
As part of your course assignments, prepare an individual report on the topic based upon the use of
innovation for creating a strategic competitive advantage. The report should be at least four full, single-spaced
pages plus annotated bibliographies, model, survey instrument, and references. In addition, attach a copy of
the articles used for reference. Annotated bibliographies are usually 3-4 single-spaced pages in length and
include models, hypotheses and copies of analysis tables.
How to research? Please use the library’s online databases to search for articles (not Google). The quality of
the articles that you select will represent a portion of your report grade. Just searching the Internet will rarely
provide an article with adequate technical content. The ten articles should be empirical studies published in a
refereed journal.
You will be required to turn in the project deliverables in pieces (due dates are identified in the course
schedule):
1. Copies of refereed articles for review
2. Annotated bibliography first article
3. Aggregated research model with constructs and hypotheses
4. Conclusions and final report
Prepare a short presentation based upon your final paper. Every article (PDF and full text), annotated
bibliography and all attachments should be written to a CD to be turned in at the end of class.
ASSESSMENT:
ITP Project
Participation/Presentations/DB
Case Analysis
Innovation Project Report
Total
15%
10%
60%
15%
100%