| |
|
|
|
88-344: Organizational Intelligence in the Information Age
Course Data:
When: Spring 2000; MWF 9:30-10:20
Where: Doherty Hall A317
Who: Professor Larry Heimann
319E Porter Hall, 8-8211
lheimann@andrew.cmu.edu
Course Description
Across all organizations
people find that the actions they take affect, and are affected by, the technology, norms,
procedures, culture, and members of the organization. In order to navigate through this
organizational world, agents need a better understanding of social and organizational
intelligence. How do organizations (and the people who populate them) acquire and then
process information? In what ways have new technologies affected the norms, procedures,
and culture of organizations? How do leaders successfully guide their organizations through
a world where new information and new technologies are constantly being produced? This course
is about information assessment and analysis in organizations, and the way organizations are
transformed by technology.
Course Requirement
Grades in the course will be determined by three take-home exams (20% each), a consulting
project (30%) and class participation and quizzes (10%). Each of these factors is discussed
further below.
Take-Home Exams
There will be three take home exams during the semester.
You will have one week to complete exams 1 & 2. I am granting extra time on exam 3 because
I understand the end-of-the-semester crunch that most students face and am trying to be
accomodating (If there are any complaints about the grace period, I will revoke it --
after all it is for students not me). The official exam dates are as follows:
| |
|
Handed out on: |
Due in class by: |
| |
Exam 1 |
February 11 |
February 18 |
| |
Exam 2 |
March 17 |
March 24 |
| |
Exam 3 |
April 28 |
May 5* |
Exams are due at the beginning of class. Exams turned in after that time are considered
tardy and subject to a 10 point penalty per day. (I am a stickler for punctuality--don't
be late.) All exams are open book, open notes exams, but students are strictly prohibited
from working with one another on these exams. Students are not allowed to discuss the
questions amongst themselves, proofread each other's papers, or ask any other student or
faculty member for help on these exams or the material they contain. I have posted more
information on cheating on-line that can help you. If there are questions about the exam
itself or what is/is not permissible, please direct your questions to me alone. You are on
your honor to conduct yourself appropriately.
Lastly, exams should be typed and proofread/spellchecked. Writing mechanics do count towards
the grade and students will lose points for spelling mistakes, run-on sentences and
paragraphs, and other writing errors. Spell checkers are wonderful things--use them. If
you need help with writing because English is not your native language, please see me and
I can help you find the resources you need.
Consulting Project
Students will be assigned to work in groups of six or
seven people and be given a client whom they will assisting. Working as a consulting team,
each group will first assess the goals and objectives of the client organization and how
hey acquire, process, and utilize information. Applying principles from the class, the teams
will then identify any weaknesses in the acquisition, processing, and/or utilization of
information and propose concrete strategies for the client to address these weaknesses.
Each team will write a detailed report for the client and make a presentation of their
findings during the final week of classes. (Depending on client availability, some
presentations may be done during non-class hours that week. More information on scheduling
will follow.) Project grades are a function of both the written report (60%) and the
presentation (40%). No team member will receive a project grade higher than the team grade,
but those who do not do their fair share of the work on the team project should expect a
significant penalty applied to their project grade. There will be a peer evaluation at the
end of the semester to help identify potential free riders and others who have not adequately
contributed to their team's success.
Class Participation
Even though this is a lecture-based class, I do
encourage participation through various means. There will be an occasional case presented
in case for discussion as well. The point of these exercises is to make the abstract
concepts covered in class more concrete. Students are expected to participate during these
exercises. Furthermore, there may be occasional quizzes given out at the beginning of class.
Students who miss either a discussion session or quiz receive a zero on that assignment, but
the lowest of these grades will be dropped.
Course Readings
The following books are available for this course:
- Information Rules: A Strategic Guide to the Network Economy by Carl Shapiro and Hal Varian.
(1998) Publisher: Harvard Business School Press; ISBN 087584863X
- The Knowledge Evolution: Expanding Organizational Intelligence by Verna Allee. (1997)
Publisher: Butterworth-Heinemann; ISBN 075069842
- Acceptable Risks: Politics, Policy and Risky Technologies by C.F. Larry Heimann.
(1997) Publisher: University of Michigan Press; ISBN 0472108131
In addition, last year I used the following books:
- Management Information Systems: New Approaches to Organization and Technology
by K. Laudon and J. Laudon, 5th edition. (1998) Publisher: Prentice Hall; ISBN
0138577234
- Managerial Dilemmas by Gary Miller.
(1993) Publisher: Cambridge University Press; ISBN: 0521457696
I have not chosen to use these two books this year for cost reasons -- I am trying to keep
your additional expenses at a minimum and these books (especially Laudon & Laudon) aren't
cheap. However, Laudon & Laudon 6th ed. is available at the book store (for 66-171) and you
may be able to get copies of both these books from friends who took this course last year.
I've kept the reading notations for those texts on the syllabus for your benefit. If you
choose not to get these books, that's absolutely fine, but make sure you don't miss lecture
on those days!
In addition to the readings from these books, there will be some additional readings that will
either be made available in class or on the internet.
Office Hours
My office hours this semester are Tuesday and Thursday from
1:30 to 2:45pm. You cannot make an appointment for those times -- it is strictly a first
come, first served basis at that time. However, I am available for appointments on other
days. I am also in most of the day on Monday and Wednesday and students are certainly
welcome to stop in at those times without an appointment. If I am busy at the moment, I
will be happy to schedule an appointment for a later meeting. Beginning in Feburary I will
be unavailable on Fridays after class.
Tentative Schedule
The following is a tentative list of topics and the dates
they will be covered. This schedule is subject to change depending on the progress we make
each class.
A. Foundations
1. The Changing Organizational Environment of the Information Age (1/17 -- 1/21)
2. Management Challenges in the Information Age (1/24 -- 1/26)
3. Information Problems Every Organization Faces (1/28 -- 2/4)
4. Structure and Organizational Decision-Making (2/7 -- 2/11)
B. Principles of Knowledge Management
1. Knowledge and Organizational Culture (2/14 -- 2/18)
2. Knowledge = Power = Politics (2/21 -- 2/25)
3. Knowledge and Strategic Decisions (2/28 -- 3/ 3)
4. Knowledge Management Strategies (3/8 -- 3/10)
5. Knowledge Management and Technology (3/13 -- 3/17)
C. Organizations, Information, and Technology
1. Redesigning the Organization with Information Systems (3/20 -- 3/24)
2. Challenges in Implementing Information Systems (4/3 -- 4/7)
3. Controlling Information Systems (4/10 -- 4/17)
4. Ethical and Social Issues Related to Information Systems (4/19 -- 4/21)
5. Managing in an Era of Constant Innovation (4/24 -- 4/28)
D. Course Wrap-Up and Presentations
(5/1 -- 5/5)
I reserve the right to make adjustments to this syllabus during the course of the semester as needed.
These pages are relevant for the Spring 2000 semester.
Any questions or problems with these pages
should be sent to Professor H.
|
