K724 – Winter 2016 – 1 of 9

MBA K724 eBusiness Strategies Winter 2016 Course Outline Information Systems Area DeGroote School of Business McMaster University COURSE OBJECTIVE The goal of this course is to prepare students to become effective managers and strategists in the area of eBusiness. Therefore, the course focuses on the various elements of eBusiness strategy including identifying and evaluating market opportunities, exploring the various business models that are being used in the networked economy, and gaining an understanding of the guiding principles behind the design and strategy of successful customer web interfaces. The course will also explore issues related to branding in an eBusiness environment as well as exposing students to issues related to effectively implementing online strategies and how to use metrics to assess the health of an eBusiness. Learning in this course is accomplished through a combination of lectures, case analysis and a student term project.

INSTRUCTOR AND CONTACT INFORMATION Instructor’s Name: Dr. Nicole Wagner [email protected] Office: RJC 218 Office Hours: by appointment

Student TA: Nicole O’Brien [email protected] Office: DSB A211 Office Hours: TBA

Student TA: Mohamed Abouzahra [email protected] Office: DSB A211 Office Hours: TBD

Class Location: RJC 313 Wednesday 2:30-5:20 pm Course Website: http://avenue.mcmaster.ca Avenue will be the primary mode of information dissemination. Please check this website regularly for posts concerning the course.

COURSE ELEMENTS Avenue: Participation: Evidence-based: Experiential:

Yes Yes Yes Yes

Leadership: Ethics: Innovation: Guest speaker(s):

Yes Yes Yes Yes

IT skills: Numeracy: Group work: Final Exam:

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No No Yes No

Global view: Written skills: Oral skills:

Yes Yes Yes

K724 – Winter 2016 – 2 of 9

COURSE DESCRIPTION This course will expose students to a variety of issues facing managers who are involved in eBusiness initiatives. A major objective of this course will be to emphasize the use of sound strategic analysis techniques in assessing opportunities or operations within an online environment. Towards that end several business cases will be used to expose students to a variety of situations involving eBusiness issues in start-ups as well as established firms in various industries. Although the course is focused on companies which are involved in eBusiness initiatives, the issues explored are not necessarily focused on information technology. The fundamentals of case analysis (e.g. financial analysis, managerial accounting principles, and strategic analysis) will be emphasized in analyzing cases.

LEARNING OUTCOMES Upon completion of this course, students will be gain the following knowledge:  Have a fundamental understanding of the environment and strategy of the networked economy and eBusiness in both the B2C and B2B sectors  Understand and apply various analytical tools to assess opportunities in un-served or under-served networked economy markets  Gain an understanding of the various types and key components of business models in the networked economy  Understand the guiding principles behind the design and strategy of successful customer Web interfaces  Gain an understanding into the communication, marketing and branding tools for eBusiness  Gain an understanding of how to implement eBusiness strategies effectively  Understand the types of metrics that eBusiness firms should use to measure progress, customer satisfaction and financial performance  Become familiar with opportunities and issues in the area of mobile commerce  Gain an understanding of various public policy issues within which eBusinesses are operating today such as legal issues and consumer privacy

REQUIRED COURSE MATERIALS AND READINGS Avenue registration for course content, readings and case materials  http://avenue.mcmaster.ca

$ FREE

Custom Courseware $19.00

 purchase a copy at the bookstore

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K724 – Winter 2016 – 3 of 9

EVALUATION Learning in this course results primarily from lectures, in-class discussion of cases, as well as out-of-class analysis and research. All work will be evaluated on an individual basis except in certain cases where group work is expected. In these cases group members will share the same grade adjusted by peer evaluation. Your final grade will be calculated as follows:

Components and Weights Research Presentation

Presentation of research conducted (group)

25%

Case Report

Written case analysis (group)

25%

Term Project

eBusiness evaluation (individual)

40%

Participation

In-class Contribution (individual)

10% 100%

Total

All assignments must be handed in electronically through the course website by the deadline date and time specified for each component. The penalty for overdue assignments is 20% of the total assignment mark per day. NOTE: The use of a McMaster standard calculator is allowed during examinations in this course. See McMaster calculator policy at the following URL: http://www.mcmaster.ca/policy/Students-AcademicStudies/examinationindex.html

Grade Conversion At the end of the course your overall percentage grade will be converted to your letter grade in accordance with the following conversion scheme. LETTER GRADE A+ A A-

PERCENT 90 - 100 85 - 89 80 - 84

POINTS 12 11 10

B+ B B-

75 - 79 70 - 74 60 – 69

9 8 7

F

00 - 59

0

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K724 – Winter 2016 – 4 of 9

Communication and Feedback Students that are uncomfortable in directly approaching an instructor regarding a course concern may send a confidential and anonymous email to the respective Area Chair or Associate Dean: http://mbastudent.degroote.mcmaster.ca/contact/anonymous/ Students who wish to correspond with instructors or TAs directly via email must send messages that originate from their official McMaster University email account. This protects the confidentiality and sensitivity of information as well as confirms the identity of the student. Emails regarding course issues should NOT be sent to the Administrative Assistant. Instructors are encouraged to conduct an informal course review with students by Week #4 to allow time for modifications in curriculum delivery. Instructors should provide evaluation feedback for at least 10% of the final grade to students prior to Week #8 in the term.

Group Research Presentation This assignment is worth 25% of your final grade and will be marked as a group, adjusted for peer evaluation. Each team of students will choose a research topic of their own interest related to eBusiness. Topics could be:  The impact of eBusiness on a particular industry  A particular eBusiness “giant” (e.g. Google, Amazon, Alibaba)  The impact of eBusiness on a particular region (outside of North America) Regardless of topic, research should cover the evolution experienced over the last 20 years (i.e. proliferation of Internet & mobile), the main drivers of this evolution, and the main challenges or barriers. Each group should submit, by January 20th, a research proposal (one page or less) of the topic they would like to study. The proposal should briefly describe the topic selected and a high level outline of the subtopics expected to be included. A list of preferred dates for presentation should also be included. An approved list of topics and presentation dates will be announced shortly thereafter. If two groups of students happened to select the same topic, the group who submitted their proposal first will be assigned to that topic. Students will present their research in a 30 minute presentation in one class during weeks 8-11 of the course schedule. They will also prepare a two page document summarizing their research. Further details about this assignment will be provided in class and on Avenue.

Group Case Analysis Report This assignment is worth 25% of your final grade and will be marked as a group, adjusted for peer evaluation. Each team of students will conduct a case analysis and submit a written report. These cases are distributed throughout the course schedule to support the learning objectives of

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K724 – Winter 2016 – 5 of 9

various topics. Refer to the course schedule for a list of cases. All the cases are selected from the custom courseware. Each team should e-mail the instructor a list of their preferences for case selection. The instructor will then assign each team a case based on their choice and availability. Reports are not to exceed 15 double-spaced pages excluding exhibits and appendices. Students are expected to make effective use of material discussed in class as well as other resources available from the web or specialized relevant journals. All references must be included and properly cited. Your mark will be based on how professional and comprehensive your case analysis report is. Reports are expected to be free of spelling and grammatical mistakes. Case reports must be handed in electronically through the course website before the beginning of class on the day the case is being discussed. Case reports handed after the case has been discussed in class will not be accepted and will receive a mark of zero. The evaluation form for case reports will be available on the course website.

Individual Term Project This assignment is worth 40% of your final grade and will be marked individually. The termlong project is an important component of the course, as it will help students apply the knowledge gained in the course to the analysis of the strategy of an actual eBusiness. The project will focus on performing a full analysis of the strategy and visible operations of a firm with eBusiness operations. Students should select an online eBusiness site that has potential for improvement. By examining the selected company and its corresponding eBusiness website, students should present an analysis detailing the shortcomings of the site, and the specific areas for potential improvement. Students should then recommend how the eBusiness site should be improved in order to be competitive with its competitors, better serve its customers and ultimately become more profitable. Areas that are analyzed for potential improvements should include the customer and product base, integration with mobile technologies, the adoption of Web 2.0 technologies, the online interface and the usability/navigability of the site, the overall web strategy, and any other applicable issues that concern an eBusiness site. Any recommendations made should be technologically and economically feasible for the chosen company (i.e. don’t recommend $10 million dollars of improvements for a small business). All recommendations should include a cost estimate in the report. Each student should submit, by January 20th, a project proposal (one page or less) of the company and corresponding website they will study. The proposal should have a brief outline of the industry of the selected company and provide a very brief summary and description of the company, including why you feel this website is not living up to its potential and how it would be suitable for this project. An approved list of projects will be announced shortly thereafter. If two students happened to select the same company, the student who submitted their proposal first will be assigned to that project. Students are responsible for selecting companies for which

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K724 – Winter 2016 – 6 of 9

they are able, with a reasonable amount of effort, to gain sufficient information to carry out the project successfully. Students will be expected to make a ten minute presentation in class and submit a final report detailing their analysis and findings. In carrying out this project, students are expected to make effective use of material discussed in class as well as other resources available from the Web or specialized relevant journals. All references used, including Web sites, must be included in a reference section in the report and properly cited within the body of the report. Reports are not to exceed 20 double-spaced pages including exhibits and appendices. The mark of the project will be based on how professional and comprehensive the project report is and how well the pertinent points are presented in class. Presentations will take place March 30 and April 6 in class and reports are due on April 6. Further details about this assignment will be provided in class and on Avenue.

In-class Contribution Your class participation is worth 10% of your final grade. Students are encouraged to engage actively in class discussions related to the material being presented by the instructor or the cases being discussed. Instructors and TAs will feel free to cold-call on anyone at any time. Hence, it is very important that you prepare for each and every class and case as appropriate. Debate and challenge are important activities that help in the learning process and the willingness of individuals to engage in such activities with their classmates is appreciated. Opportunities for in-class participation include:  Taking part in discussions during the lecture part of class by: o Asking questions o Responding to questions posed by the instructor or other students o Making relevant comments on material covered o Bringing current news items for discussion 

Asking questions and making comments during case discussion. To do this properly, you must read and reflect on the case being presented on any given week prior to coming to class.

Name cards and class pictures are used to help give credit for your participation. You must have a name card with your full first and last name clearly written and displayed in front of you for every class. If you are absent from any class for a legitimate reason, you should indicate that to the instructor so that you are not penalized for lack of participation during that class. Participation marks will be based on both the quantity and quality of your in-class contributions. Mere attendance in class without participation does not earn you any participation marks. Instructors will strive to give all students equal contribution chances but you have to show interest in participating by raising your hand.

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K724 – Winter 2016 – 7 of 9

ACADEMIC DISHONESTY It is the student’s responsibility to understand what constitutes academic dishonesty. Please refer to the University Senate Academic Integrity Policy at the following URL: http://www.mcmaster.ca/policy/Students-AcademicStudies/AcademicIntegrity.pdf This policy describes the responsibilities, procedures, and guidelines for students and faculty should a case of academic dishonesty arise. Academic dishonesty is defined as to knowingly act or fail to act in a way that results or could result in unearned academic credit or advantage. Please refer to the policy for a list of examples. The policy also provides faculty with procedures to follow in cases of academic dishonesty as well as general guidelines for penalties. For further information related to the policy, please refer to the Office of Academic Integrity at: http://www.mcmaster.ca/academicintegrity

MISSED ACADEMIC WORK Missed Mid-Term Examinations / Tests / Class Participation Where students miss a regularly scheduled mid-term or class participation for legitimate reasons as determined by the MBA Academic Services Office, the weight for that test/participation will be distributed across other evaluative components of the course at the discretion of the instructor. Documentation explaining such an absence must be provided to the MBA Academic Services Office within five (5) working days upon returning to school. To document absences for health related reasons, please provide the Petition for Relief for MBA Missed Term Work and the McMaster University Student Health Certificate which can be found on the DeGroote website at http://mbastudent.degroote.mcmaster.ca/forms-and-applications/. Please do not use the online McMaster Student Absence Form as this is for Undergraduate students only. University policy states that a student may submit a maximum of three (3) medical certificates per year after which the student must meet with the Director of the program. To document absences for reasons other than health related, please provide the Petition for Relief for MBA Missed Term Work and documentation supporting the reason for the absence. Students unable to write a mid-term at the posted exam time due to the following reasons: religious; work-related (for part-time students only); representing university at an academic or varsity athletic event; conflicts between two overlapping scheduled mid-term exams; or other extenuating circumstances, have the option of applying for special exam arrangements. Such requests must be made to the MBA Academic Services Office at least ten (10) working days before the scheduled exam along with acceptable documentation. Instructors cannot themselves

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K724 – Winter 2016 – 8 of 9

allow students to unofficially write make-up exams/tests. Adjudication of the request must be handled by the MBA Academic Services Office. If a mid-term exam is missed without a valid reason, students will receive a grade of zero (0) for that component.

STUDENT ACCESSIBILITY SERVICES Student Accessibility Services (SAS) offers various support services for students with disabilities. Students are required to inform SAS of accommodation needs for course work at the outset of term. Students must forward a copy of such SAS accommodation to the instructor normally, within the first three (3) weeks of classes by setting up an appointment with the instructor. If a student with a disability chooses NOT to take advantage of an SAS accommodation and chooses to sit for a regular exam, a petition for relief may not be filed after the examination is complete. The SAS website is: http://sas.mcmaster.ca

POTENTIAL MODIFICATIONS TO THE COURSE The instructor and university reserve the right to modify elements of the course during the term. The university may change the dates and deadlines for any or all courses in extreme circumstances. If either type of modification becomes necessary, reasonable notice and communication with the students will be given with explanation and the opportunity to comment on changes. It is the responsibility of the student to check their McMaster email and course websites weekly during the term and to note any changes.

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K724 – Winter 2016 – 9 of 9

MBA K724 TENTATIVE COURSE SCHEDULE WEEK

DATE

LECTURE TOPIC

DELIVERABLES

1

Jan 6

 Course overview  Group formation  eBusiness Introduction

2

Jan 13

 eBusiness Overview  eBusiness Models

3

Jan 20

 Strategy Analysis & Formulation

4

Jan 27

 Mobile & Social Commerce

Case 1: Flipkart's App-only Strategy

5

Feb 3

 Marketing & Branding

Case 2: Mountain Equipment Co-op

6

Feb 10

 User Experience & Usability

Case 3: Jill’s Table

7

Feb 17

8

Feb 24

 Metrics & Evaluation  Implementation Issues

Research Presentations (x2)

9

Mar 2

 Guest Speaker- Logistics

Research Presentations (x2)

10

Mar 9

 Guest Speaker- Retail

Research Presentations (x2)

11

Mar 16

 Guest Speaker- Marketing

Research Presentations (x2)

12

Mar 23

 Innovative eBusiness Systems  Future of eBusiness

13

Mar 30

Class Projects

14

Apr 6

Class Projects

 Group Research Proposals Due  Individual Project Proposals Due

MID-TERM RECESS

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Project Presentations Project Presentations Project Reports Due (all)