Creating Business Value with ICT

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2010:

It is University policy to take all reasonable steps to minimise the impact of disability upon academic study and reasonable steps will be made to enhance a student’s participation in the University’s programs.

This subject requires all students to actively and safely participate in laboratory activities. (Include this or an alternative subject-specific statement if appropriate).

Students who feel their disability may impact upon their participation are encouraged to discuss this with the subject coordinator and the Disability Liaison Unit.

This capstone subject uses a combination of lectures, case-study discussion classes, and a research essay to help students develop insights into the way that information technology (IT) can be used to create value in organizations.

It focuses on four main topics:

1. Creating business advantage with IT: forces that shape business strategy, business models and IT, IT strategic alignment;
2. Enterprise architecture as a firm’s IT-based platform for execution;
3. IT sourcing; and
4. Transforming work and organizations through IT.

Case studies will explore the use of IT in organizations and its impact on organizations.

On completion of this subject, students should:

• Understand a set of key principles for managing IT in medium to large organizations;
• Be familiar with the experiences of a variety of organizations as they design, develop, implement, and use applications of information technology;
• Have experience in dealing with the complexity, politics, and reality of information systems management in actual organizational settings;
• Have developed analytical, listening, and presentation skills through the cut and thrust of discussion that is required by the case-study method of learning;
• Know how to induce general principles from the experiences and problems of individual organizations.

Up to 10 written responses of 1-2 pages each to preparation questions for topics and cases during the semester (20%); participation in class discussions during the semester (10%); a written assignment of between 1500 and 2000 words due during the semester (20%); a 2-hour written examination in the examination period (50%). Satisfactory completion of the examination is necessary to pass the subject.

Applegate, L., Austin, and Soule, Corporate Information Strategy and Management: Text and Cases, 8th Ed, McGraw-Hill, 2009

Ross, J.W., Weill, P. and Robertson, D.C. Enterprise Architecture as Strategy, Harvard Business School Press, 2006

This subject potentially can be taken as a breadth subject component for the following courses:

• Bachelor of Biomedicine
• Bachelor of Commerce
• Bachelor of Environments
• Bachelor of Music
• Bachelor of Science
• Bachelor of Engineering

You should visit learn more about breadth subjects and read the breadth requirements for your degree, and should discuss your choice with your student adviser, before deciding on your subjects.

In addition to the subject-related knowledge, students should acquire or extend valuable generic skills such as the ability to identify key arguments presented in both writing (in the text and cases) and orally (in class), and assess the strength of evidence provided to support those arguments.