Introduction to GRA8254 Management of IT - Preparing for class, study technique, etc.
First, I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate you on your acceptance to the MBA program at the Norwegian School of Management and to welcome you to this seminar, which I aim to make both challenging and exciting.
GRA8254 Management of IT
This course is modeled on similar
courses
at the Harvard Business School, and with the same demands for course
preparation,
though the overall workload will be somewhat lighter. Since we only
have
8 weeks for the course, it is vital that you come prepared for the
first
session—while you might hear me give some introductory remarks, I would
very
much like to start the discussion right away. Therefore, read the
assigned
literature (one case, Mrs. Field’s Cookies, and two articles) which you
will
find on the course home page, and use the study questions to help in
your
preparation. Normally, I would expect you to e-mail me a write-up of
one
of the study questions, but we will dispense with this requirement for
the
first class. Instead, please write the assignment about yourself and
your
experience with information technology into Blackboard (a course
management
and distribution tool you will get familiar with), so we get to know
each
other and you get some experience using the technology.
Information about the course can be found on the course home page at
http://www.espen.com/courses/gra8254/
Here I will post all kinds of changes, tips, and questions. I have attached a printout of the page to this memo—but please do not take what is in there as gospel. There will be changes in the readings and cases!
If you need to communicate with me
If you have any questions before
the
start of the course, I can be reached on electronic mail espen.andersen@bi.no.
My Norwegian School of Management office phone number is +47 4641
0452. If, for some reason, I should not pick up the phone, you can
always leave a message and hope for the best, or call my excellent secretary Ms. Eli Steller
at +47 4641 0489. However, electronic mail (
)
is very much preferred.
Some tips on study technique and computer use
Most students who come in to the MBA program find the workload rather daunting, in addition to the changed environment, new colleagues, etc. Some also worry about their computer skills -- how much computer use is required, and how advanced? The GRA8254 course does not require individual computers skills any more than any other MBA course -- but having good computer skills is definitely a plus anyway, not so much for the content of the class (it is about management of technology,
not technology in itself) as for the individual productivity of the student.
I would heartily recommend that you, before the class or even the MBA program starts, get yourself a laptop computer with the normal accoutrements of office software, electronic mail and other normal tools. While you may like to take notes on paper while in class, writing notes on a computer and storing them in some systematic fashion is highly useful for preparing for exams, quickly putting together raw material for papers -- and making sure that you remember some of the stuff you learned in the MBA progam after you have graduated. Make sure you have some experience in creating spreadsheets, in developing presentations, and in using electronic mail and the Web. As for note-taking, I have used a piece of software called Endnote (www.endnote.com) for years. It is a literary reference database, very useful for storing notes about stuff you have read systematically and bring it into papers automatically. It is, however, designed for academics and may be a little bit of overkill for a one-year MBA program. Other students have used MindMapper or The Brain, graphical tools for organizing personal information. If you really want to be modern, you could go with an online Wiki, such as the PeanutButter Wiki (www.pbwiki.com). Check it out, fun whether it works for you or not. If you don't want to lug a laptop to class, I have used a PalmPilot with a foldable keyboard to good effect - but I am a nerd....
If you are weak on the technical side of computing, study some of the recommended literature.
The course page contains a listing
of books that are recommended for this purpose. If you are very strong on the technical side of computing, be careful not to relax too much. In my experience, overly technical students do not get the best grades, either because they know the technology and think they can relax, or because they concentrate too much on the technology and forget the managerial and organizational side - which is what the course is about. With that, I am very much looking forward to seeing you all this Fall, expecting some interesting
discussions and innovative ideas as we try to figure out what the point behind all this IT stuff is, anyway. Virtually,