Strategic management of organisations and ICT

Course goals

In this course you will learn about business strategy concepts and the alignment with the IS/IT strategy. How do you determine a business strategy? Which IS/IT investments best fit the business strategy? How can the business and IT strategy be aligned?
More in general you will learn about the different managerial aspects of running a company during the business game. These issues will be dealt with both theoretically (part I) and practically (part II) in this course.

Summarizing the learning objectives for the course are:

• Acquire knowledge about the main models, theories and insights in Strategic Management (business and IT)
• Apply acquired models, theories and insights in a case study setting and a business simulation setting
• Practice team collaboration skills, presentation skills and business report writing skills
• Managerial and practical insights in running a company from the perspective of different executive roles

Grading
 

Format	Type	Minimum required	% of grade	Repair opportunity
Midterm exam	Individual	5.00	25%	Yes
Job application	Individual	1	10%	No
CxO presentation	Individual	1	20%	No
IS/IT investment proposals	Team	5.00	20%	Yes, Rewrite
Decennial report	Team	5.00	15%	Yes, Rewrite
Game result	Team	1	10%	No
Overall course grade		5.50	100%

De reparatie van het midterm exam is in de week na het eerste midterm exam. Het halen van het midterm exam is noodzakelijk om mee te mogen doen aan het 2e deel van het vak, het business game.

Content

Today’s organizations would not run without information technology. It not only supports the business processes of an organization but also enables totally new business models. For example, think of how Uber, AirBnB, and EasyJet changed competition in their industries by applying information technology in new and innovative ways. Therefore, it is important for organizations to carefully align their Business Strategy and IS/IT strategy. In this course we will address the strategic planning process that organizations conduct to define their business strategy and IS/IT strategy respectively and how to align these two.  Outcome of the planning process are the Business Strategy and IS/IT strategy and you learn about the contents of these deliverables. Especially about the IS/IT investment decisions that are needed to implement the IS/IT strategy.  Besides the strategic planning process you will also learn what it takes to manage an organization as you will also run your own Mobile Phone Manufacturing company as part of the course. You will collaborate with other students in running your company in a business game and have to devise a business and IS/IT strategy that can make you successful.

The course consists of a Theoretical Part and a Business Game. In the Theoretical Part (first three weeks) we will discuss the material from the Peppard & Ward book during the lectures. In the tutorials during these weeks you will be working on assignments concerning the theory from the book. At the end of the three weeks you will take a multiple choice exam that you need to pass to get access to the Business Game that starts in the fourth week. The game is played in teams of 4 students where each of you will have a distinct CxO function (e.g. Chief Executive Office, Chief Financial Officer) and corresponding responsibilities. You need to apply for one of these functions by means of a job application letter. Besides your operational job, your team will also work on strategic issues as your team needs to define a business strategy and an IS/IT strategy. As a CxO you will give an individual presentation about your strategic thoughts and responsibilities in the company. At the end of the game you have to make an decennial report of the game years that we’ve played. As it is a game, you can also win the game by showing that you can successfully run your company. 

Werkvormen
•             Hoorcollege
Aantal bijeenkomsten 2 bijeenkomst(en) per week (eerste 3 weken)
Aanwezigheidsplicht Ja
•             Werkcollege
Aantal bijeenkomsten 2 bijeenkomst(en) in de eerste 3 weken
Aanwezigheidsplicht Ja

•             Business game (2e helft van de course)
Aantal bijeenkomsten, wekelijks 1 hoorcollege met Guest Lecure, werkafspraken maken binnen eigen business team
Aanwezigheidsplicht: Ja.

•             Business game CxO presentatie
Aantal bijeenkomsten: eenmalig per CxO, geen plenaire bijeenkomsten, alleen eigen team is welkom 
Aanwezigheidsplicht: Ja

Toetsen
•             Midterm exam (Digitaal)
•             Eindresultaat wordt bepaald obv Midterm Exam, Application Letter, Individuele CxO presentatie, Investment proposals, Decennial report, Einduitslag Business Game