Information Systems Strategy and Consulting

By

Dr. H. R. Rao

SUNY Buffalo/ MYRA, Mysore

August 2014

PREREQUISITES:

The course includes exposure to Decision Analysis and will require some knowledge of basic

math and statistics (e.g., distributions, regression analysis).

Students should also be familiar with Excel.

Required Text 1:

Information Systems: A Manager’s Guide to Harnessing Technology by John Gallaugher – VERSION 1.4 ‐ the online version of the book is available at: Open textbook http://open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/BookDetail.aspx?bookId=16 Note: While this is the textbook we shall use, my lectures will cover some topics but other topics

covered will be outside the content of the textbook.

Table of Contents: Chapter 1: Setting the Stage: Technology and the Modern Enterprise Chapter 2: Strategy and Technology: Concepts and Frameworks for Understanding What Separates Winners from Losers Chapter 3: Zara: Fast Fashion from Savvy Systems Chapter 4: Netflix: The Making of an E-commerce Giant and the Uncertain Future of Atoms to Bits Chapter 5: Moore’s Law: Fast, Cheap Computing and What It Means for the Manager Chapter 6: Understanding Network Effects Chapter 7: Peer Production, Social Media, and Web 2.0 Chapter 8: Facebook: Building a Business from the Social Graph Chapter 9: Understanding Software: A Primer for Managers Chapter 10: Software in Flux: Partly Cloudy and Sometimes Free Chapter 11: The Data Asset: Databases, Business Intelligence, and Competitive Advantage Chapter 12: A Manager’s Guide to the Internet and Telecommunications Chapter 13: Information Security: Barbarians at the Gateway (and Just About Everywhere Else) Chapter 14: Google: Search, Online Advertising, and Beyond

ABOUT THE COURSE:

The overall objective of this course is to provide you with an overview of IT strategic and management

consulting and to help you develop a basic understanding of that world and the skills and knowledge to

be successful in it. The course

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- Focuses on the links between business strategy and information technology

- The organizational implications of the technology - How to successfully incorporate information technology into organizations.

The target audience for this course is MBA students with interests spanning one or more of IT consulting,

competitive strategy, and entrepreneurship. This course provides concepts and frameworks for

understanding the potential impact of technology in general and information technology (IT) in

particular on business strategy and performance, and explores the roles of both general managers and IT

executives in using IT to achieve operational excellence and business agility. This course focuses on

offering skill set, content and perspectives suitable for newly hired technology centric consultants. The

course examines how some firms make IT a strategic asset while other firms struggle to realize value

from IT investments by covering topics that include IT assessment and scenario planning; IT investment ,

prioritization and value analysis; IT risk services, audit and compliance; Balanced Scorecard; Privacy,

personalization and data security; and IT sourcing (for example).

Note: We may or may not cover all of these by the end of the course.

By the end of this course you should be able to:

Talk the talk ‐ understand and discuss various interdisciplinary management concepts, and issues related to systems and technologies.

Walk the walk ‐ assess the current role of IS in an organization, identify areas for the strategic use of IS, and understand where technology makes firms and markets vulnerable to disruption. You will have a recall‐level awareness of several (successful and failed) attempts to use IS for competitive advantage so that in meetings you will be able to back up any assertions with concrete examples. These skills differentiate you from students at other universities and will give you ammunition for job interviews.

Required Text 2

How to Use Microsoft® Excel® The Careers in Practice Series, Joseph Manzo, Lehigh University http://open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/BookDetail.aspx?bookId=70

free pdf at : http://www.saylor.org/site/textbooks/How%20to%20Use%20Microsoft%20Excel.pdf

o Examples of consulting analysis will focus on the Microsoft Excel environment. This design

is based on at least three motivating forces: 1) Unlike other possible platforms Excel has

become a commodity among business firms and students are more likely to find it

available for use in the workplace than any other foundation, 2) Excel has a number of simple

yet effective built-in functions (eg. Solver, interactive graphics, macros, etc) which make its use

as a flexible and robust platform extremely straightforward, and 3) The extensive

capability for integration built in across Microsoft products provide the potential for

wide-spread ubiquitous Excel based decision structures in the workplace (ie. it can be catered

to assist co-workers who use packages like Word or PowerPoint regularly

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but don’t know the first thing about Excel). Optional Texts

- Greiner, Larry E. and Poulfelt, Flemming. Management Consulting Today & Tomorrow, Routledge Pub., ISBN: 0-415-80358-8

- Greiner, Larry E., Olson, Thomas H. and Poulfelt, Flemming. Management Consulting Today & Tomorrow Casebook, Routledge Pub., ISBN: 978-0-415-80356-4

The optional texts will be used for some sessions. You do not have to buy the books (Details of cases

are in Appendix B)

Session L Readings: G&P: Ch. 1, The Changing Global Consulting Industry Session M

Consulting as a Profession Case: McKinsey & Co

Session N Strategic and Organization Information Technology Consulting

Readings: G&P: Ch. 4, Information Technology Consulting

Session O Managing Consulting Firms - The Knowledge Sharing Problem

Case: Integral Consulting

Readings: G&P: Ch.17; Managing Growth & Knowledge Creation and

Management in Consulting

Session P Newer forms of Consulting

Case: Agency.Com (A,B)

Readings: G&P: Chs. 18, Will Consulting Go Online? Session Q Case: Integral Consulting

1. Final Exam: 15% of grade

The Final exam is cumulative. The exam is open book. It will be a combination of conceptual and problem

solving questions based on the body of knowledge covered in the lectures, text books, other assigned

readings, cases, projects, etc. Devices that can send or receive data are not allowed during an exam. No

make-up exam will be given, except in the case of medical emergency (proof is required). Business related

absences are not excused. Students should make arrangements now to avoid time conflicts.

2. Homeworks: Please see

Appendix A for Homeworks – 20% of grade)

3. Class participation: 5% of grade)

4. Case Guidelines (See Appendix B for a description of the cases) – 30% of grade

Case Synopsis and suggested questions H. R.Rao

Nepal Wireless .............................................................................................................. ................................................

Sanchari ..........................................................................................................................................................................

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Mc Kinsey ............................................................................................................... .......................................................

Agency.com .................................................................................................................. .................................................

Integral Consulting .............................................................................................................................. .........................

Infosys Consulting in 2006 ............................................................................ .............................................................. There will be five teams in class.

For case sessions, one team will be assigned for case presentation (this team does not need to submit any

written report); members of all teams will be assigned to submit a long report of the same case (Infosys

2006). Others have to submit a short report of four cases by the day of the presentation.

So, by the end of the class, you will have: 1) presented one case as a team, 2) submitted one case as long case

report (Infosys 2006) and, 3) submitted four short case reports

Case Presentations (20 minutes presentation, followed by questions and discussion) (10 points)

1. Assume the role of an internal task force, presenting to senior executives of the firm.

2. Present the problems identified, recommendations and supporting analysis, dividing the contents

logically among team members.

3. Submit your ppt slides to the Professor

4. A minimum of one team member from other teams will evaluate your team’s presentations. (All

students should have evaluated at least one case by the end of the semester (this will be used towards

your participation grades– Template for presentation evaluation is attached in appendix D ).

Short Case Individual Report (four cases) (5 points per case *4 = 20 points)

This is a one-page write-up, which summarizes, in bullet form: 1) Problems identified, 2) Your

recommendations, 3) Brief supporting arguments for the recommendations made, and 4) Tools and

techniques that can be utilized for analysis.

Long Case Report (Every team has to do Infosys 2006 – each team member’s contribution has to be

identified on the last page of the report) (10 points)

Written in formal English, this report consists of:

1. Executive Summary: [Format: 1 page, single line spacing, 1" margins] written as a memorandum.

2. Main Report: [6-8 pages long, 1.5 or double spaced, 1" margins]; it consists of:

-2 pages)

-2 pages)

ing Analysis (5-6 pages)

5. Client Field Project (Team) – 30 % of grade

A good resource for those of you are interested is Bain & Company Management Consulting

Tools White Paper

http://www.bain.com/Images/MANAGEMENT_TOOLS_2013_An_Executives_guide.pdf

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Another resource is in Appendix C

Client problem presentation (5 points)

You (each individual) should identify a public, private, or not-for-profit organization (or part of one) to

generate a consulting lead. You may select an organization in which you have worked or are currently

working. There are many sources for “warm leads” for consulting projects. Please note, you must

have actual contact with the organization. Identify an organizational problem that may be helped by engaging a consulting team. You will present your lead to the rest of the class, so please do not pick a topic that is confidential in any manner. Some examples of past problems that have worked well for the purpose of this course include:

• A large restaurant chain that suffered from employee theft. • A U.S. based high-tech firm that outsourced customer support operations to India and angered its U.S. workforce to the point of striking. • A German motorcycle manufacturer trying to determine how to structure their business in Asia. • A North American airline establishing service to Asia, trying to determine how to train its North American employees to deal with customers from Asia. • A multi-national hotel chain determining how to maintain its global brand standard service levels in newly developed markets. • An online startup trying to determine how to best attract and retain appropriate people willing to contribute time and energy for very low initial compensation.

• A small family retail business that needed a transition plan to meet modern market

pressures and competition from big box stores. • A strong culture manufacturer that was facing pricing pressures that devastated employee morale.

Your written lead should be a maximum of one single-spaced page and contain the following details:

• Organization name • Method of contact – how did you develop this lead? Do you work at the organization? Personal contacts? Family? Friends? • Background – give a very brief overview of the organization, industry, structure, project, etc. that is relevant to the potential consulting project.

• Issues – description of the problem that may benefit from engaging consultants.

You will present your lead to the class during the Day 3 session; in an effort to get other classmates interested enough to feel that you are not wasting your time. Your presentation should be limited to two minutes and two slides.

Your client problem presentation will be evaluated ( by at least one member of each of the other teams)

equally on the following criteria:

• Development – how well developed is the lead? Is it ready to be pitched? • Relevance – how relevant is the problem to Information Strategy and Consulting concepts?

• Quality of oral quick pitch.

Group proposal (10 points)

Each team will conduct a group consulting project for this course. The project requires you to examine a problem or issue of concern in a real organization that you presented to your classmates during class on Day 3 (you may choose one among the proposals that your team mates floated, or combine a couple).

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The purpose of the project is to give your team an opportunity to apply and integrate what has been

learned in this course and your previous classes to consulting problems in a real organization.

The proposal should be limited to five single-spaced pages, which is due at the start of class on Day 5, and should contain the following details:

• Organization name • Background – give a very brief overview of the organization, industry, structure, project, etc. that is relevant to the consulting project. This can be drawn from the initial client problem presentation on Day 3. Feel free to edit and refine that text as a group. • Issues – a more developed description of issues from the Day 3 client problem presentation.

• Research methodology – details of how you will collect and analyze data on the client’s issue.

This might include interview questions, survey questions, existing data, observations, etc.

You should be as specific as possible. • Proposed deliverables – details of what your engagement will entail, and what deliverables the client can expect. You should be very specific.

You will present your proposal for feedback during the Day 5 session to other consulting groups. Your

presentation should be limited to 15 minutes. Please note there may be simultaneous sessions going

on.

Your proposal will be evaluated equally on the following criteria: • Problem definition - How well (i.e., thoroughly and concisely) do you describe the organizational context, the relevant parties, and the factors that are important to the problem? • Data gathering - How well (i.e., thoroughly and appropriately) you describe your proposed data collection.

• Deliverables – How appropriate and realistic are the deliverables. • Potential for client impact – How well do the deliverables promise to address the underlying client issues?

• Quality of written proposal.

Group written project and presentation (15 points + 5 points) (Please see Appendix C for an

example)

You should focus your analysis by applying the theoretical concepts from Information Strategy and Consulting. While it is acceptable to incorporate several concepts from the course please aim for depth rather than breadth regarding the use of concepts. As you analyze the problem, you should explicitly consider the level of analysis of your problem and of the concepts you apply.

Your final written project is due at the start of class on Day xyz (but presentation is due on Day 10 – see below). It should be a maximum of 15 double spaced pages (1” margins, 12 point font). You will be penalized significantly for exceeding this limit. The limit does not include appendices, which you are free to use to provide charts, figures, or other background material not necessary in the main body of your analysis. However appendices which are not directly referenced in the main text will not be read. LATE WRITE-UPS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.

Your group will make a project presentation on Day 10 in class. The presentation should be 10 minutes long. It will be followed by 3-5 minutes of questions from the class. This gives you a total floor time of 13-15 minutes maximum. Your team will be responsible for managing your time. If you wish to have a timer, I suggest arranging with a member of another team to signal you when appropriate. Presentations will be arranged by random draw.

Your analysis will be evaluated equally on the following criteria:

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• Problem definition - How well (i.e., thoroughly and concisely) do you describe the organizational context, the relevant parties, and the factors that are important to the problem?

• Data gathering - How well (i.e., thoroughly and appropriately) do you collect data on your client.

This can take the form of interviews, survey questions, existing data, observations, etc. • Integration of IT Strategy and Consulting concepts with information about the company and problem - How well do you integrate concepts with information about the problem to illuminate the problem in a way that leads to solutions?

• Extent to which recommendations are consistent with analysis.

• Feasibility and specificity of recommendations.

• Quality of written analysis.

• Quality of oral presentation.

Group Structure and Rewards: Each group is free to structure itself as it wishes. Members will share equally in the rewards, which will be a grade assigned to the group proposal and group project. It is the group's responsibility to work with its members to assure that everyone is contributing adequately. If, despite the group's efforts, there are clearly non-contributing members who should not share equally in the rewards, the group should be prepared to document for the instructor and the alleged non-contributing member, the specific instances of the problem and its efforts to deal with the member.

If necessary, this documentation should be submitted via e-mail to mgmtraomyra@gmail.com and cc to by 11:00pm on Day 12. A group member that is deemed to have not contributed will have his/her group project grade component penalized (and individual component as well). Be a good group member and don’t have this happen.

6. Academic Integrity

Academic integrity is a fundamental university value. Through the honest completion of academic work,

students sustain the integrity of the university while facilitating the university's imperative for the transmission of knowledge and culture based upon the generation of new and innovative ideas.

If an instance of suspected or alleged academic dishonesty by a student arises, I will follow the

procedures set forth by the MYRA Graduate School.

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