APPLIES TO ACADEMIC YEAR 2013/2014

GRA 8174 IT Management

Responsible for the course
Espen Andersen

Department
Department of Strategy and Logistics

Term
According to study plan

ECTS Credits
2

Language of instruction
English

Introduction
Information technology is increasingly pervasive in all aspects of business or public administration. Many of the most difficult decisions (strategic or administrative) taken by managers involve information technology, yet the role of information technology in business processes remains poorly understood by many managers, and the relationship between the IT department and the business side can be contentious. Top performing companies, however, must use information technology smartly and evolve their information systems in step with, if not ahead of, business changes.

Learning outcome
The intent of this course is to give the student an understanding of the role of information technology in organizations and prepare them for the challenge of managing the technology and the organizational units charged with its introduction and support within the context of a business organization.

Prerequisites
Granted admission to the EMBA programme.

Compulsory reading
Books:
Austin, R. D., R. L. Nolan, et al. 2009. Adventures of an IT leader. Boston, MA, Harvard Business School Press

Articles:
Articles and cases which will be made available before the course starts

Recommended reading

Course outline
The course will be based on four themes, with roughly the same time devoted to each. They are:

• Managing IT for competitive advantage: Understanding whether and how IT can give the organization a competitive advantage, and how to sustain that advantage.
• Understanding the role of IT in organizations: This part of the course will analyze organizations in terms of the chains, shops, networks framework, trying to understand how value is created in each of these strategic configurations, and how IT supports this value creation.
• Managing the IT resource: Understanding the organizational challenges of IT management, the interface between IS and the business, governance models and organizational processes, systems development and delivery, outsourcing.

Attendance to all sessions in the course is compulsory. If you have to miss part(s) of the course you must ask in advance for leave of absence. More than 20% absence in a course will require retaking the entire course. It's the student's own responsibility to obtain any information provided in class that is not included on the course homepage/ It's learning or other course materials

Taught over 16 hours at Part Time level. The course is case-based and will involve substantial preparation and classroom participation.


Examination
The course evaluation will be based on:
50% individual participation (including classroom, online and possible assignments)
50% group-based presentation or written work

This is a course with continuous assessment (several exam elements) and one final exam code. Each exam element will be graded using points on a scale (e.g. 0-100). The elements will be weighted together according to the information in the course description in order to calculate the final letter grade for the course.

Specific information regarding student evaluation beyond the information given in the course description will be provided in class. This information may be relevant for requirements for term papers or other hand-ins, and/or where class participation can be one of several elements of the overall evaluation


Examination code(s)
GRA 81741 - Continuous assessment; accounts for 100 % to pass the course GRA 8174, 2 ECTS credits

The course is a part of a full Executive Master of Business Administration Program and all evaluations must be passed to obtain a certificate for the degree.

Examination support materials



Re-sit examination
Re-takes are only possible at the next time a course will be held. When course evaluation consists of class participation or continuous assessment, the whole course must be re-evaluated when a student wants to retake a exam. Retake examinations entail an extra examination fee.

Additional information