Babson College
Department of Math and Science
Spring Semester, 2000
MIS-3571 — Selected Topics: Electronic Commerce

Class Meets: Class Meets: Monday and Wednesday, 3:25 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. in Gerber Hall 103.

Course Web Site: http://faculty.babson.edu/reck/mis3571s00/index.htm  for syllabus. Another site using e-campus will be posted for regular class use.

Class Attendance: Registrar informs me that class is FULL. No new registrations will be accepted except for those on the waiting list should slots become available due to course drops.

Course Summary and Objectives

Consistent with the business orientation of Babson College, this course studies the rapidly growing phenomena of electronic commerce and electronic business from four perspectives:

1. Technology underpinnings for Electronic Commerce (EC), including an overview of the languages, hardware, software, networks, Internet, EDI, standards and protocols.
2. Impact on other information systems within a business, including impacts on Intranets, management information systems, and other operating systems that provide fundamental support to all elements of the value chain within a business. The relation to Knowledge Management will also be discussed.
3. Impact on business design and strategy (and vice versa), including how business strategy shapes and is now being shaped by threats and opportunities in EC.
4. Impact on the industries and markets, including use of extranets, and how some industries are being forced to change almost overnight to respond to the impact of EC, particularly some intermediaries and distributors.

Audience

The course is aimed at those business and management information systems students who already have an understanding of the fundamentals of MIS, and who want an understanding of the issues and fundamentals regarding the use and conduct of electronic commerce and electronic business. Further, the course is being designed to especially appeal to those students with an entrepreneurial spirit.

Prerequisites

As listed in the course reference list, however, students should have a background in or previous courses in information systems.

Class Approach and Student Evaluation

Classroom participation, an individual written case study, a mid-term examination, and a final examination are the basis for the course grade. Each of these is discussed below.

The weighting of these elements in the student's final grade are:

Class participation 20%
Case study 30%
Mid-term examination 20%
Final examination 30%

Participation will be evaluated on the basis of understanding and using assigned readings and study findings, contributing to insight on analysis and action recommendations for the case or topic being discussed, and taking into account others’ inputs. Excessive absence or tardiness from class or other disregard for professional behavior will adversely affect this grade. To get a good grade in participation students must verbally contribute, discuss and raise questions in class. Students are encouraged to discuss material for classes and papers, but are individually responsible for all final products.

An Individual Case Study is to be an analysis of a specific company or e-business topic. Papers are to "mimic" regular HBS and Babson case studies. Length is typically eight to ten pages single spaced. The papers are to take into account not only the class materials to that point, but also the class discussions and insights after the class. Specific criteria will be presented in class during the first two classes. Students will chose a topic from a suggested list, or receive instructor approval for an "off the list" topic. Only one student in each class may work on any particular topic or company. Details are given below.

Each student will prepare their case study about a company or industry coping with electronic commerce or electronic business in some way. Unique companies and industries will be selected by each student on a first-come, first served basis on a class sign-up page.  Data for the study can be gathered from the Web, field work, from publicly available information, from the library, and/or from a visit to a local firm. There is no guarantee that a company or topic on the list at this site will be good topic - specifically, in-depth information may NOT be available to justify the company as a good study. Students are to determine the suitability of a company based on their initial research. Students may change their topic during the semester with the approval of the professor.

The firm you select should be involved in a key way with electronic business, either as a manufacturer, distributor, retailer, supply chain element, or as a user. (More will be said in class on the selection criteria.) The case study should be organized to demonstrate a thorough understanding of the e-business and its potential. As a general guideline, the case study could include (but not be limited to):

• Describe the company's business in 25 words or less
• Describe the relation of electronic commerce to business practice, noting any changes from before to after electronic commerce was adopted
• Give industry background: growth, number of firms, major players, etc.
• Give background of company: age, size, growth, market
• Analyze the Porter five forces, SWOT and other relevant frameworks, only if appropriate
• Analyze the business model (the meaning of a "model" will be defined in class) [required]
• Investigate the competitive financial situation: ratio analysis on key operating performance measures (inventory turnover, sales/employee, ROA, etc.) compared to industry values
• Discuss key management challenges: today, a few years ago, a few years in the future
• Include names, titles and quotes from key people, especially people you may interview
• Identify any entrepreneurial opportunities that are not yet covered by the firm
• Discuss the information technology used in the e-comm initiative [required]
• Include a complete bibliography and references, including complete citation of works from all sources (including the Web) in proper bibliographic form
• Include a Teaching Note of one or two pages describing how you would teach your case to a similar class. What questions would you ask (and how would you answer them)? What would be the learning points?

Mid-Term Examination - There will be a mid-term examination about half-way through the semester. Some details of the assignment will be given out at least a week before the in-class examination. A short case study will be the focus for the paper/ examination and the student will be asked to apply the concepts and learnings from the course in an analysis of the case company. The mid-term paper/ examination will take one class period and be an open book, open notes exam. You will be asked to use a lap-top computer in class to take your exam. You should familiarize yourself with Word and any other software that you feel you will need to take the exam. You will be asked to hand in a disk with your exam paper on it in one single file. Both your disk and paper should have your name on it. Content to be analyzed in the exam will span that involved in the class to that point.

Grades will be based on the insights and understanding shown in the paper, as well as the creativity, clarity and crispness of writing (e.g., content and form). Exhibits referring to slides shown in class need not be reproduced by the student - they may be referred to in the paper with an appropriate reference so the teacher has a clear indication of which framework/slide is being referenced. Students should save all their work from this exercise as a back-up - just in case. Disks or files submitted with any viruses on them will not be used and be the basis for an automatic "F". You may submit a test file if you are in doubt about your future submission's acceptability.

The paper/examination will be limited to about 2,000 words maximum (that's about five double-spaced pages in 12-point type). Students should arrive at the examination prepared with the correct tools and templates for preparing their papers. Papers will be handed back as soon as possible after the examination.

Final Examination - A final examination will also be given during the exam period. Currently, the exam is scheduled for May 9, 2000 at 1:00 pm until 3:00 pm. The entire contents of the course should be drawn upon to respond to the questions posed. Historically, this exam has been open book, open note and a short answer exam. Questions asked however require in-depth understanding of the materials, including from a qualitative and logical point of view.

Standards for Written Work - All written work will be judged on the basis of content as well as writing style. Accordingly, your work should be error free both grammatically and in spelling. Use the tools on your computer. Babson's Writing Center should be used if you feel you need assistance in preparing your papers for class. No time extensions are granted for use of the Writing Center, so plan your work ahead of time.

Course Materials

There is NO course pack for this class. All readings will be available online. The detailed readings are being assembled now and links identified. Some readings may be added to the syllabus during the semester. Students should note the version of this syllabus and ensure they are using the most up to date version for their class assignments. Case studies will also be posted via links on this syllabus; for some cases articles about a company will be used in lieu of a case - they will be treated the same way. Students are expected to visit the Web sites of all case study companies prior to class discussions.

There are three OPTIONAL books for the course which are available in paperback from online stores such as amazon.com, bn.com, or varsitybooks.com.

• Ravi Kalakota and Andrew B. Whinston, Electronic Commerce, Addison Wesley Longman, 1997
• Ravi Kalakota and Marcia Robinson, e-Business: Roadmap for Success, Addison-Wesley Co., 1999
• G. Winfield Treese and Lawrence C. Stewart, Designing Systems for Internet Commerce, Addison-Wesley Co., 1998

Examinations and other grading material will not depend on these optional texts. These are listed so that the serious student can obtain additional material relevant to the course subjects. Additional optional books may also be suggested by the instructor from time to time.

MIS-3571 Course Syllabus - Session Descriptions By Week

 

Week	Topics	Assignments, Readings, Cases and Guests
January 26 [Week 1]	Introduction Course overview and administration. Scope and content of syllabus. Introduction of instructor. Discussion of assignments, grading criteria, case paper and exams. Overview of Internet, e-Comm (EC) and e-Biz (EB), as well as other aspects of EC. Review of history of the Internet and EC/EB. Role of technology in commerce and strategic systems. Key frameworks for course. Key vocabulary. Introduction to EC languages and tools.	Watch excerpts from film "Nerds 2.0.1" as shown in class. Full copy available from Babson Library. Scan the online book http://www.home.eunet.co/ ~presno/ bok/ index.html - Odd de Presno, "The Online World Resources Handbook," Self Published, 2000. Good introductory text with many interesting links to demonstration materials. The message is the partly the media here.
January 31 [Week 2]	Business Perspective Discussion of site "progressions" and typical sites, relative to a business' intent and business and technology implications. The elements of a "business model" as well as the spectrum of EC business models observed will be discussed. Relation of EB/EC to value chains and extended enterprise models.	Read http://www.businessweek.com/ ebiz/9908/ dm0813.htm - "E-Commerce Explosion," BW,, 8/13/99. Read http://www.techweb.com/ se/ directlink.cgi? IWK19960610S0045 Champy, Buday, and Nohria, "Selling on the Web - Creating the Electronic Community," Techweb,1995. Read http://www.ecomworld.com/html/ articles/ digeco.htm T. Wilken, "Sizing Up the Digital Economy" at this link. Read http://www.economist.com/editorial/ freeforall/ 19990626/ su9828.html) - M. Symonds, "The Net Imperative," Economist, June 26, 1999, Special Section. Read http://www.usc.edu/dept/ annenberg/ vol1/ issue3/ sarkar.html. M. Sarkar, B. Butler and C. Steinfield, "Intermediaries and Cybermediaries: A Continuing Role for Mediating Players in the Electronic Marketplace," 1997?. Explores new roles for potentially disintermediated channel players. Read L. Sharon, "Business Models," 1999. Download here in a few weeks. Study the Case:http://www.esteel.com. Review site. Understand nature of market, forces, value chain, business model, and revenue model. How do you compete with e-steel?
February 7 [Week 3]	Technology Perspective Organizing principles and major network and Internet technology components, ISPs, portals, search engines, and other features. E-comm "languages." Mechanics of creating Web pages and launching them into cyberspace. The technology, software, network connections, and business design will be discussed for several business models.	Read http://www.microsoft.com/ DigitalNervousSystem/ solutions/ overview.htm - "E-Commerce and the Digital Nervous System," 1999. A look at the foundations, hardware, software and several case studies for doing business on the Internet from Microsoft's perspective. There are many case studies and other material at the Microsoft site. Focus on the following, however. - http://www.microsoft.com/ DigitalNervousSystem/ ecommerce/ Commerce.htm - download the CommerceWP.doc paper. - http://www.microsoft.com/ DigitalNervousSystem/ ecommerce/ default.htm - overview of site with pointers to case studies. Read the Art.com, MasterCard International, and Sainsbury's Supermarkets cases. Read http://navigators.com/ internet_ architecture.html - A unique pictoral with accompanying text of how the Internet works between your desktop computer and a Web server. Read S. Estrada, "Research Report: Search Engines," 1999. Scan http://www.firstmonday.dk/issues/issue2_2/peterson/index.html - J. Peterson, "Eight Internet Search Engines Compared," First Monday,, 1997?. Read http://www.west.net/~steveco/collfilt.html - Short article on collaborative filtering. Compare with what you think "rules-based filtering" might be. Read http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/ COLLFILT.html - F. Heylighen, "Collaborative Filtering," Principia Cybernetica Web, 1999. Short article. Read http://www.instantweb.com/m/ mahesh/ 4455/ CollabFiltering.HTML - "Collaborative Filtering," 1999. Short article.
February 14 [Week 4]	Model Components: Sell Side, CRM, and Auctions This module will discuss how various companies are positioning themselves to use EC/EB in their marketing and sales operations. Relevant product suites for these types of operations will be discussed. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) will also be discussed together with the subject of data mining. Impacts on the channels and distribution chains will also be discussed.	Read K. Matthews, "Dell Corporation," 1999. Read http://www.informationweek.com/ 763/ gmforum.htm - GM Will Use Technology to Know Its Customers, IW, 11/29/99. Read Open Market White Paper, "Open Market Transact 4," 1997. Read with emphasis on the components of a sell side operation, including their integration. See other white papers at the OMI site as well. Paper may be obtained at http://www.openmarket.com, going to Support, going to the Library (Enter), going to White Papers, and selecting this white paper. Others also interesting. http://www.informationweek.com/ 763/ catalog.htm - "Build the E-Commerce Catalog," IW, 11/29/99.
February 21 [Week 5]	Model Components: Buy Side and SCM Buy-side or procurement systems will be discussed, together with the efficiences they inject into a business. The opportunities for EC/EB along the supply chain will be covered with emphasis on ERP/EEM systems and their relationship to the "back office" support of e-Comm. The revenue and cost components of an EC business will be discussed, together with the major elements that go into a business case for a venture capital request. Risk and other criteria venture partners use to evaluate submissions. The roles and success factors of entrepreneurs will also be covered including issues of management and leadership.	Read Andrea Meyer, "GE TPN," MIT, 1999. Case questions are at the end of the article. Scan http://www.3com.com/technology/ tech_net/ white_papers/ 503048.html - "Business to Business Electronic Commerce," White Paper at site. Discusses technology and supply chain solutions. Scan article focusing on the technology and software components used. Scan J. Saunders, "Structural Costs of E-Commerce," 1999. This draft report highlights business models and the associated costs for implementation. A unique perspective, even though the report is in draft form.
February 28 [Week 6]	Linkages With Strategy How do existing businesses cope with the establishment of EC in their industries? What steps do mature companies take to create and implement an EC strategy? What factors are in the way? What strategic questions arise and how should they be answered? Various rules of EB will be discussed and related to performance parameters. Performance metrics for EC/EB will also be discussed. EC/EB businesses will also be discussed from the shareholder and stock market perspective.	This week's readings all comprise a case study: Chemdex, e-Chemicals and Life Technologies. Read handouts, articles below, and consider these questions (Click Here). Study http://www.chemdex.com. Download and read the "pdf" article on "B2B E-Commerce" from the Chemdex site. Study http://www.lifetech.com. Visit site and understand nature of their business and distribution channels. Contrast with Chemdex. Read http://www.cio.com/archive/ webbusiness/ 120199_ net_ content.html - M. Santosus and N. Lewis, "Compound Interests," CIO, 12/1/99. Article about netpreneurs who established http://www.e-chemicals.com. Contrast with Chemdex. Optional Read http://www.businessweek.com - A. Stone, "A Chemicals Superstore With an Explosive Cyber Formula," BW,, 12/30/99. Note: You the specific page address was unavailable; you can enter BW for free to obtain this article. Check also Babson Library.
March 6 [Week 7]	Security and Other Issues Regarding E-Commerce Key issues surrounding EC will be discussed. Specific focus will be on security and "hacker proof" sites, privacy, authentication, and safeguards, hence, a discussion on protection of company systems and information by firewalls and security-limited access. Solutions to security problems with various hardware and software configurations will be covered. Protocols and features of EC software such as browsers that allow heightened security will also be discussed.	Mid-Term Examination Week - Exam Wednesday, March 8, 2000. (Security and other topics this week are not on the exam.) Read "Security at McDonnell Douglas," 1999, and consider the questions at the end of the case study. Read http://www.informationweek.com/764/taxes.htm - "Internet Develops Its Own Tax Code," IW, 12/6/99. Read http://www.stern.nyu.edu/~akambil - Download third article on page, "Internet Security Note - A Teaching Note on Internet Security." See other articles by author including "Doing Business in the Wired World," 1997. Ajit Kambil, "Trends in Electronic Commerce Security: Background Material for Discussion on Payments and Security," 1999. Good overview paper of 22 pages. Other interesting papers also at site. Read http://www.ssh.fi/ tech/ crypto/ algorithms.html - "Introduction to Cryptology," "Algorithms," and "Protocols and Standards," SSH Tech Comet, 1998.
March 13 [Week 8]	EC In Practice: Financial Services One of the key areas being developed that will have far-reaching impacts on business and EC is electronic banking. Attempted on-and-off for over 20 years with various technologies, now electronic banking appears to have a viable start. Electronic banking will be discussed, together with the various banking/financial services functions. Many related issues including payments, bill presentation, credit cards, e-wallets, etc. will also be discussed.	Read the Case R. H. Reck, "Online Banking," Kendall Consulting Group, 1999, and answer the related questions at the end of the case. Read http://www.informationweek.com/ 762/ ebpp.htm - "Electronic Billing Made Simpler," IW, 11/22/99.
March 20	No Class - Spring Recess	"See you in Florida! ;-}"
March 27 [Week 9]	EC In Practice: Online Publishing Continued discussion on business strategy. How do mature industries cope with potential obsolescence of their business or market position due to EC? Examples from the publishing area will help focus the discussion. Additionally the impact of distance learning on the education industry will be examined.	Due 3/27/99: Case Study Assignment. Read the Case: "e-Music," by M. Giorgetti, 1999. Consider the impacts of the Web and common practice on this publishing industry. Read http://www.business2.com/articles/1999/ 12/ content/ feature_3.html - "Stop the Presses," Moderated by J. Ryan, Business 2.0, 12/99. Article on how journalism struggles to move into the Internet age. Be sure to read all five parts. Read http://www.deathofdistance.com/html/ a_ trendspotter's_ guide.html - Site summarizes thirty trends that will shape the future. References book by the same title by F. Cairncross of the Economist.
April 3 [Week 10]	Knowledge Management An important and allied component of EC/EB is knowledge management. This module will discuss KM and the various viewpoints companies are taking on the subject. A business and technology perspective will be shared. The impact on operations of a consulting company will help focus the class.	Read http://www.skyrme.com/ insights/ - David Skyrme's site contains a number of interesting articles, including several on Knowledge Management. Find and read these. Read http://www.cio.com/archive/060196_ uneasy_1.html) - "Five Uneasy Pieces: Knowledge Management," CIO, 6/1/96. Short overview of KM. Scan http://www.kennedy info.com/mc/ gware.html#j/ - "B. Reimus, "Knowledge Sharing Within Management Consulting Firms," Kennedy Information, 1997. Read http://www.cio.com/archive/ 060198_ think_ content.html) - T. Davenport, "Managing Customer Knowledge," CIO, 6/1/98. Focuses on turning customer data into useful knowledge. Read http://www.microsoft.com/ DigitalNervousSystem/ km/ KMpract.htm - "Practicing Knowledge Management: Turning Experience and Information Into Results." A look at Knowledge Management from Microsoft's perspective. Download the paper "PractKM.doc" from this page at the Microsoft site. There are many case studies and other material at the Microsoft site. Focus on the following, however. http://www.microsoft.com/ DigitalNervousSystem/ km/ default.htm - Read three case studies available through links at this page on KPMG, A. T. Kearney, and British Petroleum.
April 10 [Week 11]	E-Comm as a Transformation Tool While terms such as business process redesign and reengineering have faded from popularity, the result of many e-business implementations and supply chain renovations is exactly the same as if reengineering had been the original goal. These lectures will discuss reengineering, link these to e-commerce, and discuss the implications for conceiving and launching an e-commerce business.	Read http://www.brint.com/ papers/ bpr.htm) - Y. Malhotra, "Business Process Redesign: An Overview," BRI, 1998. - Short overview of reengineering. Read http://www.fastcompany.com/ online/ 01/ reengin.html - T. Davenport, "The Fad That Forgot People," Fast Company, 1995. A classic article on reengineering and some of the problems the concept faced in implementations. Scan http://www.dtic.mil/c3i/ bprcd/ 7223c2.htm - This is an online book on reengineering used within the Department of Defense. See also other chapters. Scan other chapters. Consider the relevance of reengineering to electronic commerce for class discussion. Read R. Reck and V. Reck, "Managing Change: A Proven Path to Business Success," Innovations (Kendall Consulting Group), 1995. This article casts reengineering as a change program and explains the three elements for success in such a program.
April 17 [Week 12]	EC Sites: Design Criteria and Layout What factors lead to successful EC sites? What are the various evaluation criteria? How can you become a "destination" site? Several specific areas will also be discussed relative to site design, including collaborative filtering versus structured filtering, search engine bias, and common gateway interfaces (CGI). These factors are particularly instrumental in site functionality and relative success. Aesthetic factors will also be highlighted.	Read http://www.websitesthatsuck.com - Presents a unique look at good and bad web sites from usage and design viewpoints. Scan http://www.wilsonweb.com/articles/ 12design.htm - Discusses 12 design decisions, including purpose, site organization, name, key graphics, photos, forms, testing, registering and advertising the site and site maintenance. Scan http://www.wilsonweb.com/articles/ why-come.htm - Presents four major motivations for customers to come to your Web site and briefly discusses each one. Scan http://www.business2.com/articles/ 1999/ 12/ content/ market_9.html - J. Nielsen, "Designing for Disaster," Business 2.0, 12/99. Article gives ten design "goofs" that can spell doom for any business site.
April 24 [Week 13]	E-Commerce, SCM, ERP and Legacy Systems - Plus Course Review A concise look at electronic commerce and the linkages with other information systems and business operations will be the focus of this module. ERP systems and the moves being made by these software providers will be covered. As time allows, a review of the course will begin. Topics left unaddressed up to this time period will be completed. Time will also be allocated for completion of the course evaluations.	Read http://www.cio.com/ forums/ erp/ edit/ 122299_erp.html - "The ABC's of ERP," CIO, 12/22/99. Good overview of ERP systems and the concept of SCM. Read http://www.cio.com/archive/ 061597_ commerce_ print.html - P. Fabris, "EC Riders," CIO, 1997. Streamlining the supply chain. Also discusses GE TPN.
May 1 [Week 14]	Wrap-Up and Final Examination Introduction As an ending to the class the future will be discussed through scenarios and the business impacts facing the EC/EB community. Final examination review.	Read http://www.business2.com/articles/1999/ 12/ content/ internetage.html - J. Griffin, "How Will the Internet Age," Business 2.0, 12/99. Five major predictions that will affect business and daily life. Come prepared to discuss the major changes you anticipate that will occur due to the Internet and Electronic Commerce.

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