Overview
This course will introduce students to a range of disruptive technological developments, including industry 4.0, artificial intelligence, the cloud, Internet of things, big data, open innovation, and blockchain technologies. Students will learn about the business and commercial impacts of these developments and how the formation of appropriate strategies can help businesses transform and respond to the opportunities and challenges associated with the digital economy.
This is an integrative course that requires students to bring their knowledge of different functional areas to bear upon a corporate level issue (digital transformation). The course will encourage collaboration between students and will also require individual effort as each transformation plan will be unique. Students considering business process re-engineering, transformation through change in process, transformation through adoption of digital technology, etc., will find this course of particular interest.
Outline
This course is divided into 10 lessons
- Lesson 1: Introduction to New Digital Technologies
- Lesson 2: Business Model Innovation and Disruption
- Lesson 3: Creating Disruption: The Disruptor’s Perspective
- Lesson 4: Responding to Disruption
- Lesson 5: The Business Case for Digital Transformation
- Lesson 6: Digital Strategy
- Lesson 7: Driving Digital Transformation
- Lesson 8: Privacy, Security, and Ethics
- Lesson 9: Generative AI and Competitive Advantage
- Lesson 10: Ethical and Human-Centric Perspectives on AI
Learning outcomes
By the end of this course, students should be able to demonstrate the capacity for digital leadership by:
- assessing the organizational impacts of particularly disruptive technologies;
- understanding the entrepreneurial strategies of disruptors and strategic responses from incumbents;
- showing an awareness of digital transformation drivers through informed discussion;
- assessing the digital potential of an organization; and
- completing a digital transformation plan for business organization.
Evaluation
Your grade will be based on the successful completion of two individual assignments
and on your participation in moderated group discussions.
| Activity | Weight |
| Participation in Discussions | 40% |
| Assignment 1: Emergent Technology Essay | 20% |
| Assignment 2: Digital Transformation Plan | 40% |
| Total | 100% |
To receive a passing grade in this course, you must meet these minimum standards:
- receive a minimum of 60% on the participation component (Discussion application); and
- receive an average grade of 60 % over all course components.
Materials
Digital course materials
Links to the following course materials will be made available in the course:
Rogers, D. L. (2016). The digital transformation playbook: Rethink your business for the digital age. New York: Columbia University Press.
Other materials
Additional readings are provided in the course’s Digital Reading Room.