ICT Management and e-Business Strategy

Aims

The purpose of this course is to provide a broad understanding of the importance of ICT systems in the modern business environment so that the management makes the right decisions on issues relating to information systems. The course focuses on issues of information systems integration within the organization, information systems utilization according to the organization’s capabilities and its implications on processes and individuals, as well as information resources management. Topics covered include process analysis, project analysis, production planning and scheduling, ICT systems and new business models, quality management, supply chain management, capacity and facilities planning. The course also develops basic macroeconomic theory to enable managers to critically evaluate economic forecasts and policy recommendations and then applies these concepts in a series of case studies.

Learning Outcomes

Upon completing this course, students will:

• Develop analytical skills in planning, evaluating and supervising a project in ICT
• Develop skills in Evaluating and Sustaining Production Quality in ICT
• Understand some basic elements of Supply Chain Management
• Develop skills in Human Resource and Workforce allocation and management
• Broaden their experience through several case study examples

Content

• Process and Project Analysis
• Production Planning and Scheduling
• Quality Management
• ICT Systems and New Business Models; E-Commerce, Decision Making
• Capacity and Facilities planning
• Workforce Scheduling
• Project Valuation and Financing
• Case Studies

Reading

E. Turban, L. Volonino, Information Technology for Management, 8th Edition, 2010, John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Oz E. Management Information Systems, Course Technology, 6th edition.

J. Laudon, K. Laudon, Essentials of Management Information Systems, Prentice Hall, 8th edition.

M.H. Sherif, Managing Projects in Telecommunication Services, Wiley-IEEE Press.

Innovation, Creativity, Technology Management and Transfer

Aims

The course provides an overview of what creativity and innovation are, how they can be managed within organizations and how they can be enhanced via various tools and methods. The course also focuses on the role of technology as a contemporary strategic imperative and the impact of innovative activities on corporate strategy and especially international strategies. Finally, attention is also shifted towards the technology transfer process, including technology transfer from universities and research institutes to industry, intellectual property and patent establishment.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course students will:

• Understand what makes innovative firms different from "ordinary" firms and realize the importance of innovation in taking advantage of new scientific and technological developments
• Be able to identify the key factors that influence success
• Gain a valuable insight on effectively leveraging creativity, innovation and technology
• Be familiarized with patent searching and working through real patents, as well as the approach to patenting in different industrial sectors and the processes involved in patent exploitation
• Gain experience of researching technology transfer strategies in universities

Content

• Innovation and established innovation models
• Becoming better at generating creative ideas
• Collaborative innovation: How teams can work together effectively on creative ideas
• Relationship between innovation and organizational strategy
• Steps within the new product development process
• Internal and external environment of firms
• R&D process and innovation strategy
• Innovation process tools and influence of new technologies
• Creative thinking and personal creativity: Idea generation methods/stimuli
• Intellectual property and patenting
• Technology transfer in the wider academic and business communities
• Commercialization via technology transfer

Reading

Afuah, A. Innovation Management: Strategies, Implementation, and Profits, 2nd Edition. OUP USA, 2003.

Bessant, J., & Tidd, J. Innovation and Entrepreneurship, 2nd Edition. Wiley, 2011.

Bessant, J., Tidd, & Pavitt, K. Managing Innovation: Integrating Technological, Market and Organizational Change, 4th Edition. Wiley, 2009.

Burgelman, R. A., Christensen, C. M., & Wheelwright, S. C. Strategic Management of Technology and Innovation, 4th Edition. McGraw-Hill, 2003.

Web Programming

Aims

The students will get acquainted with all modern tools and principles of modern Web Information Systems through this course. An introduction will be given to basic internet protocols and applications and the course will guide the students in more advanced web architectures and implementation using modern programming language tools and security implementations.

Learning Outcomes

On completion of the course students will be able to:

• Understand the principal protocols, architectures and standards for Internet and Web applications
• Develop simple Web applications, using modern tools of Java, XML and PHP
• Incorporate commonly used security protocols (SSL, HTTPS) in their information system design
• Adapt their web design to enhance reliability, efficiency and internationalisation
• Understand the basic principles and future directions of Web 2.0

Content

• Internet and the Web protocols and standards.
• Architecture and Components of Web-Based Applications (3-tier and multi-tier Client/Server systems, Web servers, Database servers).
• Design and implementation of applications on the Internet environment with the use of modern tools (Java technology, XML, PHP etc).
• Advanced Design Issues (Efficiency, Reliability, and Internationalisation).
• Security / encryption protocols (SSL, HTTPS). Web 2.0.

Reading

Taniar D., Rahayu J. W. (2004) Web information systems Hershey, PA: Idea Group Publishing.

Vidgen R., Avison D., Wood B., Wood-Harper T. (2002) Developing Web Information Systems: From Strategy to Implementation, Butterworth-Heinemann Information Systems Series, Elsevier.

M. Stepp, J. Miller, V. Kirst (2012) Web Programming Step-by-Step, Step-By-Step Publishing

Computer Networks

Aims

This course will examine computer networks within the context of the Internet. We will study the fundamental principles, elements, and protocols of computer networks. We will investigate how the different protocols work, why they work that way, and their performance trade-offs. Using this knowledge, we will try to examine the way applications are deployed on the Internet and their performance trade-offs. In particular, we will try to examine some strategies that are commonly used to accelerate application level performance in the context of the operation of the Internet.

Learning Outcomes

On completing the course students will be able to:

• Explain the operation of a range of computer networking applications such as email, web, and peer-to-peer file-sharing
• Relate the architecture of the Internet to the underlying design principles
• Illustrate the operation of common routing protocols, queuing mechanisms, and congestion control mechanisms
• Develop elements of a network such as gateways and routers that conform to IETF standards with acceptable levels of simplification
• Explain the performance of a given set of routing protocols, queuing mechanisms, and congestion control mechanisms on an example network.

Content

• Introduction to Computer Networks
• Sockets Programming
• Protocol Stacks and Layering: Application Layer, Physical Layer, Link Layer Basics.
• Switching & Flow Control
• Ethernet and Bridging
• IP forwarding & addressing
• IP Packets & Routers
• Routing: RIP & OSPF, Routing: BGP, Multicast, DNS, IPv6, tunnelling, NAT, VPN, Virtual circuits, ATM, MPLS, Transport Intro.
• TCP & Congestion Control.
• TCP Performance
• Multimedia/QoS, QoS & Mobile (IP & TCP)
• Ad-hoc networks
• Web + CDNs + Caching, P2P
• Security - SSL, Security - firewalls, DoS
• Broadband access networks (xDSL,UWB, DOCSIS)

Reading

Kurose J. F., Ross K. W. (2007) Computer Networking: A Top-Down Approach, Addison Wesley, 6th edition.

Peterson L. L., Davie B. S. (2007) Computer Networks ISE: A Systems Approach, Morgan Kaufmann; 4th edition.

Stallings W. (2008) Data and Computer Communications, Pearson Education, 8th edition.

New Product Design, Development and Marketing

Aims

This course will help you develop, validate and refine your ideas to ensure you are building for a product/market fit. By blending theory and practice, we will discuss the product development lifecycle and the process from idea generation to commercial launch. New Product Design, Development and Marketing will teach you established tools and research methods for product planning, user research, concept generation, selection and testing, competitor analysis, user interface practices, and pre-launch and launch decisions. Emphasis will be given on marketing new ICT products in sectors such as e-commerce and mobile apps.

Learning Outcomes

On completing the course students will:

• Understand the steps in the new-product development process
• Learn how to conduct market analysis and sales forecasting
• Learn how to document users flow and validate their mockups
• Know how to write a marketing plan, and
• Have a practical understanding of the impact of new product development on the growth and the sustainability of a firm.

Content

• Identifying customer needs and opportunity identification,
• Setting a product strategy,
• New product development process,
• Idea generation and screening,
• Product design and UX/UI methods,
• Prototyping,
• Branding strategy: Brand naming, brand identity, strategy formulation
• Commercialization: Launch of innovative products to market
• Marketing efforts

Reading

Baker, P. From Concept to Consumer: How to Turn Ideas into Money. Pearson Education, 2009.

Kotler P., Keller K., Marketing Management, 14th Edition, Prengtice Hall, 2012

Mohr, J. J., Sengupta, S., & Slater, S. Marketing of High-Technology Products and Innovations, 2nd Edition. Prentice Hall, 2004.

Trott, P. Innovation Management and New Product Development, 5th Edition. Financial Times Press, 2012.

Ulrich, K., & Eppinger, S. Product Design and Development, 5th Edition. McGraw-Hill, 2011.

Design Sprint Methods by Google http://bit.ly/1Owq6lJ

Digital Marketing and Web Analytics

Aims

During the past two decades, e-Commerce and digital entrepreneurship has created a new landscape in the markets of goods and services. This course aims to familiarize the students with a whole new attitude toward customer understanding, web analytics, social media and web marketing, the importance of influence, campaign management, mobile marketing etc.

Developing and Financing an e-Business Venture

Aims

The course aims at introducing the student to the reality of the entrepreneur and the central issues related to the preparation of an e-business entrepreneurial project. The focus is on the entrepreneurial process, from recognizing opportunities and generating ideas, through the enterprise formation and financing, to the international expansion of a new venture. Methods for assessing a business and for developing financial statements are discussed. The regulatory processes of launching a new business including an overview of different forms and structures of the venture, laws and regulations, ways of protecting and patenting, and tax considerations, are also examined.

Learning Outcomes

Having successfully completed the course, students will:

• Have an overview of the major strategic and operational issues that typically confront young growing businesses
• Demonstrate an understanding of the various sources of finance available to entrepreneurs
• Distinguish among the various means of securing financial backing for business plans in a variety of industries and stages of venture development, both from the entrepreneur and investor perspectives
• Be familiarized with the processes of attracting finance to fund entrepreneurship activities and growth and managing that finance properly
• Acquire state-of-the art tools, methodologies and ideas needed in making the three basic decisions in corporate finance: Investment Decisions, Financing Decisions and Dividend Decisions

Content

• The company ‘lifecycle’
• Financing a venture
• Interacting with investors
• Barriers to growth and strategies for overcoming them
• Growth models, adaptation and evolution and managing transitions
• Finance for high-growth enterprises: Cash management and funding growth
• Stakeholder perspectives in a growing business
• Acquiring controlling interests
• Venture and development capital investments
• Start-ups
• Franchising
• Hybrid securities
• Managing the exit

Reading

Barringer, B. R., & Ireland, D. Entrepreneurship: Successfully Launching New Ventures, 4th Ed., Pearson Education, 2012.

Mariotti, S., & Glackin, C. Entrepreneurship: Starting and Operating a Small Business, 2nd Ed., Prentice Hall, 2010.

Spinelli, S., & Adams, R. New Venture Creation: Entrepreneurship for the 21st Century, 9th Ed., McGraw-Hill, 2012.

Chaffey, D. e-Business and e-Commerce Management, 5th Edition. FT Prentice Hall, 2011.

Ince, D. Developing Distributed and e-Commerce Applications, 2nd Edition. Addison-Wesley, 2003.

Morville, P., & Rosenfeld, L. Information Architecture for the World Wide Web: Designing Large-Scale Web Sites, 3rd Edition. O’Reilly, 2006.

Entrepreneurship and Business Planning

Aims

Entrepreneurship is the basic driving force behind any kind of economic development and is related to particular skills and mindsets, most of which can be learned and systematically improved. This course approaches the "who", "what" and "how" of entrepreneurship from an individual, a startup and a corporate perspective. On the more technical side, students will also be provided the required skill set for developing a business plan.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course students will:

• Understand the key drivers of entrepreneurial behaviours and the importance of entrepreneurial activities within a market economy
• Gain knowledge as to how to cover the development, evaluation and application of ideas and concepts with commercial potential
• Be able to take an integrated view of all aspects of a business and apply all the functional components of the curriculum
• Be able to assess and mitigate key risks associated with new ventures, including those relating to personnel, markets and technologies and recognize the effort and dedication needed to make a new business succeed
• Develop an understanding of entrepreneurship in business and organizations and possess the skills required to prepare a successful business plan

Content

• Introduction to business and entrepreneurship
• Main elements of entrepreneurship in theory and practice
• Opportunity exploration and exploitation
• Methodologies for analysing, specifying, designing and launching high-tech businesses
• Creativity and entrepreneurial problem solving
• Examples of successful enterprises and case studies from high-technology ventures
• Entrepreneurial management
• Preparing financial and business plans for new business ventures
• Financing and venture capital funds
• Exit strategies

Reading

Barrow, C. The Business Plan Workbook: The Definitive Guide to Researching Writing up and Presenting a Winning Plan, 4th Edition. Kogan Page, 2011.

Dorf, R. C., & Byers, T. H. Technology Ventures: From Idea to Enterprise, 3rd Edition, McGraw-Hill, 2010.

Hisrich, R.D., Peters, M.P., & Shepherd, D.A. Entrepreneurship, 9th Edition, Mc-Graw-Hill, 2012.

Kuratko, D. Introduction to Entrepreneurship, International Edition. South Western College, 2009.

Stutely, R. The Definitive Business Plan: The Fast Track to Intelligent Business Planning for Executives and Entrepreneurs, 2nd Edition. Financial Times/ Prentice Hall, 2006.

Big Data and Cloud Computing

Aims

The big data explosion has led to new computing paradigms, the most prevalent among them being cloud computing. Cloud computing is about vast computing resources on demand, that allow for centralized data storage and online access. Big data is a broad term that includes several concepts and tasks, such as data capture, storage, sharing, management and analysis. This course focuses mostly on the big data storage and management part, rather than the analysis as well as cloud service models, architectures and tools. Students will familiarize with modern big data and cloud technologies, understand the privacy and security concerns and learn about popular big data and cloud computing platforms.

Learning Outcomes

On completing the course students will be able to:

• Develop the knowledge, understanding and skills to work with Big data
• Deploy a structured lifecycle approach to data analytics problems
• Apply appropriate analytic techniques and tools to analyzing big data
• Understand Cloud Computing Concepts and Mechanisms
• Learn the concepts, principles, techniques and methodologies you need to manage cloud services and resources

Content

• Big data concepts, principles and practical applications
• Big data capture, storage, sharing, management and analysis
• Cloud Computing Concepts and Mechanisms
• Cloud Architectures
• Working with Clouds
• Managing Cloud Services and Resources
• Big data and cloud computing platforms

Reading

T. Erl, R. Puttini, Z. Mahmood, Cloud Computing: Concepts, Technology & Architecture, Pearson, 2013.

EMC Education Services (Editor), Data Science and Big Data Analytics: Discovering, Analyzing, Visualizing and Presenting Data, Wiley 2015.

Business Strategy

Aims

The course provides students with the ability to analyze the drivers of competitive strategy and apply strategic management principles across a range of organization types. Additionally, the course presents frameworks for identifying the challenges of various competitive environments and discusses useful analytical approaches applied in widely different strategic problems. Students understand how to build a strategically responsive e-Business organization by tuning systems, structures and people to strategy, and how to effectively manage the process of strategizing.

Learning Outcomes

On completing the course students will:

• Demonstrate an understanding of the principles of strategic management
• Analyze the global business environment and critically discuss its impact on contemporary strategic thinking
• Prepare and deliver senior management reports and presentations
• Justify and promote strategic initiatives, such as adopting a new technology and contribute to strategic technical decisions
• Define and quantify the benefits, costs, risks and time-scales associated with new strategic initiatives
• Demonstrate an array of skills and techniques for evaluating emerging technologies in enterprise and e-Business applications
• Understand the key issues and frameworks that e-Business practitioners need to grapple with

Content

• The global business environment and the strategic context
• Business strategy and strategic management
• Strategy selection and formulation
• Corporate objectives, organizational analysis and environment scanning
• Strategic analysis: Internal and external analysis
• Financial and non-financial comparative measurement, PEST and market scanning
• Strategic planning: Optimization, co-ordination and negotiation approaches
• Appropriate tools and techniques: SWOT, TOWS, scenario planning, portfolio planning, value chain analysis and crafting strategy
• Managing and planning the transition to e-Business
• Emergent e-Business models

Reading

Campbell, D., Edgar, D., & Stonehouse, G. Business Strategy: An Introduction, 3rd Edition. Palgrave Macmillan, 2011.

Combe, C. Introduction to e-Business: Management and Strategy, Butterworth-Heinemann, 2006.

Jelassi, T., & Enders, A. Strategies for e-Business: Concepts and Cases, 2nd Edition. FT/Prentice Hall/Pearson Education, 2008.

Johnson, G., Scholes, K., & Whittingtoon, R. Exploring Corporate Strategy, 8th Edition. FT/Prentice Hall, 2008.

Data Mining and Business Analytics

Aims

The course covers Knowledge Discovery in Databases (KDD) and Data Mining (DM) as a set of computational tools and technologies, which provide valuable assistance for business analysis and strategic business decision making. This is a hands-on course that provides an understanding of the key methods of data visualization, exploration, classification, prediction, and clustering. Students will learn how to apply various data mining techniques for solving practical problems and how to develop and use simple business analytics systems.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course you should be able to

• Organise and efficiently process any knowledge, either given a priori or extracted
• Understand the basic concepts of data mining
• Understand and apply various data mining approaches, including Classification, Clustering and Association Rules.
• Model complex problems
• Develop skills on a broad range of business intelligence problems
• Understand, evaluate and utilise knowledge extracted from large volumes of data.Identify the basic components and special characteristics of a business decision problem and develop a solution.

Content

• Introduction to Knowledge Discovery in Databases (KDD) and Data Mining (DM)
• Classification and Regression
• Clustering
• Association Rules
• Exploratory vs. Confirmatory analysis
• DM Systems, Data pre-processing and EvaluationBusiness use cases

Reading

J. Han and M. Kamber, Data Mining: Concepts and Techniques, 3rd ed., The Morgan Kaufmann Series in Data Management Systems, Morgan Kaufmann Publishers, 2011.

I. Witten, E. Frank, and M. Hall, “Data Mining: Practical Machine Learning Tools and Techniques”, 3rd Ed., Morgan Kaufmann, 2011.

J. Ledolter, Data Mining and Business Analytics with R, Wiley, 2013.

P.N. Tan, M. Steinbach, and V. Kumar, “Introduction to Data Mining” Int’l Ed., 1/e, Pearson Higher Education, 2006.

R. Sharda, D. Delen, E. Turban, Decision Support and Business Intelligence Systems Int’l Ed. 10/E, Pearson Higher Education, 2015.

M.H. Dunham, “Data Mining: Introductory and Advanced Topics”, Prentice Hall, 2003.

M.M. Gaber (ed.), Journeys to data mining: experiences from 15 renowned researchers, Springer, 2012

Human Computer Interaction, Design and User Experience

Computers have been a part of every aspect of human life for quite a while. A vast number of computing technologies, paradigms, architectures, solutions, applications etc. were born, evolved, matured and died, to give their place in new ones that can harness the ever growing potential of a continuously evolving landscape. Human creativity and ingenuity has played a crucial role in these developments. However, the software market has gone beyond discovering new technologies or improving the existing ones. Except from being operational, software has to be not just easy to use but also intuitive, engaging and pleasant. Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) is a field that addresses the need to create user interfaces that can improve user experience, increase productivity while at the same time providing an environment that is safe and comfortable. HCI involves a confluence of many different disciplines, such as graphic design, cognitive science and psychology, education etc. Therefore, a familiarization of basic concepts of non-computing fields is necessary.

E-Commerce Systems & Protocols

Aims

The aim of this course is to broaden and expand knowledge of the concepts and techniques required for the design, operation and control of the modern upcoming e-commerce applications and e-government systems that are massively introduced by western governments to fight bureaucracy. The essential computing background to support such systems is presented, along with the individual requirements for a wide variety of modern life activities that can be performed online.

Learning Outcomes

On completing the course students will:

• Develop knowledge of the information and communication skills to support and develop this type of information systems
• Broaden their knowledge into e-commerce, covering business, marketing, organisational and payment security issues
• Explain the concepts, processes behind developing an e-learning facility
• Understand the technological, ethical, legal and practical requirements of an electronic government information system

Content

• Current and emerging business models
• The use of information and communications technology
• Mobile commerce
• E-marketing and e-business strategy
• E-consumer behaviour and advertisement
• Organisational and managerial challenges in the electronic environment
• E-Payment systems
• E-learning; security issues and the legal environment
• Understanding eGovernment
• eAdministration/G2G
• eCitizens/ eAccountability
• eDemocracy/eParticipation
• eServices/G2C & G2B
• Legislation for eGovernment
• Integrated eGovernment, Group Presentations

Reading

Laudon K., Guercio-Traver C. (2008) E-Commerce 2009: Business, Technology, Society, Prentice Hall, 5th edition.

Turban E., Lee J. K., King D., McKay J., Marshall P., (2008) Electronic Commerce 2008, Prentice Hall. Abramson M., Morin T. (2003) E-Government 2003, Rowman & Littlefield, Lanham, MD.

Heeks R. B. (2006) Implementing and Managing eGovernment: An International Text, Sage Publications, London

Mobile Applications Development

Aims

Mobile computing has recently emerged with the spread of smartphones and it has soon become the fastest growing ICT field. A significant percentage of businesses and organizations are already marketing their products and services through mobile sites and applications and those who haven’t already, they will have to do so in the near future. This course introduces the students to the basic concepts of mobile computing technologies as well as business principles and practices in order to exploit the full potential of the mobile application market. The students will learn how to imbue a business strategy with capabilities and functionalities offered by the new technological platform.

Learning Outcomes

Students will be able to:

• Learn basic principles of marketing and B2B of mobile computing
• Harness the potential that mobile computing offers to businesses
• Learn about the technologies involved (wireless and mobile communications, web application development basics, security protocols involved, etc.)
• Identify strengths, weaknesses, risks and opportunities and build a successful strategy

Content

• Wireless technologies (Wi-Fi, 3G, 4G etc.)
• Cross-platform mobile web applications
• Native mobile applications that exploit the device’s hardware
• Designing a mobile computing business strategy and evaluating risks and opportunities
• Social networks for collaboration and marketing
• Security and privacy aspects
• Case studies

Reading

Mobile Design and Development: Practical Concepts and Techniques for Creating Mobile Sites and Web Apps, Brian Fling, O'Reilly Media Inc., 2009, ISBN 0596155441, 9780596155445.

Handbook of research in mobile business: technical, methodological, and social perspectives, Bhuvan Unhelkar, 2nd Edition, Vol.1 & 2, Idea Group Inc (IGI), 2009, ISBN1605661562, 9781605661568.