UCLA Anderson School

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Fall 2010

Syllabus Draft 1

Course: Management 270C

Title: Doing Business on the Web (Application Frontiers in IS)

Time & Place: Mondays and Wednesdays, 4:15-5:45 PM, Room D310

Instructor: E. Burton Swanson

Office hours: D507, Wednesdays, 2:30-3:30 PM, and by appointment
Contact: [email protected], tel. 310-825-3654

Prerequisite: Graduate standing

Description: The course is designed for students who wish to develop or deepen their
knowledge of doing business on the Web. Such business is understood to involve
transacting with a firm’s customers, suppliers, or both, as well as coordinating
internal operations through an intranet. Included are: (i) development, marketing,
distribution, and customer sales and service via the Web for either traditional or
digital products and services; (ii) procurement, recruitment, partnering, service
contracting and supply chain management via the Web; (iii) non-traditional
business via the Web, such as that which relies on an open-source or other social
networking model.

The general topics covered are organized around the interests of those who would
create a new business on the Web, in particular. In successive weeks, we focus in
turn on: Web business infrastructure; Web business models; Web business
development; Web business operation; Web business marketing; and Web business
frontiers (now given extended coverage). For particulars, see the Schedule below
(still under development). Please note that while earlier offerings of the course
were organized as a workshop, the present offering takes a more conventional
approach. There will be required readings and written assignments due each week.

Beyond the topics covered and discussed, the class will incorporate case study
projects. Each student, working individually or in a two- or three-person team will

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Current as of April 29, 2010. A revised syllabus incorporating readings and assignments will
be posted later this summer. Inquiries are invited in the meantime.
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 carry out a Web-based study project and report on it to the class. Each student or
team will study a particular case of doing business on the Web. Both the nature of
the business and the underlying business model will be carefully examined, as will
be the various challenges faced. The outlook for the future of the business will be
critically assessed.

The final product of the student’s or team’s study will be a Powerpoint slide deck
(with embedded Web links) developed over the term and suitable for presentation to
a professional audience. Professional-level work is expected. See below for
guidelines. Ideally, the final product will itself be a valuable take-away from the
course.

More generally, it is hoped that some students may find the course useful as a
bridge to their prospective employment, or, in some cases, the entrepreneurial
building of new businesses. There is no exam.

Resources: Course reader (under development)

Others to be identified as part of the course and referenced with links on the course
Web site.

Conduct: Week 1’s meetings will be spent introducing the course and organizing ourselves
for the meetings to follow. Students should come prepared to discuss their
backgrounds and interests as they relate to the course’s topics, including their
preliminary ideas for a case study project (see below). See also the Schedule for
further preparation.

Weeks 2-8 will be spent discussing the topics of the course and facilitating progress
on the case study projects. The first meeting of each week will feature a lecture on
the week’s topics and discussion of the week’s readings and assignment questions.
Prior to this meeting, students should submit their individual answers to the week’s
assignment questions in the form of a one- to two-page Word document, to the
course drop box. The second meeting of each week will feature student
presentation and discussion of three selected illustrative enterprises providing
business services on the Web. Our aim in this is to better understand the business
ecology of the Web. Each enterprise should be given a brief competitive analysis
using a half dozen or so slides. Subsequent to this meeting and prior to the next
one, copies of the presentation slides are to be submitted to the course drop box for
posting to our site. Each week, students may also be asked to report briefly on their
project progress. As the schedule permits, these seven weeks may also feature one
or two presentations by invited guests.

Week 9 will be devoted to brief presentations of the project case studies, employing
preliminary short versions of the presentation slides that constitute the final project
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 deliverable. Guidelines for the case study project are discussed further below.

Week 10 will be spent picking up loose ends, tying things together and bringing the
course to a conclusion.

Because of our participative format, the student’s individual participation is of

special importance and is significantly weighted in the final grade. Participation can
take a variety of forms including lending help to others and is especially valued to
the extent we all gain from it!

Good attendance is expected. Two class absences are allowed without penalty.
Additional classes missed in whole or in part will result in a reduction in the
student’s final grade, at the discretion of the instructor.

Project: The term project is to study a particular case of doing business on the Web. The
business may be either well established or under development. It may encompass
an enterprise in its entirety or be one portion of a larger business. The final
product should be a self-contained Powerpoint presentation (with embedded Web
links) suitable for a one-half to one hour presentation to a professional audience.
(A slide deck of a couple dozen slides is a reasonable target.) It is due on (exam
week, tbd) and should be submitted to the course drop box.

To gain focus, it is strongly suggested that the presentation be aimed at answering

a few specific questions identified at the outset. The essence of the project should
be to pose penetrating questions and then develop your own answers to these
questions.

Before embarking on the project, feedback and prior approval of the instructor
should be sought. It is suggested that you submit by email attachment a written
one page preliminary proposal, prior to the third class meeting. You may also
wish (or be asked) to meet individually with the instructor to discuss the proposed
project.

The following criteria will be used to evaluate and grade the project deliverable:
(i) Clarity and quality of exposition. Is the presentation easy to follow and can I
understand what is being said? (ii) Reasoning and analytic quality. Is the
analysis and argument made in a convincing and persuasive way? (iii) Quality of
data and sources. Are data and sources effectively used and cited? (iv) Quality of
conclusions drawn, insights gained, or recommendations made. What has been
learned here and how interesting is it?

Grading: Project presentation (slide deck): 40%

Class participation: 30%
Weekly assignments: 30%
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Schedule:

• Week One September 27, 29

o Introduction
 Description: Course overview. Foundations. The Internet and World Wide
Web. Social, political, and business issues. Varieties of business on the
Web. Student backgrounds and interests. Preliminary ideas for student
study projects.
 Readings: tbd
 Weekly assignment: tbd

• Week Two October 4, 6

o Web business infrastructure

 Description: Internet and Web technologies. Service providers and
governance. The Web as a business platform. Major players. Current
structure of business on the Web.
 Illustrative enterprise: tbd
 Readings: tbd
 Weekly assignment: tbd

• Week Three October 11, 13

o Web business models

 Description: Business models on the Web. Business model theory and
practice. Revenue models and why they don’t suffice. Business model
ecology.
 Illustrative enterprise: tbd
 Readings: tbd
 Weekly assignment: tbd

• Week Four October 18, 20

o Web business development

 Description: Business idea and plans. Web site planning, organization, and
design. Front and back office requirements. Development tools. Hosting
and other services. Web site testing.
 Illustrative enterprise: tbd
 Readings: tbd
 Weekly assignment: tbd

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• Week Five October 25, 27

o Web business operation

 Description: Implementing the operational plan. Organizational roles and
responsibilities. Performance evaluation. Web metrics and analytics.
Usability studies. Scaling up the business. Gaining business trust. Security
and privacy. Risk management. Continuity planning.
 Illustrative enterprise: tbd
 Readings: tbd
 Weekly assignment: tbd

• Week Six November 1, 3

o Web business marketing

 Description: Marketing plan. Marketing tools. Search engine optimization.
Traditional and online advertising. Other promotional and added-value
tools. Syndicated content. Affiliate programs. Channel conflict.
 Illustrative enterprise: tbd
 Readings: tbd
 Weekly assignment: tbd

• Week Seven November 8, 10

o Web business frontiers

 Description: Web 2.0 and beyond. Social networking. Wisdom of crowds.
Open source. Web services. Digital automata. Intelligent agents. Semantic
Web.
 Illustrative enterprise: tbd
 Readings: tbd
 Weekly assignment: tbd

• Week Eight November 15, 17

o Web business frontiers (continued)

 Description: Continued from above.
 Illustrative enterprise: tbd
 Readings: tbd
 Weekly assignment: tbd

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• Week Nine November 22, 24

o Project presentations

• Week Ten November 29, December 1

o Conclusion