Course project help
This course requires the completion of a comprehensive Strategic Plan.
You have a choice to use either an existing company or a fictitious company. In either case, the Project is to complete a written plan that will suggest a practical Strategic Direction for the company.
The Plan will have 7 sections. The 6 sections will reflect each of the 6 TCOs plus a bibliography. Each section will be 2 – 3 pages in standard business proposal format.
The sections are: 1. Strategy (TCO F) 2. Core Competencies (TCO C) 3. Industry Dynamics (TCO A) 4. Technology Sourcing and Internal Innovation (TCO D) 5. Product Development Strategy (TCO E) 6. Strategy to protect innovations (TCO B) 7. A bibliography listing your references for the project
Ideas to Help Prepare the Course Project
Back to Top
Section 1 – Strategy
TCO F – Given an organizational and industry context, identify and suggest a deployment strategy that will facilitate the success of a technologically driven organization.
This is the most important part of the project, because it sets the direction for all other sections. In this section, you establish the strategy for an organization.
Often people refer to this component as the “Vision” or “Mission” of a company, but it is not. The Vision for a company could be that you want to be a market leader. However, the technology strategy tells everyone how you will achieve that market leadership. The technology strategy tells the various stakeholders – employees, customers, community, and stockholders – what you are going to do to achieve that market leadership. This strategy should be very clear and easy to understand so that everyone will be “on the same page” when it comes to working together toward that goal.
In this section, you should describe what “SHOULD” be the strategy of a technologically driven company. You should focus specifically on the technology strategy. You should think about all the things we learned in the class that will determine a strategy that will help the company succeed.
Remember that you can use either an existing company or a fictitious company. If you choose to use an existing company, you can visit their web site to see if their strategy is listed. Or you can do a web search on their technology strategy to see if anyone has written any stories about their strategy. For a fictitious company, you should make up a technology strategy that fits that type of company.
Examples of a Technology Strategy: •Verizon Wireless – Have the best network of all wireless carriers •Honda – Build the best engines •Keller – Deploy the best Internet based on-line and blended education technology, not build it, not own it, but use a 3rd party to provide it •Intel – Have the fastest and most powerful CPUs
The key is to be able to describe the strategy in a 1 or 2 sentence summary and in detail as well. The description should start or end with the simple sentence statement of the technology strategy. However, there must be sufficient detail to explain why that is the right strategy.
Section 2 – Core Competencies
TCO C – Given an organizational and industry context, identify the core technological competencies of the organization.
Like all subsequent sections of the project, this section is based on the Strategy Section.
Example: •Verizon Wireless Strategy is the having the best Network. Thus, the core competencies will be built around the network. Things like RF Engineers and wireless security experts would be detailed •Intel’s strategy is to build the fastest most powerful CPUs. Thus their core competencies will be built around CPU engineering •Keller’s strategy is to deploy the best on-line education technology. Thus their core competencies would be things like educational technology evaluation and on-line education curriculum development
The best way to do this section is to apply the three tests of a core competency (page 123) to the strategy that you detailed in the Strategy Section.
Section 3 Industry Dynamics
TCO A – Given a company situation be able to describe the industry dynamics of technological innovation.
Here you should take the strategy identified in Section 1 and describe in detail why that is the right strategy based on what is occurring in the industry. Provide as much detail as possible as to the industry trends and why you think those trends are important.
Section 4 – Technology Sourcing and Internal Innovation
TCO D – Given an organizational context, develop a plan to increase the innovative capabilities of the organization both through collaboration strategies and internal innovation.
Here you would offer ideas as to what is the best way to “Source” the technology that supports the strategy. A complete discussion about how best to manage the innovative capabilities of the company being described is required.
Section 5 – Product Development Strategy
TCO E – Given information about a company’s industry, and organization, formulate a technological innovation strategy through its new product development strategy.
Product Development is very important to an organization. This section will describe how the company will structure its product development. Obviously, the kind of structure will be determined directly by the technology strategy stated in Section 1.
Section 6 Strategy to protect innovations
TCO B – Given a company situation be able to determine whether and how to protect its technological innovations.
Using the things learned in the class, describe how you would use patents, trade secrets, copyrights, etc. to protect the Intellectual Property (IP) required to support the strategy.
See the Syllabus section “Due Dates for Assignments & Exams” for due date information. Submit your assignment to the Dropbox located on the silver tab at the top of this page.
Final Paper Rubric
Back to Top
Content 50%
Points
%
Depth of Research 25 25% Scope of Research 25 25% Illustrations 25 25% Use of sound logic 25 25% Total 100 50%
Editing 15%
Points Deduction (per occurrence)
%
Spelling Error -2 – Punctuation/Grammatical Error -1 – Sentence Meaning Unclear -2 – Misstatement of Fact -5 – Total (not to exceed) 30 15%
Organization 20%
Points
%
Introduction; Thesis statement contains at least two main points 16 8% Body text follows order of topics and main points derived from the thesis statement 8 4% Content subdivisions follow outline 8 4% Conclusion summarizes; complements thesis; contains no new information 8 4% Total (not to exceed) 40 points 20%
Documentation 15% Incorrectly cited or missing
Points Deduction (per occurrence)
%
Title page -2 – Abstract -1 – References in text -2 – Bibliography/Works Cited -5 – Total (not to exceed) 30 points 15%
Category Totals
Possible Points
%
Content 100 50% Organization and Cohesiveness 40 20% Editing 30 15% Documentation and Formatting 20 15% Total
NETW583 Strategic Management of Technology Term Project Instructions A key part of this class is the Term Project – developing a comprehensive written strategic plan for a technology driven organization. The project is intended to provide students with the opportunity to integrate skills and knowledge developed in this course. The project has a value of 200 points or 20% of the overall course grade. This document will provide you with additional information about the requirements as a supplement to the brief description on the course site. General Comments The project is organized consistent with the Terminal Course Objectives. This format allows students to apply what they have learned and serves to reinforce the concepts. The Term Project has 6 sections each of which should cover a specific Terminal Course Objectives 1. Strategy (TCO F) 2. Core Competencies (TCO C) 3. Industry Dynamics (TCO A) 4. Technology Sourcing and Internal Innovation (TCO D) 5. Product Development Strategy (TCO E) 6. Strategy to protect innovations (TCO B) Each section of the project should be approximately 2-3 double spaced pages in length. Only the final paper, which is due on the Sunday ending week 7, will be graded. Each plan grade is made up of 3 components and weighted as follows: • Content (70%): how well the plan meets the objective of each section, which is organized by Terminal Course Objective. Care should be taken to ensure that your ideas are carefully considered and supported by facts and logical conclusions that can be drawn from them. • Presentation (10%): Charts, tables, graphs and similar content that adds to the presentation of your ideas • Structure (10%): is the overall organization and appearance of the document. The paper should be organized and structured appropriately for an executive management level. • Grammar/Spelling (10%): this should be self-explanatory. Note: Refer to the Policies section under Course Home for important information about academic integrity and plagiarism. Penalties for plagiarism are severe. The final plan is due at the end of week 7. All submissions should be in Microsoft Word format. Use the following convention for naming your final submission file: NETW583 Term Project – [LASTNAME] for example: NETW583 Term Project – Smith Tips 1. Read through the entire set of deliverables detailed below. This will help you select a company that is unlikely to lead to roadblocks late in the project. 2. Plan how you will complete each section of the project as well as the final submission 3. Outside research is good, but don’t go overboard as it will affect your grade. Some things, like finding a company’s mission statement, can only be done by research. Most of this project does not require extensive external research. 4. Applying the concepts learned in class in a thoughtful, logical manner is the key to doing well on the project. In other words, I am more interested in what you think in each area rather than what a company is actually doing or not doing. 5. Professionalism counts. The final submission should be well organized and written. The style and tone of a business plan is different from case study or term paper formats. Assume you are submitting the document to the CEO of the company and you will do well. 6. Edit your work, focusing on quality rather than quantity. Note: most sections will require at least 2 pages to adequately address the requirements. 7. Ask questions using the Q&A thread so the entire class will benefit from the discussion. 8. Do not wait for week 7 to try and format, structure and edit the paper. There will be little time to do so. Term Project Deliverables Following is a list of weekly activities for the Term Project. Working steadily throughout the course is highly recommended. Getting off to a good start is the main objective for this week. Select a Company for the Project. I recommend giving this a great deal of thought as each section of the project is logically linked to the other sections. Some things to consider when choosing a company: 1. While you may use a fictitious company for the project, I recommend using an actual company, since it will make the project easier to complete. 2. The company must be one that is driven by technology. The company can be in the IT business, such as Microsoft or IBM, or it can be a non-IT business that is technology driven, such as Boeing, GE or Pfizer (drugs). 3. Choosing a large, diverse company, such as General Electric, requires selecting a specific division or business unit to meet the objectives and requirements of the project. Recognize it may be difficult to research specific information at the business unit level in the early parts of the project. 4. Make sure you understand the nature of the company’ technologies, products and services, at least at a high level. Choosing a company engaged in genetic research for example, will be difficult if you are not familiar with such research. Section 1 – TCO F: Given an organizational and industry context, identify and suggest a deployment strategy that will facilitate the success of a technologically driven organization. Prepare a 2-3-page section that covers the following: 1. Introduction a. Brief description of the company’s business b. Brief description of the company’s strategy 2. Company Mission Statement 3. Discuss the five key elements of deployment as they pertain to the recommendations and analysis contained in your paper: • Timing • Licensing and compatibility • Pricing • Distribution • Marketing. Section 2 – TCO C: Given an organizational and industry context, identify the core technological competencies of the organization. Prepare a 2-3-page section the covers the following: 1. Identify a representative technology based product or service provided by your company 2. Identify the basic technologies that underlie this product or service 3. Identify the core technological competencies of the company Section 3 – TCO A: Given a company situation be able to describe the industry dynamics of technological innovation. Prepare a 2-3-page section the covers the following: 1. Identify and briefly describe the major industry group in which your company participates 2. Identify key competitors your company faces 3. Identify the key customer groups served by your company 4. Identify customer needs addressed by your companies products and services Section 4 – TCO D: Given an organizational context, develop a plan to increase the innovative capabilities of the organization both through collaboration strategies and internal innovation. Prepare a 2-3-page section the covers the following: 1. Discuss the various forms of collaboration 2. Evaluate whether or which form of collaboration is most appropriate for the recommended innovation project Section 5 – TCO E: Given information about a company’s industry, and organization, formulate a technological innovation strategy through its new product development strategy. Prepare a 2-3-page section the covers the following: 1. Recommend a new product or service to the senior management of your company. Be sure to discuss how this recommendation fits with the strategy and competencies of the organization. 2. Explain how the 3 objectives of new product development projects (maximize fit with customer objectives, minimize time-to-market, and control development cost) apply to your recommendation 3. Evaluate the different ways that teams can be structured and recommend a team structure that is matched to your recommended project type. Section 6 – TCO B: Given a company situation be able to determine whether and how to protect its technological innovations. Prepare a 2-3-page section the covers the following: 1. Discuss the four primary mechanisms used to protect innovations 2. Identify the specific mechanism(s) most appropriate for your innovation recommendation 3. Explain why you selected such mechanism(s) Week 7: Project Completion Submit your final project document for grading.
Is this the question you were looking for? If so, place your order here to get started!
