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.
Objectives
By the end of this course, students should be able to demonstrate the capacity for digital leadership by:
assessing the social and economic 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 a business organization.
Outline
Week
Topic
1
Introduction to New Digital Technologies
2
Business Model Innovation and Disruption
3
Creating Disruption: The Disruptor’s Perspective
4
Responding to Disruption
5
The Business Case for Digital Transformation
6
Digital Strategy
7
Driving Digital Transformation
8
Privacy, Security, and Ethics
Evaluation
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.
Marks for this course will be distributed as follows:
Activity
Weight
Participation during eight weeks
40%
Assignment 1: Emergent Technology Essay
20%
Assignment 2: Digital Transformation Plan
40%
Total
100%
The first part of the course will introduce you to a range of emergent technologies and the disruptive effect they are having on business, the economy, and society. In the emergent technology identification assignment submitted midway through the course, you will be required to identify a specific emergent technology and to submit a short essay outlining how it could be transformative if deployed within your own organization.
The second part of the course will build on the first part and will help you to develop they key elements of a digital transformation plan specific to your organization. The course will ultimately build towards the submission of a completed digital transformation plan.
Materials
Rogers, D. L. (2016). The digital transformation playbook: Rethink your business for the digital age. New York: Columbia University Press. (Online)
Other materials
Additional readings are provided in the course’s Digital Reading Room.
Athabasca University reserves the right to amend course outlines occasionally and without notice. Courses offered by other delivery methods may vary from their individualized study counterparts.