EC1 Syllabus

Welcome to the Autumn 2004-2005 edition of E-commerce I: Principles and Implications (EC1)! I'm Professor Cheatham, and I'll be your tour guide for the quarter. 

Our goal this quarter is to take a look at how electronic commerce is transforming the business environment. During the quarter we'll:

• take a look at the impact of electronic commerce on functional areas of business. 
• investigate the technological implications of electronic commerce.
• discuss e-business design and implementation issues.

This syllabus is your guide for the quarter; it will answer your questions regarding class attendance requirements, exams, homework expectations, and so on. To jump to a specific section of the syllabus, just click the appropriate link.

• Prerequisites

• Dates You Must Come to Campus

• Required Course Materials

• Withdrawal Policy

• Course Approach

• Additional Expectations

• Submitting Work Products

• Computer Resources and Electronic Mail

• Tests and Such

• Grading Policies

• Tentative Course Outline

I hope you enjoy the quarter!

Prerequisites

In order to enroll in this course, you must have successfully completed The Business Enterprise (28-MGMT-181) and The Computer: Business Applications (28-IS-175). In addition, you must be eligible for the English Composition course sequence. In some cases, equivalent work experience or other courses may be accepted in lieu of the aforementioned courses. Your knowledge-base prior to taking this course should include the following:

• working knowledge of word processing and desktop presentation software.

• working knowledge of your email software (Web-based or POP client),

• working knowledge of your Web browser.

• familiarity with Blackboard (Bb). Please make sure you know how to use the discussion boards and the Digital Drop Box. You should also familiarize yourself with the Group features available in Bb. Documentation  is available on the Bb Web site.

• a basic understanding of typical business functions.

If you are unsure as to whether or not you meet the prerequisites, please either contact me or check with your adviser.

Dates You Must Come to Campus

We’ll meet on campus four times this quarter. The required on-campus meeting dates are listed below (the class meets from 6:20pm-9:00pm). 

• Tuesday, September 28 — Introduction

• Tuesday, October 12 — Project presentations and/or general discussions (specific topics to be announced closer to the meeting date)

• Tuesday, November 9 — Project presentations and/or general discussions (specific topics to be announced closer to the meeting date)

• Tuesday, December 7 — Project presentations and course wrap-up

Attendance at the required class meetings is not negotiable! These dates were established and communicated prior to the beginning of the quarter. If you cannot come to campus on the required dates, please drop the class. 

We can make the most of our time together if we all agree to the following guidelines for on-campus meetings:

• Arrive on time. If you absolutely cannot make it to class on time consistently, please drop the class. I understand that traffic, work emergencies, family crises, and so on may occasionally prevent you from arriving on time. Consistent tardiness, however, is distracting to everyone and is unacceptable. Please be considerate to the others in the class and plan to arrive by the scheduled course starting time.

• Plan to stay for the entire class. Early departures are distracting. In addition, please understand that I am very aware of what time the class ends, and will do my best to make sure we wrap up by the class ending time. Please do not pack up your worldly possessions until class is over.

• Please either turn off your cell phone or leave it at home.

Required Course Materials

• Laudon and Traver: E-commerce: Business. Technology. Society. (2e, 2004). Boston, MA: Addison-Wesley.
• A Web browser, such as Internet Explorer.
• Regular access to the Web.
• A high-capacity storage device (Zip disk or flash drive).
• A Bearcat Online email account (this is in addition to any other email account you may currently be using).
• Outlook, Eudora Pro, a Web site, or other email software to which you have regular access.
• A Blackboard (Bb) account.
• Adobe Acrobat Reader. This is installed on RWC's computers, but if you plan to use some of the course materials away from RWC, you need to make sure Acrobat reader is installed on the computer you plan to use.
• Additional utilities, such as QuickTime, may also be required, depending on the web sites you access during the quarter.
• Regular access to business publications (online or print versions). Examples of business publications include, but are not limited to, Business Week, Fortune, Forbes, and the Wall Street Journal.

Withdrawal Policy

Should the need arise, you are responsible for completing the paperwork required to officially drop the class. Failure to complete the required paperwork will result in a grade of UW (unofficial withdrawal) for the course; a grade of UW has the same effect as a grade of F when calculating your GPA. Note: I will not submit your paperwork for you!

Course Approach

Much of this course will follow a Problem-Based Learning (PBL) approach. I believe that we learn more by solving problems than by listening to lectures; PBL supports that belief. This doesn't mean that the class will be entirely lecture-free; I'll do a mini-lecture from time to time. It does, however, mean that you'll take responsibility for the learning that takes place in the course.

We'll follow these guidelines as we work through the quarter together:

• Since most work environments require collaboration with colleagues, much of your work this quarter will require you to work as part of a team.

• Teams will be assigned, and you will most likely stay with your team for the entire quarter. It's quite likely that you'll enjoy working with your team members. It's also possible that you may end up in a group with someone you don't particularly like. That's OK — you don't have to like someone to work with them. Your job is to come up with a way to work effectively with your team and to resolve personal conflicts as they arise.

• Each team will establish its own set of ground rules, which must be agreed upon by all team members. The ground rules will identify communication expectations (such as turnaround time for phone calls and email), consequences for "slugs," consequences for failing to meet group deadlines, and so on.
      Please note that although I'll give each team some latitude in dealing with absences, late arrivals, and early departures, I believe attendance (during required on-campus meetings, at scheduled out-of-class meetings, and at scheduled online meetings) is critical in this course. When you miss scheduled classes and team meetings, your team members end up doing your work as well as their own work; this is unacceptable. So, my expectation is that each team will come up with, and enforce, a reasonable attendance policy.
      I reserve the right to require an individual to drop the course if, in my estimation, he or she isn't meeting a acceptable level of class attendance and participation. Please note that "attendance" refers not just to coming to class and team meetings, but also to work habits that are expected by any employer: arriving on time, staying for the entire work period, being prepared, and so on. You should plan to attend all scheduled classes and group meetings. In most cases, an absentee rate over 10% is unacceptable. And, as mentioned earlier in this document, you may be removed from the class if you miss even one of the required on-campus class meetings.

• Each team member has an equal voice. Make sure to listen carefully to the views and perspectives of every member of the team. A major benefit of collaborative learning is that multiple views and perspectives are available — learn from your teammates!

• Full participation is expected. Please be prepared throughout the quarter to participate in discussions with your group and with the class as a whole; these discussions may take place in a face-to-face setting, or they may involve use of the class discussion board.

• Nearly all of the problems your team tackles this quarter will be based on content to which you may not have been formally introduced. As you work through the problems, you'll develop effective research skills. By leaning how to find and evaluate resources on your own, you'll be better able to deal with constantly-changing technological environment as you move along in your chosen career.

• In most cases, your team will submit some sort of work product that reflects the team's problem-solving process, solution, and rationale for that solution. Work products can take many different forms: completed work sheets, informal discussions, oral presentations, formal papers, and so on. Please make sure to complete each work product carefully and thoroughly. If you have questions about the work product requirements for a particular problem, please ask!

• You'll be asked to evaluate yourself and your team members from time to time throughout the quarter. Since these evaluations will play a significant role in your final course grade, you should take them seriously.

This course may require a different method of learning than you're used to. You're taking responsibility for your learning this quarter, but rest assured: I'm not abandoning you! I'll be available to answer questions, listen to concerns, and (when necessary) mediate disputes. The goal is to minimize the time you spend listening to me, and maximize the time you spend working with your colleagues to learn about the topics we'll cover during our time together.

Additional Expectations

In addition to the Course Approach information provided above, I thought it might be helpful to let you know some additional expectations for the course. While much of what follows is common sense, it never hurts to make sure we are all starting from the same page of the book (no pun intended…).

• This is a web-based course. This means that you are not required to come to campus every week, but instead are expected to complete the required coursework with your team or on your own, depending on the project. Please note that the material covered in this course is no different than the material covered in a traditional classroom; the big difference is that web-based study requires much more self-discipline than does a traditional classroom environment. A word to the wise — don’t get behind! Please remember that you aren’t alone — give me a call or send an email if you need additional help or clarification on a particular topic.

• Please remember that even though our course does not meet on campus every week, you may still find it necessary to meet with your team as the quarter progresses. You may be able to find an empty classroom on campus during our meeting time. You can also make use of the group rooms in the library, or the online chat and discussion board features in Blackboard.

• A tentative course outline is provided with this syllabus. Please note that the schedule is subject to revision as required. You should check the Announcements page and your email account regularly for assignment due dates, schedule changes, and so on.

• Naturally, ethical and honest behavior is expected in this class. This means that academic dishonesty or other unethical and/or illegal activities will not be tolerated; such activities will be dealt with swiftly and harshly. If you are unsure as to what type of activity constitutes "academic dishonesty," please take a look at the Student Code of Conduct.

Submitting Work Products

• You are expected to complete and submit work products throughout the quarter. All assignments must be submitted by the due date specified to receive credit. Late submissions will be cheerfully refused! (I reserve the right to adjust this policy in extreme cases, such as those involving hospitalization, death in the immediate family, and so on.) Failure to submit the required assignments will result in a drastic reduction of your course grade (you will most likely receive a grade of F or UW).

• Please make sure to read each assignment carefully for submission requirements. I'm usually very specific regarding the submission method to be used. In fact, I usually go so far as to specify file names and email subject lines. Please trust me — there's a method to my madness. If you don't follow the instructions in each assignment, you probably won't have a successful quarter.

• Most of the assignments for this class require the use of technology — computers, printers, Internet connections, and so on. I am very much aware of the fact that technology occasionally fails. That's why course work is assigned so as to allow sufficient time for completion prior to the due date. Plan ahead! I am not inclined to accept work late because of technology failures.

• Unless otherwise specified, work products completed outside of class should be prepared using an appropriate software tool (word processor, spreadsheet, email, etc.). Unless specifically discussed in class, hand-written assignments are not accepted. To accommodate time constraints, in-class work products are typically hand-written.

Computer Resources and Electronic Mail

• You must have a Bearcat Online (BOL) email account, a Blackboard (Bb) account, and Internet access to participate in this course. Instructions for activating your email and Blackboard accounts are available on this web site. If you don’t already have Internet access, you can sign up for UC’s dial-in service. If you don't have a computer at home, please don't panic — RWC has several computers available for your use.

• You should get in the habit of checking your BOL email account and Blackboard regularly, since most class information and assignments will be distributed electronically. 

• Please keep the following information in mind when you send email my way.

  • I will answer email that contains:

    • questions about course content.

    • questions about grades and/or feedback received on a specific project or assignment.

    • concerns about group process.

  • I will not answer email that contains:

    • questions for which answers are provided on the class Web site, in an email message, in an assignment, or in other materials that were assigned as readings in the class. Please make sure to read all available information — the assignment, the course syllabus, the class Announcements page, your text, and other resources provided to you — before you send your question.

    • messages that don't include a clearly-defined subject line and your name (not just a username — I need your full name). I receive tons of email. If you don't include a subject line and your name as part of your message, I probably won't read it.

    • messages that raise an inappropriate subject. I shouldn't need to elaborate on this...

    • messages that include file attachments. Messages that include file attachments are immediately deleted. File attachments are problematic for a number of reasons; I currently do not accept them for homework.

  • Email response time is dependent on a number if circumstances, not the least of which is system availability. Under normal circumstances, I'll respond to your message within 48 hours, excluding weekends and holidays.

• A student assistant is usually available in the computer lab on the Concourse (across from the library) to help with general problems, such as putting paper in the printer and restarting computers when necessary. Please note that the student assistants are not responsible for helping you with your homework. If you have difficulty with an assignment, please contact me!

• Depending on the classroom in which your class meets, we may have frequent access to computers throughout the quarter. Please note that you are expected to use common courtesy with regard to the use of the computers. Disruptive and/or annoying behavior such as surfing the web, reading/sending email, working on homework for other classes, and playing games will not be tolerated (unless, of course, these activities are required as part of an assignment for this class). If this behavior occurs, I won't be shy about asking you to either shut off your monitor or leave the class. Repeated offenses may lead to your forced withdrawal from the course.

Tests and Such

• Short quizzes may be a part of this course. Quizzes may be announced or unannounced.

• All information covered during the course (including information from the textbook, assigned readings, etc.) is considered fair game for the quizzes. The quizzes may include true/false, multiple guess, matching, and short answer/essay questions.

Grading Policies

Your grade is made up of several components; the course components are described in more detail on the Course Work page. For this class, the breakdown looks like this:

• PBL work/Projects — 50% (100 points). PBL work and projects are completed with your group. The project deliverables vary from project to project, but typically include either a written report or a PowerPoint presentation. Projects are often structured so that each team investigates a different topic. This lets us "divide and conquer" the subject matter — each team takes responsibility for teaching the class about a specific topic.

• Online discussions, homework, and quizzes — 30% (60 points). This work is completed individually. These assignments tend to be short and sweet, and are usually focused on a somewhat narrow concept or topic from your readings.

• Class participation — 20% (40 points). This category includes a quantitative evaluation of the peer reviews submitted by you about your team members and by your team members about you. This category also includes my subjective evaluation of your participation throughout the quarter. I tend to look not just at whether or not you completed the required course work (although that certainly plays a role in the grade), but also at the quality of your participation throughout the quarter.

For information regarding UC's +/-  grading scale, please see the Grading Info page.

Tentative Course Outline

Here's a list of the topics we'll cover during the quarter. Please remember to check the Announcements page for specific reading assignments, due dates, schedule updates, and so on.

This is a tentative syllabus and is subject to revision.

Grateful appreciation is given to Professor Michael Rappa of North Carolina State University for his willingness to share his course materials. Additional information is available at the Managing the Digital Enterprise — Open Courseware web site.