MAR 6725 – INTRODUCTION TO ECOMMERCE I2MBA03 Fall 2002
Instructor:
Professor Barton Weitz
200 Bryan
392-7166 ex1256 bart.weitz@cba.ufl.edu
FAX 392-4379 Assistant: Margaret Jones 392-7166 ex 1255 margaret.jones@cba.ufl.edu
Course Description:
The objectives of this course are to develop a better understanding of:
the factors associated with successful ecommerce strategies for firms solely involved in electronic commerce and businesses using electronic commerce to improve the performance of their traditional business model
The impact of the Internet on businesses, industry structure, and competition.
The use of the Internet as a tool to improve the competitive position of firms.
Pedagogy
Ecommerce is still evolving domain in business. Cases on ecommerce can become dated quickly. The cases we will discuss in class were selected because they illustrate the issues one needs consider in evaluating ecommerce opportunities, making strategic decisions, and using the Internet as a business tool.
To keep up to date with new developments, I will post the URL’s for articles outlining recent ecommerce developments. I expect you to participate in a discussion of these current events.
Text
Packet of cases and articles.
Assignments and Grading:
% of Course Grade
Description of Assignment
Group Case Pre-sentations and Written Case Analyses
45%
These are group assignments. During the course, there will be three cases (Ebricks, Amazon/Barnes & Noble, and HP printers requiring teams to undertake written case analyses. The written analyses should focus analyzing the materials in the case, evaluating the strategy employed by the company, and making appropriate recommendations. Do not summarize the material in the case. Use the material in the case only to support your evaluations, conclusions, and recommendations. In some case, there might be several alternative recommendations. In these situations,