Units

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Sample subject outline - Semester 1 2013

Note: Subject outlines often change before the semester begins. Below is a sample outline.

Rationale

Information Technology supports almost all aspects of modern society and is essential to the functioning of organizations. However, organizations also look critically to their investments in information technology in relation to the benefits they receive and the IT capabilities they need in terms of people and systems. This creates both opportunities and challenges for the careers and jobs of IT professionals. The competences of an IT professional, the activities he or she performs, and the products and services he or she delivers are more and more evaluated in terms of the business value that is produced.

Many of the units you have studied in your Bachelor of IT degree have given you the technical knowledge and skills to build complex IT systems. As an IT professional you need to make sure that the systems you build suit the environment in which they will be deployed. This requires that you are not just technically competent but that you are also 'business savvy'. This requires understanding the fundamental principles of how organizations sense and seize business opportunities and create and sustain competitive advantage. Moreover, you need to be able to work with people from many different disciplines and to be able to understand their points of view. This unit places your technical abilities in the wider business context in which you will be working.

Aims

This unit will prepare you for professional practice by giving you practical knowledge and skills that will help you with your future career and job. It addresses what makes IT successful from a business perspective, both with respect to you as IT professional or entrepreneur and the IT systems and services you will be developing and operating.

You will be introduced to career development tools that enable you to self-manage your career and life. You will learn to think about your career from a personal and business perspective. You will develop practical knowledge and skills with tools that can help analyse the situation and identify opportunities with respect to career choices. You will learn how to critically think about the requirements of a job and reflect upon your own experiences and learn how to communicate them.

You will learn about the process of identifying a business opportunity and how to take advantage of that opportunity, both from the perspective of a start-up company and within an established company. You will understand how a successful venture requires balancing the different elements of a new business initiative. You will learn about how to create successful entrepreneurial teams. You will gain an insight into the different challenges and approaches to funding a venture.

You will be introduced to core strategic concepts and models, discuss typical strategy tools (SWOT Analysis, Five Forces, Value Chain, Strategy Canvas, Business Models, etc.) and then apply them to the 'Business of IT'. This means addressing questions like what is a business strategy, what is the role of innovation, what is an IT strategy, how can IT create business value, how to prioritize IT investments, etc.

Objectives

On completion of this unit you should be able to:

1. Understand what is involved in career planning and job applications and be knowledgeable and experienced with different tools you can use in this area (GC1, GC3);
   
2. Understand the entrepreneurial process and its application beyond the inception of new ideas (GC1, GC2, GC7);
   
3. Think strategically about information systems in their business context, identifying potential solutions and opportunities, in order to select the most appropriate solution approach (GC2, GC7);
   
4. Communicate your ideas effectively, in both discussions and written proposals, with good supporting arguments (GC2, GC3, GC4).

Key: Graduate Capabilities
GC1 - Knowledge and Skills
GC2 - Critical and Creative Thinking
GC3 - Communication
GC4 - Lifelong Learning
GC5 - Independence and Collaboration
GC6 - Social and Ethical Responsibility
GC7 - Leadership and Change

Content

In this unit you will start to pull together everything that you have learnt across your degree and to integrate that with your life experiences to prepare for your future career. You will learn how to work in the context of a larger organisation or society. You will learn models of business opportunities and strategic thinking and how to apply these models to determine the value that IT systems can provide to an organisation. You will learn about the entrepreneurial process and how entrepreneurs build teams that creatively solve problems to open new opportunities. You will learn how to think on your feet and how to defend your ideas and opinions.

Approaches to Teaching and Learning

There will be lectures providing you with the background knowledge and introducing you to concepts and tools with respect to career planning, entrepreneurship, innovation and strategy. There will be workshops where you apply this knowledge and practice with the tools.

The lectures will also be used to have guest speakers from industry on the business of IT to provide you with practical insights for your career as professional or entrepreneur.

In addition, the unit will closely align with the services of QUT's Careers and Employment (www.careers.qut.edu.au ), allowing you to benefit from their expertise and providing you with the opportunity to follow-up on career planning.

The Harvard Business School approach to case studies will be used as an additional teaching technique in this unit. You will be presented with information about a real scenario and you will be required to do background research to be able to discuss what would be your reaction in the scenario. You will be required to justify your decisions based on the information you have discovered.

QUT's Blackboard site will be used as an online learning environment for the unit and as a mechanism to distribute information.

Assessment

All assessment contributes to your grade.You will obtain formative feedback from teaching staff and your peers during the workshops.

You can also obtain feedback on your progress throughout the unit through the following mechanisms:
Ask the teaching staff for advice and assistance during lectures and workshops.
Private consultation with teaching staff.

Assessment name: Case Study
Description: The case study approach to teaching involves you preparing for a discussion about the problem presented and then participating in and reflecting on the classroom discussion. Throughout the semester you will be discussing a number of different case studies.
Relates to objectives: 3 and 4.
Weight: 30%
Internal or external: Internal
Group or individual: Individual
Due date: Throughout semester

Assessment name: Professional Plans - Job App
Description: You will write an application letter and address selection criteria. You will also write a resume outlining your experience and skills.
Relates to objectives: 1 and 4.
Weight: 30%
Internal or external: External
Group or individual: Individual
Due date: Mid semester

Assessment name: Report - Venture Proposal
Description: You will write a venture proposal for an opportunity that you have identified. The venture proposal will include the opportunity, the strategy, the resources, the team, the marketing, and the financial model.
Relates to objectives: 2, 3 and 4.
Weight: 40%
Internal or external: External
Group or individual: Group
Due date: Week 13

Academic Honesty

QUT is committed to maintaining high academic standards to protect the value of its qualifications. To assist you in assuring the academic integrity of your assessment you are encouraged to make use of the support materials and services available to help you consider and check your assessment items. Important information about the university's approach to academic integrity of assessment is on your unit Blackboard site.

A breach of academic integrity is regarded as Student Misconduct and can lead to the imposition of penalties.

Resource materials

No extraordinary charges or costs are associated with the requirements for this unit.

Required text: None

Risk assessment statement

There are no unusual health or safety risks associated with this unit.

Disclaimer - Offer of some units is subject to viability, and information in these Unit Outlines is subject to change prior to commencement of semester.

Last modified: 03-Sep-2012