Units

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Sample subject outline - 5 Week Teaching Period - 6 2013

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

Rationale

Managers and leaders with responsibility for innovation have their hands on the real 'levers of change'. Innovation is a powerful means of competitive differentiation in today's globalised business environment. It is no longer enough for a firm to be innovative, it must be more innovative that its competitors, and to be more innovative does not simply mean faster, better, cheaper, it means smarter and more strategic.

As such, the management of technological innovation is a strategic process that supports, drives and influences the strategic management of the firm. It is essential that business managers and leaders have a comprehensive understanding of the dynamics of technological innovation to allow them to more accurately identify trends within their technological and competitive environments and to use these insights to craft a firm's innovation strategy. Importantly, business managers and leaders must also know how to operationalise and implement their innovation strategy to ensure they deliver exceptional opportunities and to mitigate the inherent challenges of change.

This unit has been included in the program to provide students with the opportunity to explore the issues regarding the management of innovation, with a strong focus on technological innovation.

This unit has been positioned mid-way through the program as exploring the strategic and operational role of the innovation process requires students to have a broad multidisciplinary, 'big picture' view of businesses and how they operate. This unit provides a solid foundation for later entrepreneurial and innovation units in the program.

Aims

The mission of the MBA and associated programs is to provide world class, graduate business education and stimulating real world learning opportunities to develop current and future business leaders and managers to confidently lead in complex environments.

The aim of this particular unit is to help managers develop a thorough appreciation of the importance of technological innovation, and to develop an understanding of how to manage the process of technological innovation with practical frameworks to guide decision-making at a strategic level.

Objectives

Course Learning Goals (Postgraduate)

The QUT Business School has established the Assurance of Learning (AOL) Goals to meet contemporary industry needs and standards. Achieving these learning outcomes will assist you to meet the desired graduate outcomes set at QUT - aligned with other internationally renowned business schools. Students will develop the following capabilities relevant to a contemporary global and sustainable business environment:
The Students will develop the following capabilities relevant to a contemporary global and sustainable business environment:

Have knowledge and skills pertinent to a particular discipline (KS)

1.1 Well-researched knowledge and critical understanding applied to issues at the forefront of a specialised discipline area
1.2 Ability to select and use effectively a range of tools and technologies to locate and/or generate information appropriate to the disciplinary context

Be critical thinkers and effective problem solvers (CTA)

2.1 Apply logical, critical and creative thinking and judgement to generate appropriate solutions to problems in the disciplinary context

Be professional communicators in an intercultural context (PC)

3.1 Ability to create and present professional documents and/or reports using high levels of analysis/synthesis/evaluation for a range of contexts and audiences
3.2 Ability to orally communicate and justify ideas and information, at a professional level, for a variety of contexts and audiences, including peers and discipline specialists

Be able to work effectively in a Team Environment (TW)

4.1 Operate effectively and with flexibility to achieve common goals in collaborative settings, using a range of skills, including leadership, negotiation, reflection, proactivity and support for team members

Have a Social and Ethical Understanding (SEU)

5.1 Apply knowledge of the ethical, social and cultural dimensions relevant to business situations, including appropriate standards or codes of practice, to provide courses of action

Unit Objectives

Upon completion of this unit, you should be able to:
1. apply the dynamics of technological innovation, including the sources, types and patterns of innovation, design dominance, and timing of market entry. KS1.1 (MBA 1), CTA2.1 (MBA4), PC3.1 (MBA3), TW4.1 (MBA6).

2. formulate an innovation strategy for a given situation, to inform an organisation's strategic direction, collaboration and partnering strategies. KS1.1 (MBA 1), CTA2.1 (MBA4).

3. analyse and evaluate a given business situation and make recommendations regarding how to implement an innovation strategy, including how best to organise for innovation. KS1.1 (MBA 1), CTA2.1 (MBA4), PC3.1 (MBA 3), TW4.1 (MBA 6).

The specific course learning goals and unit objectives that apply to this unit are shown in the assessment section of this unit outline

Content

Dynamics of Technological Innovation

- Part 1: sources, types and patterns of innovation.
- Part 2: standards battles, design dominance, timing of market entry.

Formulating Innovation Strategy

- Part 1: strategic direction and project selection.
- Part 2: collaboration and partnering strategies.

Implementing Innovation Strategy

- Part 1: organising for innovation and managing the innovation process (i)
- Part 2: managing the innovation process (ii) and managing innovation teams.

Approaches to Teaching and Learning

This unit adopts a blended learning approach and as such, includes a variety of teaching and learning approaches.

Three hour face-to-face class sessions are supplemented by a textbook and a range of online materials that are designed to support and extend learning prior to, during and after class sessions. Online materials are available in the unit Blackboard site. Given the importance of the unit Blackboard site to the teaching and learning strategy used in this unit, a computer and tablet device with internet access is strongly recommended for all students.

The principal purpose of the lectures and readings is to build upon the key concepts that were introduced through the Preparation for Class activities and readings. The purpose of the case study work, experiential learning tasks and all assessment tasks is to help the student develop their understanding of the concepts and enable them to be applied within a range of business contexts.

There is an expectation that the student will participate in class sessions, to take advantage of the opportunity to discuss important issues with their instructor and their peers in an informal environment. These sessions also provide students with an opportunity to hone important generic skills that are in high demand in the business.

It is expected that students have completed all Preparation for Class activities and readings identified in the unit Blackboard site prior to coming to class to be able to maximise the learning opportunities of the class sessions.

A variety of learning activities designed to engage students in their learning will be incorporated into the lectures/workshops. Such learning activities may include short lectures, class discussions, debates, role plays, group work, guest speakers, student presentations, simulations, case study analysis, videos, readings, wikis, media/current events reports, web searches, etc.
There is a commitment to critical inquiry and intellectual debate in regard to the material covered. Students are encouraged to relate the theories and research discussed to situations known to them and will be encouraged to share their experiences relating to the topics explored in this unit with the class to enrich the overall learning experience of all students.
Expanding the awareness of Australian management policies and practices into intercultural and international perspectives is fostered within this unit. Typically, students enrolling in this unit have extremely varied backgrounds. There is diversity of professional background and socio-cultural background. Students are reminded that this is to their advantage and they have much to learn from one another. To this end, students are strongly encouraged to be sensitive to cultural, gender-related and international issues.

Assessment

Students will receive a variety of formative feedback throughout this unit.
Informally, feedback will be given verbally in class through class discussions and during the debriefing of learning activities.
Direct feedback will be available to those students who request a private or group consultation session with the lecturer.
Formal feedback will be received on both formative and summative assessment tasks through a Criterion Reference Assessment sheet which will also include written feedback on the assessment task. The Criterion Reference Assessment Sheet will be available in the Blackboard unit site at the commencement of the unit. Students will receive feedback on their formative assessment task prior to their summative assessment task being submitted.

Assessment name: Technology/Innovation Strategy
Description: You are required to develop an Innovation Plan for your own organisation or an organisation selected from cases presented by your lecturer.
The Innovation Plan is essentially a written report that should:

articulate the organisations overall innovation strategy

identify new technological innovation/s that could play an important part of the organisation's overall innovation strategy

evaluate new technological innovation/s and make
recommendations for successful implementation, taking into consideration the barriers and enablers that operate within this organisational context.
Length/Duration: 2,000 words
Formative or Summative: Summative
Relates to objectives: Unit objectives: 1 and AOL goals: KS 1.1, CTA 2.1, PC 3.1, TW 4.1
Weight: 60%
Internal or external: Internal
Group or individual: Group
Due date: After Module 6

Assessment name: In-class exercise write-up
Description: This first piece of assessment is designed to assess your understanding and application of a number of theories, concepts and tools for managing technological innovation explored over the course of the first four modules of this unit.

Students will be organized into groups at the first class. You will work with this team to answer selected questions about the case studies reviewed in the text throughout the first four modules of the course. After your group has discussed the case and the associated questions in class, you will be required to prepare and submit for marking a group write-up in relation to the cases analysed in class.

The completion of this assessment task and the feedback received will assist you in the completion of assessment task 2.

Peer evaluation will be taken into consideration in the marking of the group submissions.
Length/Duration: 4 x 400 word (max 1600 words in total for group)
Formative or Summative: Formative and Summative
Relates to objectives: Unit objectives: 1, 3 and AOL goals: KS 1.1, CTA 2.1, PC 3.1, TW 4.1
Weight: 40%
Internal or external: Internal
Group or individual: Group
Due date: After Module 3

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

Prescribed Texts
Schilling, M.A. (2010) (3rd Ed.). Strategic Management of Technological Innovation . New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.

References
QUT Cite|Write - Introductory guide to citing, referring and academic writing at QUT.

Other Resources
Burgelman, Robert A., Christensen, Clayton M. and Wheelwright, Steven C. (2004). Strategic Management of Technology and Innovation, 4th ed. McGraw-Hill/Irwin, New York.

Risk assessment statement

There are no out-of-the-ordinary risks associated with lectures or tutorials in this unit. You should, however, familiarise yourself with evacuation procedures operating in the buildings in which you attend classes and take the time to view the >Emergency video.

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: 16-Jan-2013