A. It's primarily a strategy and a case driven class. We also deal with E-Business Models and E-Business plan development. The first Ecommerce class was an In-depth survey class. In this class we learn the strategy of Ecommerce, the Economics behind the strategy, and how to apply that to business situations.

A. Since there is no single good book for study in this field, I figured it would be best to provide a number and variety of the ones which I thought are the best of the thought leaders in the field of digital economics and online business strategy. Your initial task is to choose one of them to study for the quarter, and then to buy it from Amazon.com.

3. Can we choose any book at all?

A. Yes with two exceptions: First, no one can choose the instructor's book "Information Rules". Second: No two people in any group can have the same book.

A. You are responsible for reading it and providing concept summaries (in writing and orally) 3 times during the course of the quarter. You'll also need to incorporate concepts from your book in the case analysis writeups thtat you'll do during the QTR. As you write them up pls follow the guidelines articulated in the following URL: http://www.versaggi.net/ecommerce/ecommerce1/cases/case2.htm. Please read this carefully as I am very particular as students following this guidline.

5. I've never had the option to choose my own book as an option for a class, what is your philosophy behind having a multiple books for this class?

A. Since this industry is so young and changes so fast, no one book has it all. Also since there will be an equal distribution of 15 books in class; there's a lot of different learning that will take place because of that. Ultimately, through the book concept summaries (Oral and Written) component of this class, the students will be educating the students and from a very diverse perspective base. That's my goal.

A. They are HBR articles relating to Ecommerce strategy. You'll get the off of the class web site and you'll write them up following the guidelines articulated in the following URL: http://www.versaggi.net/ecommerce/ecommerce1/cases/case2.htm. Please read this carefully as I am very particular as students following this guidline.

A. The summaries are the "students teaching students" part of this class. The goal of These summaries is two fold; One: the write up forces you at keep pace in your readings and allows me to monitor your progress. Two: the oral discussion of thesetopics (which occur during the weeks when case study discussions are not due) creates an atmosphere where others can benefit from the things you are learning.

You should prepare the write-ups and your discussion with the intent of teaching others in mind. Your write-ups should be 1 and 1 1/2 to 2 pages in length and articulate the concepts you are learning (since I've read most of these books, I'll be keeping keep track). Your class discussion should be a 5-minute presentation of a particular concept, strategy, methodology, etc that you'll present to the class. I'll randomly choose members of each group to present their discussions during the 4 weeks in which cases aren't due.

The write-ups should follow the following particular formats: Format (a): Posting Subject Line è Book concept summaries should be posted in your teams forums with the following structure in the 'Subject Line:

…… that way I can easily find your postings and peruse it from there. Am I going to be 'picky' about this? Yes! Will I take off points if you don't post your assignments in this fashion? Absolutely! So be aware please. I want homework posted in a particular way.

Format (b): Organization of your Book Concept Summaries è The content of your book summaries must be in a particular format as well. The reason for this is: that I intend to construct a 'Library' of select summaries moving forward and I want the content to be readable to both myself and other readers. Since your goal is to prepare to teach a concept to the class (or anyone else) here's how I want the format to look:

• Articulate the book title,
• Articulate the chapter,
• Articulatre the page number,
• Articulate the 'concept title',
• Articulate the concept in one or two paragraphs max,
• Articulate examples which are either 'real world' or 'fictional'. Be sure that in the example the concept would clearly apply to or create a fictional 'mini-which illustrates it.
• The 'Concept" should stand on it own. By this I mean it should be a 'self contained piece of knowledge' and your articulation of it should be complete and not depend on any outside information for the readers understanding to be complete. Consider yourself to be in the business strategy technology transfer business when you write these.
• You should present enough concepts to fill up 1 & ½ to 2 pages as a write up.

• Book: "Information Rules"
• Chapter: Number 3
• Page: Number 63
• Concept Title: "Versioning of Information Products"
  
  
• Concept Summary: When Information goods are offered for sale in versions, it tends to maximize their value (in terms of revenue) for the seller of that information good and (in terms of utility) for the buyer . This process is called 'Versioning". Typically, sellers of information goods 'version' their product into three (Low, Medium and High End) versions. If the three versions are sufficiently different in capabilities and price, this process effectively segments the market for their product in a way that maximizes its value. Typically buyers will only what they need and the seller charges the maximum tolerable for that particular version.
  
  
• A classic example is software versions. On the low end is "shareware' or 'freeware' which is made available for download over the internet. The cost of this version is your demographic information and the right to subject you to advertisements at a later date. The medium end provides a fully featured product that is sold for a reasonable price downloadable over the internet. The hight end product is usually sold in stores and includes manuals, extra programs, and provides extra fuctionality at a premium price.

Example (Fictional):

• Version 1: "GuiltWare" - A limited feature version available over the interent via download that performs all the major functions of the "fully featured" version. The Liscense Agreeement mandates that you register the product. A reminder pops up every week or so after the first month making you feel guulty that you didn't register properly.
  
  
• Version 2: "The Fully featured Product". It provides all of the capabilities the product is famous for, digital user manuals, documentation, examples, etc. Available for doenload over the internet at $45.
  
  
• Version 3: "The Professional Version". This version provides enhanced image editing capabilities, animation construction, nonlinear editing capabilities and a variety of features not available in any other version. Priced at $60, it only available in select software stores.

Am I going to be 'picky' about this format? Yes! Will I take off points if your summaries aren't written in this fashion? Absolutely! So be aware please. I want concept summaries written in a particular way.

A. Class is segmented in to two parts; My stuff and Your stuff. I'll bring you an informational lecture during the half of class and then the half of class is devoted to the presentation and discussion of the materials you are learning (either case discussions or concept summaries from your book).

A. You'll get the HBR cases from the bookstore and the prep case from online (Web Site). I will give your explicit directions per each case the week before the case is due (during the off weeks). They will pertain to the analysis, write up and discussion of the case. You'll be responsible for writing up (No less than 4, no more then 5) pages per case depending upon; my instructions, your real world experiences, your book readings, and the knowledge gleamed from interacting with your group members.

A. Yes. During the discussion of the case each group will present their particular views of the case, handling arguments, presenting alternatives, recommendations, and exploring concepts and strategies as well as inventing a few on your own. This will be done as a team in class, however your collaboration to arrive at these views will be done online using the teams forums and animated chat area. Everyone in the team should participate online (and I'll be grading you on that level of participation) and in class (during the discussion).

A. There is a growing need for E-Business professionals to understand E-Business models and be able to write p solid E-business plans for delivery to venture capitalists or for forming a startup company!

I plan to use the bus plan writeup as a group class project. However it'll begin as an individual project that migrates into a group project. I plan to form groups and then to have each member of the group research the various business models that I've collected info about (and or find their own) and come up with a product/service based on the business model that they've chosen. The catch is that 'NO' two members within the same team are permitted to have the 'same' business model. Around mid QTR (Week 6) I'll have each student hand in a 2 page paper describing their business model and then one must be chosen for the team to progress with into constructing the final full business plan. I'll permit the group to self elect which model works best for them but I'll retain veto power and the right to dictate a variant. For the remainder of the QTR they'll work on the bus plan and present it during the final class. There will also be a writeup of the E-business plan required to be handed in on the last day as well.

A. Yes, here it is:

• Each student will choose a book, read it, and use the concpets from it in projects during the course of the QTR.
  
  
• Additionally each student will present written 3 summaries (and chapter titles) of the concepts gleamed from that book during the weeks that cases are not due. These summaries will be handed in for instructor perusal Minimum length 1 & ½ to 2 pages.
  
  
• During these weeks (4), each student will prepare a 2 minute oral summary of the concepts gleamed so far and present this summary to the class with the intent of educating the other students about those concepts and fielding questions regarding those concepts being presented. I will randomly choose students to present during the discussion segments of those classes.
  
  
• Each student will analyze and prepare (4) case studies. Each case study will have it's own set of instruction and requirements which will be provided by the instructor one week prior to the case being due. Each student will prepare a case write up of 4- 5 pages per the directions of the case in MS Word and present the 'dead tree' edition in class.
  
  
• Each team will be required collaborate online (in the team's forum and chat space) to collate their views about the case (based upon their book readings) synthesize a unified front, select speaker(s), prepare arguments and then present their view of the case as part of the class discussion process. Both processes will be monitored closely and graded by the instructor and your team's peers.
  
  
• Each team will 'member' individually research the universe of E-Business models existing out there and pick one to develop as a potential for the groups final E-Business Plan. They will do this during the beginning of the QTR and hand in a full 2 page summary of their EBusiness Model to me and their group. The groups will (By the following week) elect a winner and in class that week I'll peruse the winners and either bless them or veto them and nominate an alternative. The 'group' as a whole then constructs the business plan for presentation and hand in during the last class.

13. What about the site? Is there anything else that I should be aware of?

A. Yes. There are some reading materials which have been explicitly purchased from an online vendor by myself for the express purpose of teaching this class. They are password protected and cannot be distributed freely. You'll receive a username and password to access them. Their availability is a benefit of being in this class so please do not redistribute them with out my permission. Also, you'll be sharing a site with the survey students so there may be items meant only for them, so don't worry if your see some strange things.

A. I have an interactive philosophy and I expect my students to adhere to it. It's not a "I teach, you learn" type of structure. It's an I lecture (as little as possible) and then facilitate the group learning from the discussion generated by the students collective learning. Also the spirit of the class is to develop independent thinkers and speakers, which means that you will disagree with my (and other students) perspective and analysis during the course of the quarter. I encourage that (within the limits of student - teacher respect of course), and hope students will take a stand a defend their perspectives during discussion. Being politically incorrect is not a bad things in my classes, being a lazy thinker is.

A. Please see the syllabus for that, it explains everything.

A. I have responsibilities like any other Information Technology professional.  I generally return voicemail calls within 24 hours.  I generally check personal email nightly.  If you need to reach me in an emergency, please call my office and have me paged with a message.