Assignment+1

Overview
You may select either one of two options for the first assignment. The due dates vary depending on the assignment selected. Each assignment needs to be turned in no later than the start of class on the day that it is due. ** Late assignments will not be accepted. Please submit your assignment in PDF or Microsoft Word format using Blackboard's electronic drop box.**

Option A: Letter to the editor re: Does IT Matter?
Due date: 10:30am on Sunday, September 11, 2011

=== Write a letter to the editor of the Harvard Business Review in which you take a position on the claims Nicholas Carr makes in his article “IT Doesn’t Matter”. In no more than one single-spaced page, identify the core argument that Carr makes, your position on his claims, and a compelling argument supporting your position. ===

=== Your letter will be evaluated based on your ability to capture and summarize the fundamental argument(s) of Carr’s article and your ability to articulate a compelling and rational response to that argument (either in agreement or in opposition). ===

Statement on Collaboration:
You are free to discuss and debate the article and your thoughts on it with your classmates. I encourage you to also seek out other commentary on the article (there have been many public rebuttals and affirmations of the article). You must, however, write your letter-to-the editor individually. The document that you submit and the intellectual work that it represents must be your own.


 * Grading rubric**: I will use this grading rubric when evaluating your letters to the editor

Option B: Case analysis of Cisco Systems ERP case
Due date: 10:30am on Tuesday, September 27, 2011

For this assignment you need to read the HBS case “Cisco Systems, Inc.: Implementing ERP” and submit your analysis of the case before class on Tuesday, September 27. Your case analysis should explicitly address the following topics:

1. Identify the three most important decisions that Cisco management made in the case. For each of these decisions, identify:
 * Who made the decision
 * How risky the decision was (high risk, moderate risk, low risk)
 * The consequences of that decision, both positive and negative

2. Answer the questions that Pete Solvik poses at the end of the case:
 * What were the most important factors that made the difference between success and failure of the Cisco ERP project?
 * Where had the Cisco ERP team been smart?
 * Where had they been lucky?
 * Could they do it again if they had to?

3. What aspects of the Cisco team’s approach to implementing ERP would you recommend that other companies emulate? Which aspects would other advise other companies to approach differently?

Your analysis should be approximately two single-spaced pages long. You may turn in an analysis that is up to three pages long but please remember that succinct analyses that get directly to a clearly articulated point are vastly preferable to vague and rambling discussions. **Please submit your assignment in PDF or Microsoft Word format using Blackboard's electronic drop box.**

I will use the following grading criteria when evaluating your analysis:

Statement on Collaboration:
You may work on this case analysis by yourself or in groups of two or three students. You are free (and encouraged) to discuss the case and your assessment of the case with anybody. The document that you submit and the intellectual work that it represents must, however, be the work only of you and/or your group. Grades will be assigned to the case analysis submitted, not to individual contribution. As a result, all members of the group will receive the same case analysis grade.