BAN622 – Digital Transformation of Businesses and Organizations
MSc Business Analytics
Core Course
BAN622 – Digital Transformation of Businesses and Organizations
Course Unit Code: BAN622
Type Of Unit: Core
Level of Course Unit: Graduate
Year of Study: 1
Semester: Semester 2
Number of ECTS Credits: 10
Class Contact Hours: 12
Mode of Delivery
Distance Learning
Prerequisites
None
Course Objectives
Digital transformation is the transformation of business and organizational activities, processes, competencies, and models to fully leverage the opportunities of emerging digital technologies.
The accelerating pace at which such technologies impact society and economy at scale calls for agile business strategies and a mindset which must be focused, fast and flexible.
Upon completion of this course, students will be equipped with the necessary and sufficient knowledge and skill set to drive their enterprises and organizations into digitalization.
The skills acquired throughout the course will cover a framework for successful digital transformations, managing best practices for building an agile business, and a theoretical understanding of some of the major disrupting technologies: artificial intelligence, blockchain, quantum computing, and cloud computing.
Learning Outcomes
1: Thorough understanding of digital transformation frameworks, with specific focused on the 5-pillars framework (CC-DIV) and associated tools
2: Deep knowledge of the key factors characterizing an agile business (being fast, focused, and flexible). Mastering of tools such as FAST goals, OKR objectives, MoSCOW analysis. Good knowledge of different frameworks for an agile business (Design Thinking, Lean, Agile)
3: Analysis of current trends in digital transformation.
4: In-depth investigation of two relevant studies: The Nokia use case, and the introduction of the Digital Kaizen system by FPT Software.
5: High level understanding of artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms, with particular focus on natural language processing.
6: High level understanding of how blockchain technology works, its sustainability, and its disrupting powers across different industries.
Course Content
1st week:
• Introduction to digital transformation frameworks.
• Digital transformation in the EU: (a) the digital service act (DSA), (b) the DIGITAL funding program, and (c) the related acts and EU indexes
2nd week:
• The five pillar DX framework: Customers
3rd week:
• The five pillar DX framework: Competitors and Data
4th week:
• The five pillar DX framework: Innovation and Value
5th week:
• Building an agile business: being fast, focused, and flexible
6th week:
• Trends in DX: a research review analysis.
• The Customer Data Platform
7th week:
• The Nokia Use Case
8th week:
• The Dynamic Capabilities framework and the Digital Kaizen approach
9th week:
• Introduction to Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
• Taxonomy of ML algorithms and major applications in industry
10th week:
• Natural language processing as a disruptive example of ML application
11th week:
• Introduction to Blockchain technology
• Blockchain and sustainability
12th week:
• Blockchain as a disruptive technology: examples from different industries
• Overview of popular blockchain implementations: the Ethereum blockchain and the Hyperledger Fabric
Course Features
Weekly self-assessment activities :
On a weekly basis, students will have the possibility to engage in self-assessment activities to judge their own level of understanding of the concepts covered so far. The weekly self-assessment activities provide immediate feedback.
Weekly interactive activities (20%):
On a weekly basis, students will have the possibility to engage with self-assessment activities to judge their own level of understanding of the concepts covered so far. Such activities include interactive games (criss-cross puzzles, escape rooms, word-search puzzles) and online quiz.
The weekly self-assessment activities provide immediate feedbacks.
The participation to such activities account for at most 10% of the final grade.
Course assignment (30%):
Each student is assigned a state-of-the-art research paper to read autonomously and discuss over a written essay. The essay must be written in proper English language, includes 1500-2000 words, and properly summarizes the study hypothesis, methodologies, and results.
The assignment will be evaluated at the end of the course, and it accounts for up to 30% of the final grade
Final exam (50%):
The final exam consists of multiple-answer questions covering all subjects discussed during the course. Each student is given a questionnaire with 30 questions randomly selected from a large pool of questions. The student has 45 minutes to complete the test, having one attempt only. The exam is open-book and it accounts for up to 50% of the final mark.
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