Note: the file Peer Grade Book Cover.doc will be on the front of Peer Grade Booklets handed out on the first presentation day (be sure to bring Peer Grade Booklets to the second presentation day, too). Feel free to look at the instructions on this page before arriving to the first presentation class. Printed peer booklets will be at the front of the room. Please arrive early on presentation days, as we'll start presenting promptly at the beginning of class.

The Project

You will asked to form a group and to research, write, and present either a case study or business briefing. The exercise is very similar to tasks you'll perform in the real world. You'll often be called upon to understand new developments in technology & how they relate to your firm (the briefing example). And you'll be asked to analyze a firm to understand its business model, whether it poses a threat or opportunity for any firms, and whether your firm can learn anything from it (the case example). Since this is business writing & presentation, you'll have to write and present clearly, engagingly, and succinctly.

Any business briefing should focus on a technology-related topic. It should include information about the topic and how the topic impacts business. It will be important to offer examples of firms impacted by or taking advantage of the topic, and any 'trends to watch'. A good case or briefing won't read like a Wikipedia entry, it will read like a good magazine article. The narrative will be both descriptive and engaging.

A case is an overview of major issues confronting a firm. Since this is a class on technology and management, any case should focus on how a firm leverages and/or is being impacted by technology. A case should discuss the firm, its industry, its competitors, and introduce assets under attack or resources that it can leverage/is leveraging for competitive advantage. The very best cases will read like the very best articles that you'd read in a business publication like Fortune or BusinessWeek.

Some team members are gifted writers, some are good at uncovering interesting facts or interpreting topics, some are star presenters or skilled with PowerPoint or Keynote (Mac). A good team will work together to combine the assets of all team members and produce a solid contribution that the class finds highly valuable. An Excel spreadsheet containing grading criteria for the project has been posted online (see the files to the right). If done well, this project should be one that you learn a great deal from, are proud of, and are eager to discuss during job interviews. Some of you may even be inspired to seek employment relating to the firms and issues that you study. Student projects will remain on the wiki to be shared with (and perhaps improved by) subsequent semesters of MI021. Projects are also available to the broader web readership, therefore we want you to do excellent work – the world is watching!

Choosing a Topic

Groups will select either one firm to write & present a case study on, or one topic to write & present a briefing on, per group. Suggested firms & topics are provided on the MI021 Project Topics Page. You are also welcome to suggest your own firms or topics. Groups are advised to make project topic requests to the instructor quickly, as the instructor will award topics on a first-come, first-served basis and will NOT allow more than one group to work on the same topic (teams in separate sections cannot work on the same topic). Groups also CANNOT choose firms we'll be covering as major readings in class (see the MI021 Readings & Schedule list). Your instructor will only accept topic requests via e-mail submission. After your request has been approved, your instructor will indicate your firm's assignment to a topic by listing your group's section & number in parentheses after the topic on the topics page – e.g. (Section 4, Team 3). In order to request your case or briefing topic, follow these instructions precisely. Any deviation from these instructions may result in you not receiving the requested topic.

• Send your instructor one e-mail message per group, listing whether your group will be doing a case or a briefing, and indicating the firm (for case) or topic (for briefing) of your project. Instructor contact info is indicated on the first page of the course wiki).
• Your group members should be cc'd on this e-mail so that everyone is aware and consents to the selected topic. You should not submit a topic selection until you have achieved a group consensus.
• E-mails should be titled "MI021 Group Topic Request".
• Do not send topic request e-mails to the TAs.

You may want to submit multiple topics in case your first choice is already taken by the time that the instructor receives your e-mail. If you submit a request containing multiple topics, rank order them according to your preference (e.g. clearly indicate whether each is a first choice, second choice, etc.). You may switch topics at a later date, provided that your new topic isn't already taken, however if you switch to a new topic, you must notify the instructor and you old topic will then be considered 'open', the instructor will remove your group's section/number from along side the old topic and put it along side the new topic, and the old topic may be taken by another group.

Teams may use web-based as well as on-line resources, but should be discerning in what they choose to cite (e.g. is it a reputable commercial site or the unsubstantiated online rantings of a renegade blogger). Students should not rely on Wikipedia as a primary source, but Wikipedia can be a very useful tool for uncovering primary sources (for an indication of how bad Wikipedia entries have been on the topic of "Boston College", see: http://bcm.bc.edu/issues/winter_2006/linden_lane/disambiguation.html). Beware – over-reliance on Wikipedia (or even Google) can make a group seem obviously sloppy & can limit a group in gathering the most compelling information for a case / briefing. Students should feel free to leverage the BC Library online resources. Some of the best professional resources are not available via Google or other public Internet search, but you can access them via BC's Library Resources such as Factiva (for the Wall Street Journal) and Business Source Complete (for the Economist, Harvard Business Review, and many others). You should use these services!Also, BC Business Librarian Claire O'Leary (claire.oleary.1@bc.edu) is often available for consultation on using library resources.

Write-ups and Presentation

Your group project grade will be based on both a written case or briefing of 3 single-spaced pages (max) in the body, plus a presentation made to the class. Please use the attached template for the written portion of the assignment (and be sure it is in Word 97 .doc format, not .docx). Both the written & presentation portions of your project will be graded (in part) and ranked by your other class members. Grading criteria have been posted online. Format for the presentation is deliberately left open to allow each group increased flexibility, but be aware that you will be evaluated using the posted grading criteria. On the date indicated in the MI021 Readings & Schedule, your group will upload a Word file containing your group's briefing or case to your topic's wiki page (e.g. to the "Glu Mobile" page if your group is presenting a case on Glu Mobile). You should create a blank page linked to your topic right away so that group members, your instructor, or other students can post comments on any interesting articles relating to your topic on your topic's page. You are encouraged to share interesting articles with your own as well as other groups (remember, wiki participation counts towards class participation). And you can add articles to topics even if no one has chosen them yet.

Your peers and instructor will read the briefing or case prior to your presentation. Presentations are to be no more than 7 minutes in length, followed by a brief 2 minute question & answer period. This will leave one minute in-between presentations for breakdown / setup. Students should stop by the presentation room sometime before the presentation to test laptop projection capabilities beforehand, or teams can pre-load presentations to the course wiki to be downloaded to the Windows PC at the front of the room (again, test presentation beforehand). Presentation & Q/A timings are exact – groups going overtime will be cut-off, even if a presentation is not finished, so that we can keep presentations on time. It is strongly advised that groups meet to practice their presentations several times before presentation day. The presentation schedule is tight, so everyone must attend both of the presentation days in their section and everyone must arrive to class on time. Any student arriving late to a presentation (regardless of whether or not they are presenting that day) will receive a grade reduction.

Cases and Briefings should be uploaded as a Word document to your topic's wiki page (the "Upload files" button appears on the right side of wiki pages if you have correctly logged in). A template for the Case or Briefing has been posted to the right. You must use the font sizes and styles included in the template. The body of the wiki-posted summary must not exceed three printed pages in Word. Any figures, dates, quotes, or other material taken from another source must be cited. Use Word's Endnote function. Endnotes will not count toward your 3 page total. Endnote citations should be in the APA citation format. Guidelines are at: http://www.liu.edu/CWIS/CWP/library/workshop/citapa.htm (note: the colors on the webpage are included just for illustration – text should all be standard black). You may also include additional supporting material if appropriate. Additional material is not required, nor are readers required to investigate beyond the 3 page body, however some groups provide high-value additional material in order to create a more persuasive argument for their analysis. A bibliography should be included before the endnotes for any references not specifically cited in the body of your document. A well-researched paper should include at least 12 separate sources in total for articles or web sites that you used in your research.

Presentation materials such as PowerPoint slides should be posted ("Upload files" button) to the wiki page for the group's topic by the time the presentation is given in class. To ensure all classmates can read your presentation, be sure to upload in PowerPoint 97 format (.ppt, NOT .pptx). Mac userse can use Keynote, but be sure to export & post a PowerPoint 97 version, as well.

When presenting, announce your names, Team #, and whether you're doing a 'Case' or a 'Briefing'. Students often ask if they need to 'dress up' for their presentation. This is entirely up to your group. Freshmen usually don't have business attire. You often see Seniors dressing up for Carroll School presentations, but that's because all of them have purchased 'interview suits' by junior year to prepare for internship interviews. There are no 'fashion' points on the grade sheet, but feel free to spiff up if it helps you set the tone for your talk.

Groups listed in the left-hand column on the MI021 Teams page will be presenting on the first day of presentations, groups on the right-hand column will present on the second day. Groups will present in the order they're listed in each column (top to bottom). Remember you are to read ALL briefings or cases for each group prior to each group's presentation.

Evaluations

Grading criteria have been posted online. Everyone is required to submit one confidential evaluation of each of the other teams. On the day of project presentations, everyone will be given a grading booklet that contains a form similar to the one posted online – one for each group presenting. You are to evaluate all groups other than your own and you are to provide useful, civil feedback and commentary regarding the group's ability or inability to meet assessment criteria. Within 24 hours of the last presentation class, you will enter your feedback on each presentation into an online systems (details to be provided). Evaluating groups is to be done anonymously and without consulting your classmates. You should provide a rigorous critique so that only the very best groups receive high grades. While your numerical grades may seem low, I will apply an appropriate curve if necessary. Final scores from class input will be combined with your instructor's score to determine each group's final project grade.

Also, each member of the project team will be asked to submit a brief performance review of the other team members. Using these evaluations, a weight will be assigned to each individual's team grade. Dysfunctional teams and poorly participating team members will suffer lower grades. Non-participative group members will receive a zero grade.

A Note on Academic Integrity

Collusion in the evaluation process or misrepresentation of one's identity (in written or electronic form) will be considered cheating. Cheating, copying the work of others, plagiarism, or any other breach of academic or computing policy will be pursued with the utmost seriousness. These actions will result in a grade of 'F' and referral to the Integrity Board of the Carroll School of Management for further action.

A special note to plagiarizers - your work will live forever online If it is uncovered, even retroactively, that work was copied and claimed for one's own, the case will be submitted to the University Academic Integrity and Disciplinary authorities, with recommendations for retroactive grade adjustment to zero credit for the course. With the eyes of the world watching your work, don't cheat! Cheaters will get caught.

Good luck!