Handbook

NOTE:This course was previously identified as MBAX9154.

Managing with Digital Technology aims to increase technical literacy of managers and leaders. The main objective of this course is to give managers a high-level overview of the fundamental concepts, main topics and problems in computer science and information technology and how they relate to business settings, and thus equip them to make better decisions regarding applications of technology, even if they are not technologists themselves. This course takes a top-down approach and emphasises high-level mastery of important concepts in computer science and information technology. Students who successfully complete this course will feel confident in any technology organisation and will have an appreciation for the problems in the field, how they affect or constrain business decisions and how it all works.

The course prepares students for product-management roles. Product manager is increasingly becoming the job of choice for MBA students. Similarly, more and more industries, especially traditional service industries, are creating their own products to deliver more capabilities to their customers and require new capabilities from their managers. Being a product manager requires similar skills to a CEO, which combined with the perceived attractiveness of working in the tech industry, makes it an attractive career path for graduating MBA and management students. A successful product manager needs to master the business side of developing a product as well as be able to interact with a wide range of technical and non-technical stakeholders - from customers through to product engineers and user experience specialists.

Managing with Digital Technology equips founders to succeed in technology endeavors. Successful start-up founders will come across technology from day zero. Virtually every business idea today involves technology - often entire stacks of various technologies. Founders with a non-technical background must rely entirely on their technical co-founders, if they are lucky, or on the word of developers and other technologists they hire, to help them realise their dream. They are often faced with difficult choices and this course aims to equip them with the knowledge and confidence to make informed choices not just in business but in technology as well.