Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/57875
EACH OF EDGE'S SESSIONS HIGHLIGHTS MAJOR TRENDS THAT ARE BEING DRIVEN BY GLOBALIZATION AND QUICK TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE. A Course on the 'Edge' Of Business Trends In the spring, the Merage School of Business at the University of California, Irvine, enrolled 65 students in "edge," a new course that explores how technology and globaliza- tion are transforming business. The objective of edge, say its designers, is to prepare students to succeed as technology drives new forms of entrepreneurship, international com- petition, overlapping markets, social networking, and collaboration. Chaired by Vijay Gurbaxani, senior associate dean, the school's Curriculum Innovation Com- mittee developed the preliminary concept of the course. Its content was designed by David Obstfeld, assistant professor for strategy, and technology guru John Seely Brown, now a visiting scholar at the Univer- sity of Southern California. Each of edge's sessions highlights major trends that are being driven by globalization and quick techno- logical change. In the spring course, many sessions highlighted expert speakers who discussed topics such as Web-based social networks, vir- tual worlds, new forms of marketing communication, and new forms of leadership. The session on virtual worlds, for example, featured Cory Ondrejka, a creator of the popular online virtual world SecondLife. Obstfeld, Brown, and Gurbaxani presented students with the larger frameworks affecting these issues, such as globalization and the use of IT for strategic advantage. For their final projects, students have four options. They can: identify business opportunities for a Web 2.0 startup; conduct a marketing campaign using video and other rich media; provide strategic analysis for a Web-based social network startup backed by secured venture capital; or consult for a local apparel firm to determine when and how it could best outsource its manufacturing operations to Hong Kong. To bring the spirit of the course online, the Merage School also unveiled a new Web site for edge at edge.merage.uci.edu. The site acts as a venue for faculty and students to share information. Students can hold online exchanges on class top- ics, create online surveys, post links to articles and videos, and write per- sonal blogs. "Different student groups are responsible for managing an online digital class conversation for that week's topic. The remaining stu- dents are required to post a weekly comment," says Obstfeld. Students' posts are accompanied by their pho- tos. In ten years of teaching, says Obstfeld, "I've never experienced anything resembling this form of engagement." Although all course assignments are accessed through Web-based links, edge does incorporate two old-fashioned textbooks: The Long Tail by Chris Anderson and The Only Sustainable Edge by Brown and John Hagel. The course will be held again in spring 2008. Obstfeld, Brown, and Gurbaxani plan to place more emphasis on helping students devel- op a baseline set of skills, including establishing a wiki-based project, posting video to YouTube, and social networking. They also plan to hold at least one class in a Second Life virtual environment. "As a course, edge reflects the belief that the world is on the verge of a dynamic transformation of busi- ness and society. Business schools need to do more to anticipate where such change is taking us," Obstfeld says. "This new economy is unfold- ing very fast and in unpredictable ways. We're trying to cultivate the intense curiosity that allows individ- uals to figure out and respond to this new environment." Wharton and Gartner Prep CIOs to Lead The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia has partnered with research company Gartner Inc. to launch an executive education program that specifically addresses the challenges facing chief information officers. Gartner, whose U.S. operations are headquartered in Stamford, Con- necticut, has conducted its CIO Academy since 2003. However, this is the first time Gartner has partnered with a business school to offer a program to help CIOs develop their business skills. The new program, "CIO as Full Business Partner," will BizEd SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2007 59