An applied integrated management course on business disruption in the digital age

Abstract

This paper describes an Applied Integrated Management course developed as part of an MBA degree program offered at a regional, public university. The course is focused on business disruption in the digital age and seeks to develop integrative thinking in MBA students. Material from the academic disciplines of economics, statistics, information systems, and organizational behavior provide the foundation for an in-depth exploration of course topics including human decision making and machine learning; robotics, digitization, and innovation; productivity, economic effects, and technological innovation; platforms and network effects; platform architecture and disruption; monetization and openness of platforms; the crowd, expertise, and prediction markets; the sharing economy, blockchain and economic impacts; and regulation, work, and labor in the sharing economy. The MBA program, course design, course materials, and assignments are described. Faculty at institutions interested in combating a ‘silo’ approach in the design and delivery of MBA programs and university instruction generally may wish to adopt the approach described in the paper.