Related Course/s:

A unit of study that may be undertaken as part of the Bachelor of Business Information Systems. Students who have completed the necessary pre-requisites may also take this as an elective in any undergraduate degree program.

Aims & Objectives:

• Independently investigate the global context of the IT and Communication industry and the attendant professional, cultural and operational issues.
• Identify and critically analyse cultural models to understand the impact of culture on the adoption of technology and the operation of multicultural teams.
• Understand the impact of globalisation and the role of technology in its proliferation.
• Identify global technology organisations their structures and their effectiveness in the use and sale of technology in a global context.
• Identify and understand the differences in the adoption of technology by geography through both cultural and national differences. 
• Identify and consider the adoption of technology trends that support globalisation and how they are adopted in a local setting. Examples to be considered are cloud computing, Green IT and the Virtual office.
• Identify and critically assess the validity of global standards in ICT. Examples to be considered would be ITIL/ISO 20000, PMBOK, Prince 2,the Open Source GPL, and CMMI.
• Undertake professional project management processes through the use of project planning and team management tools
• Evaluate the effectiveness of the project process through reflective reporting and peer review
• Develop and present a resolved project outcome that demonstrates understanding of, and engagement with, the major issues, challenges and opportunities in the global ICT industry.
• Present an individually researched paper on an aspect of global IT practice in an area of chosen interest.

Teaching Methods:

Lectures (24 hours), Tutorials (12 hours)

Assessment:

Generic Skills Outcomes:

• teamwork skills
• analysis skills
• communications skills
• ability to work independently

• Are informed on the relationship between technology and the process of globalisation
• Understand the implications of culture on technology adoption and work teams
• Have a broad knowledge of ICT’s place and practice in global terms and their place in the global context
• operate effectively in work and community by:
  · having the ability to work both independently and collaboratively
  · having the ability to effectively communicate via written reports and presentations
• are aware of the global environment by:
  · Having the ability to conduct valuable research
  · Having respect for cultural differences and the expression of different points of view
• Have their technology career enhanced by:
  · Applying all the skills gained during this subject
  · Using their acquired knowledge of global ICT business

Content:

• Globalisation and its impact on IT
• Cultural differences and their impact on technology.
• National differences in technology adoption in geographic regions.
• Doing ICT business globally.
• Global Technologies and architectures.
• Global Standards applied in ICT.
• Working with cultural differences.

Textbooks:

Walsham, G “Making a World of Difference”-IT in a Global Context” John Wiley and Sons 2001