E-Biz Courses

Principles of Management

In today's environment, organizations are faced with high levels of international competition. They are looking for competent managers who show both the analytic skills and the interpersonal skills and knowledge necessary to successfully manage a diverse work force in complex environments. The purpose of this course is to assist you in acquiring such skills and knowledge by providing you with the framework and tools needed to manage, analyze, and lead the organization of the future. In this course, we will focus on "human behavior and management in organizations", which is one of the key elements to understanding organizational management. The course applies knowledge from the study of organizational behavior to examination of some of the futures that are supposed to characterize the emerging "new" organizational form.

Foundations of Web Technologies

The Internet and World Wide Web (WWW) technologies are evolving fast. The knowledge of cutting edge technologies and how they are used for Web based e-business applications are "must have" skills not only for e-business systems developers but for all other e-business professionals. Organizations aim to "seamlessly" integrate WWW and the Internet into their business operations. This course provides a practical understanding of the breadth of the most widely used professional web technologies such as networking and Internet fundamentals, browser side programming (i.e. scripting) and server side programming (i.e. interactive dynamic web development using databases). Students will also learn the skills to match technologies by understanding critical components of e-business operations.

eMarketing

Today, nearly one half of the world's population owns a mobile phone, most of which are capable of accessing advanced data services. And as the mobile platform converges with other communications platforms including the PC Internet, Fixed Line telephony and broadcast media, we are entering a world in which consumers are always connected, and growing more advanced in their technical capabilities and more demanding in their expectations of those companies whose products and services they choose to consume. This course begins by first introducing students to the current state and future trends related to information communication technologies and the many marketing challenges that such advancements bring. Through explorations of best practices in Japan and in other regions of the world, students will gain a first-hand understanding of the skills necessary to capitalize on these trends, rather to fall victim to them. Finally, in partnership with senior executives of actual companies facing challenges in this area, students will develop strategic marketing plans that integrate the concepts presented in class, gaining the individual capability to analyze, develop and implement marketing strategies that will enable these organizations to truly thrive in today's hyper connected world.

E-Business Thesis Work (Research Seminar I, II, III)

The E-Biz program at IUJ gives lots of flexibility to students in completing their thesis work, which is a requirement for graduation. Once students get familiar with the program, they will be asked to select a thesis supervisor. Selecting the thesis topic is one of the most important steps in the thesis project. It is expected that students will keep their career objectives in mind when selecting a thesis topic and supervisor. Though students normally select E-Biz professors as their supervisors, depending upon their career objective, they can select any GSIM professor as a supervisor.

Thesis work extending over the course of the entire 1-year program, including the summer months, allows students to engage in a project that uses the skills gained in their E-Biz studies and get close cooperation from the supervising professor. A thesis project can produce, for example, a new business plan, a new business idea, a completely new technology, a strategic plan involving technologies, a comprehensive industry analysis, or competitive strategy. The facilities available to the students, including unlimited access to the E-Lab, and the close association with professors in both the E-Biz and MBA programs, as well as unprecedented access to industry experts, provides a unique to produce a thesis paper that will help in securing a very successful career after graduation.

Business Communications

This course combines lecture, discussion and presentation. Its subject is communication as it applies to leaders in organizations. This course will help you to analyze audiences, develop arguments, test your ability to persuade in speaking, and improve your overall ability to effectively communicate as managers. Course work will primarily involve individual and group presentations, meeting facilitation, class participation and discussion. More specifically, this course will deliver the following results: At the conclusion of this course, students should:

1. be able to speak simply, logically and assertively ? whether prepared or not
2. be able to structure and deliver a clear, logical, prepared presentation to an audience of one or many
3. understand how and be able to constructively address emotion in an audience through verbal and nonverbal communication
4. understand the meaning of engagement and flow, and be able to engage an audience emotionally, intellectually and imaginatively
5. understand influence, and how to influence decision making and behaviour using verbal persuasion
6. be able to produce effective visual aids for a presentation, and know why, when and how to use them
7. be more confident, and understand nervousness and be able to work to overcome it
8. be able to organize a meeting, and run it productively and efficiently
9. be able to facilitate a meeting of peers to get the best input from all
10. be able to give and receive constructive feedback

Business Applications with iPhone/iPad/iPod
 

This is a course to introduce developing websites for iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch and creating Applications to run on iPhone and iPod Touch/iPads. iPhone and Apple have gained a solid foothold in the business community and we hope that this course lays the foundation for becoming familiar with the business application side of iPhone and related devices such as iPad and iPod Touch by learning to develop real Apps.
The course assumes the participants to have decent knowledge of HTML, CSS and any Object Oriented programming language (e.g. C, C++, Visual Basic).
Specifically, the course covers the following areas:
Introduction to Apple devices and Applications:
Mini project – creating iPhone web applications for business
iPhone/iPad SDK intro:
Final project – coming up with iPhone App idea and developing a prototype.

Customer Relationship Management

Many corporations aim to create and sustain profitable customer-centric businesses. Internet technologies enable businesses to acquire and manage useful customer related information. After introducing the fundamentals and strategic importance of CRM, this course extends to how companies evolve to establish eCRM. It also introduces a conceptual framework and the techniques for Business Intelligence such as data mining. The students will be able understand how to turn customer information into effective and efficient communication and decision making processes creating value via Business Intelligence.

Database Design and Management Strategies

With the rapid advancement in computer usage, use of databases for strategic purposes has progressed dramatically. Knowledge of database fundamentals is a must for any manager, from top executive level to operational level. Words such as Database Marketing, Data Mining, and Data Warehousing have become buzz words among business people recently. In this course, students learn the fundamentals of database theory. They also explore existing databases and then design, create, and build a user interface in a database project of their choice while learning a popular database software tool. Samples of recent student projects have been in databases developed for e-commerce, finance management, human resources management, and property management.

Internet Policy and Governance

Over the past decade the Internet has gone from being a medium used mainly by the research and academic communities to what governments in the United Nations World Summit on the Information society called "a central element of the infrastructure of the information Society" and described as "global facility available to the public". The Internet is both platform and engine for economic and social development.

The objective of the course is to introduce and raise understanding of major Internet policy issues, particularly emphasizing the concept of openness as an architectural and operating principle that has enabled the development and success of the Internet. Discussion of shifts in regulatory policy and the international political dialogue about the Internet will provide students with an insight into possible future directions of the medium. Internet policy and Internet governance are firmly on the International political agenda, and are being vigorously discussed in new global, multi-stakeholder forums. This course will provide students with grounding in these essential issues.

Entrepreneurship and New Business Development

How to develop a successful business by taking into account the vast resources of technology is the focus of this course. But technology alone cannot create a successful business; it requires good ideas, business plans, human resources, an execution strategy, and marketing, just to name a few key components. After understanding how one should approach developing a new business, the students will be exposed to entrepreneurs who have developed businesses, from start-ups to spin-offs. This class offers a great opportunity for students to gain first-hand experience from real CEOs and key executives. At the end of the course, students will be asked to produce business plans that they can potentially convert into real businesses.

IT Strategy and Policy Planning

Though in many people's mind, IT means Internet, IT is just a business tool. A careful examination of the elements of IT such as software, hardware, networks, databases, and the Internet itself, reveals that each one of them can be strategically used as a tool to gain competitive advantage and create value. Often it happens that IT policies, be they imposed by a government or by a company itself, play a key role in creating the right kind of environment for organizations to plan and realize the full benefits of IT. In this course, students will learn the basic strategy framework for IT and policy planning while practicing these strategies to analyze real-world cases by using a new concept called Value Proposition Path Method and Strategy Maps.

Mobile Business Strategies

While the PC Internet has revolutionized business practices and processes, the mobile platform now threatens to have an even greater impact on the development and implementation of modern business strategies. Globally, mobile phone penetration has already tripled that of PC penetration, suggesting that tomorrow’s leaders across nearly every industry will be faced with the challenge of developing and deploying business initiatives that capitalize upon this increasingly important platform.

Within this context, Japan has implemented what many consider to be the world’s most advanced and exciting mobile ecosystem, accounting for more than half of the world’s population of advanced mobile data users. Through studying best practices across the mobile value chain within the context of the Japanese mobile market, and then comparing these insights with those provided from other countries and regions, this class will provide students with in-depth understanding of those business strategies considered most effective within a global framework. And from this foundation, students will explore how future mobile business strategies will evolve both in Japan and internationally.

Networking and Secure Date Transmission

This course is useful not only for someone who is interested with network technologies but also for someone who is interested with making the best use of network services to succeed at their own business. The progress of technologies made network services familiar to the people, though the people had not been allowed to touch any parts of network facilities around 10 years ago. Now everybody can set and adjust parameters at network facilities to enjoy more comfortable business and private environments. Network skills are getting common competence for successful career next to language and financial skills. The course includes practical networking lab session in the back side of E-Lab.

Operations Management

This course will introduce basic concepts and practices of operations management in service industries as well as manufacturing sectors. Topics include business processes, inventory management, and quality control. In the course, we will discuss questions such as: Why is BPR (Business Process Reengineering) so important? How can we manage inventory in an efficient way? What are the applications of statistical process control? The course is not only for operations managers but also for general managers who need to revamp business processes to establish competitive advantage.

Project Management

Project management is a unique competency that delivers strategically relevant objectives. Industry knowledge and practices have been continually updated in the fourth edition of “A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge”, known as the “PMBOK Guide”, published by the Project Management Institute. This course instructs the basic project management knowledge based on PMBOK, and the practical knowledge and the techniques such as creating WBS, PDM, CPM, and so on... A student who graduates from the course is expected to have the following learning outcomes.

The student should be able:

1. To understand the project management basics knowledge
2. To apply project management tools and techniques to the real project
3. To communicate with the stake holders with project management terminology
4. To develop project plan

Supply Chain Management

Many enterprises have been working toward streamlining their external operations with SCM (Supply Chain Management) solutions. SCM is an approach to coordinating information flows as well as material flows from raw material/component suppliers to consumers through manufacturers, wholesalers/distributors, and retailers. This course will examine SCM practices in different industries, and discuss their benefits and challenges. We will study how to manage supply chain dynamics through the course. General managers as well as supply chain managers will benefit greatly from the course, as it helps them develop supply chain strategy to achieve competitive advantage. The course will also cover closed SCM, information technology for SCM, e-procurement and buyer-supplier relationships (arm's length vs. collaboration).

Students of E-business Management Program can take MBA courses as electives.

Teaching Methodology

IUJ Business School Teaching Methods

Relating classroom teaching to "real business practices" is the aim of any business school. But, many business schools lack the kind of "real business environment" to make the business teaching meaningful. IUJ is different. At anytime you will find about 30 multinational corporations represented in the student body. Plus the kind of global environment which only a few top business schools in the world can offer a student body with variety of backgrounds from 50 plus countries. Our team projects are designed in ways for students to learn how to communicate, lead, find problems and solutions, negotiate, and facilitate changes in organizations.

Established by close to 1,000 companies, including multinationals such as Sony, Matsushita, Toyota, we maintain a close relationship with the business community. Our regular guest speaker series attracts top business and government executives to the campus where students have ample opportunity to interact with them and hold face-to-face discussions.

Our superior IT environment provides excellent learning tools and databases for extensive business research.

IUJ-REP (Research & Education PLATFORM)

Embracing Current, Real world Challenges

IUJ-REP (Research & Education PLATFORM) is a comprehensive multidisciplinary approach through which our researchers tackle global issues in practical terms by conducting research in dynamic collaboration with alumni, companies and other IUJ stakeholders.
At the Graduate School of International Management, we realize that some of the most important skills for business school students to learn are those focused specifically upon solving current, real-world challenges, and that the greatest level of learning will come from face-to-face interactions with companies and executives facing such issues. In an effort to integrate these elements into our existing curriculum, the GSIM faculty has created a number of joint faculty research and consulting projects (called PLATFORMs) focused on addressing the most complex and daunting challenges facing business leaders today in partnership with a variety of IUJ stakeholders. 

Currently, the following PLATFORMs are organized by GSIM faculty:
Community Involvement, Disaster Recovery and CSR
The innovations of ICT and their strategic use in Governance, Society, and Globalization
The impact of Mobile Technologies on Markets and Societies
New Leadership in Japan and Asia under Globalization
Performance Evaluation and Incentive System
Toward Value Co-Creation through New Forms of Customer Relationships
Global Strategy
Corporate Environmental Strategy and Management
Investments in Emerging Markets and Risk Management for Local Businesses
The Productivity and Efficiency Analysis: Techniques and Applications
Supply Chain Management: Marketing-Operations Interface Perspective

For more information about the IUJ-REP, please refer to:Research Report section.