Gallaugher.com Chapters

gallaugher.com Chapters

Free course content for all

Strategy and Technology - Chapter discusses Information Technology and Sustainable Competitive Advantage. Many contemporary examples are used. Concepts covered include: Operational Effectiveness vs. Strategic Positioning, the Resource-Based View of the firm (RBV) and resources that can be created and enabled by technology to yield advantage such as scale, brand, data, switching costs, distribution channels, and network effects. Sidebars discuss the Value Chain and Five Forces (Industry Competitive Analysis) models. Chapter is an alternative for faculty who had previously used HBR articles such as Porter's "Strategy & the Internet" or Carr's "IT Doesn't Matter" in their classes.

A Manager's Guide to Moore's Law – Why does technology change so fast, and what does this mean for the manager? This chapter introduces Moore's Law in terms a business student will appreciate. Several real-world examples and implications of Moore's Law and technology change are introduced, from the iPod to Amazon to grid computing. Factors that may derail Moore's Law are also discussed, as well as current solutions attempting to counteract these problems.

This is an experiment in alternative publishing models. Rather than have students spend $100+ for a textbook that is at least a year out of date by the time it is printed, I have, for several semesters, developed courses from existing online materials, including my own. These courses have been overwhelmingly well received, and my students have gone on to secure great jobs leveraging what they’ve learned in class. The chapters above were written by me and are available for free to faculty and students for non-commercial. All I ask is that you send me an e-mail to me at john.gallaugher@bc.edu letting me know you're using a reading (which school, at which level, for approx. how many students). I want to hear from you! Also visit www.gallaugher.com. There you'll find podcasts, PowerPoint slides, a news digest called The Week in Geek that I've published since 1997, and a selection of related readings from the business press (complete with discussion questions) that I use in my own classes. My primary motivation is to have a broader impact - my hope is that this online chapter will reach more students than it would if included in a for-fee book. Suggestions and corrections are also welcome. If the response is positive, I will post more chapters, cases, course content, and perhaps eventually an entire book, online, making regular updates to keep the material fresh. Enjoy!