Course Spotlight
Assistant Professor of Marketing
Ph.D. in Marketing,
University of Michigan, 2004
MA in Applied Economics,
University of Michigan, 2000
The E-Business Management Program at IUJ is a bridge that links technology and business. The students come to this program with varied backgrounds, some with strong IT skills and some with strong business experience, but a sizable number also enters with neither. In order for each student to get started with a common footing, the first term, which is the fall term, offers some fundamental core courses. In Winter and in Spring students will have the opportunity to select many courses offered by the E-Business and MBA Programs. A course which has gained great appeal among E-Biz students is described below.
Customer Relationship Management (Elective Course) / Prof. Kerimcan Ozcan
Many corporations aim to create and sustain profitable customer-centric businesses. Information and communication technologies enable businesses to acquire and manage customer related information. After establishing the fundamentals and strategic importance of Customer Relationship Management (CRM), this course provides the key conceptual and technical building blocks of successful CRM.
Major CRM applications and leading vendors will be introduced throughout the term. Real world business cases and hands-on exercises will familiarize the participants with practical issues surrounding CRM efforts. The students will be able to understand how to turn customer information into effective and efficient communication and decision making processes, creating value via Business Intelligence.
An interesting aspect of this course is its practical relevance. Especially, a mini project where students in small teams are challenged to conduct an original investigation on a practical topic assigned by the professor.
The students also get exposure to CRM applications via case studies and group projects.
In the group project, teams of 4-5 students will investigate how a firm achieved competitive advantage (or failed to do so) through CRM. In particular, students analyze the competitive situation of the firm prior to the adoption of its CRM strategy. Then, they describe the components of the CRM strategy and how it relates to the firm's specific business and functional strategies. This will be followed by an evaluation as to what extent and how the CRM strategy and its implementation lent competitive advantage to the firm. And finally, the group is asked to provide advice on where and how the next opportunities should be sought in terms of CRM.
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Next week's topic will be "Student Voices" (To be updated on February 25, 2008). Stay tuned!