The Digital Enterprise

Full course description

Too often IT is viewed as the province of technocrats, a domain inhabited by technical experts with little relevance to real-world problems. And yet, the economic importance of information, information systems, and thus information management has been growing constantly over the last decades, thanks to the relentless increase in computer performance.  

We are increasingly dependent on information systems and data to make decisions in a wide range of domains. Sensor and network technology helps us to collect and analyze data in real-time, and to speed up decision making in all areas of our society. The possibilities of information and computer science are endless, but they also raise concerns: for instance about privacy, security, and identity, but also about interpretation and perception of data.  

All these developments have led to the present-day ”digital enterprise”. In digital enterprises,  the creation, distribution, use, integration and manipulation of information is a significant economic activity. The digitization of enterprises also has consequences for society. People who have the means to partake in this form of society are sometimes called digital citizens. This is one of many dozen labels that have been identified to suggest that humans are entering a new phase of society. The digital society can be both a threat and an opportunity to enterprises – this is, for instance, clearly visible in sectors such as retail (traditional retailers vs Amazon & Co), accomodation (traditional hotel vs AirBNB) and transportation (traditional taxis vs Uber). 

This course offers an overview of role of digital concepts in enterprises: the digital enterprise. The course  provides both a theoretical grounding and a pragmatic approach to applying key concepts. Drawing on ideas, tools, and techniques from such disciplines as economics, sociology, cognitive science, organizational behavior, and computer science, the course shows the digital enterprise from different perspectives: its position in  society and the market , but also elements such as  governance, information technology, and people. The course serves as an introduction to other Information and Computer Science courses, in which the various topics of the Digital Enterprise will be discussed in more detail.