MFC5552 - Social Business and the Sharing Economy

Objectives:

On successful completion of the module, students will be able to:

Critically evaluate an online community and make recommendations to improve engagement and sustainability
Research and evaluate community platforms appropriate for their intended audience, content, functionality and sustainability
Compare and contrast a socially enabled business model against a traditional model in the same vertical market and critically analyse the success factors of each
Present a plan for the development of a self-sustaining online community
Use collaborative methods to create a personal learning network and knowledge bank to support their own learning and development

Content:

This module is intended to provide a comprehensive guide to the changing nature of the workplace, and of business models, in a socially and digitally connected world. It will address the question: How is pervasive connectivity fundamentally changing the way we do business; as customers, as co-owners, as brands and as employees?
We will investigate the platforms and functionality behind social networks and online community tools, and differentiate clearly the channels and mechanisms of collaboration from the personalities and motivation of the community members and managers. We will look at the different types of online community – particularly looking at Etienne Wenger’s Communities of Practice – as well as noting similarities and differences with the meaning of community in the real world: examining what “community” is.
We will use case studies to show how brands, individuals and organisations have leveraged social connectivity to create new paradigms of collaboration, earning, ownership and learning. We will consider what open source and free information means for the perception of value, alongside the value of community membership, and having both a sense of ownership in co-created products, services, education and information, and a sense of belonging.
We will introduce and explore the concept of online communities, looking at the functionality of communities for users, moderators and stakeholders. We will introduce key management and moderation concepts and look at off the shelf community platforms compared with build-your-own solutions. Building on this work with communities of interest, we will look at the growing options for collaboration both within an enterprise and as a basis for enterprise, and the role of the community manager as broker of services. We will look at monetisation models for business creation and growth using online communities. We will look at new models of organising organisations in the virtual space, including collaborative project management, social learning and knowledge management.
Throughout we will be engaging in discussions around the changing nature of intellectual property, copyright, ownership, open source and value perception.

Learning and Teaching Information:

The sessions will be organised so that each seminar provides a place for discussion and application of the previous lecture. Lectures will be available online synchronously and asynchronously. Group consultancy may be carried out online or on campus.

Lectures
Contact hours: 10
Intended Group size: 24

Tutorials/seminars
Contact hours: 20
Intended Group size: 1

Group consultancy
Contact hours: 20
Intended Group size: 5

Guided independent study
Hours: 150

Assessment:

001 Portfolio 1 - 1,000-word equivalent End of Sem 1 25%
002 Portfolio 2 - 3,000-word equivalent End of Sem 2 75%


Click here to go back to previous page