Master - Media and Technology Management: Selected Issues
'Readings on Management in the Sharing Economy'
(WS '18/'19)

C. Loebbecke

2 SWS, 6 CP

Thursdays, 5:45 pm - 9:00 pm  in HS XXIII (WiSo-Building)

Start: Oct. 18, '18

Held in English

Mandatory Pre-Assignment due Oct. 15, '18, 11:00 am via eMail

Overview

We will read and discuss at least two major pieces on different aspects of the sharing economy. Focus is on Rifkin's "Sharing Economy", and Shirky's "Here Comes Everybody". We will complement our viewpoints with parts of Ash's "Free Speech" (see the literature list below). The idea is to understand and argue for and against the respective authors' main lines of thought - and then apply them to various parts of media and technology management. As Pre-Assignment, we will all have read at least the overview chapters from Rifkin and Shirky. Really getting their messages brings us to crucial insights and lines of argument. Later readings & assignments will build on those the Pre-Assignment. In addition, the course will briefly introduce the basics of academic writing and thus somehow prepare for a master thesis in MTM.

Dates and Location (max. 5 dates)

Oct. 18 (mandatory!), Nov. 08; Nov. 22, Nov. 29 - all '18 and Jan. 10 and Jan. 17 - both '19 in HS XXIII.

Students MUST NOT also take 'MTM Seminar I on ... Sharing Economy' with Prof. Loebbecke during the WS 18/19.

Literature

• Rifkin, J. (2014) The Zero Marginal Cost Society: The Internet of Things, the Collaborative Commons, and the Eclipse of Capitalism, Macmillan, New York, NY, US.

• Shirky, C. (2008) Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing without Organizations, Penguin Press, New York, NY, US.

• Ash, T. (2016) Free Speech: Ten Principles for a Connected World, Atlantic Books, London, UK.

You can get the books online any time ... and we linked the chapters for the Pre-Assignment. Plus, you can get a lot of reviews, presentations, videos and the like for each of them …

Pre-Assignment - due Oct. 15, '18, 11:00 am via eMail

Task

• Read & summarize Rifkin (2014), Chapter 1 in about 200 words - not the complete book, i.e., do not just copy the book abstract

• Cite ONE sentence from the above chapter that you find worth explaining and explain it by relating it to a cited reference or concept (50 words).

• Read & summarize Shirky (2008), Chapter 2 in about 200 words - not the complete book, i.e., do not just copy the book abstracts!

• Cite ONE sentence from the above chapter that you find worth explaining and explain it by relating it to a cited reference or concept (50 words).

• Add another 200 words on how the two books represent similar or contrasting lines of argument regarding the 'sharing economy'. Required: Relate to marginal costs and transaction costs.

Personal Information

Have your name, Matr. Number, sMail address and study program, and begin of program (1st master semester) on top of the first page in each assignment file. Then continue typing, no cover sheets please.

Font, Spacing, & Writing Style

• Times New Roman 12 pt, single-spaced

• Scientific writing style - no jokes, no slang, hardly any passive voice

• References IN THE TEXT (no footnotes), avoid "ibid."

• Consistent format (including spacing)

• Page numbers of references only for word-by-word citations

• Complete reference list formatted appropriately with all required information per file (see mtm.uni-koeln.de) - even if it is only one source.

eMail format

From your sMail account, please send ONE eMail with THREE non-protected word files to claudia.loebbecke <at> uni-koeln.de AND to denis.niederle <at> uni-koeln.de.
eMail subject line: Issues-I-Lastname (lastname only, no accent etc!)
File names:

• Issues-I-Rifkin-Lastname.doc(x)

• Issues-I-Shirky-Lastname.doc(x)

• Issues-I-BOTH-Lastname.doc(x)

Do not forget the hyphens, do not include spaces or anything else ('Umlaute', Marks/Accents, etc) in the filenames - avoid them in your name!

Course Grading

• Pre-Assignment: 20% -- handed out upon exam registration (see below) latest on Oct 1 - due Oct. 15, '18, 11:00 am via eMail.

• Discussions (partially building on the pre-assignment) and assignments during the sessions: 40% (individual or group)

• Written and oral final assignment: 40 % (group; details during the course).

All grading elements have to be passed in order to pass the course.
"Alle Prüfungselemente müssen mindestens bestanden sein."