March 28

Today's Agenda:

Student Presentation:  The New Darling of the MP3 Business, by Tem 1 (Joel A., Chris M., Royce S.)

Case Analysis:  None

Assignments Due:  Skeleton Term Project Web Site

Lecture Topic:  IT to Provide Effective Customer Service

Preparation for the Next Class:

Case:  First Virtual Holdings Inc. (A) & (B).  Recommended questions for your preparation:

1. FVHI attempted three times to develop new Internet products but none came close to fruition.  What is the main barrier that FVHI has been up against?  How does an Internet product development process differ from that of a typical offline product?

2. Why did FVHI abandon the first two business ideas?  If it chose to stick to its original idea, would it be better off today?  Why?

3. In Part (A), quite a few Internet commerce payment systems are reviewed (to learn the subject, visit http://www.intertrader.com/library/).  Among the alternatives available, which one do you think has a better chance to become the standard?  Why?

4. FVHI finally decided to move on to push for its VirtualTAG product.  What benefits does this product provide to target customers?  What drawbacks does it represent?  How should the company's marketing and sales staff present the product to potential customers so that its benefit is maximized and its drawbacks sufficiently minimized?

Oral Presentation Prep:  News Brief by Team 2 (Archie S., CristinaV., Zhu Y.)

Other Deliverables:  None