08-721 Failure Based Decision Making

6 units, Carnegie Mellon University

Failure is common and universally dreaded, but a great deal can be learned through analysis of failures. Study of failures is even used as a quantitative design technique in some engineering disciplines. In fact, it is widely recognized today that failures actually lead to broader and deeper learning that is essential to future success. While hardly anything today is not eBusiness, it is hard to find any eBusiness that is immune to failure. Googles foray into mainland China led to an embarrassing withdrawal. Facebooks struggles with privacy problems have been quite public. It seems that some new patent dispute between Apple and Samsung is always brewing. This course will explore failures, recent and classic, with a focus on eBusiness and related aspects. These explorations will be driven by lectures, cases studies and discussions, and through weekly individual and teambased assignments.

Prerequisites: none listed

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