K-Entrepreneurship

Professor Kim envisions a world where SMEs and established companies work in partnership.

It is my honor to explore the world of AI and Data Management with you all. This class introduces vocabulary, tools, and AI-frameworks used in leading Korean businesses such as Kakao, Line, Daum, and Naver to explore data. We will use extracted data to think critically and creatively about data storytelling to create a better customer experience. I look forward to getting to know each of you in the following weeks.

class syllabus

Instructor: Ki-Chan Kim (kmkichan@gmail.com) 

Lecture Time: Fall 2022, Wednesday

Location: TBD

Office Hours: TBD (by appointment only)

Please note that this class will be taught in hybrid (In-person + Remote). The September course will proceed in person, which will require your undivided attention as it will proceed as an intensive bootcamp style. Many group assignments and discussion seminars will be held in September. As it stands, class session after September will proceed remotely as I will be in and out of Jakarta.  

Computational tools create new opportunities for deeper understanding of user experience shining new light on management strategy and operation.  Deployment of AI powered data analytics changes how we collect, mine, scrap, cleanse data all together. The abstractions required to build computational systems that reflect your materials that lead to critical decision-making heavily rely on your creativity and professional insights.  

Technologies available for us to dispose of changes quarterly, making it difficult for people to continuously master emerging tools and interfaces. Even successful analytic technologies can disrupt cultures of practice by leaving existing (even if it is proven and well-practiced) methods obsolete. From all these noises and changing platforms, one main question remains:

How does your data and analytics fit in to your story and vision?

After all, management operation is all about conveying your vision through storytelling (Given that your data and projection is accurate).
This course is for business major students who are currently enrolled in B.S. or MBA with an interest in researching and designing computational DataFrame for A.I. Data Exploration. Students must have completed/ proficient in Marketing, Forecasting and Statistics practices. But foremost, students must be interested in market research (Marketing), curiosity to examine and inspect what causes the phenomenon today in the market around the world. The course will be run as a seminar involving discussion of readings and concepts presented in lecture and exploration of global market and cutting-edge research methodologies. Course assignments will provide students with the opportunity to refine or develop evaluation methodologies for market research using AI. Please note that this class is project based, learning application that could be applied today.  I welcome applying these methods you learned from the class to your own business/ business ideas which can lead to great success/ reality.  

The goal of this course, accordingly, is to delineate the means of creating wants and fulfilling needs using AI. The value it creates translates to substantial dividends for the firm and its stakeholders.  Creating this value requires that the marketing manager effectively assess the situation by analyzing customers, competitors, and company. Design effective methodology that is rigorous enough for you to apply to your business model, assessing strategies for pricing, promotion, and customer service. That being said, I would like to focus on individual growth if the students and skills you acquire by taking the class.  

• Ability to accurately assess the market (Field Research): assess the situation by analyzing customers, user experience, competitors, and company.

• Explore DataFrame models that could be natively linked and processed in our AI powered analytic model. 

• Investigate case studies of network working across market, and consumer trends.  

• Survey design principles for user experience and mine abstractions drawn from current market trends.

• Develop familiarity with qualitative and quantitative strategies for evaluating foreseen future market trends. 

• Engage in critical analysis of existing user experience assess model and a discussion of strategies for eradicating bias design practices.

• Apply methodologies power by AI to current platform and see how the user experience changes. 

Project-based learning requires class participation from every student. To ensure that participation is widespread, and that all students have the opportunity to participate, students may be randomly selected to contribute to class discussion. This format will provide you with the opportunity to defend your ideas and to learn from contrasting points of view, skills that will be invaluable in your forthcoming careers. When evaluating your contribution to the discussion, factors such as the following are considered: 

• Timeliness: Is the comment timely, given the discussion that is taking place?

• Accuracy: Does the comment accurately reflect case facts that have not already been stated?

• Advancement: Does the comment advance the discussion? 

• Creativity: Does the comment yield a new perspective and add to understanding of the situation? 

• Constructiveness: Does the comment help maintain a constructive atmosphere?

Quality of participation is more important than quantity. It is possible for someone to talk a lot and receive a low grade for class participation. It is also important that you actively participate in your team discussions. To discourage "gunning," class participation will be graded on a diminishing marginal return basis.  Attendance is expected. If you miss class, the quality of the class discussion suffers, and this can significantly detract from the class experience for other students. Similarly, if they miss class, your experience suffers. If you must miss class, be sure that you clear the absence with me before the class. 

Students will be assigned weekly assignments using analytics tools such as Anaconda, Orange (Python), JASP (R), R Studio, SPSS, and Tableau.  Students are expected to complete the assignment and group project weekly and participate in the group (Zoom) discussions. Every Wednesday, students will be assigned new weekly assignments (Please make sure to check the course schedule on this website every week as I may update the assignment or the schedule to best service the current cohort's profile and learning progress.  

We will draw on lectures, web sites, WSJ, and case discussions to imbue the marketing concept. Cases are synopses of actual business problems that could be further apply to your practices and business. Each case puts you in the position of the managers who faced those problems, in the verge of making critical decision. We have selected each case to emphasize a key decision point and to replicate situations you may face at some time in your career. By reasoning through the cases, we hope you will be better prepared to address similar problems when they really matter. The tools you will be introduced will let your see the intricate business model otherwise clouded by the noise surrounding the operation.  

To benefit from the case method, you must first identify the “real” problem in the case. This identification is often half the battle. Once you have identified the problem and the key issues that surround it, you must isolate the relevant information and apply theory to address the problem. This course will give you some of the tools necessary to identify key issues and to make decisions in situations where uncertainty is the norm. To emulate as closely as possible the situations managers find themselves in at the time of the case, please present yourself professionally, prepared for the class.

On some weeks (excluding weeks that assignments are due) there will be short activity to be completed outside of class that aligns with elements of the concepts presented in class.  We will discuss these activities in the course seminar. 

Academic practice requires transparency and reproducibility. Classmates should be able to examine the methods and statistics used to produce figures (data visualization and reporting) in the report. Make sure to include your source code and step-by-step direction in the report. When making the final submission/ uploading to the course Google Drive please make sure to include, the main report (PDF), source code, and another document including miscellaneous info such as software versions, and plugin versions used to replicate the figure included in the report. But most importantly include a document that shows step by step guide to follow along the process used to make the figure. Please include screen-captured step-by-step instructions. For this course, it is okay to borrow code from the internet as long as the source is cited in the report. The wording and report must be fully written by the student and must be original work. Lastly, make sure to include the title of the report on Page Header + your last name and page number on Page Footer on every page. The preferred citation style used in a business report is APA (7th edition).

• Report (PDF)

• Source code (original script file) 

• Miscellaneous info (.txt)

• Instructional Document (PDF)

In addition to weekly exercise assignment + group project activities, students will be responsible for completing two in-course assignments and one final project for the Fall 2022 semester. Each assignment and final project must be documented in written form (complete with figures and source code) and submitted on the course Google Drive prior to the class on which they are due. 

• It is your responsibility to check the weekly course schedule regularly, please check every other day.  

• Please check my Twitter ID (kichankm) for the class update and news in real-time. 

• A weekly survey submission is part of attendance, so make sure to fill out the survey right away. 

• Make sure to include your source code and step-by-step direction in the report. 

• Please review both assignment and schedule sections carefully found on the webpage for any changes (As the detail will be added as the course progresses). Note that the adjustment made in the course is to better survey the student profile and learning progress. Making the course more relevant to student's interest and business ideas. 

• Early management techniques adopted in the early 60s & 70s in S. Korea

• The emergence of Korean management style (Miracle of the Han river) 

• Korean management today & the future (Kaleidoscope) 

• The emergence of Korean women entrepreneurs

• Government treaties that propelled the semiconductor industry forward 

• [Case Study] Hyundai's adoption & interpretation of Toyota's manufacturing style & work ethics

• [Case Study] K-pop industry & global exposure/ entry of the 3rd generation idol (Korean wave)

• [Case Study] Korean government policy & embracement of K-Entrepreneurship (D-8 Startup Visa)

*MGT 6290 (GWU Business, MBA Course) was co-taught by Professor Jungho Suh. Not in the photo due to space constraint. 

Professor Kim envisions a world where SMEs and established companies work in partnership. 

© Ki-Chan Kim

Seoul  |  Washington, D.C.  |  Jakarta