INSS 530 INFORMATION SYSTEMS IN ORGANIZATIONS

 COURSE OUTLINE

Navy Campus, Rota Spain

William Keller

Phone 727-2917

E-mail: wkeller@faculty.ed.umuc.edu

 

TEXTBOOKS: O'Brien, James A., Management Information Systems: Managing Information Technology in the E-Business Enterprise (5^th edition), New York: McGraw-Hill, 2002. (MIS)

 Bruner, Robert F. et al, The Portable MBA (3^rd edition), New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (MBA)

Office Hours: Before and after each class session and by appointment.  Appointments are encouraged.

Pre-requisite: All undergraduate prerequisite courses or permission of the lecturer.

Course Credit: 3 semester hours.

Web Board:  We will be using the Web board (to be explained in the first class meeting) to post messages, assignments, responses, ask questions and a myriad of other activities.

COURSE PURPOSE:  This course establishes a foundation for understanding and analyzing information in organizations.  The contents of this course are covered on the Comprehensive Examination.

 

COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course introduces basic management information systems concepts and examines the fundamental types of information systems. Personal, work groups, and enterprise information systems are discussed. The challenge and use of information to gain competitive advantage are also examined. Other topics to be discussed include: the economics of information, use of value added concepts to evaluate information system effectiveness, and the application of systems theory to information systems architecture. Through supplemental readings, students will also be introduced to pertinent business concepts that will be useful in making IS/IT decisions.  

GRADING CRITERIA:

 

Company Analysis Project 3 Case Problems Group Case Analysis & Presentation Midterm Final Total

20 points 15 points 15 points 25 points 25 points 100 points

GRADING SCALE:

90-100 points = A 80- 89 points = B

70 -79 points = C Below 70 points = FA

 

COURSE OBJECTIVES:   The objectives for this course are listed as "Learning Objectives" at the beginning of every chapter. The questions on the midterm and final will be directly related to these objectives and to those that follow, even though the topic may not be covered in class. At the end of the class the students should be able to:

• Compare and contrast the various roles information systems plays in organizations and how these roles are reflected in the organization's structure

• Identify the basic concepts that will be the foundation for subsequent courses regarding user requirements, information flows, and the nature of information systems

• Demonstrate knowledge of basic techniques and elementary skills in representing information systems structure and general purpose applications

• Analyze different organizational situations involving the use of information systems and/or the application of information technology and make recommendations for improvement

• Analyze and demonstrate the impact of advancement of information technology on organizational variables

• Demonstrate greater familiarity with the literature in information systems or a field of their own interest (e.g., medicine) with a focus on the use of information technology in that field

 

• Demonstrate sufficient knowledge of the other functional areas of a business so that analysis of any organization can be performed in a more comprehensive fashion

 

In addition to the academic objectives, students are expected to improve their skills in the following areas:

1. Critical Thinking: Students should improve their ability to analyze computer user situations through: 1) the major project that involves analyzing a company/organization, 2) group case assignments, and 3) assigned practical problems from the text. The midterm and final also have in-depth case analyses that encourages students to think critically about real-world situations.

2. Writing Skills: Students should improve their writing skills through formal reporting on various assignment problems, and the major project, and on the mid-term and final.

3. Oral Presentation Skills: Students should improve their presentation skills through their oral reports on their major project, case presentations, class discussions, and group presentations.

4. Team-Building Skills: Students should improve their group work skills through group resolution of mini-cases and group development of a response to a major case.

5. Computer Skills: Students are expected to improve their computer skills by using word processing, spreadsheets, data bases, and the Internet for the completion of the assignments in this class. The Web board will be used.  The use of e-mail is also encouraged.

TENTATIVE SCHEDULE

Class	Topics:	Activities:
1/15	Introduction to course, lecturer, and class members; Introduction to Business; Introduction to Information Systems in Business	Lecture(s); Information Review of Organizational Structures (IS's position in the Organization Chart); Discussion of What a Business is; Group discussion of Chapter 1 cases (MIS) Assignment: Read Chapter 1 including cases (MIS) and Chapter 1 (MBA)
1/17	Fundamental concepts:  Competing with Information Technology;	Lecture(s)/discussion; Fundamentals of Strategic Advantage Group Exercise on Use of IT for Strategic Advantage Assignment: Read Chapter 2 (MIS), and Chapter 13 (MBA)
1/22	Managerial Overview: Hardware; Managerial Overview: Systems Software	Lecture(s); discussions; Assignment: Read Chapter 11 (MIS) and Chapter 12 (MIS pages 429 - 443)
1/24	Managerial Overview: Application Software; Managerial Overview: Databases; Transaction Processing Systems	Lecture(s); discussions; group analysis of cases; Assignment: Read Chapter 12 (MIS pages 444 - 464, Chapter 13 (MIS) including cases.
1/29	Managerial Overview: Telecommunications; Internet, Intranets and Extranets;	Lecture(s); Assignment: Read Chapter 14 (MIS) and Chapter 3 (MIS pages79 - 95); Case 1 due
1/31	Enterprise Communication and Collaboration; Business systems, Cross-Functional and Functional	Lecture(s); Discussions; Assignment: Read Chapter 3 (MIS pages 96 - 122) including cases Chapter 4 (MIS) including cases and Chapter 3 (MBA)
2/5	Management Information and Decision Support Systems; Tools for End-User Analysis and Design	Lecture(s); Discussions; Decision making Exercise; Assignment: Read Chapter 6 (MIS ) including cases.
2/7	Summary of First Half	Midterm on Material to date
2/12	Information Systems for Business Operations; Marketing Management and Marketing Information Systems; Fundamentals of Electronic Commerce	Lecture(s); Discussions; Exercise on Marketing Dimensions and IS/IT; Assignment: Read Chapter 8 (MIS) and Chapter 7 (MBA); Case 2 due
2/14	Operations Management and Manufacturing Information Systems; Human Resources Management and Human Resources Information Systems	Lecture(s); Discussions; Chapter Case Analyses; Assignment: Read Chapters 8 and 12 (MBA); Study the Auto Shack Stores in the online learning center.
2/19	Accounting and Accounting Information Systems; Finance and Financial Information Systems; Preparing Case Analyses	Lecture(s); Discussions; In-class Group Meetings on Appendix A Cases; Assignment: Read Chapters 10 and 11 (MBA); Case 3 due
2/21	Managing IT: Planning and Implementing Change;	Lecture(s)/discussions; Group discussion of chapter cases; Assignment: Read Chapter 7 (MIS) including cases. Chapter 14, (MBA)
2/26	Ethics in Business; Security and Ethical Challenges of Information Technology	Lecture(s)/discussions; group exercise on ethics Assignment: Read Chapter 9 (MIS) including cases and Chapter 4 (MBA)
2/28	Global IT Management	Lecture(s); discussions; Assignment: Read chapter 10 (MIS) and Chapters 15, 16 (MBA)
3/5		Group presentations of cases (Appendix A, cases 1-5)
3/7	Summary of class concepts	Final on all material (MIS); Company Analysis Projects due