University System of Maryland at Harrogate

Course Outline:   INSS 620   Information Systems Policy,  Term 4,  2001/2002

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Time:              Weekends: March 23/24, April 13/14, 27/28, May 11/12, 9.00 to 16.00

Lecturer:        Dr.Richard J.Housden.

 

Brief description of course: (3 semester hours)

This course will examine the issue of linking information systemstechnology with business objectives.  Alternative structures for matching the system organization with the overall organization will be discussed and evaluated.  Planning mechanisms and strategies will be examined.  Behavior and legal issues that relate to information systems management will be addressed.  Case studies will be used to expose students to information systems policy issues.

 

The course is designed as a capstone course that will tie together concepts covered in other courses.  The information needs of various organizations are integrated with the existing and future information systems and technology through the information systems master development plan.  How to develop this master plan and its associated policies is the overall theme of the course.

 

Learning goals :          At the conclusion of this course, the student should :

 

1.         Know what an Information Systems Plan (ISP) involves.

2.         Know how to develop an effective ISP.

3.         Appreciate the different ISP needs in different organizations

4.         Better understand the management of information systems.

5.         Comprehend a number of information systems management issues.

6.         Have further refined his or her teamwork, and written and oral communications skills.

 

Required texts:

                        Corporate Information Systems Management (5th Edition), by

                        Lynda M. Applegate, F.Warren MacFarlen, and James L. McKenney

                        Irwin, 1999.  (AMM)

Strategic Management and Business Policy (8^th edition), by Thomas L. Wheelen and J. David Hunger, Prentice Hall, 2002 (W&H)

Supplementary notes will be provided by the lecturer.

Prerequisite:  INSS 540 or permission of instructor.

 

Responsibility of students:

Students are expected to attend all scheduled classes, to read reference material as assigned, and to contribute constructively to class and group discussions.  While the text for the course provides excellent coverage of most of the topics, the lectures will include reference to case studies and topics from other sources, and examinations will be based on the lecture material and on directed readings from the course text.  All students will be expected to contribute to group project work.  This may require use of electronic communications.

 

Methods of Student Evaluation:

 

1.         A two hour mid-term examination, on the third Saturday will be worth 25% of the course grade.

2.         A two and a half hour final examination, on the fourth Sunday will beworth 30% of the course grade.

3.         Three individual assignments will together contribute a total of  24% of the course grade.

4.         There will be a group written and oral presentation of an information systems planning study, worth 21% of the course grade.

           

Course grading:

           

Assignments and examinations will be assessed and grades awarded in accordance with the following scales :

 

            A : 90 - 100,  B : 75 - 89,  C : 60 - 74,  F : < 60

 

For group work, the same grade will be awarded to each member of the group.

Credit will be given for both content and clarity of written and oral presentation.

Students are advised that the grade for work submitted after the due date without an accepted excuse may be reduced.

 

The final grade for the course will be determined from the weighted sum of the percentage grades assigned for each of the examinations and other evaluated activities.

 

 

Instructor:  Dr. Richard  J. Housden

Professor Housden is an Emeritus Professor of the Open University (UK).  He received his MA(Hons) in Mathematics and qualified teacher status in Mathematics from Cambridge University,  and the Academic Postgraduate Diploma in Numerical Analysis and PhD (Computer Science) from the University of London  He is a Fellow of the British Computer Society, a Chartered Information Systems Engineer and Chartered Mathematician.  He has more than forty-five years experience of teaching, curriculum development and course accreditation. Until his retirement in 1997, he was Professor of Computing at the Open University (UK), where, as Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Resources) until July 1995, he had overall responsibility for all University resources: financial, human and physical including responsibility for IS Strategy and IT Strategy.  He has been a term appointed lecturer for the University of Maryland and for Boston University from time to time since 1985.  He is a member of the Academic Advisory Council of Buckingham University

 

Office hours:  Professor Housden will be available for consultation before and, as required, after each class meeting.  He may also be contacted by telephone at home most evenings on Milton Keynes (01908) 583488 or by electronic mail. His address is:

            15 Wood Lane,  Aspley Guise,  Milton Keynes, MK17  8EJ.

            Email :   R.J.Housden@open.ac.uk .

INSS 620 Information Systems Policy - Assigned work

 

Individual assignments :

 

Three individual assignments will be set for completion between the weekends of class. Together these will contribute 24% towards the overall grade for the course.

Each of the assignments will involve assessment and brief discussion of a case based on some business or IS/IT management issue.

 

 

Student group written and oral presentation requirement :

 

This group project is worth 21% of the overall grade for the course.

Students will be formed into small groups (2-3 persons) for the purpose of preparing an information systems planning document for a particular organization.  Organizational types from which to choose include but are not limited to:  large business, small business, international business, information systems business, non-profit and public agency.  Each group will pursue a different choice.  Material from the texts may be used as a start.  Other sources outside class can be found through library and/or on-line research.  Further general instructions are as follows:

 

*          Both a written and an oral presentation will be due on the fourth weekend.

 

*          Groups will present a three-minute outline briefing, proposing their selected company, for constructive criticism from the class.  The lecturer will help in the   choice as necessary.

 

*          Written and oral presentations will be in a form, using visual aids as reasonably   possible, as if for a superior or a potential client.

 

*          All group members should speak during the oral presentation.

 

*          No length is specified for the written report but remember that succinctness is a  business virtue.

 

*          This is a group project, and all members of the group will receive the same grade.

 

Tentative course schedule:

 

                                Topics / Activities                                                                          Reading

 

23/24 March    General introduction

            Basic concepts of strategic management                                    W&H-1

                        Corporate governance, social responsibility                               W&H-2

                        Environmental scanning and industry analysis                             W&H-3

Challenge of IS technology                                                        AMM-1

                        Manageable trends                                                                   AMM-2

                        Strategic perspective of IS/IT                                                        -

                        [assignment 1 set]

 

13/14 April       Tools and techniques for strategic planning                             W&H 4 to 7

                        Strategy formulation

                            Situation analysis                                                                       -

                            Effects of IT on competition                                                  AMM-3

                            Electronic commerce : trends and opportunities                     AMM-4

                            Global issues                                                                        AMM-12

                            Determining future potential                                                 

                            Determining the business IS strategy                              - Managing the applications portfolio                                         -      

[assignment 1 due, assignment 2 set]

                        [Choice of group projects]

 

27/28 April       [Mid-term Exam., Saturday am]

Implementation issues, McKinsey's 7 Ss                                    W&H-8,9

Information organization  & control                                           AMM-5

                        IT Architecture : evolution & alternatives                                   AMM-6

Organizing and leading the IT function                                       AMM-7

IS resource management

                                    outsourcing,                                                                  AMM-8

                                    operations, processes                                                   AMM-9,10

 [assignment 2 due, assignment 3 set]

 

11/12 May       Managing the technical infrastructure & innovation                        -      

                        Managing the applications development process                            -

IS project risk, risk handling                                                      AMM-11

                        Responsible IS management

                                    security, ethics, legal issues                                                -

                        [assignment 3 due]

                        [Group Project Presentations]

                        Final Examination (Sunday)