SYLLABUS

INSS 620 INFORMATION SYSTEMS POLICY COURSE SYLLABUS TERM 2 MILDENHALL, UK Weekends 0900 – 1700 hrs. 26/27Oct.,  9/10 and 23/24Nov.,  14Dec.  Merry Christmas!

 

Course Description

INSS 620 Information Systems Policy (3). Prerequisite: Either INSS 540 or permission of the instructor. Examines the issue of linking business performance with information systems technology. Alternative structures for matching the information system organization with the overall organization are discussed and evaluated. Planning mechanisms and strategies are examined. Behavior and legal issues that relate to information systems management are addressed. Case studies are used to expose students to information systems policy issues.

TEXTBOOKS: 1) Strategic Management and Business Policy (8^th Edition), by Thomas Wheelan anad J. David Hunger, Reading, Massachusetts: Addison-Wesley, 1998 and 2) Corporate Information Systems Management (5^th Edition), by Lynda Applegate, F. Warren McFarlan, and James McKenney, New York: Richard D. Irwin, 1999.

Other readings and recommended articles may appear during the course on the course webpage. URL:  http://faculty.ed.umuc.edu/~rdickins/inss620/inss620.htm.

About the Lecturer

Dr. Dickinson first began programming computers in 1964 with the first IBM System/360 mainframes. He was an IBM Systems Engineer for many years and worked with project managers in Fortune 500 corporations and government to apply IT technology to many corporate information systems needs. The application areas where he has first hand experience include: Retailing, Hospital Administration, Brokerage and Finance, Local Government, Universities, Airline Reservations and Data Warehouses.
He also spent several years in IBM HQ developing product and marketing strategies for IBM's networking, office and workstation product divisions. He was also an architect of IBM's PC communications and networking strategy as part of IBM Entry Systems Division. 

Dr. Dickinson also holds a M.S. in Marketing and Ph.D in Business Administration, (Marketing and MIS). His broad experience allows him to emphasize an integrated view of business and technical aspects of systems design and development. Ron also has been an independent consultant to small and medium sized businesses and e-businesses in the Pacific Northwest and an author of commercial software. Ron’s teaching experience includes graduate and undergraduate courses in marketing, information systems design and programming (Visual Basic and Java) before coming to UMUC.

Ron is currently pursuing research in several areas of Marketing, Research Methods, and IT. Among them are combined human judgment and statistical models for market forecasting, and institutional analysis of e-business economy and its historical parallels, and improved teaching/learning techniques for computer programming.

 

In more humorous moments Ron has been known to boil down everything one needs to know in IT to

DrRon’s Four Rules of IT Development:

1)      IT’s about planning, if you don’t have a backup you don’t have a plan!

2)      Never demonstrate anything to others using IT that is new to you.

3)       Always provide (obtain) positive verification of any system action performed.

4)       Robust design is possible, foolproof is not—the fools are too creative.

Course Objectives

1.      Become familiar with the principle models of corporate strategy including: Porter’s 5-Forces Model, Porter’s Value Chain, Learning Organizations, Transaction Cost Economics, and the Strategic Factors Matrix among others.

2.      Generate alternative strategies using one or more of the major strategic models and apply them to selected case study situations.

3.      Develop case study analyses and solutions in collaboration with others.

4.      Generate IT development strategies and organizational plans to support a case study solution to a corporate strategy problem.

5.      Be able to conduct environmental scanning for an organization.

6.      Be able to apply the principles of Business Process Reengineering(BPR) to support a case study solution and its IS/IT requirements.

7.      Identify and describe the major steps in the implementation and control of a case study solution. Especially how these would be applied to the IS/IT support program for a case solution.

8.      Identify risk factors, and potential sources of conflict in making strategic changes and be able to describe measures to minimize such potential problems.

9.      Be able to conduct an analysis of a corporation’s financial statements and compare the key financial ratios between firms and within an industry.

10.  Be aware of current issues in corporate accountability, responsibility and ethics. Be able to describe and argue issues of corporate social responsibility and ethics, especially as they relate to IS/IT matters.

 

 

Lifelong Learning Objectives

The activities and assignments for this course are designed to help the student know, comprehend, and apply the concepts of corporate strategy and policy.  In addition to the above academic course 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 and make appropriate suggestions for resolving business problems through computer systems.  The  projects in this class encourage students to think critically about real-world situations.

2.      Writing Skills: Students should improve writing skills through development of the article reviews and formal report on the major project and on the mid-term and final.

3.      Oral Presentation Skills: Students should improve their presentation skills through their class discussions, and group presentations.

4.      Computer Skills: Students are expected to improve their computer skills by using word processing and project management software.  The use of  Internet and e-mail are also encouraged. If available, use of system design aids (like Visio products) is encouraged.

 

 

GRADED ASSIGNMENTS:	PERCENTAGE
Integrative Case Project Paper (due 14December)     Presentation 10points (Powerpoint recommended).     Case Solution Report: 15 points    Student teams of 2-3 select from a list of eligible case studies posted in WebTycho. Student teams are different between the two case projects.  (Scoring for presentations is based on peer evaluations; instructor scores paper).	25 points
Initial Case Study Paper and Presentation (due 17November via email, or before)    Presentation 6 points (Powerpoint recommended)    Case Study Solution Paper 14 points    Student teams of 2-3 select from a list of eligible case studies. Student teams must be different between the two case projects. (Scoring for presentations is based on peer evaluations; instructor scores paper).	20 points
Midterm (10November )    Short answer questions covering concepts and models from course readings and class discussion case studies.	20 points
Final Exam (14December)   Short answer questions covering second-half class material and readings; 2-3 integrative questions that cover the entire course.	25 points
Lead Class Case Study Discussion / Analysis   Depending on the number in class, each class discussion case study (usually from Wheeler & Hunger text) will be led by a student pair, who will post initial discussion notes and keep the class interested in new material as the course proceeds. At most each student will lead 2 of these case discussion efforts. (Scoring is 50% based on peer evaluations; 50% on instructor)	10 points
Extra Credit	0 points
TOTAL	100

 

 

GRADING SCALE INSS 620
A  -  90 to 100	B  -  80 to 89.99	C  -  70 to 79.99	FA  -  Below 70

 

READINGS AND ASSIGNMENTS (Subject to some changes) WH = Stretegic Management by Wheelen & Hunger, textbook,   AMM=Corporate Information Systems Management by Applegarth, et al, Case book
Date	Assignments and Cases (Read these before class begins)
26Oct. Saturday	WH: Chapters 1, 2 AMM: Chapers 1, 2, AMM CASE DISCUSSION: pg. 56 A Tale of Two Airlines…
27Oct. Sunday	WH: Chapters 3, 4: Environmental Scanning AMM: Chapters 3, 4 AMM CASE DISCUSSION: pg.312 Micro-Age….
9Nov. Saturday	WH: Chapters 5, 6: Strategy Formulation I AMM: Chapters 5, 6, 7 AMM CASE DISCUSSION:  TBA (To Be Announced)
10Nov. Sunday	WH: Chapters 7  Strategy Formulation II AMM: 8, 9 AMM CASE DISCUSSION:  TBA
23Nov Saturday	WH: Chapters 8, 9 Strategy Implementation I AMM: 10, 11 AMM CASE DISCUSSION:  TBA
24Nov. Sunday	WH: Chapters 10,  Strategy Implementation; WH: Chapters 11, 12 Other Issues AMM: Chapters 12, 13 AMM CASE DISCUSSION:
14Dec. Saturday	Morning: Student Team Presentations Afternoon: Final Exam

 

 

SUCCEEDING IN GROUP COLLABORATIVE EFFORTS

These tips are ones that seem to characterize the groups who get the best grades not only from the instructor, but from their peers. These tips are only provided as ‘free advice’ to students and may be valued accordingly, no guarantee is expressed or implied herein.

ü      Have a group member be the ‘Editor-In-Chief’ for each document or presentation the group is assigned. Their job is to edit all contributions from the group into a well-organized document, and to bug everyone else to keep on schedule. Oh, they are also responsible for keeping the schedule agreed to by the group.

ü      Get the background research done early!  A common rule of thumb from corporate America is have at least 4 times the amount of information you will need for the finished document. Lots will fall out as irrelevant, some will show you the counter-arguments your work will face.

ü      Show the draft of the report or presentation to someone completely outside the group for their honest critique—this is better if the group has done at least 2 drafts themselves—don’t waste your outside reader’s time with trivial misspellings and poor sentences.

COURSE POLICIES

ACADEMIC HONESTY:
Students are expected to do their own work. Cheating on tests, plagiarism on written assignments, or any other form of academic dishonesty will result in a "0" for the assignment for the first violation, a second violation will entail more serious penalties at the discretion of the instructor. Note that a D or an F usually results in at least 60 or 50 points, where violation of academic honesty results in none. See the European Division Catalog for the UMUC policy on academic dishonesty and plagiarism.

ASSIGNMENT/TEST SCHEDULES:

Students are expected to hand in all assignments and complete all tests on the days they are due. If a student fails to complete any assignment or test, the resulting grade will be a "0," rather than an "F." Any other assignments will be marked down half a letter grade for each class meeting the assignment is late. Quizzes cannot be made-up unless the student had an excused absence. Major tests can be made up only if prior arrangements are made with the instructor. 

 

EXTRA CREDIT:  NONE

 

MUTUAL RESPECT FOR CLASSMATES AND TEAMATES

All of us are expected to conduct ourselves with appropriate mutual respect and basic fairness in all matters related to class and project work with no one unduly burdened, and no one treated in other than a professional, collegial manner. Harassment, bias or intimidation in any form will not be tolerated and should be reported to the instructor as soon as practical. See Student Handbook for Maryland policy statements on non-discrimination and sexual harassment.

 

HAVING SOME FUN

 

Just because this is a class, doesn’t mean someone outlawed having some fun with it. As long as fun stuff is reasonably within the bounds of good taste for primetime US television it should be fine here. However, if someone says they choose not to participate in your humor, please respect their wishes.