Faculty Contact Information:
Mailing Address: 15 Wood Lane, Aspley Guise, Milton Keynes, MK17 8EJ, UK.
Email Address: R.J.Housden@open.ac.uk or rhousden@faculty.ed.umuc.edu
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Consultation:
Class dates: Weekends: 5/6, 19/20 June;10/11, 24/25 July;
Time: 9.00 to 16.00.
Dr. Housden will be available for consultation 30 minutes before and after each class meeting. He may be contacted by email or most evenings by telephone (01908 583488) | |
Required Texts and Readings:
Wheelen, T. and Hunger, J. (2004). Strategic Management and Business Policy (9th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.
Applegate, L., Austin, R., and McFarlan, F. (2003). Corporate Information Systems Management (6th ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill Irwin. | |
Supplementary Readings:
The standard for papers in the graduate program is the APA style. All participants in this course and all graduate INSS, MGMT, PUAD, and ECON courses should have a copy of the style guide:
American Psychological Association. (2001). Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (5th edi.). Washington DC: Author.
All graduate students should be prepared to utilize theUMUC online library. The library contains a large number of full text academic journals that are free of charge and immediately available. The library homepage also contains a number of links related to improving students' research and writing skills. | |
Recommended Journals:
| Publications of the various professional societies (such as ACM -- the Association for Computing Machinery, the IEEE Computing Society, and the various management professional societies) are strongly recommended. In addition, there are many trade journals (such as eWEEK) that MIS professionals should become familiar with, many of these being published both weekly and on-line. | |
Course Description:
| 3 semester hours credit. Prerequisites: All undergraduate prerequisites and INSS 540, or permission of the Program Director. 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. Students in the public administration program are not eligible for INSS 620. | |
Course Goals:
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As a required, advanced, course in the Master of Science in MIS, this course builds on previous coursework and professional experience to focus on high level strategic and policy decisions. Upon completion of the course, participants should have an understanding of:
- Principles of strategic management,
- Strategy formulation and environmental scanning, and
- The process of policy evaluation.
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Course Objectives:
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At the conclusion of this course the student will be able to:
- Develop an understanding of concepts, research, and theories concerning strategic management.
- Develop and apply a framework of analysis for practical problem solving.
- Develop conceptual skills integrating management issues in public and commercial organizations.
- Develop an appreciation for problems associated with globalization of the economy.
- Develop abilities to analyze, both qualitatively and quantitatively, the performance of people responsible for strategic decisions.
- Improve research capabilities and critical thinking required for strategic policy formulation and evaluation.
- Recognize and apply appropriate ethical standards as part of the strategic management process.
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Grading Information:
Grades for this course will be assigned as follows:
A 90%
B 80 – 89%
C 70 – 79%
F Below 70%
Please note that Bowie State University does not use "D" for graduate students. The grade F(a) is used to designate academic failure. F(n) is used to designate failure for non-completion. Grades of Incomplete or Withdrawal are governed by UMUC-Europe policies. For further details, please refer to the UMUC-Europe Graduate Catalog, available online at http://www.ed.umuc.edu/general_info/publications/catalogs or in your local Education Center. | |
Course Requirements:
Graduate school at the masters level focuses on helping students obtain the education needed for success as professionals in their chosen fields. Thus, UMUC-Europe Graduate Programs and Bowie State University share the common goals of promoting excellence in academic scholarship through thoughtful inquiry and the skillful application of knowledge and theory for the betterment of society. In order to maximize your graduate educational experience in general and this course in particular, you are required to:
10%.....Participate in classroom discussions
45%.....Complete graduate level projects or programming assignments, write and present graduate level papers or case studies
45%.....Complete a mid-term and a final written examination
For group project work, the same grade will be awarded to each member of the group.
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 the assignments.
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Description of Course Requirements:
Successful graduate students in American universities dedicate approximately three hours of preparation/study time for every hour spent in the face-to-face classroom. Thus, the following course requirements were developed on the assumption that students would be prepared to spend approximately 150 hours of their own time working on them. In an 8-week term, that is the equivalent of a half-time job.
Participate in classroom discussions: You are expected to come to class prepared to engage in all discussions in a professional and informed manner.
Complete graduate level projects and assignments, write graduate level papers or case studies: You are required to conduct professional-level research, including appropriately citing works of others and avoiding plagiarism.
Orally/visually present prepared material: You are required to present your results in a professional manner. In a face-to-face course, this typically means an oral presentation accompanied by appropriate visual material.
Complete a mid-term and a final written examination: The examination process in this class will assist you in developing the writing and critical thinking skills necessary for successfully passing the comprehensive exam required of all graduate students. The examination questions used for this course will either be taken directly from past comprehensive exams or written as though to be included on a comprehensive exam. | |
Course Schedule:
Tentative course schedule:
Topics / Activities Reading
5/6 June
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
* Strategic perspective of IS/IT AAM Intro.
* Creating business advantage with IT AAM-1
* Crafting business models AAM-2
[assignment 1 set]
19/20 June
Tools and techniques for strategic planning W&H 4 to 7
* Strategy formulation
* Situation analysis
* Determining future potential
* Determining the business IS strategy AAM-3,4
* Implementation issues, McKinsey’s 7 Ss W&H-8,9,10
* Managing Information Systems Development -
[assignment 1 due, assignment 2 set]
[Choice of group projects]
10/11 July
[Mid-term Exam. Saturday am]
* Managing networked infrastructure and operations:
* Understanding Internetworking Infrastructure AAM-5
* Assuring Reliable and Secure IT Services AAM-6
* Managing Diverse IT Infrastructures AAM-7
[assignment 2 due, assignment 3 set]
24/25 July
Managing and Leading a Networked Organization
* Organizing and Leading the IT Function AAM-8
* Managing IT Outsourcing AAM-9
* A Portfolio Approach to IT Projects AAM-10
* Responsible IS management
including ethics, legal issues
[assignment 3 due]
[Group Project Presentations]
Final Examination (Sunday)
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Academic Policies:
Please refer to the UMUC–Europe Graduate Catalog or from your local Education Center, for information on the following:
Academic Integrity
Course Load
Exception to Policy
Grade Appeal Process
Make-up Examinations
Nondiscrimination
Students with Disabilities
Hard copies of the catalog are available at your local Education Center. | |
Faculty Bio:
| Professor Housden is an Adjunct Professor of UMUC-Europe. He has been a term appointed faculty member for UMUC-Europe since 1985. He received his MA(Hons) in Mathematics and qualified teacher status in Mathematics from Cambridge University, the Academic Postgraduate Diploma in Numerical Analysis and a PhD in Computer Science from the University of London. He is a Chartered Information Systems Engineer and a Chartered Mathematician. His professional experience includes management consultancy and almost fifty years of teaching, curriculum development and professional accreditation. Until his retirement in 1997, he was a Professor of Computing at the Open University (UK), Dean and Director of Studies of the Faculty of Mathematics and Computing, and then Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Resources) with overall responsibility for all Open University resources: financial, human and physical, including responsibility for IS Strategy and IT Strategy. He is now an Emeritus Professor of the Open University. | |