TENTATIVE SYLLABUS

CIS 315.001 Management Information Systems --- Spring, 2009 MW {3:00-4:15} OC2025

Dr. Abbas Foroughi - Office: OC3074D Office Hours: MW (1:00-3:00)  &  T (5:00 -6:00), or by appointment

Office Phone: 465-1667,  E-MAIL: aforough@usi.edu,  Homepage: http://business.usi.edu/aforough

Note:  TENTATIVE SYLLABUS  is subject  to change. For the most up-to-date syllabus for this class, please click on the following URL: http://business.usi.edu/aforough/spring2009/cis315f2009/c315sylls09.htm

When you send me an email message, please always begin the “Subject” of your message with “CIS315.”

COURSE  DESCRIPTION:
CIS 315 is an introduction to management information systems designed to enable students to grasp the fundamental concepts of information and integrate them into organizational structures. Students will assess the various system modeling tools and techniques, and analyze the fundamentals of computer hardware and software. They will recognize how information is used as an organizational resource, as well as how it is applied for organizational decision making; and will survey the way information technology is used strategically in an organization to gain competitive advantage.

COB SKILL DEVELOPMENT OBJECTIVES:

This course will contribute to several of the College of Business skill development objectives:

1.     Use of Technology—  Students will assess the various system modeling tools and techniques, and analyze the fundamentals of computer hardware and software. 

2.     Analytical Problem Solving—Students will analyze and discuss issues raised in business cases and will implement Excel and Access in developing solutions.

3.    Ethical Decision Making—Students will explore and evaluate security and ethical issues raised in business cases.

4.    Teamwork —-Students collaborate effectively in a group situation in completing projects and assignments.

REQUIRED TEXT:
Business Driven Information Systems,2^nd Edition, Baltzan and Phillips, 2010, McGraw-Hill/Irwin. http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/0073376736/information_center_view0/

Please note that an electronic textbook is also available from the publisher.

Using the Internet is a required part of this course.

PREREQUISITES:

ACCT 201, 202*; ECON 208, 209*, and Junior Standing (* may be taken concurrently)

MAJOR  STUDENT OUTCOMES:

·         Explain why information systems are important for business and management.

·         Evaluate the role of information systems in a competitive business environment.

·         Assess the impact of the Internet and Internet technology on business and government.

·         Identify the major management challenges to building and using information systems.

·         Describe the information systems supporting the major business functions.

·         Analyze the relationship between organizations, information systems, and business processes.

·         Evaluate the impact of information systems on organizations.

·         Analyze how information systems support various business strategies for competitive advantage.

·         Assess how information systems support the activities of managers in organizations.

·         Analyze how Internet technology has changed value propositions and business models.

·         Define electronic commerce and describe how it has changed consumer retailing and business-to-business transactions.

·            Evaluate the role of Internet technology in facilitating management and coordination of internal and inter-organizational business processes.

·         Analyze the relationship among ethical, social, and political issues that are raised by information systems.

·         Identify the main moral dimensions of an information society and principles for conduct used to guide ethical decisions.

·          Evaluate the impact of information systems and the Internet on the protection of individual privacy and intellectual property.

·         Define IT infrastructure and describe the components and levels of IT infrastructure.

·         Identify and describe the technology drivers of IT infrastructure.

·         Assess computer hardware and software trends.

·         Identify the challenges posed by data resource management.

·         Identify the most important tools for communication and e-business.

·         Identify and describe the challenges posed by networking and the Internet.

·         Evaluate the role of mobile commerce in business.

·         Assess the business value of wireless technology.

·         Explain why information systems need special protection from destruction, error, and abuse.

·         Evaluate the most important tools and technologies for safeguarding information resources.

·         Identify the challenges posed by information systems security and control.

·         Assess how enterprise systems, supply chain management systems, and customer relationship management systems provide value for business.

·         Assess the role of knowledge management and knowledge management programs in business.

·         Evaluate the role of information systems in helping people working individually and in a group make decisions more efficiently.

·         Assess how systems that support decision making can provide value.

·         Explain how a company can develop information systems that fit its business plan.

·         Demonstrate how building new information systems produces organizational change.

·         Analyze the principal causes of information systems failure.

·         Identify the major factors driving the internationalization of business.

·         Compare strategies for developing global businesses.

·         Evaluate the issues and technical alternatives to be considered when developing international information systems.

DISABILITY SUPPORT:

Students with disabilities can receive assistance through the University Counseling Center. More information is available from the Counseling Center in OC 1022, 812-464-1867 or TDD 812-465-7072. Students are encouraged to discuss any special needs with the instructor at the beginning of the term.

ACADEMIC DISHONESTY:
Academic dishonesty such as plagiarism, cheating, etc. WILL NOT be tolerated. Any student found violating this rule of honesty risks a grade of “0” for the assignment/test (at the very least) and possible expulsion from the class. Please consult the student handbook for specifics in this area.

MAKEUP  EXAM  POLICY:

Make-up exams will be given to students receiving PRIOR permission to be absent during the regular exam period. Such permission will be granted only if student demonstrates a strong need. Make-up exams will likely be different in both form and content from the regular exam. Make-up exams are strongly discouraged as it is often difficult to find a make-up time given the schedules of the instructor and the student—class time will not be used for make-up exams.

INCOMPLETE  GRADES:
Students will be given a grade of “I” (incomplete) at the end of the semester only in the event of extreme hardship for circumstances that arise near the end of the term. A grade of “I” is not to be used to offset poor time management skills that result in unfinished/unacceptable work.

PERFORMANCE EVALUATION:

I. EXAMS & Quizzes (425)

A.      Exams (400 points)

There will be 4 exams (including the final).  Exams 1, 2, 3 will each be worth 100 points. The final exam will be worth 100 points.   Exams may consist of a combination of multiple choice, true/false, short answer, and essay questions. The class schedule lists exam dates; however, exam dates are relative to progress through the chapters and are subject to change, when needed, by 1 or 2 class period dates. Students are responsible for staying informed about classroom activity and exact exam dates.

B.      Quizzes (25 Points)

Quizzes may be given at the beginning or the end of class. Students are expected to read all materials in advance of the lecture, participate in class discussions, and be prepared to take quizzes over course material.

II.  ASSIGNMENTS AND PROJECTS: Two types of assignments/projects will be included:

   A. INDIVIDUAL-- to be completed by each student, individually;

   B. GROUP -- to be completed by groups of 4-5 students, as explained below.

A. INDIVIDUAL PROJECTS: (50 points)

Questions on the mechanics of the individual projects may be addressed to anyone, including other CIS315 students; questions on the substance of the assignments should be addressed to the instructor.

 1.    Article Presentation (25 Points)

Students will locate and present to the class one current article which describes practical applications of the topics discussed in the text. Articles should pertain to the material in the chapter being studied at the time. Students should inform the professor at the beginning of the semester, so that he can assign topics and dates for each student's presentation, and students can plan ahead to find appropriate articles. Students should hand in a photocopy of the article and a short outline of the important points brought out in the article. In preparing presentations, students should go beyond merely summarizing the main points, concentrating on what makes this article relevant to the topic we are studying and the issues or problems it raises.

Article presentation grades will be determined using the following standards:

C (75%) - Student read the article and presented it.

B (85%) - Good choice of article, but comments are primarily of a summary nature.

A (95%) - Good choice of article, good thought-provoking, critical analysis.

Note: While content will be a major consideration for grading the presentation, grammar and organization of thoughts will also be taken into consideration.

 2.    Electronic Media Assignments/Projects: (25 Points)

Electronic communication will be used as part of the class. E-mail, World-Wide Web, online databases, and other electronic resources will be explored and used by the class. Students will have 4 Internet assignments/projects, which will be explained in detail at a later date. These assignments will include topics such as:

1)    Creating your own Web Page &  Publishing your own Web Page

Personal web pages should include at minimum a background, hypertext, links, various fonts and colors, images, and interactive e-mail.

B.   GROUP CASES/PROJECTS (150 points):

-Group cases/projects will give students an opportunity to learn to work with others in developing and evaluating software applications and in using them to develop business solutions—tasks which are required in real-world MIS environments. Students are responsible for completing all steps called for in the case/project and for providing complete, thoughtful answers to all questions included in the cases/projects

-Students will select their own team members. Group members should feel free to utilize each other's skills and talents on the assignments. For these assignments, each member of the group will be asked to provide an assessment of the proportion of work done by each group member. The number of points earned will be adjusted accordingly.

-At the end of the semester, group members will be asked to rate each other regarding their positive contribution to the group’s work and to the completion of the assignments.

·       3 Group Cases (20 points each, a total of 60 points):

The instructor, with input from the groups, will determine the specific case assignments, which will be as follows:

a.    1 case from chapter 4: Ethics and Information Security (either the beginning-of-chapter or one of the end-of-chapter cases) 

b.    1 case from the beginning of another chapter

c.    1 case from the end of another chapter

Instructions for completing group case analysis write-ups: Your typed, written case analysis should include the following elements: an introductory paragraph with an overview of the case; a detailed discussion of the case that integrates related material from the textbook and more up-to-date information about the company from the Internet; answers to any questions included in the case; an organized, thought-provoking conclusion; and an outline of the presentation you will give to the class  Be sure to proofread the final version of your written case analysis and presentation outline before submitting them.

·      3   Group Projects (Total of 90 points):

Each group must complete 2 projects and one group page web page. The instructor will provide more details about these assignments, as appropriate.  

a.    Project #1 will focus on information technology (20 Points).

b.    Project #2 will focus on applying Excel and Access to business problems ( 20 points).

c.    Project #3 will focus on - Group Web Page: Creating a New Internet Business (50 points).

Creating-New-Internet-Business.htm

As a group, students will create a fictitious company of their choice, or they may use one of the 5 companies suggested at the following link:

 Students will develop a homepage to display what the company is all about and also create the appropriate links to other related homepages. Students should prepare detailed answers to the questions listed under “Selecting an Internet Business Model and Designing a Web Strategy” in the document available at the link listed above.

Students will present the homepage to the other students in the class, discussing the target audience and the rationale/reasoning (marketing, financial, managerial, communications, legal, etc.) for representing the company the way they did on the www. Groups should use graphics and multimedia as appropriate.

Group web pages should include at minimum a background, hypertext, hyperlinks, hyperlinks to the web pages of each of the group members, various fonts and colors, images, and interactive e-mail.

Projects and case analyzes should be typed, well-organized, well written, titled, and should show the names of all group members. A spreadsheet or other computer software may be used to help in the analysis. The standards used for evaluating projects and case studies will be as follows:

C (75%) - Students read the project/case and answered the required questions.

B (85%) - Students read the project/case, answered the required questions, and prepared a critique.

A (95%)- Students read the project/case, answered the required questions, prepared a critique, prepared and presented a thought-provoking, effective analysis, and presented the project/case to the class (if assigned).

III.   CLASS PARTICIPATION (25 points):

Students are expected to participate in class, which means coming to class prepared to answer questions about the chapter materials. Students may be required to take short quizzes and to participate in group activities in class. Students should be prepared to participate in case discussions and article presentations and discussions.

In short: 

 TENTATIVE SYLLABUS

CIS 315.001 Management Information Systems --- Spring, 2009 MW {3:00-4:15} OC2025

Dr. Abbas Foroughi - Office: OC3074D Office Hours: MW (1:00-3:00)  &  T (5:00 -6:00), or by appointment

Office Phone: 465-1667,  E-MAIL: aforough@usi.edu,  Homepage: http://business.usi.edu/aforough

Note:  TENTATIVE SYLLABUS  is subject to change. For the most up-to-date syllabus for this class, please click on the following URL: http://business.usi.edu/aforough/spring2009/cis315f2009/c315sylls09.htm

When you send me an email message, please always begin the “Subject” of your message with “CIS315” 

The above schedule is subject to change. Students are expected to read all materials in advance of the lecture and be prepared to discuss and answer/ask questions. Students should plan to read 1 chapter ahead.

Note: BLACKBOARD--This course uses Blackboard software for distributing information to students. You should familiarize yourself with Blackboard. Grades and assignment information will be distributed via Blackboard.