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MIS375 Sample Syllabus

MIS In The Organization

Instructor: Asst. Professor Nora Braun, Office 326A Memorial Hall

Office Hours: 9:30 - 10:30 MWF or by appointment.

Phone: 330-1767

E-Mail: Braun@augsburg.edu

Text: Management Information System, Seventh Edition by Raymond McLeod, Jr.

Objectives:

• Appreciate the increasing importance of information technology (IT) and how it is changing the role of the business manager.
• Understand what strategic information systems are and apply a framework to help identify strategic uses of IT.
• Compare the fundamental types of information systems and how they can be used to provide real business benefit.
• Explore new technologies and issues affecting the business world.
• Apply a business systems approach in analyzing the role of information systems in organizations.
• Describe the process used in developing information systems and the concepts of information engineering and business process reengineering.
• Analyze the skills needed for IT professionals.
• Demonstrate written and oral communication skills needed to be a successful business/IT professional. (Note: This course meets Augsburg’s writing skills component.)

Approach: Lecture, short case studies, group exercises and discussions, speakers, written assignments, and student presentations will be used to aid in understanding and discussion of MIS in organizations.

Evaluation:

1. Homework Assignments 35%
2. Chapter Quizzes 25%
3. Final Exam 25%
4. Group Presentation 15%

Final grades will be based on overall percentages, with 93% required for a 4.0, 88% for a 3.5, 83% for a 3.0, etc.

Policies:

Homework and Schedule: Descriptions of readings, homework assignments, and the group presentation are provided on the following pages. A draft calendar is also provided. Student presentations will be scheduled as soon as possible. Homework assignments will be peer-reviewed in class. Drafts will not be collected, but it is important to have as good a draft as possible to take advantage of your classmates’ input. Not having a draft or final assignment completed on time will result in an automatic 10% grade reduction for that assignment. Assignments will not be accepted more than one class session late without prior approval.

Participation and Attendance: Students are expected to actively participate in class. Any student missing more than eight class hours without an approved excuse will have his/her final grade reduced by 5%. Make-up tests must be approved in advance.

Initial Class Schedule

Homework Assignments

HW #1: Systems Analysis Approach (15% of grade, 3-5 pages)

Using a business process or systems analysis approach to problem solving as described in class and chapters 6 and 7, analyze one of the case problems reviewed in class and prepare a systems analysis report. A suggested outline for the paper will be discussed in class, but will include drawing a diagram of the current process. One alternative to be evaluated in your analysis must be reengineering of the entire process

HW #2: Company Research Paper (20% of final grade, 6-8 pages plus attachments)

This assignment is to study how a real organization (such as one you’ve worked in or one you are interested in) uses IT to support its business. Do some research (at least 3 sources, paper or on-line) about the company and IT tools used, and get input from 2 people who work for the company if possible (preferably an IT manager and one NOT in IT). Use your own list of questions and the outline of potential areas to cover attached to this syllabus to gather information, then write a paper describing how IT is used in the company. Integrate information from class into your paper and include your opinion on the company’s use of IT (strengths and weaknesses). Try to get information like a copy of the company’s mission, strategic plan or business objectives, IT department mission statement, IT organization charts, etc to include as attachments.

Research papers must include: table of contents, one page executive summary or abstract of the paper, and bibliography of sources.

A minimum one paragraph proposal outlining the company to be used for the research paper and potential sources of information must be submitted by April 3. Alternatives to the company research paper must be discussed with the instructor prior to the submission of the HW2 proposal due on April 3 and must include a perspective of how Information Systems support an organization’s business strategy or objectives.

Group Presentations (15% of grade, maximum of 25 minutes)

To further explore MIS issues, the class will brainstorm potential presentation topics during the first week of class. Teams of 2-3 people will be formed to research a topic then present the findings and opinions on the issue. A minimum of three different sources must be cited for the team research. A hard copy of your notes and/or overheads with references will be handed in for grading. Please practice the group presentation and keep it no more than 25 minutes total. Teams will get full credit if they follow these guidelines and keep the class interested.

 Company Research Paper

Potential Areas for Inclusion

I. Company Background

• name, location, number of employees, annual sales volume ($), organization structure
• company mission, strategy, main products or services

II. MIS Department Information

• name of department, number of employees, annual IT budget ($), organization structure
• organizational level and reporting of MIS head
• educational and skill requirements for employment
• distribution or centralization of IT support
• any outsourcing of IT services

III. IT Infrastructure: Information Systems and Technology Architecture

• existence of a technology architecture plan and IT standards
• methodology followed in selecting new hardware, software, and networks
• structured methodologies for development, CASE tools
• IT infrastructure: types of mainframes, midrange computers, PCs, standard operating systems and PC application software used, type of networks, database management system, main programming languages, etc.
• existence and use of a web site and corporate intranet
• key software applications and relative "age"
• applications under development: purchased packages versus in-house developed

IV. Business Processes Supported by Information Systems

• transaction processing systems for main product or service
• management reporting tools (MIS, DSS, EIS)
• internet strategy for customer support
• role of non-IT department managers in IT decisions
• business process or systems approach used throughout the company
• strategic impact of IT on the business

V. Future of IT

• general perception of the value of IT in the organization
• key organizational issues being faced due to IT or to be solved with IT
• expansion or reduction of people in IT, skills looked for (Note: student job opportunities!)

These are potential areas to be covered in the company research paper. If your sources want to remain anonymous or the information must remain confidential, I can return your paper after grading it.

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