COURSE OUTLINE

GSB 622

MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEMS (ONLINE)

FALL 2007

 

COURSE DESCRIPTION

 This course explores and assesses the current and future role of information technology in business, from both a management and a user perspective.  The course is an online course that runs for an intensive eight weeks. Topics include: the strategic role of IT, distributed computing, hardware and operating systems, software development tools and processes, relational databases, security concerns, ethical issues, privacy issues, enterprise applications, intelligent systems, role and influence of IT on business processes, and the influence of web technologies on e-business and m-business. Hands-on experiences include web, database, spreadsheet, graphical user interface (GUI) tools, and computer security techniques.  Case studies are also used to facilitate discussions focused on the course topics.   Prerequisites:  GSB 611, 612, 613. 

CLASS TIMES

Online participation from September 5th through October 31st of 2007.  Please be aware that you must be available to participate in weekly online discussions.  This discussion must be conducted on at least three different days each week; any time of day is acceptable. Each course week begins on Wednesday at 9am and runs through to the following Tuesday at midnight (CST).

INSTRUCTOR

Margaret M. Kozak, Ph.D.
kozakmmr@dom.edu

TEXT

 Laudon & Laudon, Management Information Systems:  Managing the Digital Firm.  10 th Ed.  Prentice Hall 2007 Custom Casebook for “Management Information Systems – GSB 622”, Xanedu, 2007 (Compiled by Margaret Kozak) We will also utilize Microsoft Office software, especially Excel and Access.  Students are responsible for their individual access to this software.

OBJECTIVES


Upon completion of this course, students should be able to:

  • Describe the evolution, current state, and trends in information technology as well as their
    business implications.

  • Explain how information systems can be used for strategic competitive advantage.

  • Identify opportunities that exist for information technology applications in a particular business environment

  • Explain the issues involved in the effective management of information system resources, processes and systems.

  • Analyze and explain the applicability of various network alternatives within a particular business environment, and explain the requirements and challenges associated with the management of same

  • Analyze and explain the applicability of various software applications within a particular business environment, including decision support systems, intelligent systems, and executive information systems.

  • Analyze and explain the applicability of database systems and data mining within a particular business environment, and explain the requirements and challenges associated with the management of same

  • Assess computer security concerns and vulnerabilities associated with information technology and systems within an organization

  • Develop a plan to support business process reengineering using an information systems planning approach

  • Explain the relevance and evaluate the potential of e-commerce, e-business, and m-business with respect to a particular business environment

  • Assess the ethical, legal, and privacy issues associated with information technology and information systems

  • Demonstrate an effective use and an understanding of the applicability of spreadsheet software (such as Excel) and data management software (such as Access).

COURSE FORMAT
 This online course is organized into eight weeks and all course materials will be available each week on the Dominican University Blackboard site (blackboard.dom.edu). Each week begins on Wednesday at 9am and runs until the following Tuesday at midnight (CST). Each week there is a posted online lecture, a required assignment, an online quiz, and an online discussion. In the final week, there is an online final exam and a short paper due. The paper should be completed over the span of several weeks, however. All assignments are submitted electronically via Blackboard (instructions will be provided) and are due by no later than midnight on the appropriate Tuesday. Each week, students will be required to complete an online quiz that will be available from Wednesday until Tuesday at midnight of the appropriate week. In addition, students will be required to participate each week in an online discussion on a minimum of three different days in the week for full credit points. The details for each course component requirement are provided below. Please be aware that due to the nature of the course, absolutely NO LATE assignments, NO LATE discussion and NO LATE quiz work can be accepted. Sorry, NO EXCEPTIONS.

EVALUATION

Final course average will be based on the following:

 

Course Components

 

Total Maximum Points

410

distributed as described:

 

Homework Assignments (Weeks 1 through 7)

 

On Wednesday of each week (except the final week) an assignment will be posted on the course Blackboard site.  Assignments are to be submitted electronically using the course Blackboard Assignments section by no later midnight (CST) on the scheduled Tuesday due date. Exact instructions on how to accomplish this will be given. Due to the nature of the course, no late assignments will be accepted. Partial credit is awarded for assignments. Each assignment is worth a maximum of fourteen (14) points.



98

(7 weeks x 14 points)

 

Online discussion participation (Weeks 1 through 7)

 

In the Online Discussion area of the course, students are required to interact with classmates to explore questions and comments related to the content of this course. Discussions will always open on Wednesday at 9:00 am (CST) and close on Tuesday at Midnight (CST). A successful student in online education is one who takes an active role in the learning process. You are therefore required to participate in the discussion areas to enhance your learning experience throughout each week.

Online discussions are graded each week (except the final week) based on:

1. Frequency—Number and regularity of your discussion comments, and

2. Content —Content of your contributions

 

Frequency—Number and regularity of your contributions. Students are expected to log into the course Blackboard web site and post (respond) in each of the week’s threaded discussion topics on a minimum of three separate days per week.  Note that there may be two or three discussion topics in a particular week.  You are required to post at least three times in EACH threaded topic that week (so if there are two discussion topics, that would total to a minimum of six posts for the week).

 

Content— points awarded to the content of your contributions. Points are awarded based on strong evidence of reading, reflection, and careful composition.  Maximum points are only awarded to posts which elaborate on previous comments with additional information contribution, or posts which present explanations of concepts or which provide clarifying examples, or posts which provide a URL and an explanation in your own words for a relevant area researched on the Internet.

 

 Note: It is impossible to make up discussion points once the week ends. Partial credit is awarded for assignments. Each weekly discussion is worth a maximum of eighteen (18) points. Again, students are required to participate in the online discussions on at least three different days of the week in each of the graded threads identified for the week.



126

(7 weeks x 18 points)

 

Online Quizzes (Weeks 1 through 7)

 

On Wednesday of each week (except the final week) an online quiz will be posted on the course Blackboard site.  Students should not take the quiz until the weeks materials have been reviewed. The quizzes will be directly related to the posted weekly online lecture and textbook reading assignment for the week. Quizzes will be taken on the course Blackboard site as indicated each week. Each weekly quiz will be worth a maximum of eighteen (18) points.



126

(7 weeks x 18 points)

 

 

 

Short Paper (Weeks 6 through 8 -- due Week 8)

 

A short paper will be required where the student relates the course material to the IS/IT environment at the business where the student is presently employed or was previously employed. Details will be provided in around the sixth week of the course.




12

 

 

Final Exam

 

There will be an online final exam required in Week 8. Details and a study guide will be provided later.

 

 

 

 

48

 

At the end of the course the final  letter grade will be computed as follows:

 
Letter Grade
Total Earned Points
Corresponding Percentage

A:
381

93-100%

A-:
369

90-92.9%

B+:
360

88-89.9%

B:
328

80-87.9%

C+:
319

78-79.9%

C:
287

70-77.9%

C-:
278

68-69.9%

F:
0

0-67.9%

OUTLINE OF CONTENT

Each week of the course on the course Blackboard web sites identifies the content areas covered that week. Students are responsible for the material covered in the weekly online lectures and the material assigned in the textbook readings.

ONLINE COURSE TUTORIAL

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