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WebTycho| 2000-2001/Term 5 | 4 June to 27 July, 2001 |
| Adana, Turkey | Mondays & Wednesdays |
| Instructor: Grant Wiswell | 18:45 to 21:30 |
| Description | Objectives | Text | Grading | Communication | Schedule |
Credit
3 semester hours of credit
Prerequisites: All undergraduate prerequisite courses or permission of the lecturer.
Course Description
This course presents general concepts of management information systems and introduces various functional areas of organizations and their uses of information technology. The scale of information systems ranges from individual desktops to work groups, enterprise systems, and global networks. The types of information systems discussed will include financial and operational systems, decision support systems, and strategic planning models. Other topics will include the costing, justification and configuration of an organization's information systems, and ways that networks are changing traditional channels of commerce. Supplemental readings will provide a more complete picture of the business practices and managerial concerns which information systems work to support.Objectives
Students who successfully complete this course should then be able to:
- Identify and understand the roles information systems play in organizations.
- Recognize the basic concepts that will be the foundation for subsequent MIS courses, including user requirements, information flows, and the nature of information systems.
- Demonstrate knowledge of the basic techniques and fundamental skills needed to describe and specify the structures and applications of information systems.
- Analyze different organizational situations where information technology is involved, and make recommendations for improvement in operations and in management information.
- Analyze and demonstrate the impact of advances in information technology on organizational variables.
- Demonstrate familiarity with the literature in information systems, or a field of their own interest (e.g., medicine) with a focus on the use of information technology in that field.
Textbooks
O'Brien, James A., Management Information Systems: Management Information Technology in the Internetworked Enterprise(4thedition), New York: Irwin/McGraw-Hill, 1999.
ISBN 0-07-115811-1
(MIS)
Bruner, Robert F., et al, The Portable MBA
(3rdedition), New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1998.
ISBN 0-471-18093-9
(MBA)
Tentative Course Schedule
A detailed schedule of reading assignments and lectures will be handed out during the first week of class. Students should prepare for the first week by reading Chapters 1 through 3 of O'Brien (MIS), and Chapters 1 and 2 of The Portable MBA (MBA).
Course Evaluation
Grades for this course will be based on:| Individual Case Studies & Problems | 20% | |
| Group Case Studies | 15 | |
| Midterm Examination | 30 | |
| Final Examination | 35 |
Computation of Final Grades
| A | 90 to 100 | |
| B | 80 to 89 | |
| C | 70 to 79 | |
| F | below 70 |
Exams will consist mainly of short answer and essay questions. One or more essay questions will be designed to give students an idea of what to expect in the graduate comprehensive exam.
Students will be graded primarily on their written work. Good presentation skills are also important, however, and will help contribute to the grade. In both written assignments and verbal contributions, students are encouraged to follow the maxim, "Content before form".
Case studies will be one of the learning tools of this course. Unless otherwise instructed, students should be prepared for class discussions of the cases at the end of the assigned chapters in O'Brien (MIS). A group case study will give students the opportunity to look at a larger problem and solve it with teamwork.
Standards
Written assignments:
Black ink on white A4 or 8.5x11 paper, in a standard typewriter face such as Courier, or 11- or 12-point Times New Roman. Line spacing double-spaced or 1.5.No color or graphics, except for (1) charts or maps generated by the student to convey substantive information; or (2) as an artifact of the subject being studied, in support of a point discovered or being argued by the student.
Where there has been research, use a consistent, generally accepted, format for citations.
Avoid heavy binders, unless you are prepared to supply packing material to facilitate their return by mail at the end of the term.
Presentations may form part of the course. Again, the emphasis should be on the research and the content, and only incidentally on the choice of presentation support equipment.
Office Hours and Communication
Office hours: Before or after class, or by appointment. Further availability will be discussed after I have arrived at Adana.I will try to keep a web site going during the term which may be helpful in disseminating information to the class:
Policies
Class attendance is expected. Students are responsible for all material covered during lectures and discussions, as well as assigned textbook readings. In order for case studies to be given lively and effective class discussions, students should read them and think about them before class.
On such matters as exceptional grades, academic dishonesty and attendance, the policies of the current Graduate Catalog of the University of Maryland in Europe will apply to this course.
Instructor
Mr. Wiswell received a BA in History from Stanford University, and more recently, an MA in History from the University of London. He worked for over twenty-five years in the computer industry as programmer, systems analyst, data base consultant and project manager.| Top | Description | Objectives | Text | Communication | Grading |