University of Maryland - Asian Division

IFSM 300 Tu/Th 16:40 – 19:20 Yokota Term IV (02-2003)

Instructor: Robert Shields (rcshields@ad.umuc.edu) Office Hours: Before classes and by appointment.

Web Site: http://www.oocities.org/rcshields2/

Textbook: Management Information Systems 8th Edition. R. Mcleod & G. Schell, ISBN# 0-13-019237-6.

Descripton: (Fulfills the historical and international perspective requirements.) An overview of information systems, their role in organizations, and the relation of information systems to the objectives and structure of an organization. We cover human aspects of computing, types of computer systems, and general theory of systems.

Prerequisite: IFSM 201 or equivalent.

Tentative Course Schedule (This schedule is subject to change)

Week

Topic

read Chapters before class

Quizzes are available, online at http:// cwx.prenhall.com/bookbind/pubbooks/mcleod2

Intro. to CBIS;

Competitive Advantage;

Electronic Commerce

Thur: 1,2,3

online quizzes are open book and open notes

Sat. 22:00: email quiz results for all 3 chapters

International Marketplace;

Data Models

Ethical Implications

Appendix A

Tue: 4, Appendix A

Thur: 5

Sat. 22:00: email quiz results for all 3 chapters

Systems Concepts;

Process Models (DFD)

System Life Cycle

Appendix B

Tue: 6, Appendix B

Thur: 7

Sat. 22:00: email quiz results for all 3 chapters

Sun. 22:00: Team DFD Problems 2 &3

Computer Processing

Database and DBMS
EXAM (chaps. 1-9, App’x A-B)

8 (no lecture)

Tue: 8, 9

Thur: EXAM

Data Communications;

Accounting Information Systems

Financial Information Systems

Appendix D

Tue: 10, 11

Thur: Appendix D

Sat. 22:00: email quiz results for all 3 chapters

Management Information System

Decision Support Systems

Manufacturing Information Systems

Appendix C

Tue: 12, 13

Thur: Appendix C

Sat. 22:00: email quiz results for all 3 chapters

Sun. 22:00: New Team Pricing Model results

Virtual Office

Enterprise IS

Executive IS

14 (no lecture)

Tue: 14, 15, 16

Thur: Pricing Model 3-min. Presentations

Sat. 22:00: email quiz results for all chapters

Marketing IS

Information Systems IS

EXAM (chaps. 10-18, App’x C-D)

Tue: 17, 18

Thur: EXAM

Grades: Exams: (60%), Assignments: Quizzes (18%), DFD Problem and Pricing Project (22%)

I will assign grades with this scale: A = 90-100%; B = 80-89%; C = 70-79%; D = 60-69%; F = 0-59%

Quizzes: You must take a quiz for each chapter (except those covered on exam weeks) and must email the results to me by the deadline listed in the schedule.

Teams: By no later than the week before a team assignment is due, you should form teams of 3 people and email me the names of your team. (Earlier is better.) I will authorize an exception only if the class count dictates.

Methodology: You must have read the required materials and prepared the assignments for class. Classes may include lecture, hands-on work, and discussion. I may direct you to Internet sites to see the “latest” in the field. You will need Internet access to complete work for this class.

Assignments: Work must be neat and organized. To receive full credit, your assigned work must be submitted by the listed dead line and due date. All work must have your full name, class title, date and assignment number written on them. Use Email whenever possible. Use a real floppy disk label with your full name on it for work that requires a floppy. Late assignments are subject to 30% point loss and will not be accepted after final exam. Except for assigned groups, if you copy any portion of an assignment, ALL COPIES of the entire assignment will receive a score of zero.

Objectives (by the end of the course, you should be able to):

1. Define "information systems" and discuss the relationship between technology and the structure on an organization (competence in information technology)

2. Analyze and discuss the business and organizational issues involving information systems, including the historical and evolving nature of information systems in society and the convergence of technologies and information/data management (historical perspective)

3. Define the role of information system managers and information officers in planning, organizing, and controlling activities of an organization (competence in information technology)

4. Demonstrate understanding of the purpose, components, problems, and solutions of using management information systems globally and nationally (international perspective)

5. Apply basic techniques for using computers to improve control of, and access to, information in organizations (competence in information technology)

6. Apply information systems management techniques, procedures, and methods to practical national and international information technology and business issues (international perspective)

7. Evaluate information systems based on their role in the organization (information literacy)

8. Analyze issues facing managers using information systems in organizations, including security, ethical, and privacy concerns (civic responsibility)

9. Define "information systems" and discuss the relationship between technology and the structure on an organization (competence in information technology)

10. Analyze and discuss the business and organizational issues involving information systems, including the historical and evolving nature of information systems in society and the convergence of technologies and information/data management (historical perspective)

11. Define the role of information system managers and information officers in planning, organizing, and controlling activities of an organization (competence in information technology)

12. Demonstrate understanding of the purpose, components, problems, and solutions of using management information systems globally and nationally (international perspective)

13. Apply basic techniques for using computers to improve control of, and access to, information in organizations (competence in information technology)

14. Apply information systems management techniques, procedures, and methods to practical national and international information technology and business issues (international perspective)

15. Evaluate information systems based on their role in the organization (information literacy)

16. Analyze issues facing managers using information systems in organizations, including security, ethical, and privacy concerns (civic responsibility)

Attendance: You must attend every class on time. If you come to class late, it is your responsibility to make sure that you are marked present. Excessive absences may result in the assignment of the grade F--failure for nonattendance. You are responsible for anything that is covered in class even if you are not present. It is wise to arrange with another student to take notes when you might be absent.

Academic Policies: UMUC policies discuss your rights and responsibilities regarding such issues as Attendance, Religious Observances, Examinations, Writing and Mathematics, Plagiarism, and Disabled Students. See the policies at http://www.ad.umuc.edu/gen/disc/acadpoli.html. UMUC – Asian Division Student Resources include the Catalog, the Student Handbook, and Library Resources. The URL describing this material is http://www.ad.umuc.edu/docs/welcome.html. Please read the about Plagiarism in the Academic Policies section and Grades & Grading Systems in the Student Records & Grades section of the Catalog.

Students who violate UMUC policy on Academic Dishonesty and Plagiarism will receive a zero on the assignment in question; further violations of the policy will result in referral to the Dean's office for further administrative action. The grade of I (Incomplete) is only given in extraordinary circumstances. Students requesting an I must have completed at least 60 percent of the course work and hold a C average.

Participation In Class: To be properly prepared, read each of the assigned chapters and do the assignment before the class begins. In class, you may be asked to complete exercise sheets, to look up things on the Internet, to create code. These exercises are meant to help you learn what you need in this course. Do not skip class to work on assignments.

Exams: Each examination, quiz or test may be a combination of short answer, fill-in the blank, multiple choice, essay questions, and problems. Be able to discuss and apply assigned reading materials. Complete assignments and projects to best prepare for the examinations.

Makeup Work: If you miss a test or examination you must submit official documentation stating the reason for the absence before a make-up examination will be given. Only illness, TDY, extra duty, or emergencies are valid reasons for missing a scheduled examination. You must provide documentation showing the reason for the absence; otherwise, late work is subject to a 30% penalty. If you need to take a test or exam either earlier or later than its scheduled date (due to some work related activity), you must contact me as soon as possible to arrange this. You must take the makeup test or exam within one week of your return to class.

UMUC Databases: The University subscribes to several on-line library databases that students, faculty, and staff may access via the WWW. see: http://www.umuc.edu/library/ols.html. Log in with your Social Security number. As a student of UMUC you may order up to 10 articles per term (that are not full text). See the Web Databases/MdUSA FAQ or contact a UMUC reference librarian at umuc-reference@info.umuc.edu.

Papers: You must use the APA style of report writing for the paper. To learn about APA formatting, please use of the UMUC library. Go to http://www.umuc.edu/library/library.html. Once there, look under Writing Resources for Citing Internet Resources: APA Style or MLA Style. Choose UMUC's Guide to Citing Electronic Resources – APA. (The examples shown at the UMUC library do not show the hanging indent and double spacing required of APA style.) You may also visit the APA web site (http://www.apa.org/). Other sources include APA Samples For A Bibliography: (http://www.ithaca.edu/library/course/apa.html), APA Documentation Style, visit the link titled Overall Paper Format – APA: (http://www.writinghelp-central.com/apa.html), and Using Principles of APA Style to Cite and Document Sources: (http://www.bedfordstmartins.com/online/cite6.html)

Pricing Model Project: The Pricing Model is a mathematical model that lets you play the “What if?” game by making a set of decisions within a competitive business environment and seeing the results in the form of an income statement and operating statement. Your objective is to maximize net profit after income taxes. The model is called the Pricing Model because the business environment is most sensitive to the pricing decision. There are three other decisions--marketing budget, research & development (R&D) budget, and plant investment. The model simulates the effect of these decisions on a single product in the product line. Get instructions and the spreadsheet from http://cwx.prenhall.com/bookbind/pubbooks/mcleod2/chapter11/deluxe.html .

The model is a dynamic model--it simulates business activity over a period of time. You will simulate four quarters of activity. It is a satisficing model (not an optimizing model) in that it will not tell you the best combination of decisions. You will have to figure that out for yourself by executing the model multiple times, searching for the best combination. Although you can change all of the decisions each quarter, the prescribed simulation technique is to change only one at a time so that you can most easily see the impact. A suggested technique is to manipulate one decision until you feel that it is at the optimum level and then manipulate another. Continue this until you have manipulated all decisions. Then, fine tune your decision set by making any adjustments that appear to make for optimum results.

As you simulate each set of decisions you should keep a written record of the decisions and the results (net income). After you have reached what you believe to be the optimum decision set, obtain a printout.

For the assignment, assume that you are a staff analyst for the executive committee of your firm and that you have been given the assignment of using the model to recommend a set of decisions to the committee. The vice president of marketing is especially interested in the price and marketing decisions, the vice president of manufacturing feels the plant investment decision is most crucial to his operation, and the vice president of research is partial to the R&D decision. The president and the vice president of finance have an equal interest in all four decisions. The president has asked you to use the model to identify the best decision set and document your findings in a memo, identifying the decisions and explaining why each one is the best. The president’s name is Marion Davies.

In order to explain the decisions you must understand the environment in which the decisions are made. The environment consists of such external factors as an economic index that reflects the health of the general economy, a seasonal index that reflects the fluctuation in demand for your product, the price charged by your main competitor, and the marketing budget of your main competitor. It is a competitive environment where success depends not only on what you do but also what your competitor does. The model environment also consists of such internal factors as plant capacity, raw materials inventory, and finished goods inventory. You can obtain a printout that describes the details of these influences by using the model’s Help system.

The Modeling Scenario

Listed below is a set of sample values for the modeling scenario. Use these, or other, values for your assignment.