Course Description and Objectives

 Information is and has always been an integral part of businesses. Modern business organizations use computers and communication technologies to facilitate the flow of information throughout the organization. At the basic level, information systems support the mundane jobs of information processing at all units of an organization. These systems also facilitate the flow of information through and among functional departments to achieve the timely sharing of information throughout a business process, thereby increasing both productivity and quality.

Advanced information systems allow a flexible alignment of business processes across the whole enterprise. An enterprise is integrated where information systems bring individual functions and processes to work synergistically. In this sense, modern enterprises are enabled by information systems. Examples of information systems (IS) impacting businesses in the present times are business re-engineering, virtual teams and corporations, agile manufacturing, electronic commerce, and the Internet. Internet in particular has created a new and significant "marketspace". It is also a medium for enterprise information integration.

In this course we will explore the role of information technology and information systems in managing the modern information age enterprises. Specifically, the course will aim at:

1. Establishing the basic knowledge of information systems. Topics will include the strategic significance of IS to various businesses and industries, how IS serves as a strategic weapon to compete in the global marketplace and how IS is transforming business organizations. Cases of IS implementation by businesses will be discussed as a part of developing such an understanding.

2. Comprehending advanced topics of enterprise information planning and management. Emergent visions and practices such as electronic commerce, corporate intranets and extranets will be reviewed in a framework of strategic information planning.

3. Gaining hands-on experiences with information technology and systems. Students will be involved in team projects covering significant aspects of modern information systems.

 
Texts:

 1. Callon, Jack D., Competitive Advantage Through Information Technology, McGraw Hill, 1996.

2. Custom Course Pack, Harvard Business School Publishing for IS605, Fall 1997.

Course Expectations

 1. You will be expected to prepare in advance the cases to be discussed in the class. Please bring a bulleted list of the main ideas of a case (your talking points in the class) and submit the list to the instructor after the discussion of the case. Your grades for cases will depend on (a) your covering all the main points of the case in your bulleted list and, more importantly, (b) your actually making those points in the class. Even if you are a confirmed introvert, please make every effort to participate in class discussions.

 2. For the group project, you will (a) research a topic assigned to you (b) present your findings to the class and (c) publish your report on the Web along with appropriate hyperlinks. All the group members will need to participate in the presentation before the class.

 3. There will be two exams, each one carrying 20% of the total grade points. All the material covered up to an exam will be the syllabus for that exam. For example, the first exam will be out of the material covered in the first half of the module and the second exam will be out of the material covered in the second half. The material for the exams will be chapters from the textbook, cases, and any additional reading material handed out to you. Material covered under the ‘Labs’ section of the syllabus will not be on the exam.

 
Activities         Assigned Points

Group Project     20%

Two exams         40% (20% each)

Cases                 24% (4% each)

Three labs          16% (1^st and 3^rd 5% each, 2^nd 6%)

 
                                                Tentative Schedule