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Office:  Melcher Hall 290B		Phone: 713.743.4692
Email: rudy@uh.edu		Fax: 713.743.4693

Course Objectives

Paradoxically, however, it is a sad fact that organizational management often claim that they are unclear of the actual, 'bottom-line' benefits from IT, and that they have significant difficulties in managing and controlling expenditure and investment in IT. On the one hand, there is a recognition that IT is important, but on the other, there is confusion (and often suspicion) over the broad area of its management. This course seeks to clear up some of the confusion and suspicion. More specifically, the course is aimed at 'what every manager should know about IT in general and about managing IT in particular, in order to reap the benefits of this technology in his/her particular context'.

Because course students will have a variety of backgrounds and levels of expertise in IT, the aim is for each person to get something of value from the course. For the non-IT professional, the course will seek to provide an understanding of the nature of IT projects and how to manage such projects. For the IT professional, the aim is to better understand the perspective of the customer for which the IT projects are initiated.

The course assumes some modest level of understanding of IT (such as that provided in DISC 2373). Additionally, it draws heavily on practice in the field of information systems, and will have an organizational and managerial focus rather than a technical one. The course will, however, involve the exploration of a number of key technologies associated with advanced information systems.

The course will involve the use of the internet and students will be required to develop several HTML documents: a 'cool web sites' and 'home page', and a 'technology briefing paper'. Students are expected to have access to the internet.

After the course the students should be able to:

• assess the use and relative level of maturity of IT in a specific organization, especially in comparison to other companies
• assess the role of IT in products and potentially identify relevant new strategically important applications of IT in products/services
• understand the key issues involved in managing IT
• better appreciate some of the key technologies that are likely to have profound impacts on their respective organizations, e.g. client/server computing, the internet, and enterprise resource planning systems..

The course contains four modules: the Information Age; Information Technology; IT and the Organization; and Management of IT. Each focuses on a particular aspect of the general area of 'Information Systems'.

The following general topic areas will be covered:

o The IT revolution: key technologies
o IT and business strategy
o IT for competitive advantage
o IT leadership
o Current Issues: IT outsourcing, business process reengineering, eBusiness
o Managing IT change and implementation
o IT performance and IT valuation

Format

This class will be team taught by Rudy Hirschheim (Professor) and Jim Moore (Adjunct Professor) of the Bauer College of Business. Classes will consist primarily of lectures and case discussions some of which will involve the use of the internet. Several outside speakers will also address the class. The text, case studies, and assigned readings form an integral part of the course. The readings are required to successfully complete the exercises and assignments. 

Student's grades in the course will be based on a number of group and individual assignments. Group assignments will constitute 33% of the grade; individual assignments will constitute the remaining 67%. There are two primary group assignments: an IS case study worth 25% and a  case briefing worth 8% which involves the integration of class discussion on a particular industry sector. The IS case study provides the student the opportunity to integrate course readings and assignments through the analysis of a real world IS setting in an organization. Working in teams, students will prepare a case study report on the internal workings of an actual IS department focusing on areas such as systems development, IS planning, IS architecture, and future developments. Students will be divided into groups early in the term, and will remain on their respective teams for the duration of the course.

Individual assignments embody four components: an exam worth 30% of the overall grade; a technology briefing worth 20%; course participation worth 7%; and individual assignments worth 10%. The final exam will be a comprehensive exam tying together all the material covered in the course. The Technology Briefing assignment provides students the opportunity to explore, in some detail, a particular information technology/application of their choosing. Course participation will be based on the student's contribution to group discussions associated with the readings, essays and cases assigned. Lastly, individual assignments will be comprised of two elements: a home page and a cool web site development.

Assessment
 

Cool Web Sites / Home Page	Value: 10%	Due: Sept. 27
Technology Briefing Paper	Value: 20%	Due: Oct. 18
IS Case Study	Value: 25%	Due: Nov. 15
Exam	Value: 30%	Due: Nov. 29
Case Briefing	Value:  8%	TBA
Class Participation (including case discussions)	Value: 7%

 

Course Materials

Management Information Systems: Organization & Technology in the Networked Enterprise, 6th ed., Kenneth and Jane Laudon, Prentice Hall, 2000

Managing Information Systems, David Anderson, Prentice Hall, 2000
 

Course Outline
 
 

0.

Introduction and Course Overview [RH]

Aug. 23, 2001

 

1.

The IT Revolution [RH]

Aug. 30, 2001

• organizational challenges associated with the information age
• Case: Tom Thumb 

• Building your own web page (HTML)
• The world wide web
• Internet basics

• what's hot: 'topics'
• what's hot: 'technologies'

• strategic application of IT
• Cases: Fast-Food Industry [McDonald's, Rainforest Cafe, Dave & Busters, Starbucks]

 

5.

Strategic Analysis & Planning [JM]

Sept. 27, 2001

• The Value Proposition of IT in Business

• Total Cost of Ownership

• Ethics

• Competitive Advantage

• IT-- Enabling Business

• Management Information (Actionable Knowledge)

• Operating Assets

• Strategy Leverage

• Working Together

• Cases: Travel Reservation Industry [American Express, SABRE]

• electronic commerce
• client/server computing
• Cases: Entrepreneurial Industry [Amazon, Peapod]

 

7.

IT Infrastructure to Support the Organization [JM]

Oct. 11, 2001

• End to End Service and Support--(Connectivity/Capacity/Communications/Information Mgt.)

• Knowledge Management

• Virtual Teaming

• Directories

• Networking

• Remote/Mobile Working

• Application Portfolio

• Cases: Wholesale Industry [Fisher Scientific, W.W. Grainger, US Robotics]

 

8.

IT Performance [RH]

Oct. 18, 2001

• the use of benchmarking to assess value of IT
• Cases: Financial Services Industry [American National Bank (Bank One), Fidelity Investments, MasterCard, Charles Schwab & Co.]

• the effective sourcing of IT (outsourcing, insourcing, cosourcing, backsourcing)
• cost drivers, experiences, strategies
• Cases: Specialty Retail Industry [Ben & Jerry's, The Gap, The Limited]

• the changing nature of systems development
• Cases: Package Delivery Industry [Federal Express, UPS]

 

11.

Project Management [JM]

Nov. 8, 2001

• What makes a Successful Project

• SDLC-- (System Development Life Cycle) & Methodology

• Definition/Initiation/Control/Closure

• Estimating

• Scheduling

• Deliverables

• Tools of the Trade

• Look back

• Cases: Government Industry [Denver International Airport, Federal Aviation Administration]

• Student team presentations of the IS Case Studies

+ denotes optional class
 

Course Readings

(Note: Required readings for each session are marked with an asterisk *)
 

1. The IT Revolution

*Laudon & Laudon: Chapters 1, 4

*Tom Thumb case, written by Blake Ives

B. Gates, Business @ The Speed of Thought: Using a Digital Nervous System, Warner Books, NY, 1999

E. Hargittai, "Radio's Lessons for the Internet", Communications of the ACM, 43(1), Jan. 2000, pp.51-57

D. Tapscott, Growing Up Digital: The Rise of the Net Generation, McGraw-Hill, NY, 1998

J. McKenney with D. Copeland, and R. Mason, Waves of Change: Business Evolution through Information Technology, Harvard Business School Press, 1994

S. Bradley, Hausman, J. and Nolan, R. (eds.), Globalization, Technology and Competition: The Fusion of Computers and Telecommuniations, Harvard Busines School Press, 1993

D. Marchand, W. Kettinger and J. Rollings, Information Orientation: The New Business Performance Metric, Oxford University Press, 2000

R. Nolan and D. Croson, Creative Destruction: A Six Stage Process for Transforming the Organization, Harvard Business School Press, 1995

McKenney, J., Mason, R., and Copeland, D., "Bank of America: The Crest and Trough of Technological Leadership", MIS Quarterly, Vol.21, No.3 September, 1997, pp.321-353.

T. Davenport, "Saving IT’s soul: Human-centered information management", Harvard Business Review, March/April 1994

S. Haeckel and R. Nolan, "Managing by Wire", Harvard Business Review, September/October 1993

P. Drucker, "The Coming of the New Organization", Harvard Business Review, January/February 1988

P. Drucker, "The information executives truly need", Harvard Business Review, January/February 1995

N. Augustine, "Managing the crisis you tried to prevent", Harvard Business Review, Nov-Dec. 1995

 

2. The Internet & HTML Primer

P. McKeown and R. Watson, Metamorphosis: A Guide to the World Wide Web & Electronic Commerce, John Wiley & Sons, 1996

J. Verity, "The internet: how it will change the way you do business", Business Week, November 14, 1994

D. Morrison, "Business battles for a piece of the net", Beyond Computing, Jan-Feb. 1995

T. Stevenson, "Calling all newbies", MIS, November 1995

K. Pitter, et al., Every Student's Guide to the Internet, McGraw Hill, 1995

P. Carey and A. Ambrosia, The Internet - Illustrated, Course Technology, 1995

D. Barker and C-L. Barker, The World Wide Web - Illustrated, Course Technology, 1995

IW-online
Yahoo
Maricopa Center for Learning and Instruction (MCLI)

HTLM Primers:
Beginners guide to HTML
HTML Quick Reference
HTML Reference Manual
Doug Richardson's Bookmarks (useful links)

 

3. Challenges of the Information Age

*Laudon & Laudon, Chapters 3, 14

M..L. Markus, "Thinking the Unthinkable: What happens if the IS field as we know it goes away?", in Rethinking MIS, Galliers, R. and Currie, W. (eds.), Oxford University Press, 1999, pp.175-203

J. Chandra, March, S., Mukherjee, S., Pape, W., Ramesh, R., Rao, H. and Waddoups, R., "Information Systems Frontiers", Communications of the ACM, 43(1), Jan. 2000, pp.71-79

J. Mingers and Stowell, F. (eds.), Information Systems: An Emerging Discipline?, McGraw-Hill, 1997

W. Yetter, "The End of Delegation? Information Technology and the CEO", Harvard Business Review, Sept-Oct., 1995, pp.160-169

S. Jarvenpaa and B. Ives, "The global network organization of the future: Information management opportunities and challenges", Journal of Management Information Systems, 10(4), Spring 1994

J. McKeen and H. Smith, Management Challenges in IS: Successful Strategies and Appropriate Action, J. Wiley & Sons, 1996

 

4.  IT for Competitive Advantage

*Laudon & Laudon, Chapter 2

*Anderson, Chapter 1

E. Clemons, "Information technology and the boundary of the firm: who wins, who loses, and who has to change", in S. Bradley, J. Hausman & R. Nolan, eds. Globalization, Technology and Competition, Harvard Business School Press, 1993

W. Kettinger, V. Grover, S. Guha, and A. Segars, "Strategic information systems revisited: A study in sustainability and performance", MIS Quarterly, March 1994

M. Porter & V. Miller, "How information gives you competitive advantage", Harvard Business Review, July-August, 1985

F.W. McFarlan, "Information technology changes the way you compete", Harvard Business Review, May-June, 1984

B. Konsynski & FW. McFarlan, "Information partnerships: shared data, shared scale", Harvard Business Review, Sept-Oct, 1990

C. Wiseman, Strategic Information Systems, Irwin, 1988

 

5. Strategic Analysis and Planning

* Laudon & Laudon,  Chapters 2, 5 and 11

*Anderson, Chapter 11

J. Ward  and P. Griffiths, Strategic Planning for Information Systems, 2nd ed., J. Wiley & Sons, 1996
 
N. Venkatraman, "IT-enabled business transformation: From automation to business scope redefinition", Sloan Management Review, Winter 1994

L. Groth, Future Organizational Design: The Scope for the IT-Based Enterprise, J. Wiley & Sons, 1999

C. Brown and V. Sambamurthy, Repositioning the IT Organization to Enable Business Transformation, Pinnaflex Educational Resources, Cincinnati, OH, 1999

6. Electronic Commerce

*Laudon & Laudon, Chapters 10 and 16

*Anderson, Chapter 2

A. Farhoomand and P. Lovelock, Global eCommerce, Prentice Hall, 2001.

D. Tapscott, A. Lowy, and D. Ticoll, (eds.), Blueprint to the Digital Economy: Creating Wealth in the Era of E-Business, McGraw-Hill, 1998

P. Evans and T. Wurster, "Getting real about virtual commerce", Harvard Business Review, Nov-Dec. 1999, pp.85-94

J. C. Westland and T. Clark, Global Electronic Commerce: Theory and Case Studies, MIT Press, 1999

R. Kalakota and M. Robinson, e-Business: Roadmap for Success, Addison-Wesley, 1999

R. Kalakota and A. Whinston, Frontiers of Electronic Commerce, Addison-Wesley, 1996

M. Cronin, Doing Business on the Internet: How the Electronic Highway is Transforming American Companies, Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1994

6.  eBusiness Decisions (cont'd)

P. Timmers, Electronic Commerce: Strategies and Models for Business-to-Business Trading, J. Wiley & Sons, 1999

J. Rayport and J. Sviokla, "Managing in the marketspace", Harvard Business Review, Nov-Dec. 1994

J. Rayport and J. Sviokla, "Exploiting the virtual value chain", Harvard Business Review, Nov-Dec. 1995

R. Watson, "Creating and sustaining a global community of scholars", MIS Quarterly, September 1994

ISWorld
UH group Gonzalez Technology Briefing "Internet Commerce"
UH group Price Technology Briefing "Security"
UH group Harrington Technology Briefing "Knowledge Management"
UH group Willis Technology Briefing "Electronic Commerce"
UH group Kile Technology Briefing "Videoconferencing"
 

7. IT Infrastructure to Support the Organization

*Laudon & Laudon, Chapters 7, 8, 9 and 18

*Anderson, Chapter  6

G. Gilder, "Into the Telecosm", Harvard Business Review, March-April 1991

G. Bell and J. Gemmell, "On-ramp prospects for the information superhighway dream", Communications of the ACM, Vol. 39, No. 7, July 1996

L. Streeter, R. Kraut, H. Lucas and L. Caby, "How open data networks influence business performance and market structures", Communications of the ACM, Vol. 39, No. 7, July 1996

G. Harvey, "Making the Information Highway Work", Business Quarterly, Spring 1994

A. Sinha, "Client/Server Computing", Communications of the ACM, July 1992

A. Bhattacherjee and R. Hirschheim, "Information technology and organizational change: Lessons from client/server computing," Journal of General Management, 23(2), Winter 1997

Datamation, special supplement on the best of client/server computing, Oct. 1, 1991. See also, the special issue on client/server computing, June 15, 1993

 

Enterprise Resource Planning (Extra Material)

lynx "Enterprise Resource Planning"
insyst "Enterprise Resource Planning"
UH group Hampton Technology Briefing  "Enterprise Resource Planning"
 

Personal and Organizational Connectivity: Groupware (Extra Material)

Laudon & Laudon, Chapter 15

C. Ciborra (ed.), Groupware & Teamwork, J. Wiley & Sons, 1996

D. Coleman, "Groupware: technology and applications, an overview of groupware", http://www.collabra.com/articles/overview.htm see also "The Collaborative Organization" http://www.collabra.com/articles/cllbrtv.htm

L. Jessup and J. Valacich (eds.), Group Support Systems: New Perspectives, Macmillan, 1993

R. Johansen, "Groupware: Future directions and wild cards", Journal of Organizational Computing, 2(1), 1991

Communications of the ACM, special issue on Hypermedia, February 1994

R. Sprague, "Electronic document management", MIS Quarterly, March 1995

T. Finholt and L. Sproull, "Electronic groups at work", Organization Science, 1(1), 1990

L. Hindus, "What MIS should know about videoconferencing", Datamation, August 15, 1992

S. Opper and H. Fersko-Weiss, Technology for Teams: Enhancing Productivity in Networked Organizations, Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1992
 

8. Valuing IT Performance

*H. Smith and J. McKeen, "Measuring IS: How does your organization rate?", Data Base, Winter 1996

*M. Lacity and R. Hirschheim, "Benchmarking as a Strategy for Managing Conflicting Stakeholder Perceptions of Information Systems", Journal of Strategic Information Systems, Vol.4, No.2, 1995, pp.165-185

*Anderson, Chapter 13

E. Brynjolffson, "The Productivity Paradox of Information Technology", Communications of the ACM, (35), 1993, pp. 66-67

M. Santosus, "Perception is reality", CIO, October 15, 1995

D. Morrison, "Value judgments", Beyond Computing, July/Aug. 1995

P. Weill and M. Broadbent, "Does IT infrastructure investment pay off?", MIS, December 1995

P. Weill and M. Broadbent, "Infrastructure goes industry specific", MIS, July 1994

M. Earl and D. Feeny, "Is your CIO adding value?", Sloan Management Review, Spring 1994

D. Feeny, B. Edwards and K. Simpson, "Understanding the CEO/CIO relationship", MIS Quarterly, Vol 16, 1992

C. Stephens, W. Ledbetter, A. Mitra and F. Ford, "Executive or functional manager? The nature of the CIO's job", MIS Quarterly, Vol 16, 1992

T. Lincoln, Managing Information Systems for Profit, Wiley, 1990

P. Weill & M. Olson, "Managing investment in IT: mini case examples and implications", MIS Quarterly, March, 1989

E. Lukac, "Pricing to please", CIO, April 1, 1994

J. Moad, "Successful benchmarking with the team approach", Datamation, Feb. 1, 1994

J. Ross, C. Beath, and D. Goodhue, "Develop Long-Term Competitiveness Through IT Assets", Sloan Management Review, Fall 1996,  pp. 31-42

J. Ross, M. Vitale and C. Beath, "The Untapped Potential of IT Chargeback", MIS Quarterly, 23(2), June, 1999, pp. 215-237

V. Sambamurthy and R. Zmud, "Research Commentary: The Organizing Logic for an Enterprise’s IT Activities in the Digital Era—A Prognosis of Practice and a Call for Research", Information Systems Research, 11(2), June 2000, pp. 105-11

V. Serafeimidis and S. Smithson Information System Evaluation in Practice: a Case Study of Organizational Change, Journal of Information Technology, 15(2), June 2000, pp. 93-105

 

9. IT Sourcing 

*M. Lacity, R. Hirschheim, and L. Willcocks, "Realizing Outsourcing Expectations: Incredible Expectations, Credible Outcomes", Information Systems Management, Vol.11, No. 4, Fall 1994, pp. 7-18.

*Anderson, Chapter 3

M. Lacity and R. Hirschheim, Information Systems Outsourcing: Myths, Metaphors and Realities, J. Wiley & Sons, 1993

M. Lacity and R. Hirschheim, Beyond the Information Systems Outsourcing Bandwagon: The Insourcing Response, J. Wiley & Sons, 1995

V. Gurbaxani, "The New World of Information Technology Outsourcing", Communications of the ACM, Vol. 39, No. 7, July 1996, pp. 45-46

L. Willcocks and M. Lacity (eds.), Strategic Sourcing of Information Systems, J. Wiley & Sons, 1998.

T. Clark, R. Zmud, and G. McCray, "The Outsourcing of Information Services: Transforming The Nature of Business in the Information Industry," Journal of Information Technology, Vol. 10, No. 4, 1995, pp. 221-237

J. Cronk, and J. Sharp, "A Framework For Deciding What To Outsource In Information Technology," Journal of Information Technology, Vol. 10, No. 4, 1995, pp. 259-267

R. Hirschheim and M. Lacity, "Four Stories of Information Systems Insourcing", in Information Systems Outsourcing in the New Economy,  R. Hirschheim, A. Heinzl and J. Dibbern (eds.), Springer-Verlag, Berlin, Heidelberg, New York, 2002

L. Loh, and N. Venkatraman, "Stock Market Reaction to IT Outsourcing: An Event Study," Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Working Paper, 1992.

Myths, Metaphors and Realities
Insourcing
 

9. Outsourcing Strategies for IT (cont'd)

*M. Lacity, L. Willcocks, and D. Feeny, "IT outsourcing: Maximize flexibility and control", Harvard Business Review, May-June 1995

*M. Lacity & R. Hirschheim, "The information systems outsourcing bandwagon", Sloan Management Review, Fall 1993.

J. Cross, "IT outsourcing: British Petroleum's competitive approach", Harvard Business Review, May-June 1995

F.W. McFarlan and R. Nolan, "How to manage an IT outsourcing alliance", Sloan Management Review, Winter 1995

L. Willcocks, M. Lacity, and G. Fitzgerald, "IT outsourcing in Europe and the USA: Assessment Issues", in G. Doukidis et. al., eds, Proceedings of the 3rd European conference on Information Systems, Athens 1995

R. Huber "How Continental Bank outsourced its "crown jewels"", Harvard Business Review, January/February, 1993

L. Loh & N. Venkatraman, "Diffusion of information technology outsourcing: Influence sources and the Kodak effect", Information Systems Research, Vol 4, 1992

M. Lacity, L. Willcocks and D. Feeny, "The value of selective IT outsourcing", Sloan Management Review, Spring 1996

M. Earl, "The risks of outsourcing IT", Sloan Management Review, Spring 1996

M. Lacity and L. Willcocks, Global Information Technology Outsourcing, John Wiley, 2001

Technology Partners Inc.
Outsourcing Institute
 

10. Systems Development: The Changing Paradigm

*Laudon & Laudon, Chapters 11 and 12

*Anderson, Chapter 9

*R. Welke, "The shifting software development paradigm", Data Base, November 1994

A. Joch, "How software doesn't work", Byte, December 1995

V. Basili and G. Caldiera, "Improve software quality by reusing knowledge and experience", Sloan Management Review, Fall 1995

S. Jain, "Remodeling project", CIO, September 1995

J. Rockart and J.D. Hofman, "Systems delivery: Evolving new strategies", Sloan Management Review, Summer 1992

G. Booch, Object Oriented Analysis and Design with Applications, 2nd ed, Benjamin/Cummings, 1994

J. Martin, An Information Systems Manifesto, Prentice-Hall, 1985

Software Engineering Tools
Object-Orientation
 

11. Project Management:  Managing Information Systems Projects

*Laudon & Laudon, Chapters 11, 12, 13 and 17

*Anderson, Chapter 12

M.L. Markus and M. Keil, "If we build it, they will come: Designing information systems that people want to use", Sloan Management Review, Summer 1994

L. Radosevich and C. Dahle, "Taking your chances", CIO, April 15, 1996

M. Keil, "Pulling the plug: software project management and problem of project escalation", MIS Quarterly, December 1995

V. McConnell and K. Koch, Computerizing the Corporation: The Intimate Link Between People and Machines, Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1990

T. DeMarco and Lister, T., Peopleware - Managing the Human Side of Software Development, Prenctice-Hall, 1989

C. Sauer, Why Information Systems Fail, Alfred Waller, 1993

D. Klinger, J. Elam, R. Sabherwahl, "RyderFirst: facilitating a turnaround in Ryder system’s customer truck rental division," Journal of Strategic Information Systems, 3(3), 1994

W. Cats-Baril, and T. Jelassi, "The French videotext system minitel: a successful implementation of a national information technology infrastructure", MIS Quarterly, March 1994
 

IS Case Study Details

DUE DATE: IS case study due 11/15.

PURPOSE: This case will allow you to integrate text and discussion materials through the analysis of a real world information system setting in an organization.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION:

Select an organization that you know of or are affiliated with. Provide a brief description of the company and its IS department. Use the attached outline as a guide.

From the list in section 3 of the outline choose one area in which you are interested and focus on the approach the organization is taking towards these problem issues. This should include both description and critique. Include discussions of the strengths and weaknesses of the approach as well as suggested alternatives. Indicate how the alternatives suggested would help to overcome any weaknesses or exploit potential strengths. As well as collecting documentary evidence, try to meet with at least three people in the organization to obtain different perspectives on the issue. You will likely need two or three meetings with people in the organization. Include relevant literature from the web as well as academic and practitioner sources.

Your final report should include sections 1, 2, and 3. It should not exceed 50 double-spaced pages, excluding appendices.

This is a group project. Groups will be graded on the basis of the report's information content and flow (65%), report appearance (15%), and presentation quality (20%). The grading process is one of finding the best reports and subtracting points as appropriate from lower-ranking reports. All group members are expected to contribute equally to the report. Adjustments are made when sufficient evidence of a lack of contributions on the part of any member is presented by other members.

OUTLINE:

1.0  Company Profile

1.1Annual Sales/Assets (Company/Division)
1.2 Number of Employees (Company/Division)
1.3 Location of Company/Division (include name/address/phone number of contact)
1.4 Industry
1.5 Brief Background
1.6 Organizational Chart (structure) - Appendix

2.0  IS Profile

2.1 Brief Background (historical perspective of IS within organization)
2.2 IS Budget ($ and % of company's budget)
2.3Structure of IS Department (Organization Chart)
2.4 Number and Types of IS employees
2.5 Hardware/Software (i.e., a brief description of HW/SW environment)

3.0  Analysis Topics:

• Approaches to IS planning
• Measuring IS effectiveness and productivity
• Client/Server computing
• Training and development of IS personnel
• Information systems valuation
• Group decision support systems
• Coordination/Collaborative technologies
• Management of the applications portfolio
• Telecommunications - planning and implementation
• Approaches to System Development
• traditional versus prototyping
• tools, techniques, methodologies
• Downsizing
• Information security and control
• Use of IT for Competitive Advantage
• Globalization Issues
• Interorganizational Systems
• Executive Information Systems
• Information Architectures
• Quality in IS
• Outsourcing
• Reengineering
• Electronic Commerce
• Intranets
• Front-line knowledge work
• IT's contribution to the business
This represents a list of possible topics. Many of the issues are rated as being among the most important topics to IS managers. Focus on only one or two of these areas; the emphasis should be on depth rather than breadth. You may select a topic of your own not on the list if you feel it is important but please consult with me first.

In the past, projects have been conducted at a variety of companies, for example: Reliant, City of Houston; Texaco; Service Corp. International;  Tenneco; Delta Airlines; Arthur Andersen; Enron; Exxon; Philips Petroleum; Conoco; University of Houston; M.D. Anderson; Baylor College of Medicine; British Petroleum; Amoco; Occidental Petroleum; Eastman Christensen, Compaq, Shell, and Anheuser-Busch
 

Technology/Application Briefing

DUE DATE: Technology briefing projects to be posted by 10/18.

PURPOSE: To give you the opportunity to explore, in some detail, a particular information technology/application.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION:

Select a technology/application that you are interested in, survey the available literature, obtain information on products available, and write a short report on it. You should cover issues such as: history, description of technology/application, products, user experiences, strengths/weaknesses, and future prospects. Your final report should not exceed 15 'pages' excluding diagrams and appendices. The report must be produced in HTML form and  'published' on the web.

 POSSIBLE TOPICS:

• Imaging Technology/Document Management/Work Flow
• AI/Expert Systems (including neural nets)
• Telecommunications (ISDNs, Connectivity)
• Video Conferencing
• Executive Information Systems
• Computer-Supported Collaborative Work
• Cross-functional Systems
• Global IT
• Interorganizational Systems
• Multi-media
• Virtual Reality
• Client/Server Computing
• Electronic Commerce/eBusiness
• Intranets/Extranets
• Wireless Communications
• Security/Privacy
• Component-based Systems Development (Object-oriented)
• Enterprise-wide systems, e.g. SAP, Baan
• Knowledge Management Systems
• Outsourcing 
• Information Architectures
• Data Warehousing/ Data Mining
• ASPs

 

Home Page

DUE DATE: Home page is to be completed by 9/27 and be 'published' on the web. If your ISP does not provide disk space for your page, there are numerous 'free' home page sites which will allow you to publish your home page there, e.g. Geocities (Yahoo).

PURPOSE: To give you the opportunity to build your own home page.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION: Using an HTML editor, develop your own home page. The page should contain information about yourself - your likes, dislikes, background information, etc. - but do not provide sensitive information such as SSN, home address, etc.
 

List of Cool Web Sites

DUE DATE: Cool web sites to be posted by 9/27. The document should be linked to your home page.

PURPOSE: To give you the opportunity to find interesting web sites from around the globe.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION: Peruse the World Wide Web to find interesting and entertaining web sites. Provide a list of at least 20 sites with a brief description of the site, its URL, and why you feel it should be considered as part of your "cool web site" list, i.e. what makes it different, what value does it bring, why is it entertaining? Note how just about every net surfer has/his own list of "cool sites".
 

Case Briefing
 
There are a number of cases for this course --see the "Class Schedule" -- and you will need to produce a Case Study Brief for the individual 'industry / case' you have been assigned. As the case brief is a group assignment, there is to be 1 submission per group. Due dates for the case briefs will be assigned later in the class. The case briefs will ask you to provide some definitive answers to the case questions based on your readings of the case. The group assigned that particular 'industry / case' must prepare an "integrative case note" and present their note to the class on the assigned date. The brief must contain the following:

* Brief polished answers to the assigned questions -- there are 5 questions

1.) What is the competitive structure and strategic outlook for this industry? For the companies in the industry? (use whatever financial data is available)
2.) What role does IT play in the industry and the companies in the industry? What role could IT play?
3.) Discuss the companies web sites in terms of how useful you feel they are. How successful are they in drawing the viewer in?
4.) How does the industry use 'data'; how do the companies use 'data'? How could it be improved?
5.) If you were called in as a consultant to the industry, what would you recommend? What would you recommend to the companies?
These answers should draw on your own reading of the case plus additional information gathered from on-line or other sources. In the integrative brief you must take a stand and explain your reasoning. (about 1/2 page or so for each question)

* Summary of the learning objectives of the case -- identify and describe what you feel are the three key learning points of the case. Again you should draw on whatever information is available to develop your points but you need to decide what you think are the key learning points or take-aways from the case and explain why each is important. (about 1 page).

* Integration with prior topics and cases -- identify and describe the ways in which this case relates to, supports, extends or contradicts other lessons that have been developed in the course. Pay particular attention to integrating the case with previously assigned readings and any lectures. (about 1 page)

In total, your brief should be no more than 4-5 pages in length (i.e., "brief" just as the name suggests).
 

Students With Disabilities

We would like to help any students with disabilities achieve their highest potential in the Bauer College of Business. To this end, in order to receive accommodation on exams or assignments, students must make arrangements with me prior to the exam or assignment. In addition, it is recommended that students with disabilities learn about their rights and responsibilities from the Center for Students with Disabilities (at 713-743-5400).
 

Teaching Evaluation Questionnaire

The Bauer College of Business has a policy that requires all of its instructors to be evaluated by their students. The results of these evaluations are important to provide feedback to instructors on how their performance can be improved. In addition, these evaluations are carefully considered in promotion, salary adjustment, and other important decisions. We openly encourage students to provide feedback to the instructors and to the College through the evaluation process. This questionnaire will administered at the end of the course.