IST 601 - Section 50

IT for Competitive Advantage

Fall 2006

Course Information

COURSE NAME:	IT for Competitive Advantage - IST 601 Section 50
TERM:	Fall 2006
MEETING TIME:	Tuesdays and Thursdays 6:30 - 7:45 p.m.
MEETING PLACE:	BU 207
CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION:	This course provides an understanding and appreciation for the role of information technology and how this technology is leading changes in an organization. Discusses the competitive role of IT and how it affects the strategy and operation of modern business organizations nationally and internationally. Enables students to lead technology-enabled organizational change involving collaboration technologies.

Instructor Information

INSTRUCTOR NAME:	Dr. Sharen Bakke
OFFICE:	BU 341
OFFICE HOURS:	Tuesday, Thursday after class 7:45 p.m., Monday, Wednesday 2:00 - 4:00 p.m., and by appointment
PHONE NUMBER:	(216) 875-9803
HOME PHONE:	(440) 498-1021
E-MAIL:	missives@sharenbakke.com

I. Course Description and Objectives Top

Description:

The purpose of this course is to prepare managers to recognize the value of information technology in business. Managers need to have the foundations to ask intelligent questions and to evaluate alternatives so they can determine optimal solutions to business problems. Upon the successful completion of the course, students will be knowledgable participants in general IT decisions. As managers, they will understand the basic concepts necessary to intelligently assess technology opportunities.

This course will attempt to instill a desire in students to pursue life-long learning. The IT field changes at a phenomenal rate and business professionals must actively pursue training to keep their technology skills current.

Objectives:

understand the role of Information Technology (IT) in today's digital business firm.
understand key computer and communciations technology concepts and the application of these concepts in the workforce.
understand the value and uses of information databases and identify solutions for protecting the information resource.
develop a strategy for keeping current with "leading edge" technologies and evaluating their effectiveness in the workplace.
understand how IT can be used as a competitive advantage in meeting the strategic goals of a business.

II. Resources Top

Textbook

Management Information Systems: Managing the Digital Firm. 9th edition

WebCT

How to Access and Use Your WebCT course web Site

III. Student Expectations Top

Attendance - Students are expected to attend all class sessions and to actively participate in class discussions. "Active participation" means providing substantive, insightful comments about a topic (e.g., quality); asking stimulating and probing questions that further the discussion and everyone's understanding of the topic; and being an enthusiastic participant in cooperative learning exercises. This is especially relevant when discussing cases.
Use of cell phones, PDAs, pagers or other devices is not allowed in the classroom. Please ensure these devices are turned off before entering the classroom.

Missing class is not an excuse for failure to understand material or complete assignments. Material covered in class will not be covered again outside of class. It is up to you to read the material and get notes from another student if you miss class. Do not expect any special help or privileges if you do not attend class regularly.
Students with Disabilities - If you require accommodations to obtain equal access in this course, please contact the instructor at the beginning of the semester.

Written and Oral Communciations - Being able to communicate effectively is critical in the business world. Communication skills will be emphasized in this course. All written materials and presentations are expected to be of professional quality. This course presents multiple opportunities for practice and for receiving feedback. The goal is to use the feedback to improve your skills.

Late Assignments - All assignments must be turned in on time . Assigned work is to be turned in at the beginning of the class on which it is due, unless otherwise instructed. A late assignment will be reduced 10% of its total point value for each calendar day it is late. Assignments turned in more than one week past the due date will receive a score of "0". Research or course projects are not eligible for treatment under this late penalty; no-submitted projects will receive a score of "0"'.

IV. Course Grading Top

Final grade will be computed as follows:

Requirement	Number	Points each	Total Points
a. Class Participation	1	100	100
b. Class Presentation	1	200	200
c. Current IT Event	5	20	100
d. Term Paper	1	200	200
e. Team Case Study	1	200	200
f. Final Exam	1	200	200
TOTAL POINTS			1000

Final letter grade determinations will be assigned according to the following percentages:

Letter Grade	Percent Range	Quality of Work
A	>=93%	Excellent - the majority of work submitted is consistently thoughtful, insightful, creative, and professionally presented.
A-	90 - 92.9%	Often of high quality, but not always meeting the exceptional caliber.
B+	87 - 89.9%	Good - consistently thoughtful but clearly of a "student assignment" flavor rather than of a professional/industrial flavor.
B	83 - 86.9%	Fair - generally thoughtful, well-presented work. Meets all requirements, but does not exceed basic expectations.
B-	80 - 82.9%	Generally attains the expected level of performance for the course requirements but occasionally "misses the mark" .
C+	77 - 79.9%	Work submitted is slightly better than average but rarely attains the expected level of performance.
C	73 - 60%	Average - assigned work is completed in a minimal fashion. Some assignments do not adequately meet expectations.
F	< 60%	Work submitted is of unacceptable quality.

V. Tentative Schedule Top

Day	Topic	Presentation Schedule	Activity
Aug 29			Review syllabus, select teams and presentation topics
Aug 31	IS in the Enterprise	Bakke	Chapter 1, Case Study Strategies
Sept 5	IS and Strategy		Chapter 3
Sept 7	E-Business and E-commerce		Chapter 4
Sept 12	Ethical and Social Issues		Chapter 5
Sept 14	IT Infrastructure and Platforms		Chapter 6
Sept 19	IT Infrastructure and Platforms		Chapter 6
Sept 21	Managing Data Resources		Chapter 7
Sept 26	Managing Data Resources		Chapter 7
Sept 28	Telecommunications, Networks and the Internet		Chapter 8
Oct 3	Telecommunications, Networks and the Internet		Chapter 8
Oct 5	The Wireless Revolution		Chapter 9
Oct 10	The Wireless Revolution		Chapter 9
Oct 12	Security and Control		Chapter 10
Oct 17	Security and Control		Chapter 10
Oct 19	Case Study	Group 1	Case Study Discussion
Oct 24	Case Study	Group 2	Case Study Discussion
Oct 26	Case Study	Group 3	Case Study Discussion
Oct 31	Case Study	Group 4	Case Study Discussion
Nov 2	Guest Speaker		Ryan Conlon
Nov 7	Enterprise Applications and Business Process Integration		Chapter 11
Nov 9	Enterprise Applications and Business Process Integration		Chapter 11
Nov 14	Managing Knowledge		Chapter 12
Nov 16	Managing Knowledge		Chapter 12
Nov 21	NO CLASS
Nov 23	NO CLASS		THANKSGIVING BREAK
Nov 28	Enhancing Decision Making		Chapter 13
Nov 30	Enhancing Decision Making		Chapter 13
Dec 5	Redesigning the Organization with Information Systems		Chapter 14
Dec 7	Redesigning the organization with Information Systems		Chapter 14
Dec 14	FINAL EXAM	6:00 - 8:00 p.m.

VI. Course Requirements Top

Class Participation - 100 points
Student are expected to contribute to the course by asking questions, making substantive comments, and responding to instructor questions. Included in this requirement is preparedness, attentiveness, and classroom conduct. Click here for more details about participation grading

Class Presentation - 200 points
Students must prepare a 20 -25 minute presentation on one of the topics included in the syllabus. The presentation should include an introduction, body and conclusion. The introduction introduces the topic and defines the scope of the presentation. Fundamental concepts, features and examples are denoted in the body. The conclusion contains an evaluation of the topic and its present and future role in the business world. Click here for more details

Current IT Event - 100 points
Student are required to present an interesting IT development to the rest of the class. This involves scanning periodicals such as e-Week, InformationWeek, Computer ISWorld, Baseline, ITWorld, and CIO.com and selecting an emerging technology or procedure that makes innovative use of IT. This exercise is intended to help you develop a strategy for keeping current with IT developments.

Prepare a 1 page (typed, double-spaced, 12 pt. font) summary of a current article discussing a new software application, technical innovation or process than piques your curiousity. The first section should contain a brief introduction of the IT development (e.g. who developed it and why was it developed). The second section describes how the IT development can be used in the business world (e.g. the added value) and the third section should focus on your evaluation of the IT development and its usefulness.

Each student is responsible for five (5) current IT Events. These snippets can be presented at any time throughout the semester.

Term Paper - 200 points Top
Students must prepare a critique of an organization's information systems and evaluate how the organization has used IT to attain a competitive advantage. More information

Team Case Study - 200 points each
Student teams (size of teams depends on number of students in class) are expected to research a case in depth and present the case for discussion. The professor will supply the cases to be studied. Click here for more details.

Final Exam - 200 points
A comprehensive final exam will be given during Final Exam Week. This exam is scheduled between 6:00 and 8:00 p.m.

VII. Policies Top

The following policies apply to all students in this course.

Course Drop Deadline For Fall 2006 - Friday, Sept 8th, 2006.

Course Withdrawal Deadline For Fall 2006 - Friday, Nov 3rd, 2006.

Withdrawal before the deadline results in a "W" on the official transcript; after the deadline a grade must be calculated and reported.

Academic Honesty
Cheating means to misrepresent the source, nature, or other conditions of your academic work (e.g., tests, papers, projects, assignments) so as to get undeserved credit. The use of the intellectual property of others without giving them appropriate credit is a serious academic offense. Violations will be subject to disciplinary action as specified in the CSU Student Conduct Code. A copy can be obtained on the web page at: http://www.csuohio.edu/student-life/student_handbook/index.html

Academic honesty is expected and required. HELPING fellow students is acceptable. COPYING IS NOT acceptable, and will result in loss of credit for the assignment, and possibly failure of the course for all students involved. If you give help to another student, then it is your responsibility to make sure they fully understand the concepts.

If copying is suspected, both (or all) students involved will receive zeros for that assignment at the least, and possibly a failure for the course. DO NOT GIVE OTHERS YOUR WORK .

VIII. How to Access and Use Your Course Web Site Top

This course uses WebCT to organize and present online content and to manage the classroom. In addition, students can track their progress, interact with fellow students through chat and e-mail, and even make online presentations. The following section provides brief instructions for accessing WebCT.

From the CSU Home Page select the Academics option then WebCT on the right-hand side of the screen or (Click here)
Select " 'MyWebCT' Login area for those with WebCT IDs." If you don't have a WebCT ID select the "Create your 'My WebCt ID' " option and follow the directions to create your ID and password.
Enter your username and password.
Use the "Open Enrollment" option to add this course to your MyWebCT page. Click here for instructions to add the course.