64042 Mahon

Globalization and Technology Strategy: MIS 64042

Management and Information Systems

Fall 2015

Mondays & Wednesdays 12:30 – 1:45

Instructor: Dr. Edward Mahon, Vice President of Information Services & Chief Information Officer, Kent State University

Email: emahon@kent.edu

Office Hours: BSA Room A422 (Annex of Business)

Required Readings:

All readings will be available online on Blackboard in .pdf format

Course Description:

The course will address IT management challenges including common IT management pitfalls, mistakes, IT directions and best practices, as well as security and IT fiscal management. This course is designed to explore implications, issues, and challenges facing the management of the knowledge based work environment with a focus on Cloud Computing and data management. Students will take a hands on approach by directly working with big data analytic platforms, as well as the Cloud. Students will work with sentiment data pulled from social media within the Hadoop platform in exercises designed around real world use cases. Students will also gain experience learning to create servers within the Cloud.

Course Objectives:

This course will help students to:

·         Gain a thorough understanding of information technology management and enterprise architecture.

·         Gain an understanding of the various benefits and complexities of the national cloud grid, including service delivery transition methodologies.

·         Gain an understanding of cloud computing, including databases, security, networking, and key industry leaders.

·         Gain an understanding of how social media can be used in combination with business analytics to make informed business decisions.

·         Achieve additional knowledge which they can apply to their own organization or future organization.

Technology is the major focus of this course. This course is designed to provide an overview of the matters related to the technological management of an organization.

Topics include:

·         Current Information Technology (IT) Management difficulties, issues, and challenges

·         IT Operations Management: Alignment, Organizational Design and Process Management

·         IT Fiscal Management Tools and Techniques

·         Reviewing Modern IT competencies, skills and job families

·         IT Project Management using an ERP (Enterprise Resource Project) as a case study to demonstrate large-scale project management practices

·         Review of IT Standard Bodies, including ITIL, COBIT and ISO

·         Systems Management

·         Review of  Data Storage Principles and practices

·         Technology Security threats and best mediation practices

·         Defining cloud technology and transition costs and issues

Course Assignments/Evaluation:

1.      Attendance                                                     Points Possible: 100 Points

Student learning is the goal of this course. Students learn from the informational resources, from the instructor, from other students, and through shared experiences throughout the semester. Students are expected to attend class and engage in class discussions. Each absence will result in a loss of points.

2.      Participation                                                  Points Possible: 100 Points

Students will be expected to participate in class discussions; therefore, reading assignments are critical to be prepared for in-class discussion. Readings are posted on Blackboard.

3.      Quizzes                                                           Points Possible: 300 Points

            Quizzes may be given throughout the semester and will cover the assigned readings due for that day.             Quizzes will generally be distributed in the beginning of the class, and students will have 10         minutes to answer the questions. The purpose of these quizzes is to ensure students are completing the           assigned readings and understanding the main ideas and basic concepts; therefore, reading the assigned        articles before class is critical for success in this course.

4.      Assignment Paper                                         Points Possible: 100 Points

Students will complete an assignment paper over topics covered within the first few weeks of the course. Topics will be provided on Blackboard. The format will be 5-7 pages, double-spaced and must include APA format and citations. The Assignment Paper will be turned in no later than 11:59 p.m. on Blackboard the Monday before class.

5.      Midterm Synthesis Paper                             Points Possible: 200 Points

The purpose of the Midterm Synthesis Paper is to give you an opportunity to synthesize what you have learned in the first half of the class. The format will be 10-12 pages, double-spaced and include APA format and citations. The Midterm Synthesis Paper is worth 20% of your grade. Assignments will be turned in no later than 11:59 p.m. on Blackboard the Monday before class.

6.      Final                                                               Points Possible: 200 Points

The purpose of the Final is to give you an opportunity to synthesize what you have learned in the second half of the class. The Final is worth 20% of your grade. The format will be determined at a later date.

Grading:

The course grade is based on a 1000-point total following the university scale.  All work will be evaluated and given relevant comments.

Required Course Activities                                                              Points Possible

Attendance                                                                                         100 points

Participation                                                                                        100 points

Quizzes                                                                                               300 points

Assignment Paper                                                                               100 points

Midterm Synthesis Paper                                                                    200 points

Final                                                                                                    200 points                

            Total Points Possible:                                                                        1000 Points

Grade Values:

Assignment Paper:                            Due 9/20 at 11:59pm via Blackboard

The format for the Assignment Paper is as follows: double-spaced, 12 point font, APA format and citations 5-7 pages of research-based papers with suggested topics provided. The Assignment Paper is each worth 10% of your total grade.

Topics:

·         If you were a CIO, in what ways would you partner with other divisions and/or vendors to increase the time you devote to driving innovation within the business?

·         In a fast-moving business environment, how can today’s CIO make the biggest impact on behalf of the entire organization?

·         Outline examples of IT efforts that run, grow or transform the business it serves.

Midterm Synthesis Paper:                Due 10/18 at 11:59pm via Blackboard

The purpose of the Midterm Synthesis Paper is to give you an opportunity to synthesize what you have learned in the first half of the class. The Midterm Synthesis Paper is an individual paper. The format will be 10-12 pages, double-spaced with APA format and citations. The Midterm Synthesis Paper is worth 20% of the total grade.

            Topics: (Choose one or submit another topic for approval)

·         Research IT standards bodies and outline one in depth.

·         With the increased functionality of mobile devices will employees require a personal computer in one year or five years? What personal computing and communication choices will companies use to meet their employee needs? To formulate your answer you may choose to categorize different topics of employees (i.e. clerical, road warriors, managers, etc.)

·         Compare and contrast business intelligence with business analytics and explain why they are important to a company?

Weekly Schedule:

Week 1           8/31     Monday                       Course Outline, Expectations, Assignments & Plagiarism

                        9/2       Wednesday                 Current Information Technology Issues and IT Leadership Strategy

Week 2           9/7       Monday                       No Class: Labor Day

                        9/9       Wednesday                 Fiscal Management

Week 3           9/14     Monday                       Project Management

                        9/16     Wednesday                 Project Management

Week 4           9/21     Monday                       IT Standards Bodies

                        9/23     Wednesday                 Information Technology Security

Week 5           9/28     Monday                       Information Technology Security Continued

                        9/30     Wednesday                 Introduction to Data Management

Week 6           10/5     Monday                       Introduction to Data Management Continued

                        10/7     Wednesday                 Business Intelligence

Week 7           10/12   Monday                       Introduction to Hadoop Architecture and Big Data Environment

                        10/14   Wednesday                 Introduction to Hadoop Architecture and Big Data Environment

Week 8           10/19   Monday                       Comparison of Hadoop Distributions and Hadoop on the Cloud

10/21   Wednesday                 Comparison of Hadoop Distributions and Hadoop on the Cloud

Week 9           10/26   Monday                       Hadoop Hands on Activity

                        10/28   Wednesday                 Hadoop Hands on Activity – Present PowerPoint

Week 10         11/2     Monday                       Cloud Computing: Defining the Cloud

                        11/4     Wednesday                 Cloud Computing: Defining the Cloud

Week 11         11/9     Monday                       Cloud Virtualization

                        11/11   Wednesday                 No Class: Veterans Day

Week 12         11/16   Monday                       Top Cloud Players: AWS, VmWare, Microsoft

                        11/18   Wednesday                 Top Cloud Players: AWS, VmWare, Microsoft

Week 13         11/23   Monday                       Top Cloud Players: Oracle, Google

                        11/25   Wednesday                 No Class: Thanksgiving Break

Week 14         11/30   Monday                       Cloud Hands on Activity

                        12/2     Wednesday                 Cloud Hands on Activity and Discussion (Worksheet due)

Week 15         12/7     Monday                       Assessing your Current Environment

                        12/9     Wednesday                 Entrance into the Cloud

Finals Week   TBA                           

University Disability Policy:

University policy 3342-3-01.3 requires that students with disabilities be provided reasonable accommodations to ensure their equal access to course content. If you have a documented disability and require accommodations, please contact the instructor at the beginning of the semester to make arrangements for necessary classroom adjustments. Please note, you must first verify your eligibility for these accommodations through Student Accessibility Services (contact 330-672-3391 or visit http://www.kent.edu/sas/index.cfm for more information on registration procedures).

Academic Honesty:

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.   In addition, it is considered to be cheating when one cooperates with someone else in any such misrepresentation.  The use of the intellectual property of others without giving them appropriate credit is a serious academic offense.  It is the University's policy that cheating or plagiarism result in receiving a failing grade for the work or course.  Repeat offenses result in dismissal from the University.

Enrollment and Registration:

Students have responsibility to ensure they are properly enrolled in classes.  You are advised to review your official class schedule (using Student Tools on FlashLine) during the first two weeks of the semester to ensure you are properly enrolled in this class and section.  Should you find an error in your class schedule, you have until September 13, 2015 to correct the error.  If registration errors are not corrected by this date and you continue to attend and participate in classes for which you are not officially enrolled, you are advised now that you will not receive a grade at the conclusion of the semester for any class in which you are not properly registered.

Withdrawal Deadline:

The last day to withdraw from the course is November 8, 2015.

Syllabus Adjustments:

Note that changes and/or adjustments to the syllabus may be required based on various scheduling issues, student progress, class content, or other circumstances.  Your patience with the necessary flexibility of this schedule and syllabus is appreciated.  These decisions are made with serious consideration and only when necessary.  They are implemented for the benefit of the students and overall success of the course.