Course Information                                                                           Spring 2009

Course title: Using Information Systems for Solving Business Problems                   

Course number:  M&IS 34054 section 001

CRN: 10791

Course description:  This course is a continuation of M&IS 24053 and provides students with further study of use of information systems in solving business problems.

Location: BSA 206                         Meeting day:  W      Meeting time: 5:30-8:15 PM

Instructor Information

Name:  Janet Formichelli, MS 

E-mail:  jformich@kent.edu 

Office location:  BSA A410 

Office hours: TR 2:30-4:30, W 4:15-5:15

Phone:  330-672-1159 (e-mail preferred)

Prerequisite: M&IS 24053

This course is only open to business management majors during the initial registration period. If space is available after the initial registration period, the course is open to any business major on a first-come first-serve basis. This course will not count toward a CIS major or minor.

Enrollment: Students have responsibility to ensure they are properly enrolled in classes.  You are advised to review your official class schedule (using Student Tools/Flashfast) 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 Friday, January 30, 2009 to correct the error with your advising office.  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.

Course Goals:  To gain knowledge of information systems necessary for management. To use this knowledge to solve business problems. To complete projects using common business application software. 

Summary of key components of the course:

·         Role of information systems in the organization

·         Securing information systems

·         Ethical and social issues surrounding use of information systems

·         Types and components of system hardware

·         Types of software, languages and business applications

·         Managing data resources

·         Telecommunications and networks

·         Enterprise systems, supply chain management systems, customer relationship management systems

·         Internet and information systems infrastructure

·         Knowledge management, knowledge workers and artificial intelligence

·         HTML

o   Basic formatting, font formatting, links, unordered and ordered lists, tables, images, style sheets

·         Web site

o   Creating a Web site on the Kent server and adding to it as new HTML and JavaScript concepts are learned

·          Access

o   Creating a database, using tables, forms, queries and reports

o   Establishing a relationship between two tables

·         Excel

o   Using Solver in Excel

Textbook: Kenneth C. and Jane P. Laudon, Essentials of Management Information Systems, Prentice-Hall, Eighth Edition, 2007, ISBN-13: 978-0-13-602579-5

Software: For some of our assignments we’ll use Microsoft Office 2007 software. It is available on all computers in the labs in BSA.

You can also get a free 60-day trial version of Office 2007 at:           

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/products/HA101741481033.aspx  

Microsoft also offers an excellent price for students, $60, at this site:

http://www.microsoft.com/student/discounts/theultimatesteal-us/default.aspx

In contrast the university’s discounted price is $80. That site is:

http://elms10.e-academy.com/kent

WebCT    

The WebCT Vista site, http://vista.kent.edu, will basically manage the course. The syllabus, assignments, Power Point slides, and other course information will be found there. If you need help with Vista, there is a link to Learning with Vista—Student Training Modules on the MyWebCT page.

E-mail

When there are schedule changes or other announcements, the instructor will e-mail you using your KSU e-mail address. Check this frequently. If you commonly use another address, forward your Kent e-mail to that address. You can do this easily on the Kent Help Desk site at: http://helpdesk.kent.edu/faq/Email/fmail/

To e-mail the instructor use: jformich@kent.edu . Do not e-mail the instructor at WebCT.

Course Requirements

1.    5 assignments: (25 points each): 125 points

2.    Oral team presentation: 25 points

3.    3 course exams: (50 points each): 150 points

4.    Final exam (comprehensive):  100 points

Attendance

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 help during office hours or by e-mail if you do not attend class regularly.

Homework Assignments

Assignments are to be submitted to WebCT. Absence from class is not an excuse for not having submitted the assignment. You may re-submit assignments up to the time the assignment is due with no penalty. After that, late assignments will be penalized 10% per day (not per class session). Assignments can not be submitted after one week beyond the due date.

Make-up Exams

Make-up exams are given only under extraordinary circumstances. Inform the instructor as soon as possible (ideally before the exam). Some form of written excuse for absence from an exam is required.

Academic Honesty

College of Business Policy

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.  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.

Course Policy

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 that 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.

Grading Scale

This scale is followed closely. There is no rounding up if you are close.

There is no extra credit.

A         (4.0)                93-100

A-        (3.7)                90-92

B+       (3.3)                87-89

B         (3.0)                83-86

B-        (2.7)                80-82

C+       (2.3)                77-79

C         (2.0)                73-76

C-        (1.7)                70-72

D+       (1.3)                67-69

D         (1.0)                60-66

F          (0.0)                0-59

Students with Disabilities

University policy 3342-3-18 requires that students with disabilities be provided

reasonable accommodations to ensure their equal access 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 through the Student Accessibility Services (contact 330-672-3391 or visit www.kent.edu/sas for more information on registration procedures).