| MIDS 409 Information design & management Information Systems Department Weatherhead School of Management Case Western Reserve University |
Today it is self-evident that information and information technology are fundamental to the practice of management. The information design and management component of the MBA curriculum is designed to improve your understanding of both information and the technology that supports it. Information and information systems support all business functions. From their genesis as automated accounting systems, information systems have evolved to become the core of (and sometimes the impediment to) many organizations’ competitive strategies. We will study both the challenges and the opportunities that are the result of this pervasiveness.
Information systems are among the most complex systems in the world. As a consequence people who have studied them have learned lessons that are applicable to other complex systems, such as economies and organizations. We will approach our understanding of information systems in a way that will keep an eye out for techniques and insights that generalize to these.We will investigate the strategic and operational use and value of information and information technology in organizations. More specifically we will explore the role of information technology in the strategy and management of organizations, and develop the skills to assess the opportunities and challenges that result. Secondarily, the course should help you become fluent with and comfortable addressing the issues relating to the management of the IT function and its resources.
We will achieve these broad objectives by developing some specific skills. In the course of the semester you’ll gain concrete experience in:
- Making and using systems maps to think about complex situations
- Applying a systematic approach to project planning and execution
- Using graphics to assist in thinking and communicating about complex situations
- Developing and evaluating principles for the use of information technology
- Evaluating and improving business cases for information systems projects
- Preparing and making presentations
- Developing an historical perspective on technology and business
- Using the Internet and other resources for ongoing professional development
Materials
All of the materials for this course are available from the course website.
Textbooks have gotten quite expensive. I found prices on Amazon of $115.62 through $142.20 for some of the standard books used in the field. Much of the material contained in them is available in more useful forms on the Internet.
Textbooks can be helpful, though, particularly when you are having trouble understanding basic ideas. You can find used copies of good IS texts on the Internet (including at Amazon), sometimes for as little as $4.00. I have also placed copies of current editions on reserve in the library.
Steven Alter, Information Systems: The Foundation of E-Business (Fourth Edition), Prentice Hall, 2002. This text has two organizing ideas—the work system framework and a four phase model for building and maintainng systems. It is a pragmatically oriented book that sees information systems as a critical element of business, but works at always keeping the context in which they are used clearly in focus. In addition to its two organizing themes, it is among the best of the texts on security and controls.
Gary W. Dickson and Gerardine DeSanctis, Information Technology and the Future Enterprise: New Models for Managers, Prentice-Hall, 2001. This book is out of print, but still a great resource. Each chapter was written by a different scholar or group of scholars in the field. As a consequence it discussions are more nuanced and subtle than is typical in textbooks. I like this book a great deal and recommend it as an especially good supplement to this course. It brings together some of the best researchers in the information systems field. Since the article are targetted specifically at this audience, they are both relevant and free of jargon and shorthand.
Steven R. Gordon and Judith R. Gordon, Information Systems: A Management Approach (Third Edition), Wiley, 2004. This book uses a stage model as its organizing device. The stages are diagnosis, evaluation, design and implementation. The chapters are organized around diagnosis, evaluation, design and implementation.
Leonard Jessup and Joseph Valacich, Information Systems Today: Why IS Matters (Second Edition), Pearson Prentice Hall, 2006. This text is oriented to helping students understand where things are going in information systems. It take a “painting the big picture” approach, identifying trends and looking for enduring themes. Some of the basics are well-treated in the appendices. If you are already pretty familiar with information systems, this is a good choice for refreshing and extending your knowledge.
Kenneth C. Laudon and Jane P. Laudon, Managemenet Information Systems: Managing the Digital Firm (Ninth Edition), Pearson Prentice Hall, 2006. This text organizes the material into four sections. In the first information systems are embedded in the context of organizations. The next section describes the components that make up information technology. The third section is applications oriented. The management of information systems makes up the final section.
Keri E. Pearlson and Carol S. Saunders, Managing and Using Information Systems: A Strategic Approach (Second Edition), John Wiley & Sons, 2004. This is the book that I have used in recent semesters of the course. It focuses on what a manager needs to know to participate intelligently in information systems decisions. There is a student companion site available to support this text.
Gerald V. Post and David L. Anderson, Management Information Systems: Solving Business Problems with Information Technology (Fourth Edition), McGraw-Hill Irwin, 2006. This text is organized into four sections—information technology infrastructure, operations, tactics and strategies, and organizing businesses and systems. There is an emphasis on solving problems and learning to use the right technology for the job. If you are wanting to make better personal use of technologies in your role as a manager, this might be a good choice.
James A. Senn, Information Technology: Principles, Pratices, Opportunities (Third Edition), Pearson Prentice Hall, 2004. This text attempts to reach beyond the current state of technology, preparing students for the future through the use of principles. It provides lots of examples of practice. It is the most technology oriented and least organizationally oriented of the texts listed here.
Efraim Turban, Dorothy Leidner, Ephraim McLean and James Wetherbe, Information Technology for Management: Transforming Organizations in the Digital Economy (Fifth Edition), Wiley, 2006. This is among the broadest of the text and takes a forward-looking perspective.
Several other texts may be of interest to those who already have a mastery of the basic material of the course.
Lynda M. Applegate, F. Warren McFarlan and James L. McKenney, Corporate Information Systems Strategy and Management: Text and Cases (Sixth Edition), Irwin McGraw-Hill, 2002. As the title suggests this book is strategy oriented. It will be useful to those looking for a higher-level view of the issues addressed in the other texts.
Jerry N. Luftman, Managing the Information Technology Resurce: Leadership in the Information Age, Pearson Prentice Hall, 2004. This book was written to integrate the strategic, tactical and operational roles of the CIO.
Barbara C. McNurlin and Ralph H. Sprague, Jr., Information Systems Management in Practice (Seventh Edition), Pearson Prentice Hall, 2006 is written to be a follow-on to a basic information systems course. It will be of use to those who have taken a basic IS course, or mastered the ideas on their own, and want some additional depth.
Evaluation
Grades will be based on the following:
- Contribution to discussions10%
- Midterm exam 25%
- Technology talk 15%
- Semester project 25%
- Final exam 25%
This is a discussion-based course. Discussion pedagogy is effective when the educational objectives include the development of qualities of mind (curiosity, judgment, wisdom), qualities of person (character, sensitivity, integrity, responsibility), and development of the ability to apply general concepts and knowledge to specific situations. Most issues around the use of information technology in organizations do not present themselves in neat packages with clear boundaries. Nor do they usually arrive with pre-defined decision criteria. Instead they often involve difficult choices since they are not so much about the technologies as they are about people and organizational structures.
Discussion also has the advantage that it puts both students and professors in an active learning mode. It challenges each of us to accept substantial responsibility for our own learning and it gives us first-hand appreciation of, and experience with, the application of knowledge to practice. Students are encouraged to draw upon their knowledge and experience to build, test and modify management theories that they can then make their own.
For some class meetings I have provided suggestions for preparing. While I am not asking you to hand these in, I do find that the discussions are richer and more productive when people do these exercises in written form as part of their preparation. In any case you are expected to prepare for the discussion whether you use that method or some other.
In addition to classroom participation, everyone in this class is expected to spend at least seven hours during the course of the semester participating in threaded discussions on Blackboard.
The quality of your input is more important than the quantity.
Technology Talk
Working in a group of three to five, you should investigate an emerging information technology or industry trend and make a presentation about it to the class. Your presentation should include a discussion of the technology or trend, a layman’s description of how it works (if appropriate), an analysis of its potential value to organizations, and a discussion of its limitations, costs, and so forth. Budget about 30 minutes for the session including time for questions and discussion.
Information Systems Assessment
Your goal for this project is to critically evaluate an existing system and make suggestions for its improvement. You will need to contact an organization and interview people within it to complete this assignment.
The exact shape and content of your project is left rather open-ended so that you can pursue the most interesting features of your chosen system in the most appropriate way. Your objective is to analyze the system you are studying in search of insights and general lessons about management, organizations, and information systems, as well as specific recommendations for improving the system being studied. This means you will fist analyze the organization (task, technology structure, strategy, etc.) the management process (power, politics, style, culture, etc.) and the environment (competitors, regulation, economics, customers, suppliers, etc.), in order to locate the information system you are studying in its larger (systems) context.
You will also be expected to describe the information system, what is does, what services it provides, how it functions, how it was designed and implemented, etc.
Finally, you should make a critical assessment of the information system. Is it effective and efficient? Does it meet what you see as the critical success factors of the role or functions? Does it play a strategic role for the organization? Are there missed opportunities to add value to the organization? Are there opportunities for re-engineering the function, role or system to improve its human or economic value?
Academic Integrity
All students in this course are expected to adhere to university standards of academic integrity. Cheating, plagiarism, and other forms of academic dishonesty will not be tolerated in this course. This includes, but is not limited to, consulting with another person during an exam, turning in written work that was prepared by someone other than you, and making minor modifications to the work of someone else and turning it in as your own. Ignorance will not be permitted as an excuse. If you are not sure whether something you plan to submit would be considered either cheating or plagiarism, it is your responsibility to ask for clarification. Either ask me about it or consult credible sources of information on the subject. Two useful internet sites that discuss these matters are Indiana University’s Writing Tutorial Services and UNC at Chapel Hill’s Writing Center. Please remember that you have agreed to Standards Regarding Academic Integrity which outlines your responsibility in greater detail.