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MIS 201 Fundamentals of Information Systems
Syllabus

Syllabus

MIS 201 – Fundamentals of Information Systems
Semester
Fall 2014 / Day of Week/Time
Lecture: Tuesday 01:00PM - 02:40PM
Lab A: Thursday 11:00AM - 12:40AM
Lab B: Thursday 01:00PM - 02:40PM
Dr. Michael zur Muehlen
Stevens Institute of Technology
Howe School of Technology Management
Babbio 426
Lab instructors:
Yue Han & Patrick Lohmann /
Office Hours:
Schedule appointments via:
http://mzm_stevens.youcanbook.me
Class Website:
http://moodle.stevens.edu

Catalog Description

This course provides an introduction to systems and development concepts, information technology and application software. It explains how information is used in organizations and the effects IT has on the organization’s structure, processes, employees, customers, and suppliers. In addition, the course describes how IT enables improvement in quality, timeliness, and competitive advantage. Structure and functions of computers and telecommunications systems are also examined.

Overview

Information Systems permeate our personal and professional lives. From apps on your smartphone to large scale systems that handle millions of stock trades every day on the New York Stock Exchange, Information Systems help organizations execute their processes, deliver products and services, organize data and make better decisions. This course begins with a fundamental discussion of the components of information systems and takes participants through the components of Information Systems, leading to various use cases of Information Systems in business settings. The course is complemented by an Excel lab that teaches participants how to master the most popular office application in today’s businesses.

Relationship of Course to Rest of Curriculum

MIS 201 is a core course in the BS in Business curriculum. It is a precursor to many Information Systems related courses that can be taken later in the curriculum, for instance BT 416 – Business Process Management, BT 421 – Systems Analysis & Design, BT 460 – IT Strategy, and BT 330 – Database Management.

Learning Goals

The learning goals of this course are ordered according to Bloom’s Taxonomy:
1.  Knowledge: Students will be conversant in the terms used to describe, analyze, and improve Information Systems in organizations.
2.  Comprehension: Students will be able to understand the difference between transactional and decision-making Information Systems.
3.  Application: Students will be able to use a common office Information System (Excel).
4.  Analysis: Students will be able to identify the requirements for a specific information system and express these requirements in a form usable by Information Technology professionals.
5.  Synthesis: Students will be able to apply the concepts learned during the lecture in the lab using different IT platforms.
6.  Evaluation: Students will be able to determine the advantages and disadvantages of different Information Systems for a specific application.
7.  Students will improve their ability to communicate in group and presentation settings.

Pedagogy

§  Lecture
§  Lab, using hands-on student exercises with Office Information Systems
§  Case Studies
§  Guest speakers from industry (if available)
§  Student individual assignments in the lab
§  Midterm & Final
§  Readings from texts and selected relevant articles and publications

Required Texts

§  Gallaugher, John: Information Systems: A Managers Guide to Harnessing Technology. ISBN 978-1-9361260-6-4 Available at http://open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/BookDetail.aspx?bookId=16
§  Burgeois, David T.: Information Systems for Business and Beyond. Available at http://open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/BookDetail.aspx?bookId=189
Both are Open Textbooks, the PDFs are available for download at the above URLs.
Chapters are mapped to lecture weeks for reference.
§  Professor’s slides (will be updated throughout the semester)

Recommended Text for the Lab

§  Manzo, Joseph: How to Use Microsoft Excel. ISBN 978-1-4533223-6-9. Available at http://open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/BookDetail.aspx?bookId=70

Software

–  Microsoft Office Excel
–  Firefox or Chrome Web Browser
–  Twitter account

Assignments

Assignments / Due /
Lab Assignments / Week 2-13
Midterm / Week 8
Final / Week 15

Grading

Grading for each deliverable will be done on a scale from 0-100. The final grade will be computed based on the weighting of the deliverables according to the following resolution:

Points (100 scale) / Grade / Types of Assignments / Final Grade Weight
95-100 / A / Individual Assignments / 40
90-94 / A- / Midterm / 20
85-89 / B+ / Final / 30
80-84 / B / Reliability and Participation / 10
75-79 / B- / Total Grade / 100
70-74 / C+
65-69 / C
60-64 / C-
50-59 / D
0-49 / F

Ethical Conduct

Stevens Honor System: Enrollment into the undergraduate class of Stevens signifies a student’s commitment to the Honor System. It is the responsibility of each student to become acquainted with and to uphold the ideals set forth in the Honor System Constitution. All students are reminded that, as a condition of being admitted to Stevens, they will uphold and adhere to the standards of the Stevens Honor System. Specific student responsibilities include:
·  Maintaining honesty and fair play in all aspects of academic life at Stevens
·  Writing and signing the pledge, in full, on all submitted academic work
·  Reporting any suspected violations to an Honor Board member or to the Dean of Undergraduate Academics
·  Cooperating with the Honor Board during investigations and hearings

Course Schedule

Lecture/
Lab /

Title

/ Description / Assignment
Due / Reading /
Week 1
08/26/14
Lecture /

Introduction

/ What will you learn?
§  Overview of the course
§  Information, Systems
and Information Systems
§  Creating Competitive Advantage
through Information Systems / §  Bourgeois, Ch 1
§  Gallaugher, Ch 1
08/28/14
Lab / Excel Introduction / Introduction to Microsoft Excel, Basic Excel Layout, Navigation
(Yue & Patrick)
Week 2
09/02/14
Lecture / The one with the iPad / Why doesn’t my iPad App work on my Galaxy Tab?
§  Hardware vs Software
§  Operating Systems and Applications
§  Lock In vs Open Source / §  Bourgeois, Ch 2 & 3
§  Gallaugher Ch 2, 9
09/04/14
Lab / Excel
Lab / Basic Math, Relative & Absolute Cell Referencing (Yue)
Week 3
09/09/14
Lab / Excel
Lab / Data & Text Manipulation, Auto & Flash Fill, Freeze & Lock Panes (Patrick)
09/11/14
Lecture / The one with the Bestseller / How does a book end up on Amazon?
§  Data Management and Modeling / Assignment 1 / §  Bourgeois, Ch 4
Week 4
09/16/14
Lecture / Excel
Lab / Add or subtract Time, Conditional Formatting (Yue)
09/18/14
Lab / The one with the Diet / How do databases enable decision-making?
§  Databases and Web Applications / Assignment 2 / §  Bourgeois, Ch 4
§  Gallaugher, Ch 4
Week 5
09/23/14
Lecture / The one with the Skype Call / How does a Skype Call work?
§  Networks, Infrastructure and Protocols / §  Bourgeois, Ch 5
§  Gallaugher Ch 5
09/25/14
Lab / Excel
Lab / Integrating Data across Files, Drop-Down Lists (Patrick) / Assignment 3
Week 6
09/30/14
Lecture / The one with the Queen / What is Cybersecurity?
§  Information Safety vs Information Security
§  Data Encoding and Encryption / ·  Bourgeois, Ch 6
10/02/14
Lab / Excel
Lab / Pivot Tables (Patrick) / Assignment 4
Week 7
10/08/14
Lecture / The one with the Flight / How do businesses use Social Media?
§  Social Networks and Network Data
§  Micro-blogging and its application / §  Gallaugher Ch. 6.4, 6.5, 7
10/09/14
Lab / Excel
Lab / Advanced Functions (Yue) / Assignment 5
Week 8
10/14/14 / No Class – Monday Schedule
10/16/14
Lab / Excel
Lab / Lab Review Session
(Yue & Patrick) / Assignment 6
Week 9
10/21/14
Lecture / The one with the Amazon / How do Information Systems support Business Processes?
§  CRM, SCM, and PLM Processes
§  Workflow Systems / Midterm / §  Bourgeois, Ch 8
10/23/14
Lab / Excel
Lab / Macro Programming I (Patrick)
Week 10
10/28/14
Lecture / The one with the NASDAQ / How do Information Systems support Financial Services?
§  Transactional vs Batch Processes
§  Typical Systems in Financial Services Companies
10/30/14
Lab / Scary Excel / Macro Programming II (Yue) / Assignment 7
Week 11
11/04/14
Lecture / The one with the Election / How have Information Systems been used in political campaigns?
§  Data Mining
§  E-mail marketing
§  Micro-targeting
§  Social media
11/06/14
Lab / R
Lab / Introduction to R (Yue) / Assignment 8
Week 12
11/11/14
Lecture / The one with the Angry Bird / How is Software Developed?
§  Software development models
§  Requirements Engineering
§  Software re-use / ·  Bourgeois, Ch 10
11/13/14
Lab / R
Lab / Do more with R (Patrick) / Assignment 9
Week 13
11/18/14
Lecture / The on with the Tile / How can Information Systems help me find my car keys?
§  The Internet of Things
§  RFID and NFC
11/20/14
Lab / R
Lab / Do even more with R (Yue)
Week 14
11/25/14
Lecture / The one with the City / How can we integrate Information Systems
§  IS Design vs. Urban Planning
§  The role of Standards
11/27/13 / No Lab – Thanksgiving Holiday / Assignment 10
Week 15
12/02/14
Lecture / Group Presentations / §  Presentation of your Group Project
12/04/14
Lab / Course Recap / Prepare for the Final Exam (Yue & Patrick)
Exam Week
12/09/14
Exam / Final Exam / Show what you learned / Final (In Class)

All assignments are due as noted on Moodle.

In fairness to others, late work will be penalized 10% per day overdue.

Castle Point on Hudson, Hoboken, New Jersey 07030 / www.stevens.edu