OMIS 351
Information Systems in Organizations
Northern Illinois University – Spring 2024
|
Professor: Chuck
Downing |
|
Office: Barsema
328 O |
|
Office Hours: Best way to reach me is via e-mail. In our 100% online format,
Dr. Downing will aggressively monitor email questions from students M-F, and
promises a 48 hour or less response.
Dr. Downing will also arrange Teams/Facetime/phone call interactions
as necessary. Dr. Downing
will also be available for IMMEDIATE RESPONSE and/or live on Blackboard
Collaborate or Microsoft Teams (by email request): Monday
7:30-9:30 a.m., or by appointment. |
|
Phone:
753-6381 E-Mail:
cdowning@niu.edu |
Web
Page: ChuckDowning.com (can also connect
through BlackBoard)
Course Premise:
As technical advances in Information
Technology (IT) proceed at a rapid pace, business managers are continually
challenged to plot the most appropriate course for IT usage. Whereas past Information Technology was primarily used for automating mundane
tasks, current applications are expected to serve the broader business goals of
the organization as well.
Your success as a business
manager will be strongly affected by your ability to make informed and
intelligent decisions regarding your organization's IT direction and
usage. You will undoubtedly be called
upon to participate in acquisition and design decisions, monitoring and
evaluation activities, and resource allocation for existing and proposed
systems.
This course will revisit the
basic components and concepts of Information Technology from a managerial
end user perspective, so that a dialogue can be conducted in which past
(and proposed future) IT management techniques can be examined. Actual examples/cases of IT successes and
failures in the business world will be analyzed, emphasizing those techniques
that have:
improved the
organization's competitive position
supported the
organization's strategic initiative
assisted
management's decision-making, and/or
played a key
role in the process or structural reengineering of the organization.
Generalizations from these
cases applicable to other organizations and circumstances will be
discussed. Finally, there will be hands
on experience in Web site creation, SAP, and Microsoft Office products, with
emphasis on Access and Excel, further illustrating the concepts above.
Course Objectives:
·
Understand the role of data, information, and
information systems within organizations.
·
Use strategic frameworks to analyze the role of
information systems inside and outside of organizations.
·
Understand hardware, software, telecommunications,
data management and security concepts.
·
Understand the role of CRM, ERP, SCM, Electronic
Commerce and other collaborative partnerships.
·
Understand IT-enabled Process Improvement.
·
Understand systems creation, obtainment, and
modification options including development, project management, and
outsourcing.
·
Create and use Web pages.
·
Create and use relational databases for business
intelligence.
·
Understand, create and use spreadsheet-based
decision making tools.
·
Understand SAP and its role in global business
information.
·
Understand and use SAP to manage the sales
fulfillment process and create a document delivery flow.
COURSE
STRUCTURE:
This
is a 100% online course. Check the
online Course Schedule often to check what is due that week.
STUDENT-FACULTY
INTERACTION: Specific questions for the
instructor should be sent to the instructor’s NIU email (not through the
Blackboard course messages tools). You
can expect an instructor response within 2 business days, generally sooner, with
business days being Monday through Friday 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. CT.
TECHNOLOGY:
You
are expected to be able to connect to the Internet, YouTube, and the Blackboard
learning management system. Given the
proliferation of connected devices, no extensions will be given due to
technology failures. You are expected to
be able to find a new device/connection should your current device/connection
fail. If you need suggestions on where
and how to connect, please contact the course instructor.
If you
experience technical issues with components of the course, the following two
steps are to be followed:
1) Email ServiceDesk@niu.edu (or call 815-753-8100) with a detailed
explanation of the issue, the course component it occurred in, and what
attempts have been made to rectify the issue.
2) Notify the instructor of the same details.
Textbooks & Materials:
Gallaugher. Information Systems: A
Manager’s Guide To Harnessing Technology,
v 9.1.
ISBN: 978-1-4533-4169-8
Available online through our course web site.
GRADING:
The percentage breakdown of your final grade is as
follows:
15% Class Participation
15% Virtual Case Assignments
35% Seven Quizzes (one drop permitted)
35% Final Exam
Grades are assigned as follows:
Above 93.5%: A
Above 89.5%: A-
Above 86.5%: B+
Above 83.5%: B
Above 79.5%: B-
Above 76.5%: C+
Above 69.5%: C
Above 59.5%: D
59.5% or lower:
F
All
of your grades will be posted online throughout the semester. It is your responsibility to check these for
accuracy. Disputes
concerning this data will only be considered which are one deep…
meaning, for example, if you have a compelling argument that something was
incorrectly scored with a quiz, we will listen to that and resolve the
issue. HOWEVER, if you notify us that
something was incorrectly scored with the previous TWO (or more) quizzes, we
will not consider anything further in the past than the most recent quiz. SO, check your grade data often.
CLASS PARTICIPATION:
Participation
will primarily be measured using performance on Participation Quizzes which are
given once per unit. Participation
Quizzes will be open for the entire two weeks of the unit, and can be taken as
many times as a student wants (we will automatically take your highest
score). Students can also affect their
Participation Grade using Discussion Board posts, Discussion Board responses,
and helping other students. Your
classmates need to login to the Student Help System to give you points when you
help them with course material. Each
time someone helps you, you should login to the Help System (bottom left of
class web page), and give that person 1 (change from 1/2 on the dropdown)
point. Participation Grades increase
based on Helper Points received as an extra Participation Quiz divided by 10
(so if you receive 10 points you have a 100% extra Participation Quiz factored
into your grade). Note: If you do not help classmates and have low
Helper Points, that will be used as your drop.
You should help your classmates!!
Any student who receives 10 or more points from classmates for helping
during the semester becomes a Gold Helper and can request a letter of
recommendation from Dr. Downing for whatever that student needs, even after
class is over. Each student gets to drop the lowest Participation Quiz score
(percentage-wise), and there are no make-ups.
For Final Grade purposes, Participation caps at 100 (so if you have 110%
Participation, which is possible with Helper Points, your Final Grade would be
calculated using 100% for Participation).
Participation points can only be
received up to 5:00 p.m. of Friday of the last week (week before the Final
Exam) of class.
VIRTUAL CASE ASSIGNMENTS:
There are seven Virtual Case (VC) assignments which are to be completed throughout the semester. The due dates are shown in the schedule, and the instructions for each assignment can be found on the course Web page. Often, you will have questions on these assignments. If you have read the text, read the online links and watched the videos, and tried to work through your issues, we are happy to answer your questions. HOWEVER, questions whose answers are readily available in the course materials will cost you 10 points each off of your VC assignment.
QUIZZES:
There are seven quizzes
throughout the semester, based primarily on the text readings, and also on any
assigned outside readings, and unit videos.
Quizzes will be available on Blackboard, and can be taken any time during
the week they are listed. However, you
will only have 30 minutes to complete the 25 question quiz. Quizzes are closed note and closed book, with
no classmate collaboration allowed.
Cheating on a unit quiz will result in a 0 for the first offense and
class failure for the second offense. A
zero will be given on any quiz missed and there will be no makeup's. The lowest quiz grade will be dropped for
each student. However, the "quiz
drop provision" is intended to assist those students who experience
circumstances beyond their control and must miss a quiz. While quizzes on which a student performs
poorly may also be dropped, it is not recommended that a student plan on using
the drop provision for that purpose. In
order to maintain grading consistency, special treatment cannot and will not be
given, under any circumstances. All
students are allowed to drop exactly one quiz.
Save your drop to make things easier on all of us!
FINAL EXAMINATION:
The final examination will be
a cumulative exam designed to be very similar to the quizzes. Think of it as a very long quiz.
STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES
If you need an accommodation
for this class, please contact the Disability Resource Center as soon as
possible. The DRC coordinates accommodations for students with disabilities. It
is located in the Campus Life Building, Suite 180, and can be reached at
815-753-1303 or drc@niu.edu.
Also, please contact me
privately as soon as possible so we can discuss your accommodations. Please
note that you will not be required to disclose your disability, only your
accommodations. The sooner you let me know your needs, the sooner I can assist
you in achieving your learning goals in this course.
EQUITY
STATEMENT
Northern
Illinois University strives to improve outcomes for all students by identifying
and removing barriers that disproportionately hinder the academic achievement
and student experience of historically and currently underserved populations.