Course Objectives

Paradoxically, however, it is a sad fact that organizational management often claim that they are unclear of the actual, 'bottom-line' benefits from IT, and that they have significant difficulties in managing and controlling expenditure and investment in IT. On the one hand, there is a recognition that IT is important, but on the other, there is confusion (and often suspicion) over the broad area of its management. This course seeks to clear up some of the confusion and suspicion. More specifically, the course is aimed at 'what every manager should know about IT in general and about managing IT in particular, in order to reap the benefits of this technology in his/her particular context'.

Because course students will have a variety of backgrounds and levels of expertise in IT, the aim is for each person to get something of value from the course. For the non-IT professional, the course will seek to provide an understanding of the nature of IT projects and how to manage such projects. For the IT professional, the aim is to better understand the perspective of the customer for which the IT projects are initiated.

The course assumes some modest level of understanding of IT (such as that provided in DISC 2373). Additionally, it draws heavily on practice in the field of information systems, and will have an organizational and managerial focus rather than a technical one. The course will, however, involve the exploration of a number of key technologies associated with advanced information systems.

The course will have a strong 'internet' flavor in that some of the sessions will be performed over the interent and students will be required to develop several HTML documents: a 'cool web sites' and 'home page', and a 'technology briefing paper'. Students are expected to have access to the internet.

After the course the students should be able to:

• assess the use and relative level of maturity of IT in a specific organization, especially in comparison to other companies
• assess the role of IT in products and potentially identify relevant new strategically important applications of IT in products/services
• analyze the role of IT in business processes reengineering and the way IT may be used to shape the 21st century organization
• understand the key issues involved in managing IT in any organization
• better appreciate some of the emerging technologies that are likely to have profound impacts on their respective organizations, e.g. client/server computing, the internet, groupware, ERP.

The course contains four modules: the Information Age; Information Technology; IT and the Organization; and Management of IT. Each focuses on a particular aspect of the general area of 'Information Systems'.

The following general topic areas will be covered:

o The IT revolution: key technologies, key issues
o IT and business strategy
o IT for competitive advantage
o IT legal issues
o Current Issues: IT outsourcing, business process reengineering, ERP
o Managing IT change and implementation
o IT performance and IT valuation
o Planning for the future

Classes will consist primarily of lectures and case discussions some of which will invlove the use of the internet as the delivery medium. A number of outside speakers will also address the class. The text, case studies, and assigned readings form an integral part of the course. Readings should be completed prior to the class for which they are assigned. Students must sign on to Webboard -- an internet software product which facilitates on-line discussions through the use of a standard web browser such as Netscape Navigator or Microsoft's Internet Explorer -- by January 31st. We will be using Webboard extensively during the term so it is imperative that all students sign on by this date. Students will be dropped from the class if they have not made the required posting by this date. Registered students can sign on by going to the DISC6341 Webboard site and providing the details requested in the Course Administration 'conference'. Once you have been recognized as a registered student in the course, you'll be allowed access to the various Webboard 'conferences'.

Student's grades in the course will be based on a number of group and individual assignments. Group assignments will constitute 55% of the grade; individual assignments will constitute the remaining 45%. There are three group assignments: a technology briefing worth 25%, an IS case study also worth 25%, and a case briefing worth 5%. The IS case study provides the student the opportunity to integrate course readings and assignments through the analysis of a real world IS setting in an organization. Working in teams, students will prepare a case study report on the internal workings of an actual IS department focusing on areas such as systems development, IS planning, IS architecture, and future developments. The Technology Briefing assignment is a group project providing students the opportunity to explore, in some detail, a particular information technology/application of their choosing. The Case Briefing is a brief report synthesizing the discussions on webboard on a particular set of teaching cases found in the Anderson book. Students will be divided into groups of 6 persons. Students will remain on their respective teams for the duration of the course.

Individual assignments embody three components: a final exam worth 30% of the overall grade; class participation worth 5%; and individual assignments worth 10%. The final exam will be a comprehensive exam tying together all the material covered in the course. Class participation will be based on the student's contribution to group discussions associated with the lectures and cases assigned in the class. Lastly, individual assignments relate to home page and cool web site development.

Assessment
 

Home Page / Cool Web Sites	Value: 10%	Due: March 1, 2000
Technology Briefing Paper	Value: 25%	Due: March 20, 2000
IS Case Study	Value: 25%	Due: April 26, 2000
Final Exam	Value: 30%	Due: May 1, 2000
Case Briefing and Class Participation	Value: 10%

Course Texts

Management Information Systems, K. Laudon & J. Laudon, Prentice-Hall, 6^th ed., 2000

Managing Information Systems, D. Andersen, Prentice-Hall, 2000. (Case book)

Course Outline
 
 

0.

Introduction and Course Overview

Jan. 19, 2000

1.

The IT Revolution

Jan. 24

• organizational challenges associated with the information age

• what's hot: 'topics'
• what's hot: 'technologies'

• Tom Thumb [case] [handout]

5.

IT for Competitive Advantage

Feb. 7

• strategic application of IT

• Fast-Food Industry: McDonalds, Rainforest Café, Dave & Busters, Starbucks [cases]

• Travel Reservation Industry: American Express, SABRE [cases]

8.

IT architecture: Mainframes vs. Distributed Computing

Feb. 16

• client/server computing

internet tools

web authoring tools

• building your own web page (HTML)

• guest lecturer: Sam Baty (former CIO BFI)

• Wholesale Industry: Fisher Scientific, W.W. Grainger, US Robotics [cases]

• electronic commerce

• Specialty Retail Industry: Ben & Jerry's, The Gap, The Limited [cases]

• emergence of the intranet

• Entrepeneurial Industry: Amazon.com, Peapod [cases]

• the changing nature of systems development

• Government Industry: Denver International Airport, FAA [cases]

19.

Valuing IT / IT Performance

April 3

• the use of benchmarking to assess the value to IT

• the effective sourcing of IT (outsourcing, insourcing, sslective sourcing, cosourcing)

• Financial Services Industry: American National Bank, Fidelity Investments, MasterCard, Charles Schwab & Co. [cases]

• guest lecturer: Jim Stanton (Equiva Services)

• Package Delivery Industry: Federal Express, United Parcel Service [cases]

• guest lecturer: Kathy Mykytyn (UH)

 Course Readings

(Note: Required readings for each session are marked with an asterisk *)
 

1. The IT Revolution

B. Gates, Business @ The Speed of Thought: Using a Digital Nervous System, Warner Books, NY, 1999

E. Hargittai, "Radio's Lessons for the Internet", Communications of the ACM, 43(1), Jan. 2000, pp.51-57

D. Tapscott, Growing Up Digital: The Rise of the Net Generation, McGraw-Hill, NY, 1998

J. McKenney with D. Copeland, and R. Mason, Waves of Change: Business Evolution through Information Technology, Harvard Business School Press, 1994

S. Bradley, Hausman, J. and Nolan, R. (eds.), Globalization, Technology and Competition: The Fusion of Computers and Telecommuniations, Harvard Busines School Press, 1993

D. Marchand, W. Kettinger and J. Rollings, Information Orientation: The New Business Performance Metric, Oxford University Press, 2000

2. Key Issues in the Management of IT in Organizations

*Laudon & Laudon, Chapters 3, 14

M.L. Markus, "Thinking the Unthinkable: What happens if the IS field as we know it goes away?", in Rethinking MIS, Galliers, R. and Currie, W. (eds.), Oxford University Press, 1999, pp.175-203

J. Chandra, March, S., Mukherjee, S., Pape, W., Ramesh, R., Rao, H. and Waddoups, R., "Information Systems Frontiers", Communications of the ACM, 43(1), Jan. 2000, pp.71-79

J. Mingers and Stowell, F. (eds.), Information Systems: An Emerging Discipline?, McGraw-Hill, 1997

W. Yetter, "The End of Delegation? Information Technology and the CEO", Harvard Business Review, Sept-Oct., 1995, pp.160-169

S. Jarvenpaa and B. Ives, "The global network organization of the future: Information management opportunities and challenges", Journal of Management Information Systems, 10(4), Spring 1994

J. McKeen and H. Smith, Management Challenges in IS: Successful Strategies and Appropriate Action, J. Wiley & Sons, 1996
 

3. Challenges of the Information Age
4. History of Managing IT

*Tom Thumb case, written by Blake Ives

R. Nolan and D. Croson, Creative Destruction: A Six Stage Process for Transforming the Organization, Harvard Business School Press, 1995

McKenney, J., Mason, R., and Copeland, D., "Bank of America: The Crest and Trough of Technological Leadership", MIS Quarterly, Vol.21, No.3 September, 1997, pp.321-353.

T. Davenport, "Saving IT’s soul: Human-centered information management", Harvard Business Review, March/April 1994

S. Haeckel and R. Nolan, "Managing by Wire", Harvard Business Review, September/October 1993

P. Drucker, "The Coming of the New Organization", Harvard Business Review, January/February 1988

P. Drucker, "The information executives truly need", Harvard Business Review, January/February 1995

N. Augustine, "Managing the crisis you tried to prevent", Harvard Business Review, Nov-Dec. 1995
 

5. IT for Competitive Advantage

*Laudon & Laudon, Chapter 2

E. Clemons, "Information technology and the boundary of the firm: who wins, who loses, and who has to change", in S. Bradley, J. Hausman & R. Nolan, eds. Globalisation, Technology and Competition, Harvard Business School Press, 1993

W. Kettinger, V. Grover, S. Guha, and A. Segars, "Strategic information systems revisited: A study in sustainability and performance", MIS Quarterly, March 1994

M. Porter & V. Miller, "How information gives you competitive advantage", Harvard Business Review, , July-August, 1985

F.W. McFarlan, "Information technology changes the way you compete", Harvard Business Review, May-June, 1984

B. Konsynski & FW. McFarlan, "Information partnerships: shared data, shared scale", Harvard Business Review, Sept-Oct, 1990

C. Wiseman, Strategic Information Systems, Irwin, 1988
 

6. Strategic Thinking

*Anderson, Chapter 1

J. Ward  and P. Griffiths, Strategic Planning for Information Systems, 2nd ed., J. Wiley & Sons, 1996
 

7. Strategic Analysis

* Anderson, Chapter 11

N. Venkatraman, "IT-enabled business transformation: From automation to business scope redefinition", Sloan Management Review, Winter 1994

L. Groth, Future Organizational Design: The Scope for the IT-Based Enterprise, J. Wiley & Sons, 1999
 

8. IT Architecture: Client/Server Computing

*Laudon & Laudon, Chapter 9

A. Sinha, "Client/Server Computing", Communications of the ACM, July 1992

A. Bhattacherjee and R. Hirschheim, "Information technology and organizational change: Lessons from client/server computing," Journal of General Management, 23(2), Winter 1997

Datamation, special supplement on the best of client/server computing, Oct. 1, 1991. See also, the special issue on client/server computing, June 15, 1993

P. Smith, Client/Server Computing, SAMS Publishing, 1992

 
9 & 10. The Internet

P. McKeown and R. Watson, Metamorphosis: A Guide to the World Wide Web & Electronic Commerce, 2nd ed., J. Wiley & Sons, 1996

J. Verity, "The internet: how it will change the way you do business", Business Week, November 14, 1994

K. Pitter, et al., Every Student's Guide to the Internet, McGraw Hill, 1995

P. Carey and A. Ambrosia, The Internet - Illustrated, Course Technology, 1995

D. Barker and C-L. Barker, The World Wide Web - Illustrated, Course Technology, 1995
 

11. Telecommunications Infrastructure

G. Gilder, "Into the Telecosm", Harvard Business Review, March-April 1991

G. Bell and J. Gemmell, "On-ramp prospects for the information superhighway dream", Communications of the ACM, 39(7), July 1996

L. Streeter, R. Kraut, H. Lucas and L. Caby, "How open data networks influence business performance and market structures", Communications of the ACM, 39(7), July 1996

G. Silver and M. Silver, Data Communications for Business, Boyd & Fraser, 1994

G. Harvey, "Making the Information Highway Work", Business Quarterly, Spring 1994
 

12. Networks and Telecommunications

*Anderson, Chapter 6
 

13. Electronic Commerce

*Laudon & Laudon, Chapter 10

D. Tapscott, A. Lowy, and D. Ticoll, (eds.), Blueprint to the Digital Economy: Creating Wealth in the Era of E-Business, McGraw-Hill, 1998

P. Evans and T. Wurster, "Getting real about virtual commerce", Harvard Business Review, Nov-Dec. 1999, pp.85-94

J. C. Westland and T. Clark, Global Electronic Commerce: Theory and Case Studies, MIT Press, 1999

R. Kalakota and M. Robinson, e-Business: Roadmap for Success, Addison-Wesley, 1999

R. Kalakota and A. Whinston, Frontiers of Electronic Commerce, Addison-Wesley, 1996

M. Cronin, Doing Business on the Internet: How the Electronic Highway is Transforming American Companies, Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1994
 

14. Solving Problems with Ecommerce

*Anderson, Chapter 3

P. Timmers, Electronic Commerce: Strategies and Models for Business-to-Business Trading, J. Wiley & Sons, 1999

J. Rayport and J. Sviokla, "Managing in the marketspace", Harvard Business Review, Nov-Dec. 1994

J. Rayport and J. Sviokla, "Exploiting the virtual value chain", Harvard Business Review, Nov-Dec. 1995
 

15. Intranet

JSB Computer Systems Ltd., "The Intranet: A corporate revolution", http://www.intranet.co.uk/intranet/intranet.html

I/S Analyzer, "How to use intranets to support business applications, May 1996

The Alliance Analyzer, "The pull of the web", May 27, 1996
 

16. Personal and Organizational Connectivity: Groupware

*Laudon & Laudon, Chapter 15

*Anderson, Chapter 2

C. Ciborra (ed.), Groupware & Teamwork, J. Wiley & Sons, 1996

D. Coleman, "Groupware: technology and applications, an overview of groupware", http://www.collabra.com/articles/overview.htm see also "The Collaborative Organization" http://www.collabra.com/articles/cllbrtv.htm

L. Jessup and J. Valacich (eds.), Group Support Systems: New Perspectives, Macmillan, 1993

R. Johansen, "Groupware: Future directions and wild cards", Journal of Organizational Computing, 2(1), 1991

Communications of the ACM, special issue on Hypermedia, February 1994

R. Sprague, "Electronic document management", MIS Quarterly, March 1995

T. Finholt and L. Sproull, "Electronic groups at work", Organization Science, 1(1), 1990

L. Hindus, "What MIS should know about videoconferencing", Datamation, August 15, 1992

S. Opper and H. Fersko-Weiss, Technology for Teams: Enhancing Productivity in Networked Organizations, Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1992
 

17. Systems Development: The Changing Paradigm

*Laudon & Laudon, Chapters 11 & 12

R. Welke, "The shifting software development paradigm", Data Base, November 1994

S. Sharma, and Rai, A., "CASE Deployment in IS Organizations", Communications of the ACM, 43(1), Jan. 2000, pp.80-88

D. Truex, Baskerville, R. and Klein, H.K., "Growing Systems in Emergent Organizations", Communications of the ACM, 42(8), Aug. 1999, pp.117-123

A. Joch, "How software doesn’t work", Byte, December 1995

V. Basili and G. Caldiera, "Improve software quality by reusing knowledge and experience", Sloan Management Review, Fall 1995

J. Rockart and J.D. Hofman, "Systems delivery: Evolving new strategies", Sloan Management Review, Summer 1992

G. Booch, ObjectOriented Analysis and Design with Applications, 2nd ed, Benjamin/Cummings, 1994
 

18. Systems Development: Managing Information Systems Projects

*Anderson, Chapter 12

M.L. Markus and M. Keil, "If we build it, they will come: Designing information systems that people want to use", Sloan Management Review, Summer 1994

L. Radosevich and C. Dahle, "Taking your chances", CIO, April 15, 1996

M. Keil, "Pulling the plug: software project management and problem of project escalation", MIS Quarterly, December 1995

V. McConnell and K. Koch, Computerizing the Corporation: The Intimate Link Between People and Machines, Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1990

T. DeMarco and Lister, T., Peopleware - Managing the Human Side of Software Development, Prenctice-Hall, 1989

C. Sauer, Why Information Systems Fail, Alfred Waller, 1993

D. Klinger, J. Elam, R. Sabherwahl, "RyderFirst: facilitating a turnaround in Ryder system’s customer truck rental division," Journal of Strategic Information Systems, 3(3), 1994

W. Cats-Baril, and T. Jelassi, "The French videotext system minitel: a successful implementation of a national information technology infrastructure", MIS Quarterly, March 1994
 

19. Valuing IT Performance

*H. Smith and J. McKeen, "Measuring IS: How does your organization rate?", Data Base, Winter 1996

*M. Lacity and R. Hirschheim, "Benchmarking as a Strategy for Managing Conflicting Stakeholder Perceptions of Information Systems", Journal of Strategic Information Systems, 4(2), 1995, pp.165-185

L. Willcocks and S. Lester, Beyond the IT Productivity Paradox, J. Wiley & Sons, 1999

M. Santosus, "Perception is reality", CIO, October 15, 1995

D. Morrison, "Value judgments", Beyond Computing, July/Aug. 1995

P. Weill and M. Broadbent, "Does IT infrastructure investment pay off?", MIS, December 1995

P.Weill and M. Broadbent, "Infrastructure goes industry specific", MIS, July 1994

M. Earl and D. Feeny, "Is your CIO adding value?", Sloan Management Review, Spring 1994

P. Strassman, The Business Value of Computers, Information Press, 1990, chp 1.

D. Feeny, B. Edwards and K. Simpson, "Understanding the CEO/CIO relationship", MIS Quarterly, Vol 16, 1992

C. Stephens, W. Ledbetter, A. Mitra and F. Ford, "Executive or functional manager? The nature of the CIO’s job", MIS Quarterly, Vol 16, 1992

J. Cross, M. Earl, and D. Feeny, "Transformation of the IT Function at British Petroleum", MIS Quarterly, 21(4), December 1997, pp.401-423
 

20. IT Sourcing

*M. Lacity, R. Hirschheim, and L. Willcocks, "Realizing Outsourcing Expectations: Incredible Expectations, Credible Outcomes", Information Systems Management, 11(4), Fall 1994, pp. 7-18.

*R. Hirschheim, R. and M. Lacity, "Information Technology Insourcing: Myths and Realities", Communications of the ACM, 43(2), February 2000.

M. Lacity and R. Hirschheim, Information Systems Outsourcing: Myths, Metaphors and Realities, J. Wiley & Sons, 1993

M. Lacity and R. Hirschheim, Beyond the Information Systems Outsourcing Bandwagon: The Insourcing Response, J. Wiley & Sons, 1995

V. Gurbaxani, "The New World of Information Technology Outsourcing", Communications of the ACM, 39(7), July 1996, pp. 45-46

T. Clark, R. Zmud, and G. McCray, "The Outsourcing of Information Services: Transforming The Nature of Business in the Information Industry," Journal of Information Technology, 10(4), 1995, pp. 221-237

J. Cronk, and J. Sharp, "A Framework For Deciding What To Outsource In Information Technology," Journal of Information Technology, 10(4), 1995, pp. 259-267

L. Loh, and N. Venkatraman, "Stock Market Reaction to IT Outsourcing: An Event Study," Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Working Paper, 1992.
 

20. Outsourcing Strategies for IT (continued)

M. Lacity, L. Willcocks, and D. Feeny, "IT outsourcing: Maximize flexibility and control", Harvard Business Review, May-June 1995

M. Lacity & R. Hirschheim, "The information systems outsourcing bandwagon", Sloan Management Review, Fall 1993.

J. Cross, "IT outsourcing: British Petroleum’s competitive approach", Harvard Business Review, May-June 1995

F.W. McFarlan and R. Nolan, "How to manage an IT outsourcing alliance", Sloan Management Review, Winter 1995

R. Huber "How Continental Bank outsourced its "crown jewels"", Harvard Business Review, January/February, 1993

L. Loh & N. Venkatraman, "Diffusion of information technology outsourcing: Influence sources and the Kodak effect", Information Systems Research, Vol 4, 1992

M. Lacity, L. Willcocks and D. Feeny, "The value of selective IT outsourcing", Sloan Management Review, Spring 1996

M. Earl, "The risks of outsourcing IT", Sloan Management Review, Spring 1996
 

21. Organizing Information Systems Resources

*Anderson, Chapter 13

McKenney, J., Mason, R., and Copeland, D., "Bank of America: The Crest and Trough of Technological Leadership", MIS Quarterly, 21(3), Sept. 1997, pp.321-353

J. Sifonis and B. Goldberg, Corporation on a Tightrope: Balancing Leadership, Governance, and Technology in an Age of Complexity, Oxford University Press, 1996

J. Wetherbe, The World on Time: The 11 Management Principles That Made FedEx an Overnight Sensation, Knowledge Exchange, 1996

T. Renkema, The IT Value Quest: How to Capture the Business Value of IT-Based Infrastructure, J. Wiley & Sons, 2000
 

22. Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)

F. R. Jacobs and C. Whybark, Why ERP, Irwin/McGraw-Hill, 1999

S. Lozinsky, Enterprise-Wide Solutions, Addison-Wesley, 1998
 

23. IT and Organization Change

*Anderson, Chapter 9

R. Sabherwal, R. Hirschheim, and T. Goles, "The Dynamics of Alignment: A Punctuated Equilibrium Model", Organization Science, forthcoming.

Harvard Business Review, "The end of delegation? Information technology and the CEO", Sept-October 1995

T. Davenport, "The Case of the Soft Software Proposal", Harvard Business Review, May-June 1989

E von Simson, "The centrally decentralised IS organization", Harvard Business Review, July August, 1990

A. Boynton, G. Jacobs & R. Zmud, "Whose responsibility is IT management?", Sloan Management Review, Summer, 1992.

T. Davenport, R. Eccles, & L. Prusak, "Information politics", Sloan Management Review, Fall 1992

C. Ciborra, "The grassroots of IT and strategy", in C. Ciborra & T. Jelassi, eds., Strategic Information Systems: A European Perspective, J. Wiley & Sons, 1994, pp 4 - 24
 

24. Legal Issues in IS

E. Mumford, Dangerous Decisions: Problem Solving in Tomorrow's World, Kluwer Academic, 1999
 
 
 

IS Case Study Details

PURPOSE: This case will allow you to integrate text and discussion materials through the analysis of a real world information system setting in an organization.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION:

Select an organization that you know of or are affiliated with. Provide a brief description of the company and its IS department. Use the attached outline as a guide.

From the list in section 3 of the outline choose one area in which you are interested and focus on the approach the organization is taking towards these problem issues. This should include both description and critique. Include discussions of the strengths and weaknesses of the approach as well as suggested alternatives. Indicate how the alternatives suggested would help to overcome any weaknesses or exploit potential strengths. As well as collecting documentary evidence, try to meet with at least three people in the organization to obtain different perspectives on the issue. You will likely need two or three meetings with people in the organization. Include relevant literature from the web as well as academic and practitioner sources.

Your final report should include sections 1, 2, and 3. It should not exceed 50 double-spaced pages, excluding appendices.

This is a group project. Groups will be graded on the basis of the report's information content and flow (65%), report appearance (15%), and presentation quality (20%). The grading process is one of finding the best reports and subtracting points as appropriate from lower-ranking reports. All group members are expected to contribute equally to the report. Adjustments are made when sufficient evidence of a lack of contributions on the part of any member is presented by other members.

OUTLINE:

1.0 Company Profile

• Approaches to IS planning
• Measuring IS effectiveness and productivity
• Client/Server computing
• Training and development of IS personnel
• Information systems valuation
• Group decision support systems
• Coordination/Collaborative technologies
• Management of the applications portfolio
• Telecommunications - planning and implementation
• Approaches to System Development
• traditional versus prototyping
• tools, techniques, methodologies
• Downsizing
• Impact of Artificial Intelligence/Expert Systems
• Information security and control
• Use of IT for Competitive Advantage
• Globalization Issues
• Interorganizational Systems
• Executive Information Systems
• Information Architectures
• Quality in IS
• Outsourcing
• Reengineering
• Electronic Commerce
• Intranets
• Front-line knowledge work
• IT's contribution to the business

In the past, projects have been conducted at a variety of companies, for example: Houston Lighting & Power; City of Houston; Texaco; Service Corp. International; First City; Tenneco; Delta Airlines; Arthur Andersen; Enron; Exxon; Philips Petroleum; Conoco; University of Houston; M.D. Anderson; Baylor College of Medicine; British Petroleum; Amoco; Occidental Petroleum; Eastman Christensen, Compaq, Shell, and Anheuser-Busch
 

Technology/Application Briefing

PURPOSE: To give you the opportunity to explore, in some detail, a particular information technology/application.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION:

Select a technology/application that you are interested in, survey the available literature, obtain information on products available, and write a report on it. You should cover issues such as: history, description of technology/application, products, user experiences, strengths/weaknesses, and future prospects. Your final report should not exceed 30 pages excluding diagrams and appendices. The report must be produced in HTML form and will be 'published' on the web. Note: This is a group project.

 POSSIBLE TOPICS:

• Imaging Technology/Document Management/Work Flow
• AI/Expert Systems (including neural nets)
• EDI
• Telecommunications (ISDNs, Connectivity)
• Video Conferencing
• Executive Information Systems
• Computer-Supported Collaborative Work
• Cross-functional Systems
• Global IT
• Interorganizational Systems
• Multi-media
• Virtual Reality
• Client/Server Computing
• Electronic Commerce
• Intranets/Extranets
• Wireless Communications
• Security/Privacy
• Component-based Systems Development (Object-oriented)
• Enterprise-wide systems, e.g. SAP, Baan
• Knowledge Management Systems
• Outsourcing
• Information Architectures
• Data Warehousing/ Data Mining

Home Page

PURPOSE: To give you the opportunity to build your own home page.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION: Using an HTML editor, develop your own home page. The page should contain information about yourself - your likes, dislikes, background information, etc. - but do not provide sensitive information such as SSN, home address, etc.
 

List of Cool Web Sites

PURPOSE: To give you the opportunity to find interesting web sites from around the globe.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION: Peruse the World Wide Web to find interesting and entertaining web sites. Provide a list of at least 20 sites with a brief description of the site, its URL, and why you feel it should be considered as part of your "cool web site" list, i.e. what makes it different, what value does it bring, why is it entertaining? Note how just about every net surfer has/his own list of "cool sites".
 
 

REMEMBER

Again, you MUST register with Webboard by January 31 or you will be dropped from the class. This class assumes some familiarity with the internet, and requires each student to have an email address which they regularly check.
 

FINAL REQUIREMENTS

To allow me to more quickly learn everyone's name, students must provide a photocopy of a recent photograph that strongly resembles them by Jan. 31. Each person must verify that their face and name are recognizable. Driver's licenses or UH IDs are most common, but (almost) any will do. On these copies, please list phone and fax numbers, and email addresses of how you can be reached. Your failure to meet this requirement will result in your being called on frequently during class discussions until a photo ID is provided.
 

STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES

We would like to help any students with disabilities achieve their highest potential in the College of Business. To this end, in order to receive accommodation on exams or assignments, students must make arrangements with me prior to the exam or assignment. In addition, it is recommended that students with disabilities learn about their rights and responsibilities from the Center for Students with Disabilities (at 713-743-5400).
 

Teaching Evaluation Questionnaire