Kennesaw State University

DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE AND INFORMATION SYSTEMS

Summer 2003

IS 8950 – IS Policy & Strategy

Monday/Wednesday 8PM-1045 PM / CL 2003

 

Course Description:

A capstone course that integrates the MSIS program’s coursework into a comprehensive overview of IS as a strategic organizational building block.  The course investigates IS management, strategic perspectives for aligning competitive strategies, and core competencies associated with IS.  Also covered are the development and implementation of policies and plans to achieve integration goals while defining the systems that support the operational, administrative, and strategic goals of the organization, its business units, and individual employees.  Practical approaches to managing the IS function in organizations, including the various challenges of controlling the use of legacy IS, while experimenting with emerging technologies, are discussed from a strategic perspective.  An overview of the strategic roles of the CIO and CTO are included.

 

 

Prerequisites:

Full admission to the MSIS Graduate Program or permission of the MSIS Director.

 

 

Textbook & Resources:

Ward, J., & Peppard, J. (2002).  Strategic planning for information systems (3rd ed.).  New York: John Wiley & Sons.  (Required)

 

American Psychological Association (2001).  Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (5th ed.).  Washington, DC.  (Required)

 

 

 

 

Instructor:

Amy B. Woszczynski (wo-ZIN-ske), Ph.D.

Office:

CL 3009

Email Address:

awoszczy@kennesaw.edu

Phone:

770.423.6572

Office Hours:

430PM-6PM, Monday/Wednesday, and by appointment

Fax Number:

770.423.6731

Course Website Address:

http://courses.kennesaw.edu

 

 

Course Objective:

In this course, students will develop an understanding of the strategic use of IS from an executive technical and business perspective at the enterprise level.  Students are expected to understand the internal management of IS services from the point of view of the CIO/CTO and to examine alternative strategies and tactics available to senior management to achieve goals.  Each working student should be able to examine the current and potential impact of information and IS on all aspects of their firm and industry.  Other students without practical experience will be able to understand the strategic information and IS focus as well as imperatives of potential employers.

 

Learning Outcomes:

Student should be able to:

 

·         Understand why IS strategic planning is essential to organizational success.

·         List and analyze the full range of benefits and potential pitfalls associated with the strategic use of IS.

·         Recognize how an organization establishes the means to manage IS as an integral part of its approach to strategic management.

·         Identify components of the IS strategic plan.

·         Discuss current issues in IS strategic planning.

·         Work effectively as a team member during the analysis of a case study and resulting formal presentation.

·         Analyze and critique IS strategy journal articles.

 

 

 

 

Policies:

Make-Up Exams:

There will be no make-up examinations. It is the student’s responsibility to arrange for an excused absence before the exam. A grade of zero will be assigned for all exams missed without an excused absence. If an emergency arises on the day of one of the exams, and the instructor deems that the absence is excused, then the student may be allowed to complete an additional research paper of 15-20 pages to replace the missed exam. Written documentation will be required to confirm the excused absence. Under no circumstances will the student be allowed to make up both of the examinations.

 

Class Attendance:  It is needless to say class attendance is expected.  The instructor reserves the right to subjectively adjust an individual student’s final grade if this requirement is abused. High grades are clearly a function of attendance, good notes, questions, and productive studying. Active class participation is encouraged and welcomed. Late arrival, early departure, excessive conversation with other students, and the like are unacceptable.

 

Participation:  IS strategic issues are, by their nature, extremely complex concepts.  A critical component of this course, therefore, will be class discussions.  Learning is achieved through an active and enthusiastic debate.  Feel free to offer your views and to challenge (in a positive way please!) other class members during the conduct of this course.

 

Guidelines for Submitting Work:

All hard-copy submissions should be arranged properly and stapled together. I expect that you would submit papers to me as if they were professional documents submitted to your manager. All assignments are due at the beginning of class, so if you are sending me an assignment via e-mail, it should be sent no later than the class start time. Late assignments will not be accepted! If you have any questions about your grades, contact me immediately. The end of the semester is too late to argue for grade changes on earlier assignments.

 

Instructor Absence:

Normally, I will be in class on time. If I am more than 20 minutes late and prior arrangements have not been made, the class is canceled. If an emergency causes me to miss class, I will make every effort to notify students in advance. You are encouraged to check the class web site for daily updates.

 

Lecture Notes:

All lecture notes, announcements, assignment guidelines, and the like will be available on the class Web site: http://courses.kennesaw.edu/. Remember that these are lecture outlines, and class discussions will often exceed the material covered in the slides.

 

Withdrawal Policy:

The last day to withdraw without academic penalty is July 2, 2003.  Ceasing to attend class or oral notice thereof DOES NOT constitute official withdrawal from the course. Students who simply stop attending classes without officially withdrawing usually are assigned failing grades.  Students wishing to withdraw after the scheduled change period (add/drop) must obtain and complete a withdrawal form from the Academic Services Department in the Registrar’s Office.

 

Enrollment Policy:

Only those students who are enrolled in the class may attend lectures, receive assignments, take quizzes and exams, and receive a grade in the class.  If a student is administratively withdrawn from this course, they will not be permitted to attend class nor will they receive any grade for the class.

 

Electronic Devices

In order to minimize the level of distraction, all beepers and cellular phones must be on quiet mode during class meeting times. Students who wish to use a computer/PDA for note taking need prior approval of the instructor since key clicks and other noises can distract other students. Recording of lectures by any method requires prior approval of the instructor.

 

 

Tentative Course Schedule: Subject to change

Week

Dates

Topic

Assignment

1

May 28

June 2

 

Course Overview

IS Strategic Perspective

 

Ward - Ch 1

2

June 4

June 9

 

IS Strategic Alignment

IS Strategic Processes

 

Ward - Ch 2

Ward - Ch 3

Research Topic Due

3

June 11

June 16

 

IS Strategy Tools & Techniques

IS Strategy “Demand Side” Review

 

 

Ward - Chs 4 & 5

Ward - Ch 6

Journal Article #1 Due

4

June 18

June 23

 

Exam #1

Group Project Work Day – No class

 

 

Exam #1

5

 

June 25

June 30

 

IS Applications Portfolios

Organizing IS

 

Ward - Ch 7

Ward - Ch 8

6

July 2

July 7

 

IS Investments

Knowledge Management

 

 

Ward - Ch 9

Ward - Ch 10

Journal Article #2 Due

7

July 9

 

 

July 14

 

Infrastructure Issues

IS Strategy Future Issues

 

Group Project Work Day – No class

 

 

Ward - Ch 11

Ward - Ch 12

 

 

8

July 16

July 21

Exam #2

Project Presentations

 

 

 

 

July 23

Final Exam, 8PM-10PM

Final Project Due

 

 

 

 

 

ASSIGNMENTS LEGEND:

    Ward: Strategic Planning for Information Systems, 3rd edition.

 

 

Special Dates:

 

Last day to withdrawal without penalty

July 2, 2003

Exam #1

June 18, 2003

Exam #2

July 16, 2003

Project Presentation

July 21, 2003

Last day of class

July 21, 2003

Final Exam (Final Project Due)

July 23, 2003

Graduation

July 28, 2003

Final Grades Due

July 29, 2003, 10AM

 

 

Assessment:                 Weight

 

Exam #1                          (20%)

The mid-term exam will consist of short answer and/or discussion questions related to the topics covered in class and the textbook.

Journal Article Reviews    (20%)

Each student will be required to identify, analyze, and summarize two journal articles (10% of total grade for each) related to this course.  A maximum two-page typed summary (format to be provided) will be prepared for submission to the instructor.  The submission dates are: June 16th and July 7th.

Project                               (35%)

The class will be divided into project groups (approximately five students per group).  Each group will develop and/or critique the IT policies and strategies of a selected organization. The group will make a formal presentation to the class and will submit a written report. 

 

The written report should be of sufficient length to adequately explore the topic and must include a minimum of 5 outside references.  In addition to being double-spaced (including the reference page), students are required to use the APA Guide (Publication manual of the American Psychological Association) when formatting the paper.  Both a paper and electronic copy must be submitted of the research paper.  By June 9, each group will post on the WebCT bulletin board a one page summary of the research topic for approval. Weekly status reports on the project will also be required. The final project serves as the final exam for the course and is due on the regularly scheduled final exam period (July 23, 8PM).

Exam #2                            (25%)

 

The final exam will consist of short answer and/or essay questions related to the topics covered in class and the textbook.

TOTAL                            (100%)

 

 

 

Grade Evaluation

 

Grade

Scale

A

90% - 100%

B

80% - 89%

C

70% - 79%

D

60% - 69%

F

Below 60%

I, W

See university policy

 

 

Lecture Notes:

Lecture notes will be posted to the WebCT site.  See http://courses.kennesaw.edu.  Notes will generally be in the form of PowerPoint slides. 

 

Computer Labs:

 

Please be aware of and follow all computer lab user policies.

Burruss Building

The labs on the fourth floor of the Burruss Building are open 7 days each week as follows:

M-Th 7:45am - 11pm
Friday 7:45am - 5pm
Sat 10am - 6pm
Sun noon - 8pm

The Burruss labs are open most holidays. Be prepared to show your current student ID card upon entering the lab. The telephone number of the Burruss Building lab is 770-423-6110.

 

Science and Mathematics Building

The lab in SC 228 of the Science and Mathematics Building is open as follows:

M-Th 10am - 9pm
Fri & Sat 10am - 3pm
Sun closed

The telephone number of the Science and Mathematics Building lab is 770-499-3351.

 

 

Owl Printing System:

 


The OwlPrint system (student network printing/copying solution) is available in the KSU library as well as all the open labs and lab/electronic classroom combinations across campus.  

 
Students must have an OwlPrint card to use printing/copying services.  While in a classroom situation, faculty/staff will use their department OwlPrint cards to give student access to the printer/copier. Students will not be required to use their own personal OwlPrint card for any printing while in a classroom setting.

 

 

 

Student Course Evaluation:


A standard questionnaire will be administered during the last two weeks of the semester in all classes. Additional questions developed by the college or instructor(s) may be included as well. It is important that each student provide meaningful feedback to the instructor(s) so that changes can be made in the course to continually improve its effectiveness. We value student feedback about the course, our teaching styles, and course materials, so as to improve our teaching and your learning. At a minimum, the following two questions will be asked: 1) Identify the aspects of the course that most contributed to your learning (include examples of specific materials, exercises and/or the faculty member's approach to teaching and mentoring), and 2) Identify the aspects of the course, if any, that might be improved (include examples of specific materials, exercises and/or the faculty member's approach to teaching and mentoring).

 

Acquiring Final Grades:

 

In an effort to better utilize our technology resources, Kennesaw State University has instituted the reporting of end of term grades by phone. This is in addition to the web version of grades, which has been in effect for several terms. All current semester term students may call 770-420-4315 and select Option Number 4 to secure their end of term grades. With this new development, printed grade reports will not be mailed at the end of the term. Students needing verification of grades or enrollment should request either an official transcript or enrollment verification through the Office of the Registrar.

 

Academic Integrity Statement:

 

Every KSU student is responsible for upholding the provisions of the Student Code of Conduct, as published in the Undergraduate and Graduate Catalogs.  Section II of the Student Code of Conduct addresses the University's policy on academic honesty, including provisions regarding plagiarism and cheating, unauthorized access to University materials, misrepresentation/falsification of University records or academic work, malicious removal, retention, or destruction of library materials, malicious/intentional misuse of computer facilities and/or services, and misuse of student identification cards.   Incidents of alleged academic misconduct will be handled through the established procedures of the University Judiciary Program, which includes either an "informal" resolution by a faculty member, resulting in a grade adjustment, or a formal hearing procedure, which may subject a student to the Code of Conduct's minimum one semester suspension requirement.

 

Students are encouraged to study together and to work together on class assignments and lab exercises; however, the provisions of the STUDENT CONDUCT REGULATIONS, II. Academic Honesty, KSU Undergraduate Catalog will be strictly enforced in this class.

 

 

Frequently students will be provided with “take-home” exams or exercises.  It is the student’s responsibility to ensure they fully understand to what extent they may collaborate or discuss content with other students.  No exam work may be performed with the assistance of others or outside material unless specifically instructed as permissible.  If an exam or assignment is designated “no outside assistance” this includes, but is not limited to, peers, books, publications, the Internet and the WWW.  If a student is instructed to provide citations for sources, proper use of citation support is expected.  Additional information can be found at the following locations. 

 

http://www.apa.org/journals/webref.html

http://www.lib.duke.edu/libguide/citing.htm

http://bailiwick.lib.uiowa.edu/journalism/cite.html

http://www.cas.usf.edu/english/walker/papers/copyright/ipdummie.html

http://www.indiana.edu/~wts/wts/plagiarism.html
http://plagiarism.phys.virginia.edu/links.html
http://www.arts.ubc.ca/doa/plagiarism.htm
http://alexia.lis.uiuc.edu/%7ejanicke/plagiary.htm
http://webster.commnet.edu/mla/plagiarism.htm
http://www.virtualsalt.com/antiplag.htm
http://www.engr.washington.edu/~tc231/course_info/plagiarism.html
http://quarles.unbc.edu/lsc/rpplagia.html

 

 

APE Documenting Examples:

 

All MSIS students are required to have a copy of the American Psychological Association (APA) Publication Manual, available in the KSU bookstore and elsewhere.

 

When any portion of another author's work is used, whether it be from a course textbook or outside work, including the World Wide Web, in whole, in part, or paraphrased, that work must be cited. Proper citation formats are provided on the reverse of this document. Failure to do so can result in Academic Misconduct Proceedings.
Acceptable Reference Formats (from North and Blade, 1998 (see below) reprinted with permission)

 

There are two components to a proper citation: the text citation and the reference or endnote. The text citation will usually consist of the author or authors' last name(s) and the year of the publication. The endnote citation will read as follows:

 

Books

Author. (Date). Book title. City, State: Publisher.

 

A reference for a single-author book:

 

North, M. M. (1996). Virtual reality technology. New York: Best Press.

 

A reference for a multi-author book:

 

North, M. M. & Blade, R. A. (1998). How to build skills for research. Colorado Springs: IPO Press.

 

Journals

Author. (Date). Article title. Journal Title. Volume (Issue), pages.

 

Journal Reference

 

Kelly, F. G. (1997). Networking made efficient. Journal of Computer Networking. 45(3), 54-61.

 

(Here is an article in Volume 45, Issue 3, spanning pages 54-61)

 

Conference Proceeding

 

Vanner, F. D. (1996). A survey of medical issues using virtual reality. Proceedings of the Virtual Reality Medical Technology. 119-132. Nice, France.

 

World Wide Web (from http://www.apa.org/books/pubmant.html):

 

Author. (Date). Title of page. Publishing Information. Retrieved Month Day, Year, from the World Wide Web: URL

 

Entire site no specific page

 

Kidspsych is a wonderful interactive Web site for children (http://www.kidspsych.org).

 

No reference entry is needed.

 

 

Citing Specific Documents on a Web Site:

 

American Psychological Association. (1995, September 15). APA public policy action alert: Legislation would affect grant recipients [Announcement]. Washington, DC: Author. Retrieved January 25, 1996, from the World Wide Web: http://www.apa.org/ppo/istook.html

 

An independent document (no author identified): 1

 

Electronic reference formats recommended by the American Psychological Association. (2000, August 22). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. Retrieved August 29, 2000, from the World Wide Web: http://www.apa.org/journals/webref.html

 

If the primary author is not available for the body citation, the first key word is to be used (Electronic, 2000).

 

 

Acknowledgment and Acceptance of Academic Integrity Statement:

 

In any academic community, certain standards and ethical behavior are required to ensure the unhindered pursuit of knowledge and the free exchange of ideas.  Academic honesty means that you respect the right of other individuals to express their views and opinions, and that you, as a student, not engage in plagiarism, cheating, illegal access, misuse or destruction of college property, or falsification of college records or academic work.

 

As a member of the Kennesaw State University academic community you are expected to adhere to these ethical standards.  You are expected to read, understand and follow the code of conduct as outlined in the KSU graduate and undergraduate catalogs.  You need to be aware that if you are found guilty of violating these standards you will be subject to certain penalties as outlined in the college judiciary procedures.  These penalties include permanent expulsion from KSU.

 

Read the Academic Integrity Statement and then sign and date in the space below.  You are required to abide by these ethical standards while you are a student at KSU.  Your signature indicates that you understand the ethical standards expected of you in this academic community, and that you understand the consequences of violating these standards.

 

IS 8950                                                                       Amy Woszczynski

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