MIS 6341
Managing Information Systems
Fall 2011
Office Hours: Wednesday 5:00-6:00 PM
Carl Scott, Ph.D.
Office: 280 Melcher Hall
E-mail: cscott@uh.edu
Phone: 713-743-4753
Purpose:
This course presents a perspective on the effective design and use of
information systems for strategic advantage and operational performance in
organizations. Information technology (IT) has a significant impact on the productivity of
the firm and its employees. While some firms and individuals make substantial use of IT,
others struggle to find a place for the tools and techniques that comprise these systems of
hardware, software and people. The focus of this course is to study successful users and
uses of IT to gain an understanding of the potential of IT. The course does not focus on
particular information technologies, found in courses such as accounting information
systems. The course is designed to develop leaders who can effectively use the portfolio
of IT tools that are applied and misapplied to various business problems.
Course Philosophy: There are very few absolutely right or wrong answers to most of the
problems we will discuss in class. Some strategies work well in some organizations or for
some individuals, but fail when applied elsewhere. What we will do is learn from the
experiences of others—from case studies and our own experiences—and try to apply
those experiences in our own environments. All opinions are worthwhile, but not to the
exclusion of others. I encourage you to discuss in class what is happening in the news, in
your company, in others’ companies and at home as these topics relate to information
technology. We have a ton to learn, and particularly in this field, more and more every
day.
Grading:
Grades in this course will be based upon the following distribution:
Exams
Term Paper
80%
20%
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Percentage
Grade
Ranges
A
100 - 93%
A-
92 - 90%
B+
89 - 87%
B
86 - 84%
B-
83 - 80%
C
79 - 70%
.
Exam: There will be three exams administered by CASA. Exams typically are multiple
choice, fill in the blank, and true or false. Before taking the exam at CASA, the student
must sign up for CASA and then select a time to take the exam. Following the exam, the
grades are posted on Courseware used by CASA.
More information is at
www.casa.uh.edu/casa.
Written Term Paper: A 20 to 30 page term paper on a MIS topic is due at the end of the
semester. Term paper topics are to be submitted to the instructor by the tenth week of
class. Term papers themselves are submitted to the instructor electronically using
Turnitin/BlackBoard on the indicated day. One letter grade will be subtracted for each
day the term paper is submitted after the due date. Spelling and grammar count!
Resources: The textbook for this course is Management Information Systems:
Managing the Digital Firm, 12e, ISBN 013214285-6 by Ken Laudon and Jane P. Laudon.
Blackboard Vista
 How will I get my Blackboard Vista User Name?
You will NOT get a User Name if your instructors do not use Vista for your
courses.
 For Blackboard Vista, your User Name is your PeopleSoft ID.
 For WebCT Vista, your User Name is your Cougarnet ID.
 Here’s three ways to get your User Name:
Online at http://www.uh.edu/webct - Click “Check User Name” to get
your WebCT User Name.
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In person in Room 116 of the PGH building on the main campus,
Monday-Friday, 8 am-8 pm.
By phone at 713-743-1411 - 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
 New users: Your User Name will start to work only AFTER the first day
of class.
 If you register late or change sections, allow 1-3 working days AFTER
you register for a class for your User Name to be created and added to the
class.
 Be sure to type your User Name and password exactly as specified.
 What’s my password?
Your initial password is your 6-digit birth date in the format mmddyya! where “a”
is the first initial of your last name in lower case. The exclamation point is part of
the password. For example: April 1, 1983 for Jane Smith would be entered as
040183s! You will be required to change your password the first time you log on
and every 90 days after that.
 Where do I find my WebCT Vista or Blackboard Vista courses?
Once you have your User Name, go to http://www.uh.edu/webct. Click the red
“WebCT Vista” button or the blue “Blackboard Vista” button. Enter your User
Name and password exactly as specified. Use “Check Your Browser” to check
your computer configuration.
 How do I get help using WebCT Vista or Blackboard Vista?
Go to http://www.uh.edu/webct and click on “Student Help” to see a variety of
options. Students can also call 713-743-1411 or send email to support@uh.edu.
Academic Honesty:
The University of Houston Academic Honesty Policy is strictly enforced by the C. T. Bauer
College of Business. No violations of this policy will be tolerated in this course. A
discussion of the policy is included in the University of Houston Student Handbook,
http://www.uh.edu/dos/hdbk/acad/achonpol.html. Students are expected to be familiar with
this policy.
Accommodations for Students with Disabilities:
The C. T. Bauer College of Business would like to help students who have disabilities
achieve their highest potential. To this end, in order to receive academic
accommodations, students must register with the Center for Students with Disabilities
(CSD) (telephone 713-743-5400), and present approved accommodation documentation
to their instructors in a timely manner.
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Tentative Schedule
Week 1 August 22: Introduction Computers are changing every aspect of our lives from
entertainment to shopping, from the work we do and where we do it, to how we communicate with
friends and relatives. Networking technologies are pervading almost everything we do professionally,
socially, and recreationally. M any companies are remodeling their businesses and information systems
with the Internet in mind. It has become more important than ever for you to understand not just how
technology works but also how current and future advances affect your work life In today’s class, we
will set the for the use of information technology in the organization.
Laudon and Laudon Chapter 1
Week 2 August 29: Global E-Business and Collaboration: The “digital firm” means more than just
plunking down computers that have all the latest bells and whistles on every desk. The digital firm must
connect each functional area and each management level to one another. Data input to the system in
manufacturing must be made available to sales, accounting, and shipping.
Laudon and Laudon Chapter 2
Homework: Turn in student profile.
Week 3September 5: Information Systems, Organizations, and Strategy describes how
organizations and information systems work together, or sometimes against each other. The idea, of
course, is to keep them in sync, but that's not always possible. We'll look at the nature of organizations
and how they relate to information systems. Ethical and Social Issues in Information Systems It
probably goes without saying that the security and ethical issues raised by the Information Age, and
specifically the Internet, are the most explosive to face our society in decades.
Laudon and Laudon Chapter 3,4
Week 4September 12: IT Infrastructure and Emerging Technologies As information becomes a
valuable resource of a digital firm, the infrastructure used to care for it takes on added importance.
We’ll examine all of the components that comprise today’s and tomorrow’s IT infrastructure and how
best to manage it.
Laudon and Laudon Chapter 5
Week 5September 19: Exam 1
Week 6 September 26: Foundations of Business Intelligence: Databases and Information
Management Information is becoming as important a business resource as money, material, and
people. Even though a company compiles millions of pieces of data doesn’t mean it can produce
information that its employees, suppliers, and customers can use. Businesses are realizing the
competitive advantage they can gain by compiling useful information, not just data.
Laudon and Laudon Chapter 6
Week 7 October 3: Telecommunications, the Internet and Wireless Technology Anytime,
anywhere, anyway, is the mantra of many computer users. Improved telecommunications technologies,
the process of electronically communicating information, are making it possible. Securing Information
Systems As our society and the world itself come to depend on computers and information systems
more and more, firms must put forth a better effort in making their systems less vulnerable and more
reliable.
Laudon and Laudon Chapter 7,8
Week 8 October 10: Achieving Operational Excellence and Customer Intimacy: Enterprise
Applications Over the last decade businesses have come to realize how important it is to totally
integrate business processes across the enterprise. We’ve spoken about “islands of information” many
times. In today’s fast-paced world, managing information assets is more important than ever before. ECommerce: Digital Markets, Digital Goods Twenty-four/seven–the mantra of the Internet. Whether
it’s buying, selling, gathering information, managing, or communicating, the driving force behind the
evolutionary and revolutionary business is the Internet and its technological advances.
Laudon and Laudon Chapter 9,10
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Week 9 October 17: Exam 2
Week 10 October 24: Managing Knowledge Knowledge is becoming an important corporate
resource that must be captured, protected, preserved, and grown.
Laudon and Laudon Chapter 11
Week 11 October 31: Enhancing Decision Making Each of us makes hundreds of decisions every
day. If just a fraction of those decisions could be improved through better and more information and
better processes, we’d all be delighted.
Laudon and Laudon Chapter 12
Week 12 November 7: Building Information Systems Change is hard on people and organizations.
But it's one of those necessary evils that keeps companies in the lead or helps destroy them. In this
chapter, we're going to focus on using information systems as a way to successfully help redesign
organizations so they can improve their current processes or establish new ones.
Laudon and Laudon Chapter 13
Week 13 November 14: Managing Projects It’s difficult to manage an entire information system
project to make sure a company realizes the intended benefits from its investment and that the system
solves problems for the organization rather than create more. Managing Global Systems
Globalization is possible even with very small businesses because of the technological advances in
computer networks and telecommunications.
Laudon and Laudon Chapter 14,15
Week 14 November 21: Thanksgiving Break no class
Week 15 November 29: Exam 3
Week 16: December 7 Term Paper due
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Student Profile
Put your
Picture here
Student Name ____________________________
Your Interests ____________________________
_________________________________
________________________________
MIS topics I am especially interested in:
_________________________________
_________________________________
_________________________________
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