Welcome to BISM 2100/03 Fall 2009
Business Information Systems and Communication
CRN 80367 / MW 6:30 – 7:45 pm
Course Description
Objectives
WebCT
Instructor Information
Textbook
Grading
Course Policies
University Policies
Student Support
Description
This three-credit hour class provides the business undergraduate with
foundational knowledge on information systems, software applications, and
business communication. Application software use and information technology
concepts are focused upon to provide the student with the skills to enter and
successfully complete the rigors of Upper Division Business Core classes.
This course assumes a basic proficiency on MS Office products.
(Word, Excel and Power Point)
All course instructions, documents and assignments will be produced using
MS Office 2007.
Basic proficiency is defined by the skill set offered in the
Information Technology Services (ITS)
training courses in Beginning MS Word, MS Excel, and MS PowerPoint.
Training booklets and course registration can be found at
http://its.kennesaw.edu/students.htm
BISM2100/03/80367_Syllabus
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Learning Objectives
Students identify problems and opportunities that can be
addressed through the use of technology. Students evaluate web
pages for credibility and usefulness. Students construct Boolean
searches to learn for effective database research skills.
(Assessment – Assignments, Quizzes, Tests)
Critical Thinking
Students illustrate awareness of cyber ethics and responsibility.
They are confronted with making ethical choices on-line. Cyber
ethics are presented and recent cases involving ethical conduct
and the Internet are introduced (Class Discussions)
Ethics
Students form teams and collaborate on tasks to perform
effectively. They assess their effectiveness as a team. Students
focus heavily on business communication, oral presentation, and
modes of interaction. (Assessment – Assignments, Peer
Evaluations)
Interaction
Students will analyze the impact of a technological innovation on
the individual user, small business, competitive environment,
and/or the global economy. (Assignments)
Perspectives
Students are exposed to project management practices. Work
Breakdown Structures are created for team projects. Time
management skills are enacted and reinforced.
Resource Management
Students apply word processing, spreadsheet, collaborative and
presentation software techniques. They also utilize web based
file management system skills, web page design, composition
and publishing for reaching a global audience. (Assessment –
Assignments, Tests)
Technology
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Textbook
Required: Excellence in Business Communication – Eighth Edition*
ISBN: 0-13-187076-9
*Seventh Edition may be used, but all coursework is based on the Eighth Edition.
Textbooks are available at the campus bookstore, the General bookstore, and on-line.
Course Policies
Assignment Submission:
Please check GeorgiaVIEW for assignment specifications. All assignments are to be
submitted through the assignment submission link in GeorgiaVIEW, unless otherwise
notified. Assignments will NOT be accepted as GeorgiaVIEW email attachments or as
KSU email attachments. All assignment files will be required to adhere to specific
naming conventions that will be included in the assignment instructions. Assignment
filenames will generally consist of: LastnameFirstInitial_AssignmentName. (i.e.
SikesA_BusinessCase.doc) Assignments submitted that do not follow the specified
naming conventions will not be accepted and will be subject to a 10 point penalty for
resubmission.
Note for procrastinators!!!!!
DO NOT wait until a few minutes before the assignment is due to submit your file.
Depending on file size and the processing speed of your computer, uploading files may
take some time. On time assignment submission is dependent on the time the
assignment is posted to GeorgiaVIEW. The time is based on the GeorgiaVIEW server,
not your local computer.
Late Assignments:
Late assignments are accepted up to 24 hours (one day) after the due date/time. Late
assignments will receive a 10% deduction from the overall assignment grade. If you
wait until the last minute to submit an assignment to GeorgiaVIEW and cannot get it
submitted in time – the assignment will be assessed as late – no exceptions!
Assignments will NOT be accepted after the 24-hour late period has passed.
In the event of a server failure or act of God, students are required to submit
assignments through campus email. If GeorgiaVIEW and campus email are both down
– the problem is probably large enough that a late assignment submission may well be
the least of our worries!
Attendance Policy
Attendance is required, roll will be taken. Class success depends on class attendance.
The logic is as follows:
You enrolled in the class knowing that the class meets Monday and Wednesday,
6:30 – 7:45 pm from August 17th until December 3rd. Therefore, you have
committed to attending class on those days, during those times, for the entire
semester. If you cannot attend classes, if you have vacation planned, or if your
work schedule will constantly keep you from attending class, perhaps you should
rethink taking the class at this time.
Students should notify the professor in advance if they will miss a class.
Email as soon as possible if you have an unexpected absence.
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Grading
Students may potentially EARN a total of 1,000 points throughout the
semester, accumulated from activities/assignments, attendance/participation,
and quizzes/exams. A total of 20 extra credit points is also possible.
Possible
Points
Activity/Assignment:
MS Excel Pro Forma
MS Word Business Letter
Speech Evaluation
Team Operating Agreement (TOA)
HTML/ web work:
web credibility discussion posting
individual webpage
team website
Project - Formal Report:
individual research
collaboration exercises
team formal report
peer evaluations
individual performance
100
75
75
100
30
50
75
30
40
100
20
20
Exams/Quizzes:
Exam 1
Exam 2
Quizzes
75
75
85
Attendance/Participation
50
Total Possible Points:
Grading Scale:
900
800
700
600
599
– 1000
– 899
– 799
– 699
or below
A
B
C
D
F
Extra Credit:
Introduction Posting:
Netiquette Quiz:
10
10
Total EC Possible: 20
1000
Final Exam Schedule:
Monday, December 7th, 2009
BISM2100/03/80367_Syllabus
6:30 – 8:30 pm
Page 4
Instructor Information
Instructor Biography:
Debra B Geist – Support Faculty
BSIS – Kennesaw State University
MIS – Kennesaw State University
In over thirty years of working in the field of Information Technology I have collaborated
with professionals from all walks of the business world in order to accommodate
technical needs and achieve competitive advantage through the application of
information systems. Teaching BISM2100 is exciting for me because it realistically
presents how:
1. Technology is a vital component of any business environment.
2. Communication is a critical component in the business world.
3. Business professionals must develop adequate communication skills in order to
achieve success. They must not only become proficient in using technology to
communicate, but must also achieve a basic level of competency in communicating
about technology and technical needs.
Instructor Contact Information:
First contact should always be through GeorgiaVIEW mail.


Meetings are available by appointment only email me (through GeorgiaVIEW) with your request, or
speak with me before or after class to schedule a time.
IF you are unable to access GeorgiaVIEW, you may attempt to contact me via
the KSU campus email:
dgeist1@kennesaw.edu
HOWEVER, this mailbox is NOT the primary contact and no response is
guaranteed for emails sent to it.
GeorgiaVIEW and On-Line Concierge – Help Desk:
Net ID
Access to GeorgiaVIEW requires a valid and functional NetID.
Problems logging in? Go to: https://netid.kennesaw.edu/ to check your NetID.
GeorgiaVIEW On-Line Concierge
To log into your course, go to: http://vista.kennesaw.edu/
MAKE SURE TO LOG INTO GeorgiaVIEW Vista for Fall 2009– NOT WebCT VISTA.
If you are having difficulties with logging into GeorgiaVIEW –
call (770-423-6999) or email (service@kennesaw.edu ) the service desk.
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GeorgiaVIEW has specific browser requirements. The University System of Georgia has
developed a browser checker. To determine if your default browser is compatible, use
the Check Browser links on the GeorgiaVIEW homepage.
For help with GeorgiaVIEW, use USG On-line Support Center: http://help8.view.usg.edu
Answers to the most frequently asked questions regarding GeorgiaVIEW can be found
in the Online Support Center Knowledge Base. If the Knowledge Base articles do not
provide the information you need, you may contact the Online Support Center by
following directions provided in the online support center.
Pop-Ups
GeorgiaVIEW relies on Pop-Ups. If you have your pop-up blocking software enabled,
use the right-click option to allow Pop-Ups from GeorgiaVIEW, or disable pop-up
blocking from the TOOLS drop down menu.
JAVA
GeorgiaVIEW relies on Java to display screens.
Certain versions of JAVA are not compatible.
JAVA 2 PLATFORM STANDARD EDITION (J2SE) 5.0 Update 5 is a safe version.
To download this version, go to:
http://java.sun.com/products/archive/j2se/5.0_05/index.html.
Choose the Windows Online Installation, Multi-Language.
Note: You must remove older versions of JAVA first – please follow the UNINSTALL
instructions.
Periodically, your computer will remind you about JAVA updates. You will be asked to
install newer versions of JAVA. Ignore these update reminders. You want to ensure
that you are running JAVA 5.0 Update 5. (Updated versions 9 and 10 have operated
successfully, you may try these versions. If your operations time out or fail – resume
use of version 5)
Available Downloads
For win/mac java upgrades:
http://www.usg.edu/usgweb/browserchecker/getjava.phtml
For adobe acrobat:
http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html
For RealPlayer:
http://www.real.com/
(It may be wise to include Quicktime with RealPlayer:)
http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download/
Secure Shell and Symantec Antivirus software downloads require a KSU netID.
http://its.kennesaw.edu/students.htm
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University Policies
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.
Disruption of Campus Life Statement
It is the purpose of the institution to provide a campus environment, which encourages
academic accomplishment, personal growth, and a spirit of understanding and
cooperation. An important part of maintaining such an environment is the commitment
to protect the health and safety of every member of the campus community.
Belligerent, abusive, profane, threatening and/or inappropriate behavior on the part of
students is a violation of the Kennesaw State University Student Conduct Regulations.
Students who are found guilty of such misconduct may be subject to immediate
dismissal from the institution. In addition, these violations of state law may also be
subject to criminal action beyond the University disciplinary process.
Student Code of Conduct – Strictly Enforced
II. Academic Honesty
The high quality of education at Kennesaw State University is reflected in the credits
and degrees its students earn. The protection of these high standards is crucial since
the validity and equity of the University’s grades and degrees depend upon it. Any
student found guilty of an infraction of a regulation for academic honesty shall be
suspended for at least one semester unless evidence is provided to convince the court
that substantial mitigating circumstances existed in that student’s offense. The
following regulations are designed to assist students in developing appropriate
standards and attitudes with respect to academic honesty. To this end, the regulations
protect students against infractions that may compromise the validity of their degree
or place them at an undue disadvantage with respect to the equity of their grades.
A. Plagiarism and Cheating
No student shall receive, attempt to receive, knowingly give or attempt to give unauthorized assistance in the preparation of any work required to be submitted for credit
as part of a course (including examinations, laboratory reports, essays, themes, term
papers, etc.). When direct quotations are used, they should be indicated, and when the
ideas, theories, data, figures, graphs, programs, electronic based information or
illustrations of someone other than the student are incorporated into a paper or used in
a project, they should be duly acknowledged.
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B. Translated Examples of Academic Dishonesty Covered Under the Student
Code of Conduct
1. All graded work is to be performed by the individual, unless otherwise specified
as a group project. Work submitted may only be work from the current,
registered, semester – not work from a previous semester in which the student
was registered. Work submitted that is not representative of individual effort is
prohibited and considered a violation of the code of conduct. This includes the
shared use of electronic files.
2. Use of any electronic file not specifically made available to the individual in the
currently enrolled course is prohibited and considered a violation of the code of
conduct.
3. In a credit-generating course where class attendance/participation is tied
directly to a grading structure or point system, misrepresentation of
attendance/participation is considered a violation of the code of conduct.
4. On-line examinations are subject to the same classroom setting protocols as
traditional examinations unless otherwise specified.
Student Support Services
Student Development Center
Kennesaw State University welcomes all students, recognizing that variations of
abilities contribute to a richly diverse campus life. The Student Development Center
offers the following programs:
Adult Learner Programs
Minority Student Retention Services
International Student Retention Services
Odyssey Peer Mentoring Program
Please visit the Student Development Center for additional information.
disAbled Student Support Services
A number of services are available to help students with disabilities with their
academic work. In order to make arrangements for special services, students should
visit the office and make an appointment to arrange an individual assistance plan.
Students who wish to participate in an activity or program offered by the university
and need accommodations should contact the office sponsoring the program at least
five days prior to the program so that arrangements can be made.
The course strives to meet all Americans with Disabilities Act guidelines and
regulations. Please visit the disAbled Student Support Services website for additional
information and obtain any necessary accommodations.
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