Professor: Dr. Mary Beth Watson-Manheim E-mail: mbwm@uic.edu

Office: 2426 UH Office Hours: 3:15 – 4:15 T, Th or

Phone: 996-2370 by appointment

Class Location: BSB 250

Class Time: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 2:00 – 3:15 PM

The required texts for this course are:

1) Principles of Information Systems, by Stair and Reynolds, 3^rd edition, published by Course Technology/ITP, 1998.

2) Get Started with Microsoft Office ‘97—Illustrated Interactive, published by Course Technology/ITP, 1998. As noted, this book includes a tutorial CD-ROM.

Information systems (IS) are an integral part of modern organizations. Managers increasingly use information technology to provide products and services, create competitive advantage, and manage global corporations. Professional managers, regardless of their functional business role, must have a solid grounding in the fundamentals of IS and the organizational implications of the use of IS to perform their jobs effectively.

In this course, we assume that the student has had some basic experiences with business and organizations, but little experience or formal training with computer-based information systems. Undoubtedly, some students have greater familiarity with information systems and computers than others do, but the course is designed to give everyone a basic and useful understanding of the following areas:

1. The organizational and managerial context of information systems, including decision making, and information processing concepts.
2. The technological foundations of information systems, i.e., hardware, software, and telecommunications.
3. The changing organizational environment, and the use of information technology to manage contemporary organizations.
4. The social and ethical issues surrounding the use of information systems.
5. Personal/professional productivity software, namely the Microsoft Office 97 Software Suite

Please note that the lecture portion of the course addresses areas 1 through 4; area 5, productivity software training, will be addressed in your lab sessions.

In order to support the learning of computer technology there will be a modest amount of introductory level instruction in personal/professional productivity tools—word processor, spreadsheet, database, and graphics. Lab sections have been set up to provide you with a hands-on learning approach supervised by individuals who are knowledgeable in each of the software tools. Each student is required to register for and attend one of the lab sections. Students may only attend the section sessions for which they are registered. The material presented in the lab sessions covers aspects of the software tools that you will find useful in your future academic, personal, and professional lives. You will be tested on the skills you have learned in the lab every few weeks, as noted in the schedule portion of this syllabus. Your materials for the lab portion of this class include a tutorial CD-ROM that you can use along with your lab book to practice with the software outside of the lab whenever you wish.

Tests: No makeup exams or lab tests will be available without proof of extreme hardship. The final exam cannot be rescheduled to accommodate travel plans.

If you have a question about items on midterm exams, you should contact me or one of the TA’s. All questions concerning items on a particular exam should be brought to our attention within 2 weeks following the date grades are posted for that test.

The College of Business is very strict on honesty. All the work in this course is individual, not team work. Cheating or copying will result in a grade of zero for the test and the case will be referred to the College of Business for review and possible disciplinary action. In the case of proven copying during an examination, all the participating parties will be treated equally, and there will be no distinction between the source and the one who copied.

Final Grades: The complete work for the course is worth 1000 points. These are divided among the two midterm exams, the cumulative final exam, and the 5 lab tests, according to the following percentages:

Lab test 1 = 20 points = 2%

Lab test 2 = 70 points = 7%

Lab test 3 = 70 points = 7%

Lab test 4 = 70 points = 7%

Lab test 5 = 70 points = 7%

Midterm 1 = 200 points = 20%

Midterm 2 = 200 points = 20%

Final exam =300 points = 30%

The letter grade you receive is based on your percentage grade, using the following scale:

A = 90-100% D = 60-69%

B = 80-89 % E = < 60%

C = 70-79 %

Lab Attendance: Your grade will be reduced by one letter grade if you miss 50 percent or more of the lab sessions, and you will receive a failing grade if you miss 80 percent or more of the lab sessions. Attendance at the lab will be determined by attendance lists, which will be passed at random times during the lab session. Lab instructors have the right to demand students show identification; students refusing to do so will be considered absent. ID is also required to take all examinations.

Course Schedule: Following the tentative schedule for the class. This schedule may be adjusted during the semester to accommodate changes in topic coverage and guest speakers.

1. 1/12-1/14 Introduction to IS Chapter 1

No Lab

2. 1/19-1/21 IS in Organizations Chapter 2

3. 1/26-1/28 IS Hardware Chapter 3

E-mail, Windows & Internet Lab Test 1

4. 2/2-2/4 IS Software Chapter 4

MS Word

5. 2/9-2/11 Data Management Chapter 5

MS Word

6. 2/16------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mid-Term 1

2/18 Telecommunication Chapter 6

MS Word

7. 2/23-2/25 Telecom/Internet Chapters 6/7

MS Excel Lab Test 2

8. 3/2-3/4 Transaction Processing Systems Chapters 8

MS Excel

9. 3/9-3/11 Management Information Systems Chapters 9

MS Excel

10. 3/16-3/18 No Class - Spring Break

11. 3/23-3/25 Decision Support Systems Chapters 10

MS Access Lab Test 3

12. 3/30 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mid-Term 2

4/1 Guest Speaker

MS Access

13. 4/6-4/8 AI/Expert Systems Chapter 11

MS Access Lab Test 4

14. 4/13-4/15 Systems Investigation & Analysis Chapter 12

MS PowerPoint

15. 4/20-4/22 Systems Development Chapter 13

MS PowerPoint

16. 4/27-4/29 Ethical and Societal Issues Chapters 14

MS PowerPoint Lab Test 5