MGT 544

 

MGT 544          

 

Information Technology - Strategies and Trends

This course assumes a basic knowledge of computers and information technology in the workplace.  Students learn the principles to develop and implement a strategic plan for the use of information technology in an organization.

 

Students also share and analyze trends in information technology with the

aid of current business periodicals, journals, the WWW and various texts.

 

About the Instructor:  Gordon Bruce has approximately 30 years of experience in the information technology field.  He has worked in various government, banking, healthcare, and commercial real estate organizations in a variety of systems engineering, telecommunications, analyst/programming, and management positions.  He is presently employed as the CIO and Director of Administration for the Estate of James Campbell, a pre-eminent commercial real estate trust with holdings in 17 U.S. states including Hawaii where they are headquartered.  His undergraduate studies are in Information Systems at Ryerson Polytechnical Institute in Toronto, Canada.  He has a Master in Business Administration with an emphasis on international business from Hawaii Pacific University in Honolulu.

 

He can be contacted at:

(808) 6743269

(808) 3710255

email: [email protected]

Web Page: http://members.fortunecity.com/nesiconsulting

 

Text:            Information Systems Management in Practice, Fourth Edition by Barbara C McNurlin and Ralph H. Sprague, Jr.

Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458

 

Grade System

Class Participation                  30 points

Power Point Presentation            40 points

2 Page Paper                            30 points

Total                                                     100 points

 

Subjects to be Covered

1.           The Importance of Information Systems Management (Chapter 1)

2.           Leadership Issues in Information Systems Management (Chapter 2)

3.           The Strategic Role of Information Technology (Chapter 3)

4.           Information Systems Planning (Chapter 4)

5.           Managing Telecommunications (Chapter 6)

6.           Management Issues in Systems Development (Chapter 10)

7.           The Expanding Universe of Computing (Chapter 11)

8.           Supporting the Expanding Universe of Computing (Chapter 12)

9.           Helping People Become Comfortable with Information Technology (Chapter 17)

10.       Creating the New Work Environment (Chapter 18)

 

The teachings will be based on practical experience with examples of successful and unsuccessful Information Technology Strategic Planning efforts.  Information will be provided through the experiences of the instructor, the students, journals, and the text.

 

Class Participation Grade

This grade will be based on the contributions of the students through questions, contributions to the learning experience, individual and team efforts in class and assigned projects.

 

 

PowerPoint Presentation (Teamwork)

Find three to six interesting or useful sites on the World Wide Web dealing with Information Technology Business Strategies and how these strategies could provide a competitive advantage or disadvantage to a company.  Design a PowerPoint presentation to communicate the contents of these wonderful sites to your classmates.  Please adhere to the following requirements:

 

Areas that you could present include but are not limited to:

1.       Sales

2.       Education

3.       The Movie Industry

4.       The Music Industry

5.       The Healthcare Industry

6.       The Telecommunications Industry

7.       The Automobile Industry

8.       The Airline/Travel Industry

9.       The Residential Real Estate Industry

10.   The Commercial Real Estate Industry

11.   Government

12.   The Printed Media Industry (e.g. Newspaper)

 

-          Include a title slide that identifies your team

-          Pretend that your audience (fellow classmates) is the Board of Directors for a multinational corporation, and that you were hired as a consultant for a huge fee to present your findings.  Your findings/recommendations will be used to help the company or division within the company develop future business strategies.

-          Include 2 or 3 slides for each site that explain its usefulness or features and why this information is important (include its URL).

-          Maintain a consistent appearance in your use of fonts or colors.

-          Use simple, non-distracting transition effects.

-          Add speaker notes to expand on the pages’ contents.  

-          Print and email at least one full copy of your presentation to the instructor one day prior to the due date.

-          Include at least one of the following

o        A graphic image

o        A chart

-          Your presentation is to be no more than 10 minutes in length, with another 5 minutes for questions from the class for a total of 15 minutes

-          Everyone on your team should present at least one slide

-          The class will participate in assigning a grade to your presentation… after all they are the Board of Directors.


Two (2) Page Paper

 

Your 2 page paper (maximum) should address the subject of future trends in Information Technology, or Information Management.  You do not have to predict the future but provide input into what you belief some of the impacts of technology can be.  These can be social, economic or just plain fun issues.  Sample topics include, but are not limited to:

1.       The Future IS Organization

2.       Technology Trends 2000 – 2005 such as

a.      High Definition Television

b.      Speech Recognition

c.      Wireless Communications

d.      Home devices

e.      The Internet

f.        Personal Computing

g.      E-Business

h.      Networking – Local and Wide Area

3.       Teleworking … can the corporation manage/tolerate/support employees who work from home

4.       Application Development and Deployment

5.       The Virtual Enterprise

6.       Information Management Vs. Information Technology Management

7.       Funding for Advanced Technology Development

8.       Managing and Motivating the Information Technology Worker in the Future

9.       Telecommunications Challenges

10.   Educating the Next Generation of Technology Workers

11.   Information Technology Impacts on the “Bricks and Mortar” aspects of your business

12.   Information Technology Management Best Practices in a Multinational Corporation

13.   The “dot com” phenomenon

14.   Privacy and Security

15.   Portable Computing

Contact your instructor if you wish to write on one of the sample subject areas.  Obtain approval of your subject from your instructor prior to starting your paper. 

 

The two page paper is to be printed single spaced on 8˝ by 11 inch paper.  Font size is to be no greater than 12 point and no less than 10 point.  Include a title and your name.  Hand written papers are not acceptable.  The paper can be one sheet printed on 2 sides or 2 sheets printed on one side.  You must include at least 3 references.  These can be any combination of journal articles, newspaper articles, periodicals, textbook writings, and research from the WWW.  Do not copy the reference material, put what you have read into your own words.  Include your references on a third and separate sheet of paper.  The paper is to be handed in the second last class.  Extra credit will be given for handing the paper in early.  A 5-point penalty we be applied for every day that the paper is late.


Anticipated Schedule

May 14, 21

June 4, 18, 25

July 2, 9, 16

5:00 - 7:50pm each day

Detailed Schedule to follow after first meeting with class