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BMIS 2411 Information Systems |
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AT-A- GLANCE GENERAL INFORMATION COURSE DESCRIPTION
DETAILS
UPDATES |
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8:30 AM - 9:45 AM Tues & Thurs in Mervis 104 (course #21624)* |
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10 AM - 11:15 AM Tues & Thurs in Mervis 104 (course #21716)** |
* cross-listed with BA ACC 2411, course #21636
** cross-listed with BA ACC 2411, course #21714
Last updated
Do Not Print: Printer-friendly version available after guest speakers commit.
GENERAL
INFORMATION
Professor: Dennis Galletta
342 Mervis Hall
phone 648-1699
e-mail galletta@katz.pitt.edu
Secretary: None
COURSE
DESCRIPTION
Course Goals
Why
Do I Have to Take This Course?
A common question among students (from majors other than MIS) is: "Why do I have to take this course?" Common reasons used for asking that question often fit into one or more of the following: (1) I already know Microsoft Office and the Internet, (2) I do not want to develop systems, or (3) I already have to take strategy. Why is this course just more strategy?
Harvard professors in MIS justify the topic by demonstrating the huge investments the corporate world has made in IT. The US Department of Commerce tells us that US investments in corporate IT per full-time employee have tripled from 1987 to 2004, reaching $5,134, and that annual investments in IT nearly match those made in "plant" (23%).Refer to the graphs below:
Source for both charts: Andrew McAfee: "Managing in the Information Age: Course Overview, April, 2005. Data source for both charts: US Bureau of Economic Analysis Tangible Wealth Survey
The difficulty is that it took many years to show any "bottom line" benefits from such expenditures. Once the benefits were found, there was a large amount of variance, suggesting that investing in IT is not a reliable source of return on investment.
In one of our first readings: “Technology Beats a Full House,” (McAfee, 2008), several graphs show that there is an increase in the variability in profit margin with more IT purchases. The most striking graph is the following:
As you will see in your reading, the graph shows that variability in gross profit margin has been increasing since 1970, and ever since about 1986, firms within industries with low investments in IT have been more like each other, while firms within industries with high investments in IT have been very different. In baseball, as the rules become stricter over time, variability falls. But when there are few rules or players become unfamiliar with new tools, variability increases. That means that players act more differently than each other in those cases. High investments in IT are obviously unreliable because there are few prescribed rules about what to do! If each organization handled IT investments the same way, then the variability would be quite low.
The key is management of the technology. There are many different activities, ranging from forecasting to analysis to communication. Those activities start from determining the need and ending with deployment and evaluation. Each activity is a link in the overall chain, only as strong as its weakest link.
Common
Sense is Not Enough
Given the complexity and number of ways to go wrong, common sense is not enough. There are few equations and few comprehensive analyses in this field, but many decision points. This course will help you better understand what to do when you encounter those decision points. If these decisions were based on common sense, only the large, lucrative investments would be seen, not the large, costly failures that occur from time to time.
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Remarkable Decade
It would be an understatement to say that the last decade has been confusing for the study of information systems. That period began with frantic investment and hype over the Internet and electronic commerce. In 2000, the Internet "bust" and the threat of outsourcing to offshore firms has led many away from the field in the last eight years. Computer-related majors are down 50% to 70% in the US and Australia, but meanwhile, most projections show continued growth in hiring for the next few years. Nice opportunity, eh?
The downturn and Internet "bust" are quite odd given that Internet resources have continued to expand rapidly. According to the Internet Systems Consortium, displaying internet growth semi-annually, in January of 2000, at the peak of the hype, there were nearly 72.5 million hosts (addresses that were registered for access). According to the most recent statistics, as of July, 2009, we are now over 680 million hosts, representing annual growth since the "bust" of about 25%. Growth seems to have accelerated again in the last two years. Who is going to develop these and other new systems that continue to emerge over the next decades?
Beyond IT personnel, users have also become much more aware of IT over the last decade. One visible sign is the widespread use of personal computers at work, which have been called "the hallmark of the workplace in postindustrial American" (Hipple & Kosanovich, 2003). Even six years ago, at least 80% of all managers had access to a PC, and after dropping agriculture and construction, about 81% of all employees had access to a PC. It is undoubtedly higher now.
Education in IT has changed drastically in the past three decades. In fact, the 1985 version of this course, used to involve programming and tools such as spreadsheet development and statistical analysis. Over the years, at this school as well as many, many others, the tool focus has diminished and the strategic dimension has increased. This version of the course still involves one tool: Microsoft Access. However, the focus is limited to about an hour of class time.
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High-Level View
The new strategic focus of this course points to decisions that executives need to make about information technology. This "view from 30,000 feet" is intended to emphasize millions of dollars rather than day-to-day decisions that probably don't belong in an MBA program.
As is the case nowadays in many fields, the operational focus is more likely to be outsourced. Strategic frameworks and analytical processes win out over programming. We focus on competitive advantage and the potential to shape a marketplace.
We did not invent this approach; the world has evolved and teaching materials have matured. The reasoning is that you are likely to become involved in technology decisions almost immediately in your career. As a team or committee member you will see very familiar issues and you will remember that common sense will not be enough. You, and others who have a similar background, will contribute valuable points of view that others using only their common sense will not be able to contribute. You might save the organization millions of dollars at each opportunity.
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· Understanding of new information technologies and their implications · Ability to apply strategic models to discover and evaluate IT possibilities · Knowledge of how to build competitive advantage through IT · Understanding how to strengthen strategic alignment of IT with the goals of the organization · Appreciation for the importance of enterprisewide data sharing, and understanding of several options · Understanding of the critical role of IT in the process of reengineering · Knowledge of how systems provide new means for creating and maintaining relationships with customers or clients · Understanding of major steps in the system development process, to allow a developer to help you more effectively as a partner · Ability to make better decisions about what data should be stored and how it can be manipulated · Understanding of the importance of security and how to avoid being a victim of security weaknesses · An appreciation for the ethical dilemmas faced in technological circles, and how to resolve them · Knowledge of how to manage outsourcing and offshoring opportunities · Understanding of how to manage knowledge in an organization · What are local "movers and shakers" thinking (via guest lectures) · Ability to develop a Technology Business Case or Plan |
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Computer:
On days that you do bring along your laptop, please do not distract other
students with it by catching up on your e-mail or doing casual browsing
during class. Constantly-open laptops could result in lower course
participation scores!
Name Tag: Please use name tags, assuming I do not know your name. Lack of a name-tag will result in lower course participation scores.
Text:
Pearlson, Keri E. and Saunders, Carol S. Managing & Using Information Systems: A Strategic Approach (4th ed.), 2010, Wiley. ISBN 9-780-470-34381-4.
Articles:
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Brynjolfsson, Erik “VII Pillars of Productivity,” Information Week, May 1, 2005, available here.
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Brandel, Mary “Extreme ROI: Four Projects that Blew the Doors Off” Computerworld February 11, 2008, available here.
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Carr, Nicholas "IT Doesn't Matter," Harvard Business Review, May, 2003 (available using the instructions here.
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Cummings, Joanne "How SOA could change the way you buy electricity" Network World Oct 22, 2007, available here.
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Kay, Russell “Quick Study: Cloud Computing,” Computerworld August 4, 2008, available here.
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McAfee, Andy “Technology Beats a Full House,” available here.
Tutorial:
Microsoft Access assignment (available on Blackboard)
Cases (dates in parentheses--if
two, then date written/date revised):
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· “Lands' End" case (2003) (available on Blackboard) · Evergreen Investments: Mobil CRM (Harvard N9-605-057) (2005) Andrew McAffee · CVS ("Pharmacy Service Improvement at CVS") (Harvard 9-606-015) (2005) Andrew McAffee · Caregroup (Harvard 303-097) (2003) Rob Austin and Warren McFarland · Threadless: the business of community (Harvard 608707)(2008) Karim Lakhani and Zahra Kanji (note: this is a CD-ROM, which will be mailed to you when you buy the course package at Harvard Business School Press) · iPremiere Company (A): Denial of Service Attack, Graphic novel version (Harvard 609092-PDF-ENG) (2009) Austin, Robert D. and Jeremy Short · Zara: IT for Fast Fashion (Harvard 9-604-081) (2004) Andrew McAffee · Rich-Con Steel (Harvard 9-699-133 (1999/2003) Andrew McAffee |
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Where are the Harvard-sourced cases? They are available on the Harvard Business School's publications Web site under my course. The electronic versions of the cases can be purchased and printed instantly and cost about $31 (before any taxes or other charges). Here is the address:
Please do not e-mail me your case answers and other items due! Please use Blackboard. Please SUBMIT, don't just ADD or SAVE, your items.
Academic Honesty: It is expected that all assignments will be your own original work, not copied and pasted from any source (friends, web sites, etc.). Failure to cite a source and mark quoted material is a serious violation of academic integrity, no matter how small the assignment, and could result in a failing grade in this course and/or the MBA program.
Disabilities: If you have a disability for which you are or may be requesting an accommodation, you are encouraged to contact both your instructor and Disability Resources and Services, 216 William Pitt Union, (412) 648-7890/(412) 383-7355 (TTY), as early as possible in the term. DRS will verify your disability and determine reasonable accommodations for this course.
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DETAILS
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Cases: Questions to answer for each case will be provided at least two weeks before each case is due. Please submit your answers through Blackboard. Please do not use e-mail. Some cases do not involve hand-ins; but your participation will still count. Case submissions are due no later than the start of the first class session of the day--8:30 AM. Innovation Project and Presentations: Your group should come up with an idea for turning an idea into a technological reality in an organization. The project is described in detail at this link.
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Final Schedule (Revised on Sept 16, 2009)
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Week |
Topic/materials
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Reading and Assignment Due |
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1 (Sept 1) |
Course Introduction |
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2 (Sept 3) |
Information
Systems – Past, Present, and Future |
Pearlson & Saunders Introduction Carr’s IT Doesn’t Matter reading (how to get it) McAfee's Full House reading (available here) Brynjolfsson’s VII Pillars reading (available here) |
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3
(Sept 8) |
Business
Strategy and IT Strategy |
Pearlson
& Saunders 1, 2 |
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4 (Sept 10) |
IT Strategy and Organizational Impacts |
Pearlson & Saunders 2, 3 Brandel's Extreme ROI article |
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5 (Sept 15) |
- case discussion |
ZipCar case analysis due (text pg. 74) (individual) Answer questions 1, 2, and 4 |
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6 (Sept 17) |
IT and the Design of Work |
Pearlson & Saunders 4 Automated Waste Disposal case (text pg. 131) (class discussion only) |
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7 (Sept 22) |
- case discussion |
Lands’ End case analysis due (free on Blackboard site) (group) Questions to answer |
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8 (Sept 24) |
No class |
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9 (Sept 29) |
Guest Speaker |
Kevin Horner, Chief Information Officer of ALCOA |
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10 (Oct 1) |
First Quiz (7 points) |
- covers material from Sept 1 to Sept 29 |
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11 (Oct 6) |
IT and Business Processes |
Pearlson & Saunders 5 Boeing 787 Dreamliner case (text pg. 160) (class discussion only) |
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12 (Oct 8) |
- case discussion |
Evergreen case analysis due (individual) Questions to answer |
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13 (Oct 13) |
IT Architecture and Infrastructure
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Pearlson & Saunders 6 Cloud Computing article Cummings Service-Oriented Architecture article (available here) |
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14 (Oct 15) |
- case discussion Information Systems Sourcing |
CVS case analysis due (group) Questions to answer Pearlson & Saunders 7 Sodexho Asia Pacific case (text pg. 213) (class discussion only) |
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15 (Oct 20) |
Governance of the Information Systems Function |
Pearlson & Saunders 8 Big Fix at Toyota case (text pg. 243) (class discussion only) |
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16 (Oct 22) |
- case discussion |
Caregroup case analysis due (group) Questions to answer |
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Oct 27 |
Career Day No Classes |
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17 (Oct 29) |
IT Ethics and Security |
Pearlson & Saunders 9 part 1 |
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18 (Nov 3) |
Second Quiz (8 points) |
- covers material from Oct 6 to Oct 22 |
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19 (Nov 5) |
IT Ethics and Security - case discussion |
Pearlson & Saunders 9 part 2 Manufact case (text pg. 246) (class discussion only) |
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20 (Nov 10) |
- case discussion |
Threadless case analysis due (individual) Questions to answer |
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21 (Nov 12) |
- case discussion |
iPremiere case analysis due (group) Questions to answer |
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22 (Nov 17) |
Guest Speaker |
Tom Tabor, Chief Information Officer at Highmark BCBS |
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23 (Nov 19) |
Guest Speaker |
Claudio Abreu, President and CEO of Bayer Business and Technology Services, LLC |
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24 (Nov 24) |
Funding IT; Managing IT Projects |
Pearlson & Saunders 10, 11 |
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Nov 26 |
Thanksgiving (no class) |
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25 (Dec 1) |
- case discussion |
Zara case analysis due (individual) Questions to answer |
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26 (Dec 3) |
Managing IT Projects & Knowledge Management |
Pearlson & Saunders 11, 12 Sabre Holdings case (text pg. 343) (class discussion only). |
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27 (Dec 8) |
- case discussion |
Rich-Con Steel case analysis due (group) Questions to answer |
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28 (Dec 10) |
Group Project Presentations - 5 minutes each |
Innovation Projects Due |
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Dec 14-17, TBA |
Final Quiz (9 points) |
- covers material from Oct 29 to Dec 10 |
Note: Refer to the school's final exam schedule for dates and room assignments for any of your other classes.
References
S. Hipple, K. Kosanovich, Computer and Internet Use at Work in 2001, Monthly Labor Review, February 2003 (also available at http://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2003/02/art2full.pdf).