The single most important point made in these materials is tha

Readings (Required):

• Baltzan, P. (2013).Business driven information systems, 3e. Chapter 1. in eReserves

Required Multimedia:

• McFarlan, F. W. (n.d.) The new strategic weapon: Information technology. Cambridge: Harvard Business School Publishing. To be found in Content Multimedia Materials for weeks 11 and 12 (click HERE McFarlan lecture, the New Strategic Weapon: Information Technology

• Tata Interactive Systems. (n.d.). Strategic information systems planning. http://info..edu/mba/public/TIS/information/information_simulation.html (note: if you’re using Internet Explorer 8, the simulation probably won’t open. It’s a Microsoft problem. Use a different browser if you can.)
• Lecture video by Dr. James Stewart of on Information Management Systems (open in a separate executable file in the week 11 Content module) James Stewart Video Lecture - Information Systems Management HERE

Assignment: Discussion Activity (8%)

• Each studentis tocritically assess the 1)mission, 2)goalsand 3)importanceof information systems and their management (ISM) in the firm, 4) using their own work organization as an example.

Clarification:

The single most important point made in these materials is that information systems, and their supporting information technology plus included telecommunications technology, are not drivers in well-managed organizations; instead, they are when properly used, supporters of the business mission and strategy.

That is true of , where the mission is educate with the major marketing strategy to be online. It is also true of Amazon.com, where the mission is to make a profit selling a wide number of products, and the major marketing strategy is again, online.

The second most important point, stressed by Professor McFarlan and epitomized by Amazon.com, Apple and Google, is that properly-designed and -implemented information systems can convey a strategic competitive advantage to their enterprises.

Example: Here isa starton contributing to this week's discussions, with an example using as the firm.

• The missionof information systems management at University of University College is tosupportthe teaching and administrative processes of the university in anefficient and effective (!,recall operations management)way
• Thegoalsof ISM include:
• Being at thestate of the artin course delivery at a distance.That's why we have usedWimba- andpdfformat andaudio/videomaterials
  
  
• Providing24x7 reliabilityin the Learning environment, in PeopleSoft and other essential information systems. 360 Support is on call via message and telephone at all hours, for instance.
• ConservingState and student (ie, tuition)resourcesin accomplishing the foregoing, which taxpayers and the state legislature expect.

• Theimportance of ISM at is extremely high, given
• First, that the University has strategically decided to be the open university of and the United States, providing learning services to a growing student body mostly* at a distance, thus using information systems heavily.
• Second, there are a plethora of state and federal regulations, plus community standards, that govern the management of information at and thus provide continuing, importance-raising challenges.**

*Currently, about 82% of Adelphi students study exclusively online, and another 10% learn through a "hybrid" online/F2F program.

**One example is the accommodation requirements of the federal ADA - Americans with Disabilities - Act. These require that information be delivered at in ways that accommodate, for instance, visually- and hearing-impairedstudents.This means, for one example, that we must prepare - and pay for - transcripts of audio materials for hearing-impaired students (and some professors too).

Let the discussions begin.