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INFS1602 INFORMATION SYSTEMS IN BUSINESS

Week 1 Course Introduction

& Information Systems in Global Business

INFS1602 Information Systems in Business

n  Level one Introductory course –  Ideal for first and second year students

–  Uses foundation material covered on business and technology courses

n  This course aims to give students an appreciation of how existing and emerging technology affects –  the operation and management of businesses,

–  the relationships that businesses have with external entities (customers, suppliers, regulators etc), and

–  the products and services that businesses can offer

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Course Elements - Lectures

▫  1 hour per week (weeks 1-12) ▫  Guidance on workshop preparation

�  Case study / discussion questions ▫  Content ▫  Topics as per course outline ▫  ‘Skeleton’ Slide pack provided on Blackboard ▫  You will need to take notes

▫  Announcements ▫  You will need to be familiar with course announcements

Course Elements - Workshops

n  2 hours per week (weeks 2 -13) –  You must attend the workshop that you are enrolled in

n  Workshops are streamed –  You must register for an appropriate workshop

n  Preparation –  Read relevant chapter and take online quiz

–  Consider how you would answer the discussion / case study questions

n  Participation –  Presentation & discussion of discussion / case study questions

–  Debates

–  Ongoing group assignment

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Course elements – self paced

n  Computer laboratories –  provide you with an opportunity to work on the Web development

skills you need to complete your group assignment (i.e. Sharepoint) –  Schedule on course outline

n  Your private study –  the most important component of this course.

–  The textbook and accompanying website provides self assessment exercises

n  Allow 10 hours per week for this course

Conduct in Lectures and Workshops

n  No talking n  No use of laptops, mobile phones, MP3 players etc n  It is a breach of ethical guidelines to record people without their

permission –  Do NOT record lectures or workshops

–  Permission of lecturer/tutor AND other students required

n  Students disturbing the class will be asked to leave

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Required Reading

Information Systems: Enabling Business In A Digital World n  First Edition, 2010. Pearson Australia

Custom Publication. n  Available from bookshop

MS Sharepoint Designer 2007

n  Manual available on Blackboard n  Online resources

Demonstrating your knowledge

n  Online Quiz (10%) –  Weeks 2 to 11 - result based on best 8

n  Workshop Preparation and Participation (10%) –  Weeks 2 to 13

–  Grading scheme is in course outline

n  Group Assignment (30%) –  New business venture & Web prototype

–  Submissions in weeks 4, 8 & 12.

n  Final Exam (50%) –  Based on lectures, workshops & textbook

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Formal Requirements

n  To receive a pass grade in this course, you must meet ALL of the following criteria: –  Attain an overall mark of at least 50%.

–  Attend at least 80% of all scheduled classes.

–  Attain a satisfactory performance in each component of the course. A mark of 45 percent or higher is normally regarded as satisfactory.

–  Attain a mark of at least 45% in the final exam.

What are we going to cover?

n  Information Systems, Organizations, and Strategy n  E-Commerce: Digital markets, Digital Goods n  Enterprise Information Systems: ERP, CRM, and SCM n  How IS support Managerial Work and Decision Making n  Business Intelligence: Databases and Information Management n  Building Information Systems n  Ethical and Social aspects of Information Systems n  Information Systems Security and Controls n  Web 2.0 Technologies and Business Models n  Managing Projects

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Week 2 Workshop – Second Life

n  What kinds of businesses are most likely to benefit from a presence on Second Life? Why?

n  Considering what you have learned about Second Life, how could you, as an individual, create a modest start-up business on the Grid? What goods would you sell? Why would this be a good choice of product? What, in simple terms, would your business plan be? Why would it work?

n  What obstacles does Second Life have to overcome in order to become a mainstream business tool? Does it face fewer or more obstacles to become a mainstream educational tool? To what do you attribute the difference?

n  Is Second Life a precursor of how business will be conducted in the future or a corporate experiment? Justify your answer.

The old economics of Enterprise

Land Labour Capital

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The old view of Resources

n  Scarce –  Value linked to scarcity

n  Wealth linked to ownership –  Accumulate

n  Markets for transfer –  Used by transfer

n  Build organisations to acquire and ‘store’ resources

n  Assets are not given away

The Economics of Information & Knowledge

n  Information & knowledge are central wealth creation resource –  Have different characteristics than traditional resources

•  Intangible •  Scarcity

•  Use •  Transfer

•  Value

n  IT as a enabling device n  The rise of the digital economy

–  Google, Youtube, itunes, Myspace

n  The rise of the digital firm

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The Digital Firm

n  In the emerging, fully digital firm –  Significant business relationships are digitally enabled and

mediated –  Core business processes are accomplished through digital

networks –  Key corporate assets are managed digitally

Business Objectives for IS

n  Growing interdependence between ability to use information technology and ability to implement corporate strategies and achieve corporate goals –  Google, Amazon, eBay, etc.

n  Business firms invest heavily in information systems to achieve six strategic business objectives: –  Operational excellence

–  New products, services, and business models

–  Customer and supplier intimacy

–  Improved decision making

–  Competitive advantage

–  Survival

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The Interdependence Between Organizations and IT

There is a growing interdependence between a firm’s information systems and its business capabilities. Changes in strategy, rules, and business processes increasingly require changes in hardware, software, databases, and telecommunications. Often, what the organization would like to do depends on what its systems will permit it to do.

Data and Information

Raw data from a supermarket checkout counter can be processed and organized to produce meaningful information, such as the total unit sales of dish detergent or the total sales revenue from dish detergent for a specific store or sales territory.

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Functions of an Information System

An information system contains information about an organization and its surrounding environment. Three basic activities—input, processing, and output—produce the information organizations need. Feedback is output returned to appropriate people or activities in the organization to evaluate and refine the input. Environmental actors, such as customers, suppliers, competitors, stockholders, and regulatory agencies, interact with the organization and its information systems.

IS are more than Computers

n  Investing in information technology does not guarantee good returns

n  Considerable variation in the returns firms receive from systems investments

n  Factors: –  Adopting the right business

model –  Investing in complementary

assets (organisational and management capital)