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Brian J. Reithel, PhD, CDP
Professor of Management Information Systems
Holman Hall 368
(662) 915-5469
Office Hours: T/Th 9:00-9:30 a.m., 10:45-11:30 a.m., or by appointment

Email: breithel@bus.olemiss.edu

Homepage: faculty.bus.olemiss.edu/breithel/

Using MIS
by David M. Kroenke
Pearson/Prentice-Hall, 2007
ISBN: 0-13-143372-5.

Companion Website from the Publisher

RECOMMENDED TEXTS:

Microsoft Office 2007: Excel (or any other new/current Excel reference book)
by Timothy J. O'Leary and Linda I. O'Leary
McGraw Hill, 2008
ISBN: 0-07-329452-7.

How Computers Work (Ninth Edition)
by Ron White
Que, 2008
ISBN: 0-7897-3613-6.

The study of management information systems and decision support systems with a focus on computer-based model development techniques. This course also covers the relationship among advanced information technologies, business processes and organization performance. Prerequisite: Bus 230  

MAJOR OBJECTIVES OF THE COURSE:

The major objectives of this course revolve around helping the student:

• Understand the ways in which organizations use information technology for competitive advantage.
• Develop an understanding of the terminology associated with all aspects of information systems.
• Become familiar with key concepts related to hardware, software, telecommunications, database systems, and systems development.
• Study the various types of electronic commerce applications in use today and likely to emerge in the coming years.
• Examine long-term trends in information technology that will impact organizations in the future.
• Cultivate a deeper understanding of advanced uses of Microsoft Excel for complicated decision-making and information analysis scenarios.

As future business professionals, students are expected to have read assigned materials and to have completed assignments prior to each class. The class discussions/lectures are intended to emphasize the primary concepts from each reading and to provide an opportunity to answer any questions that may result from the readings and/or assignments.  Because of the intensive nature of this class, it is essential that each student allocate adequate time to prepare for every week's activities. Do not get behind!

There are NO make-up exams. Students missing one midterm exam due to a PRE-ARRANGED AND PRE-APPROVED excused absence will be allowed to count the final as 50% of his/her grade.  You must bring a photo ID with you to each exam.

From time to time, the instructor may elect to administer a quiz during class.  These quizzes will be incorporated into the assignments portion of your grade.

Assignments may be written assignments related to the Kroenke text material, other Internet-based material, or Excel exercises. The Excel assignments should be completed using Excel 2003 or 2007. While many of the assignments may be completed in either version of Excel, there may be a few assignments that can only be completed in the 2007 version of the software.

Occasionally, homework assignments may require the use of other software packages such as PowerPoint or Word. Assignments should be completed using the appropriate Microsoft Office application (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, or Excel).

All assignments MUST be submitted to the appropriate Digital Drop Box within BlackBoard, unless otherwise noted, prior to the beginning of class on the due date  Assignments submitted after that time will be considered late.  All assignments must be handed in within three (3) working days of the assigned due date.  A 25 point per day deduction will be imposed on late assignments.

All students are expected to come to class well-prepared to engage in discussions about two major topics/themes:
• The syllabus topic(s) of the day; and
• Their favorite IT-related news story of the week.

Obviously, the discussion regarding the syllabus topic of the day will come from the Kroenke text, Excel's built-in Help files, and/or individually-conducted web research.  It is important that you read this material before class so that you will be prepared to ask good questions and to gain additional professional insight from our conversations about these topics.

Also, during every week of the semester -- beginning on Tuesday, January 22nd and continuing through May 1st -- each student is also expected to bring a print-out of their "Favorite IT-related News Story" from the web.  Good sites for finding these types of stories include: Google News, CNet , BusinessWeek's Technology News , ComputerWorld, CNN, the Wall Street Journal, Business 2.0, FastCompany, and more.
 

Poor performance is not an acceptable reason to request an incomplete grade.  Incomplete grades may be assigned in circumstances involving major life "situations" such as an automobile accident resulting in serious injury, prolonged major illness, or other circumstances.  If you are facing a "major life situation", please come to me and let's discuss how to address it before a significant amount of time has elapsed.  Hopefully, we will be able to develop a mutually agreeable plan to address your work in this course that helps you cope with the major "situation" that you are facing.

School of Business Administration Statement of Academic Integrity The School of Business Administration upholds honor and academic integrity in all of its teaching, research, and service activities.  All business faculty, staff, and students are charged with the responsibility to behave with personal and professional integrity and to refrain from dishonorable conduct.

If an incident of academic misconduct occurs in this course, the student will receive a failing grade on the assignment/quiz/exam itself. Particularly egregious incidents may result in a grade of "F" for the semester.

IMPORTANT NOTE: All homework assignments, quizzes, tests, and other exercises are to be considered individual activities unless the instructor specifically identifies an assignment as a group assignment. The academic discipline policy of the University of Mississippi will be strictly followed in this course. The student should refer to the university's academic policy database for definitions of academic misconduct.

Class participation is an important part of the learning experience. Many topics discussed in class will not be in the text; thus, missing classes implies missing knowledge which leads to missing opportunities to perform well on examinations and on the job after graduation.  Based on several years spent observing student performance and class involvement, your professor concludes that people who skip classes tend to receive very low grades. The choice is yours.

Under School of Business Administration policy, students who miss class during the first week of the semester without the instructor's prior written approval will be automatically dropped from the course.

STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES

Students who have a disability that may require assistance or accommodation, or students who have questions related to any accommodations for testing, note takers, readers, etc., should speak with the course instructor as soon as possible and contact Student Disability Services at 662-915-7128 with questions about such services. Further information can be found at www.olemiss.edu/depts/sds/.

COMPUTER LABORATORY ACTIVITIES:

Students should anticipate spending a significant amount of time EACH WEEK working on material related to this course.  Some of that time may be spent in the computer laboratory (or using a personally-owned computer if the student has the necessary software packages). This is the only way that true proficiency in the usage of modern computer-based systems can be attained.  Other time may be spent on reading, research, and/or additional written assignments.

Grades can be retrieved via the campus BlackBoard server.

MIS-309 Tentative Schedule Spring 2008

IMPORTANT NOTE: This syllabus is subject to revision throughout the semester.  Please check it periodically and/or make note of the "Last Changed" date at the very bottom to make sure you have the most current revision.

DATE	DISCUSSION TOPICS AND RELATED LINKS
January 17	Course introduction, "Did You Know 2.0"
22	"MIS and You" Moore's Law page from Intel
24	"Purposes of Information Systems" Trustworthy Computing article from Wikipedia Bill Gates' email message to Microsoft employees re: Trustworthy Computing (article from Wired magazine) Microsoft homepage for their Trustworthy Computing initiative
29	"Purposes of Information Systems" (cont.)
31	"Hardware and Software" How PCs Work article from HowStuffWorks.com "Computer Channel" resource from HowStuffWorks.com Homepage of the Trusted Computing Group Great FAQ Document on "Trusted Computing" from Ross Anderson at the University of Cambridge Computer Laboratory Trusted Computing article from Wikipedia Excel: Statistical Functions, Sorting, and Formatting
February 5	"Database Processing" SQL (nice tutorial from w3schools.com) Microsoft SQL Server Oracle Database IBM DB2 MySQL
7	Excel: Financial Functions
12	"Data Communications and Internet Technology" Internet Timeline by Robert Hobbes Zakon The OSI Model from HowStuffWorks.com How WiFi Works from HowStuffWorks.com How Routers Work from HowStuffWorks.com How LAN Switches Work from HowStuffWorks.com How Ethernet Works from HowStuffWorks.com Internet Protocol Reference Guide by BR Communications satellites Advanced tips and tricks for Internet Explorer (courtesy of the IEInforSite in the UK) Web Hosting (vendors, fees, etc.) -- nice reference site from cnet.com
14	Excel: Date/Time Functions and Information Functions
19	"Systems Development"
21	Excel: Lookup Functions and Database Functions Mind Mapping
26	Midterm Exam One NOTE: Wednesday, February 27th is the UM deadline for course withdrawals
28	"Information Systems Within Organizations"
March 4	Excel: Information Functions and Text Functions
6	Professionally Useful Tools Video Lecture: Using GoToMyPC.com, GoToMeeting.com, and Adobe Captivate
11, 13	UM Spring Break
18	"E-Commerce and Supply Chain Systems" HTML Tutorial from w3schools.com XML Tutorial from w3schools.com Sample XML File (Invoice example) Nice article about EDI from Wikipedia.com Article about Porter's 5 Forces Model from Wikipedia.com Electronic Frontier Foundation
20	In-Depth: HTML and XML
25	"Business Intelligence and Knowledge Management" Decision Support Systems history and overview by D.J. Power, editor of  DSSResources.com DSS Web Tour from D.J. Power Data Warehouses (Google directory) The Data Warehousing Institute Data Mining (Google directory)
27	Excel: Introduction to Macros
April 1	Excel: Macros -- The Sequel
3	Midterm Exam Two
8	"Information Systems Management"
10	Excel: Importing Data
15	"Information Security Management", Social Engineering Using "Biometrics" devices for security VeriChip human-implantable RFID chip
17	Excel: Using Solver
22	Midterm Exam Three
24	Open Source Software and Systems Trends
29	Excel: Using Scenario Manager
May 1	Long-term Future Trends for Information Technology and Society Intelligent Agents Last class meeting
8	COMPREHENSIVE FINAL EXAM (Thursday, 8:00 -11:00 a.m.)

Comments: breithel@bus.olemiss.edu