Business Information Systems
Boss E 
COM327_Syllabus.pdf
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Saint Leo University Donald R. Tapia School of Business
BUSINESS INFORMATION SYSTEMS COM 327 (3 credits)
Course Description:
This course is an introduction to management information systems, the five components to Business Information Systems, and their strategic role in supporting and transforming modern organizations and management activities. Topics include: role of information systems in business; fundamentals of information technology - hardware, software, communication and computer networks, databases and enterprise systems; ethical issues in the information age, as well as issues of globalization, social impact, privacy, and security.
Prerequisites: COM 140, MAT 201
Textbooks:
Bidgoli, H (2020). MIS, Management of Information Systems. ISBN#: 9780357419212
Attention Students: Your course materials are available through the Cengage Unlimited Subscription. This subscription will give you access to the required materials for this course, as well as access to the entire Cengage digital library for a flat rate. Print upgrade rentals are available. More information with pricing can be found on the Saint Leo Bookstore site. Please note, you are not required to purchase the subscription. If you wish to purchase the materials individually, the details of the required books are below: Learning Outcomes:
1. Describe and discuss the nature of data and information and how each relates to management
function, and explain how information systems can be used by organizations to gain a competitive
advantage.
2. Demonstrate knowledge of essential information system building blocks, including hardware, software,
databases, and data communication.
3. Demonstrate knowledge of managerial issues surrounding information systems, including how to
develop information systems correctly and efficiently, how to manage information technology and
information systems resources, and how to protect and secure information systems.
4. Discuss, integrate, and illustrate the relevance of Excellence and Integrity, including the criticality of
Ethical Behavior, in the development and implementation of business computer systems.
Excellence: Saint Leo University is an educational enterprise. All of us, individually and collectively, work hard
to ensure that our students develop the character, learn the skills, and assimilate the knowledge essential to
become morally responsible leaders. The success of our University depends upon a conscientious
commitment to our mission, vision, and goals.
Community: Saint Leo University develops hospitable Christian learning communities everywhere we serve. We foster a spirit of belonging, unity, and interdependence based on mutual trust and respect to create socially responsible environments that challenge all of us to listen, to learn, to change, and to serve. Respect: Animated in the spirit of Jesus Christ, we value all individuals' unique talents, respect their dignity and strive to foster their commitment to excellence in our work. Our community's strength depends on the unity and diversity of our people, on the free exchange of ideas and on learning, living, and working harmoniously.
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Personal Development: Saint Leo University stresses the development of every person's mind, spirit, and body for a balanced life. All members of the Saint Leo University community must demonstrate their commitment to personal development to help strengthen the character of our community. Responsible Stewardship: Our Creator blesses us with an abundance of resources. We foster a spirit of service to employ our resources to university and community development. We must be resourceful. We must optimize and apply all of the resources of our community to fulfill Saint Leo University's mission and goals. Integrity: The commitment of Saint Leo University to excellence demands that its members live its mission and deliver on its promise. The faculty, staff, and students pledge to be honest, just, and consistent in word and deed.
Evaluation:
Method of Assessment:
Assignment Weight
Discussion + Pre & Posts assessments 10%
Homework Assignments 50%
Exams 40%
Total 100%
Grade Score (%) A 94-100 A- 90-93 B+ 87-89 B 84-86 B- 80-83 C+ 77-79 C 74-76 C- 70-73 D+ 67-69 D 60-66 F 0-59
Quizzes
There will be (at least) two tests covering the materials from the Bidgoli MIS Book. These tests can consist of multiple-choice questions, short answer questions, and/or word problems. A Final Exam will be given covering all material. The exams will consist of written essays, narratives and a final essay on concepts. There are a total of 3 Exams in this course occurring in Modules 3, 5, and 8. Complete each exam no later than Sunday 11:59 PM EST/EDT in which it is due Assignments
This course will require each student to complete assignments and problems at the end of each chapter. The instructor can also optionally assign the end-of-chapter Case Problems from the textbook. An assignment is due in each module. Details for each assignment are located in the module content for each respective module. Discussion (or Participation)
The instructor for all courses (except for online) may choose to include participation or class discussions as an assessment of the final grade. Participation in class discussions is expected to be thoughtful and well-informed.
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Assessment of the Learning Outcomes
Course
Learning outcome Assessment Method(s)
1 Exam, Homework Assignments, Discussion
2 Exam, Homework Assignments, Discussion
3 Exam, Homework Assignments, Discussion
4 Exam, Homework Assignments, Discussion
5 Exam, Homework Assignments, Discussion
6 Discussion
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Course Schedule:
Module 1 MIS in Business
Objectives When you complete this module, you should be able to:
• Discuss common applications of computers and information systems.
• Explain the difference between computer literacy and information literacy.
• Define transaction-processing systems.
• Define management information systems.
• Describe the four major components of information systems in functional areas of a business.
• Analyze how information technologies are used to gain a competitive advantage.
• Review the IT job market and summarize the future of information systems.
• Define a computer system and describe its components.
• Analyze the impact of the three factors distinguishing the computing power of computers.
• Summarize the three basic computer operations.
• Discuss the types of input, output and memory devices.
Readings Chapters 1 and 2
Assignments
Items to be Completed: Due No Later Than:
Post an introduction to the class Thursday 11:59 PM EST/EDT
Post an initial response to the discussion question Thursday 11:59 PM EST/EDT
Post responses to at least two classmates Sunday 11:59 PM EST/EDT
Pre-Course Assessment + Homework Sunday 11:59 PM EST/EDT
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Module 2 Computing Devices & Role of a Data System
Objectives When you complete this module, you should be able to: • Define a database and a database management system.
• Explain logical database design and the relational database model.
• Define the five components of a database management system.
• Summarize three recent trends in database design and use.
• Describe the components and function of a data mart and a data warehouse.
• Explain business analytics and describe its role in the decision-making process.
• Examine the advantages and challenges of big data and predictive analytics for a business.
• Explain database marketing and its business applications.
• Explain key features of Tableau and Power BI as two popular business intelligence and visualization
platforms.
Readings Chapter 3
Assignments
Items to be Completed: Due No Later Than:
Post an introduction to the class Thursday 11:59 PM EST/EDT
Post an initial response to the discussion question Thursday 11:59 PM EST/EDT
Post responses to at least two classmates Sunday 11:59 PM EST/EDT
Homework + Exam 1 Sunday 11:59 PM EST/EDT
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Module 3 Legal, Ethics, Organizational Concepts & Information Systems
Objectives When you complete this module, you should be able to: • Discuss information privacy, data collection issues and methods for improving the privacy of
information.
• Discuss ethical and health related issues in information technology.
• Describe information technology used in computer crimes and the basics of securing and safeguarding
against crimes.
• Explain major security threats and enforcement measures against those threats to include establishing
guidelines for a comprehensive security system.
• Understand cybercrime and its impact on the global economy.
• Describe the nine security measures and enforcement that a comprehensive security system should
include.
• Summarize the guidelines for a comprehensive security system including business continuity planning.
Readings Chapters 4 and 5
Assignments
Items to be Completed: Due No Later Than:
Post an introduction to the class Thursday 11:59 PM EST/EDT
Post an initial response to the discussion question Thursday 11:59 PM EST/EDT
Post responses to at least two classmates Sunday 11:59 PM EST/EDT
Homework Sunday 11:59 PM EST/EDT
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Module 4 Data Communication, Internet Concepts, and eCommerce
Objectives When you complete this module, you should be able to:
• Describe the types of networks, the topologies and concepts as they relate technically to the internet,
intranet, and extranets.
• Describe concepts of the internet, intranet, and extranets as tools for society for today and beyond.
• Explain the major applications, components of a data communication system.
Readings Chapters 6 and 7
Assignments
Items to be Completed: Due No Later Than:
Post an introduction to the class Thursday 11:59 PM EST/EDT
Post an initial response to the discussion question Thursday 11:59 PM EST/EDT
Post responses to at least two classmates Sunday 11:59 PM EST/EDT
Homework Sunday 11:59 PM EST/EDT
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Module 5 GIS & eCommerce Systems
Objectives When you complete this module, you should be able to:
• Discuss the reasons for globalization and for using global information systems, including e-business
and Internet growth.
• Explain global information systems and their requirements and components and the types of structures
used.
• Explain the components and concepts of e-commerce and the relationship to use in business to
business and social media today.
• Define concepts of e-commerce for businesses today.
Readings Chapters 8 and 9
Assignments
Items to be Completed: Due No Later Than:
Post an introduction to the class Thursday 11:59 PM EST/EDT
Post an initial response to the discussion question Thursday 11:59 PM EST/EDT
Post responses to at least two classmates Sunday 11:59 PM EST/EDT
Homework + Exam 2 Sunday 11:59 PM EST/EDT
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Module 6 Building Successful & Enterprise Systems Objectives When you complete this module, you should be able to:
• Explain the concepts and components of SDLC and trends in systems analysis and design as part of
building successful systems.
• Describe the various types of enterprise systems and their use in business today.
• Explain concepts of supply chain management in MIS.
• Describe customer management, enterprise resource, and knowledge systems.
Readings Chapters 10 and 11
Assignments
Items to be Completed: Due No Later Than:
Post an introduction to the class Thursday 11:59 PM EST/EDT
Post an initial response to the discussion question Thursday 11:59 PM EST/EDT
Post responses to at least two classmates Sunday 11:59 PM EST/EDT
Pre-Course Assessment + Homework Sunday 11:59 PM EST/EDT
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Module 7 Manage Support & Intelligent Systems
Objectives When you complete this module, you should be able to: • Describe the phases of the decision-making process in a typical organization and the types of decisions
that are made.
• Describe a decision support system, an executive information system’s importance in decision making
and group support systems, including groupware and electronic meeting systems and their role in
organizations today.
• Define artificial intelligence and explain how AI technologies support decision making.
• Describe concepts of an expert system, case-based reasoning, intelligent agents, fuzzy logic, neural
networks, lateral language processing, and contextual computing and their applications and
components in use today.
Readings Chapters 12 and 13
Assignments
Items to be Completed: Due No Later Than:
Post an introduction to the class Thursday 11:59 PM EST/EDT
Post an initial response to the discussion question Thursday 11:59 PM EST/EDT
Post responses to at least two classmates Sunday 11:59 PM EST/EDT
Homework Sunday 11:59 PM EST/EDT
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Module 8 Emerging Trends & Technologies
Objectives When you complete this module, you should be able to:
• Describe new trends in networking, including grid, utility, and cloud computing.
• Describe blockchain technology and cryptocurrency.
• Demonstrate an understanding of concepts of new software trends, virtual reality components and
applications, biometrics, and nanotechnologies in use today.
Readings Chapter 14
Assignments
Items to be Completed: Due No Later Than:
Post an introduction to the class Thursday 11:59 PM EST/EDT
Post an initial response to the discussion question Thursday 11:59 PM EST/EDT
Post responses to at least two classmates Sunday 11:59 PM EST/EDT
Pre-Course Assessment + Homework + Exam 3 Sunday 11:59 PM EST/EDT
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Appendix: Grading Rubric for Discussions
Criteria and Qualities Novice Satisfactory Excellent
Support of Week’s
Reading (20 points)
(0-10 points) Does not refer to the readings to support postings
(11-15 points) Alludes to readings to support postings
(16-20 points) Provides concrete examples from readings to support postings.
Observations (20 points)
(0-10 points) Does not integrate personal observations or knowledge.
(11-15 points) Integrates personal observations and knowledge in a cursory manner.
(16-20 points) Integrates personal observations and knowledge in an accurate and insightful way.
Response to Classmates (20 points)
(0-10 points) Responds in a cursory manner to classmates’ postings.
(11-15 points) Constructively responds to classmates’ postings.
(16-20 points) Constructively responds to classmates’ postings, and presents new observations.
Organization, Word Choice, and Sentence
Structure (20 points)
(0-10 points) Posts are disorganized and information is not presented in a logical sequence. Word choice and sentence structure are not suitable, and/or there are some grammatical errors.
(11-15 points) Posts are organized and information is presented in a logical sequence. But word choice and sentence structure are not suitable, and/or there are some grammatical errors.
(16-20 points) Posts are organized and information is presented in a logical sequence. Word choice and sentence structure are suitable, with no grammatical or spelling errors.
Citations/References (20 points)
(0-10 points) Does not cite outside sources.
(11-15 points) Includes 1 or more outside sources to support discussion. Sources are not cited in APA format.
(16-20 points) Includes 2 or more outside sources to support and enrich discussion. Sources are properly cited in APA format.
