Units

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Sample subject outline - Semester 1 2013

Note: Subject outlines often change before the semester begins. Below is a sample outline.

Rationale

Corporate Systems are information systems that are being used in business organization settings to provide task-relevant information to the workforce. These systems have become fundamental to business, and are used by many people to make a difference to the way organisations and societies operate. In key business domains, such as Government, Health, Finance, Utilities and Primary Industries, Corporate Systems Managers play a vital role in directing these socio-technical systems and impact on organisational people, processes and performance.

All Corporate Systems Management and Information Technology students need to be able to appreciate the nature of corporate information systems, their role, characteristics and challenges in corporate life and their impact on people, processes and performance.

This unit will help students to gain introductory knowledge of corporate information systems, and the key business domains in which they are used, in order to set the scene for their future studies and help them to match their emerging professional interests with potential career directions. The unit will also help them in understanding current trends in this area as well as the challenges that are related to the operation of information systems in corporate settings.

Aims

This unit has the aim to introduce you broadly to your field of study and to assist you in identifying an appropriate study career path that suits your skills and interest. To that end, this unit aims to give you a broad overview of the nature and role of socio-technical information systems in corporate business settings, and the role that corporate systems managers perform within the major business domains in which they operate.

This unit also aims to support you in developing awareness of your professional aptitudes and interests, in outlining current trends in this area, and also aims to assist you in developing a promising and suitable pathway to a potential career in the areas of corporate systems or Information Technology management.

Objectives

On successful completion of this unit you should be able to:
1. Understand the basic concepts and fundamentals related to corporate systems and their management. (GC1).
2. Compare and contrast key features of the socio-technical systems in various major business domains to which Corporate Systems Managers contribute (GC2).
3. Communicate and discuss, at a professional written and verbal level, both business and technical aspects related to corporate systems to audiences in both Business and Information Technology forums (GC3).
4. Have awareness of individual and collaborative approaches to learning and self-management relevant to the pursuit of professional interests (GC4, GC5).
5. Reflect on the roles, responsibilities and challenges that apply to the role of Corporate Systems Managers (GC1, GC6).

Key: Graduate Capabilities
GC1 - Knowledge and Skills
GC2 - Critical and Creative Thinking
GC3 - Communication
GC4 - Lifelong Learning
GC5 - Independence and Collaboration
GC6 - Social and Ethical Responsibility
GC7 - Leadership and Change

Content

This unit is intended to introduce you to corporate information systems, their role in business, the management of such systems, and the latest trends and developments in this area. This unit will also develop an understanding of future study and career paths that suit your individual strengths, weaknesses, interests and aptitudes. To that end, in this unit you will be given exposure to topics such as the following:
· Block 1: The digital firm: Basic concepts and key characteristics of corporate information systems.
· Block 2: The challenges of managing corporate information systems.
· Block 3: Types of different corporate information systems in key organizational domains (e.g., transactions, management, executive decision making).
· Block 4: Issues and developments in corporate information systems.
Individual learning outcomes include:
· Self evaluation of professional skills and interests.
· Time, project and people management.
· Self management of learning.

Approaches to Teaching and Learning

The unit will comprise a weekly two hour lecture with two hours of practical every fortnight that will be in a PC Lab. The practical will be divided between active discussions of lecture contents, practical exercises and work on the assignments. Due to the emphasis on a ¿hands-on¿ approach to problem solving and learning, you will be expected to attend the weekly practicals, and to participate actively in the practicals. You will work individually or in small groups, as directed, with support from your lecturers and tutors. The practical materials relate directly to lecture content and the required assessment tasks and will assist you in your learning and reinforce content taught in the lectures.

All related learning and reading material will be made available on the QUT Blackboard site. Also, all fortnightly practical tasks, and suggested solutions where appropriate, will be made available online.

The unit uses an interactive approach to learning through the frequent use of discussion and debate sessions within the lecture and the practicals. All material introduced will be discussed in the practicals but you will be required to do additional preparatory work at home to assist the learning.

Assessment

There are three kinds of assessment in the Unit:
(1) The development of a group report on the role of one selected socio-technical information system in the transformation of corporate business organization.
(2) The development of a group report on the analysis of the implementation of a corporate information system in a selected business domain.
(3) An individual written final examination.
The first assignment will assess student's understanding of the nature and role of a selected socio-technical information system in transforming a corporate business organization. You will be required to form a team of 4-5 students and, through team work, to critically assess and evaluate a selected information system and to examine its role in a corporate business setting. The assignment will also test your ability to develop individual and collaborative learning strategies and team-work in a project setting. You will be required to develop a convincing report that may include a presentation to describe your findings to your lecturer, tutor and fellow students. You will get comprehensive feedback and a CRA rubric will be provided. This assignment is worth 20% in total and will be due in week 6.
The second assignment will assess students' ability to research, evaluate and discuss corporate information systems and their implementation in a selected business domain. This assignment will increase your awareness for the nature and impact of corporate information systems and the challenges related to their management. The assignment will also test your ability to develop individual and collaborative learning strategies and team-work in a project setting. You will be required to work in a group of 4-5 students, and to provide a written report of your results. You will get comprehensive feedback and a CRA rubric will be provided. This assignment is worth 30% in total and will be due in week 12.
The final 2 hour exam is worth 50% in total. In the exam, all issues discussed in this unit will be covered.Student feedback about this unit is welcome and is used to improve teaching and learning approaches. You are invited to take advantage of the evaluation opportunities offered in this unit or to contact the unit coordinator directly with any feedback and suggestions.
You can obtain feedback on your progress throughout the unit through the following mechanisms:
§ ask the teaching staff for advice and assistance during the workshop sessions;
§ each of your assignments will be returned to you before the end of semester with comments on your progress; and
§ private consultation with teaching staff via email or during consultation hours;

Assessment name: Group Report
Description: Assessment and evaluation of a selected socio-technical information system and its application and role in transforming a corporate business settingorganization.
Relates to objectives: 1, 4, 5, and 6
Weight: 20%
Internal or external: Internal
Group or individual: Group
Due date: week 6

Assessment name: Group Report
Description: A group report on the analysis of the implementation of a corporate information systems management in a selected business domain.
Relates to objectives: 1, 2, 3 and 5
Weight: 30%
Internal or external: Internal
Group or individual: Group
Due date: week 12

Assessment name: Examination (Theory)
Description: Final individual, written examination
Relates to objectives: 1 to 6
Weight: 50%
Internal or external: Internal
Group or individual: Individual
Due date: exam period

Academic Honesty

QUT is committed to maintaining high academic standards to protect the value of its qualifications. To assist you in assuring the academic integrity of your assessment you are encouraged to make use of the support materials and services available to help you consider and check your assessment items. Important information about the university's approach to academic integrity of assessment is on your unit Blackboard site.

A breach of academic integrity is regarded as Student Misconduct and can lead to the imposition of penalties.

Resource materials

No extraordinary charges or costs are associated with the requirements for this unit.

There is no required textbook for this unit. However, this unit will, where appropriate, make use of the textbooks

Kenneth C. Laudon, Jane P. Laudon: Essentials of management information systems: managing the digital firm. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2009.

Alter, Steven: The work system method : connecting people, processes, and IT for business results. Larkspur, CA : Work System Press, 2006., and

Students are strongly encouraged to obtain a copy of these books from the library.

In addition, Students are encouraged to read widely from Information Systems and Information Technology textbooks, journals and magazines.

Reading materials will be available on the unit BlackBoard site and/or on the unit's CMD, available through Blackboard. There will be other reference material recommended that will be made available by the lecturer and tutors. Useful Websites will be listed on the unit BlackBoard site at .

Risk assessment statement

There are no unusual health or safety risks associated with this unit.

Disclaimer - Offer of some units is subject to viability, and information in these Unit Outlines is subject to change prior to commencement of semester.

Last modified: 24-Oct-2012