INSTRUCTOR: Dr. V.T. Raja
OFFICE: Bexell 405
PHONE: 541-737-6058
E-MAIL: Raja@bus.oregonstate.edu
CLASS TIMING: Section 1: MW 12 noon-1:50 p.m.
Section 2:
MW 2 p.m. – 3:50 p.m.
CLASSROOM:
BEXELL 323
COURSE OVERVIEW:
This
course, a capstone course for MIS option students, is organized as a
miscellaneous topics course with a term long project component. This course will expose students to a number
of key concepts and timely issues related to information systems/information technology (IS/IT) applications in organizations.
The
lecture component of the course has two tracks.
The first track covers IT strategy concepts such as:
v using IS/IT to influence competition (based on Michael
Porter’s Competitive Forces Model)
v using IS/IT to facilitate value chain activities and
linkages
v using IS/IT to facilitate business process
reengineering
v strategic information systems and
v some risks associated with IS.
The second track exposes students to some fundamental
issues in the e-commerce environment from security, legal, ethical, and
international perspectives.
With
regard to legal issues, guest lecture(s) are expected to be arranged in order
to cover topics such as: E-contracts, Click Wrap Contracts, E-Sign and Uniform
Electronic Transactions Act. Other topics expected to be presented in this
track include:
v how using interactive Web
technology can get E-Businesses sued in distant courts
v how the Continuum of
Interactivity Test can help decide questions of jurisdiction over online
businesses
v domain name and trademark
disputes
v application of Uniform
Domain Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) to cases of cyber squatting, and
v laws adopted in some countries regarding spam,
spyware and cookies
With regard to security issues, students learn about desirable properties for a
secure communication. In particular, the CIA model is used to provide an
introduction to properties such as:
v network availability
v access control
v confidentiality
v authentication and
v message integrity
Students learn about some hacker
attacks (e.g., Distributed Denial of Service attacks), and recent worms and
patches. They gain a fundamental understanding of physical security, firewalls,
symmetric key and public key cryptography. Applications of algorithms such as
3DES, AES, RSA, MD5 and SHA are discussed. Students learn about Key
Distribution Centers, Kerberos, certification authorities and digital
signatures.
If time permits other miscellaneous topics such as
outsourcing and virtual private networks may be covered in the lecture
component of this course.
The project component typically requires students to work on term long group
projects. Clients for the project are usually small organizations or some
division(s) of a large organization with operations in the State of
The project will be divided
into different parts for ease of implementation. Details on all parts of the project will be
provided in a separate handout entitled “Group Project.” Confidential evaluations of team members and
self are done in the final part of the project.
The project may also involve an in-class presentation by each team,
although the presentation may be viewed as an assignment and not as an explicit
deliverable for the group project.
This
is a required class for students in the MIS option. Students taking this course should have
successfully completed BA370 and BA371, and also should be of senior standing. It is highly recommended that students
concurrently take BA479 if they have not already completed that course.
Exam 30%
Class
Participation 5%
Quizzes
& Assignments 30%
Team
Project 35%
------
Total 100%
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Individual
grades will be assigned as follows:
A: score >= 93%
A-: 90% <=
score < 93%
B+: 87% <=
score < 90%
B: 83% <= score <
87%
B-: 80% <= score <
83%
C+: 77% <= score <
80%
C: 73% <= score <
77%
C-: 70% <= score <
73%
D: 60% <= score <
67%
F: score < 63%
Class
participation
will be evaluated based on: attendance, (verbal) quality contributions to
classroom lectures/discussions, punctuality, classroom conduct, and (written)
quality contributions to the instructor (e.g., a relevant article, a relevant
web site, an e-mail message following a class discussion, etc.).
Exams and
Quizzes:
There will be one exam. The exam is
scheduled to be held in class during class time. Any changes to the time or venue will be
announced in class. The exam is
scheduled to be held in the second half of the quarter. The date for the exam will be announced later
in the quarter. It is the student’s
responsibility to contact the instructor directly to find out if any
announcements have been made regarding the exam date, time and venue. The comprehensive exam will be of a closed
book/closed notes format. A
student who is unable to take the exam during their scheduled times, must
notify the instructor within one week of announcement about exam date and make
alternate arrangements for a make-up exam with the instructor. Announced and unannounced quizzes may be given throughout the
quarter. Quizzes will be based on
previous lecture materials and/or assigned readings. Typically no makeup exams or quizzes will be given if the instructor
does not approve an excused absence for the student in advance. In case of illness, appropriate medical
documentation has to be provided to the instructor. Students who miss a quiz without prior permission of the instructor are
typically not allowed to make up quizzes, except for illness with
documentation, and emergency reasons supported by appropriate
documentation. In all other cases, even if
students are allowed to make up a quiz, such a make up will have to be taken before the next class session, and a penalty of up to 50% may be
levied. It is the student’s
responsibility to schedule a make up quiz or exam with the instructor at
appropriate times. It is expected that
students will notify instructor via e-mail at least one day in advance of
missing any class.
Assignments will be given throughout
the quarter and may include in-class presentations and submitting power point
handouts for such presentations. To
receive full credit for written assignments and power point handouts, all
assignments should be typed and must be of a professional quality (e.g., spell
check, grammar, use of non-sexist language).
Late submission of assignments
will result in a 25% penalty for each day the homework is late. A computer/printer crash is not an acceptable
excuse for late submissions. The project may also involve an in-class
presentation by each team, although the presentation will be viewed as an
assignment and not as an explicit deliverable for the group project.
Grade Appeals: If you are not satisfied
with a grade you have received for an exam, quiz, or assignment, you are
welcome to discuss it with the instructor after class hours. Written grade appeals with appropriate
justification have to be made within one week from the time the grades are
given out by the instructor. Incomplete
grades will be given only under circumstances deemed unusual by the instructor,
and will require appropriate documentation.
Students are expected to uphold the OSU standard of
conduct for students relating to academic dishonesty, harassment etc.
As described in the "Student Life Policies and
Regulations",
academic
dishonesty is defined as an intentional act of deception in which a student
seeks to claim credit for the work or effort of another person or uses
unauthorized materials or fabricated information in any academic work.
Any student guilty of academic dishonesty is subject
to receive a failing grade for the course and to be reported to the Office of
Student Affairs. If a student is unclear about whether a particular situation
may constitute academic dishonesty, the student should meet with the instructor
to discuss the situation.
Students are expected to uphold the OSU standard of
student conduct. Please refer to: http://oregonstate.edu/admin/stucon/regs.htm
http://oregonstate.edu/admin/stucon/oars.htm#acdis
for details on student conduct and academic
dishonesty. Feel free to talk to the
instructor if you have any questions about the above two important issues.
PERSPECTIVES OF ISSUES
A
variety of perspectives recommended by the AACSB are addressed in the BA 483
course: ethical issues (assigned reading), political/social issues (specific
lecture and assigned reading), legal/regulatory issues (specific lecture and
assigned reading), and technological issues (integrated throughout course).