BMIS 2411 Information Systems

Fall Semester 2007

8:30 AM - 9:45 AM Mon & Weds in 104 Mervis (course 15640)*

10 AM - 11:15 AM Mon & Weds in 104 Mervis (course 15682)**

* cross-listed with BA ACC 2411, course 15639

** cross-listed with BA ACC 2411, course 15681

GENERAL INFORMATION
Professor: Dennis Galletta
232 Mervis Hall
phone 648-1699
e-mail galletta@katz.pitt.edu
Secretary: None

COURSE DESCRIPTION
Course Goals
Why Do I Have to Take This Course?
A common question among students (from majors other than MIS) is: "Why do I have to take
this course?" Common reasons used for asking that question often fit into one or more of the
following: (1) I already know Microsoft Office and the Internet, (2) I do not want to develop
systems, or (3) I already have to take strategy. Why is this course just more strategy?
Harvard professors in MIS justify the topic by demonstrating the huge investments the corporate
world has made in IT. The US Department of Commerce tells us that US investments in
corporate IT per full-time employee have tripled from 1987 to 2004, reaching $5,134, and that
annual investments in IT nearly match those made in "plant" (23%).Refer to the graphs below:

Source for both charts: Andrew McAfee: "Managing in the Information Age: Course Overview,
April, 2005; Data from US Bureau of Economic Analysis Tangible Wealth Survey

The difficulty is that it took many years to show any "bottom line" benefits from such

expenditures. Once the benefits were found, there was a large amount of variance, suggesting
that investing in IT is not a reliable source of return on investment.
Why is it not a reliable source of return? It is likely that just throwing money at technology
(purchase of the technology) is unreliable. The key is management of the technology. There are
many different activities, ranging from forecasting to analysis to communication. Those
activities start from determining the need and ending with deployment and evaluation. Each
activity is a link in the overall chain, only as strong as its weakest link.

Common Sense is Not Enough

Given the complexity and number of ways to go wrong, common sense is not enough. There are
few equations and few comprehensive analyses in this field, but many decision points. This
course will help you better understand what to do when you encounter those decision points. If
these decisions were based on common sense, only the large, lucrative investments would be
seen, not the large, costly failures that occur from time to time.

A Remarkable Decade
It would be an understatement to say that the last decade has been confusing for the study of
information systems. That period began with frantic investment and hype over the Internet and
electronic commerce. In 2000, the Internet "bust" and the threat of outsourcing to offshore firms
has led many away from the field in the last six years. Computer-related majors are down 50%
to 70% in the US and Australia, but meanwhile, most projections show continued growth in
hiring for the next few years. Nice opportunity?
The downturn and Internet "bust" are quite odd given that Internet sites have continued to climb
rapidly. According to Zakon's site, displaying internet growth semi-annually, in January of 2000,
at the peak of the hype, there were nearly 72.5 million hosts (addresses that were registered for
access). When Zakon updates his site soon with the new statistics, he will find that as of July,
2007, we are getting close to 490 million hosts, representing annual growth since the "bust" of
about 30%. Who is going to develop these and other new systems over the next decades?
Beyond IT personnel, users have also become much more aware of IT over the last decade. One
visible sign is the widespread use of personal computers at work, which have been called "the
hallmark of the workplace in postindustrial American" (Hipple & Kosanovich, 2003). Even four
years ago, at least 80% of all managers had access to a PC, and after dropping agriculture and
construction, about 81% of all employees had access to a PC. It is undoubtedly higher now.
Education in IT, in fact, the 1985 version of this course, used to involve programming and tools
such as spreadsheet development and statistical analysis. Over the years, at this school as well as
many, many others, the tool focus has diminished and the strategic dimension has increased.
This version of the course still involves one tool: Microsoft Access. However, the focus is

limited to about an hour of class time.

A High-Level View
The new strategic focus of this course points to decisions that executives need to make about
information technology. This "view from 30,000 feet" is intended to emphasize millions of
dollars rather than day-to-day decisions. Strategic frameworks and analytical processes win out
over programming and the use of tools. We focus on competitive advantage and the potential to
shape a marketplace.
We did not invent this approach; the world has evolved and teaching materials have matured.
The reasoning is that you are likely to become involved in technology decisions almost
immediately in your career. As a team or committee member you will see very familiar issues
and you will remember that common sense will not be enough. You, and others who have a
similar background, will contribute valuable points of view that others using only their common
sense will not be able to contribute. You might save the organization millions of dollars at each
opportunity.
Learning Objectives

Understanding of new information technologies and their implications

Ability to apply strategic models to discover and evaluate IT possibilities

Knowledge of how to build competitive advantage through IT

Understanding how to strengthen strategic alignment of IT with the goals of the

organization

Appreciation for the importance of enterprisewide data sharing, and understanding of

several options

Understanding of the critical role of IT in the process of reengineering

Knowledge of how systems provide new means for creating and maintaining
relationships with customers or clients

Understanding of major steps in the system development process, to allow a developer to

help you more effectively as a partner

Ability to make better decisions about what data should be stored and how it can be
manipulated

Understanding of the importance of security and how to avoid being a victim of security
weaknesses

An appreciation for the ethical dilemmas faced in technological circles, and how to
resolve them

Knowledge of how to manage outsourcing and offshoring opportunities

Understanding of how to manage knowledge in an organization

What are local "movers and shakers" thinking (via guest lectures)

Ability to develop a Technology Business Case or Plan

Materials
Computer:
On days that you do bring along your laptop, please do not distract other students with it by
catching up on your e-mail or doing casual browsing during class. Constantly-open laptops
could result in lower course participation scores!
Name Tag: Please use name tags, assuming I do not know your name. Lack of a name-tag will
result in lower course participation scores.
Text:
Pearlson, Keri E. and Saunders, Carol S. Managing & Using Information Systems: A Strategic
Approach (3rd ed.), 2006, Wiley. ISBN 0-471-71538-7.
Article:
Carr, Nicholas "IT Doesn't Matter," Harvard Business Review, May, 2003 (available using the
instructions here.

Cases (dates in parentheses--if two, then date written/date revised):

"Lands' End" case (2003) (available on Blackboard)

Microsoft Access assignment (under revision; available on Blackboard in

September/October)

Blogs at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein (A) (Harvard N2-606-072), by Andrew

McAffee and Anders Sjman (2006)

Wikis at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein (A) (Harvard 9-606-074), by Andrew McAffee

and Anders Sjman (2006)

Evergreen Investments: Mobil CRM (Harvard N9-605-057) (2005) Andrew McAffee

Pharmacy Service Improvement at CVS (Harvard 9-606-015) (2005) Andrew McAffee

Caregroup (Harvard 303-097) (2003) Rob Austin and Warren McFarland

Netflix (Stanford E238) (2007) Andrew Rachleff and Bethany Coates

iPremiere Company (A): Denial of Service Attack (Harvard 601-114) (2001/2005)

Austin, Robert D., Larry Leibrock, and Alan Murray

Zara: IT for Fast Fashion (Harvard 9-604-081) (2004) Andrew McAffee

Rich-Con Steel (Harvard 9-699-133 (1999/2003) Andrew McAffee

Where are the 9 Harvard cases? They are available on the Harvard Business School's
publications Web site under course c10698. The electronic versions of the 9 cases can be
purchased and printed instantly and cost about $36 (before any taxes or other charges). Here is
the address:

http://harvardbusinessonline.hbsp.harvard.edu/relay.jhtml?name=cp&c=c10698

Please do not e-mail me your case answers and other items due! Please use Blackboard.
Please SUBMIT, don't just ADD, your items.
Academic Honesty: It is expected that all assignments will be your own original work, not
copied and pasted from any source (friends, web sites, etc.). Failure to cite a source and mark
quoted material is a serious violation of academic integrity, no matter how small the assignment,
and could result in a failing grade in this course and/or the MBA program.
Disabilities: If you have a disability for which you are or may be requesting an accommodation,
you are encouraged to contact both your instructor and Disability Resources and Services, 216
William Pitt Union, (412) 648-7890/(412) 383-7355 (TTY), as early as possible in the term.
DRS will verify your disability and determine reasonable accommodations for this course.

DETAILED SYLLABUS

Grading
Item

type

Score

Individual

28

4 group cases @ 4 (submit on Blackboard)

Group

16

Innovation Project and Presentations (submit

both on Blackboard)

Group

16

4 individual cases @ 7 (submit on Blackboard)

Quizzes - First third, second third, and final (3 @

Individual
8)

24

Peer evaluations

Individual

Class Discussion; Participation; Attendance

Individual

Database assignment (in class or take home)

Individual

Total
Possible extra credit bonus points (contest,
experiment participation, etc.)

100
Various

0-3

Assignments
Cases: Questions to answer for each case will be provided at least two weeks before each case
is due. Please submit your answers through Blackboard. Please do not use e-mail. Some cases
do not involve hand-ins; but your participation will still count. Case submissions are due no
later than the start of your class session.
Innovation Project and Presentations: Your group should come up with an idea for turning an
idea into a technological reality in an organization. The project is described in detail at this link.

Presentation: Please design your presentation to be an overview: Please review (1) the
idea and its context, (2) the competitive environment, (3) the economics, and (4) factors
related to the organizational implementation.

Tentative Schedule (subject to change if guest speakers

change their schedules)
Topic/materials
(please have chapters
read before class)
1 (Aug 27) Course Introduction
Information Systems 2 (Aug 29) Past, Present, and Future
Does IT Matter?
Business Strategy and IT
3 (Sept 5)
Strategy
Group Formation
Week

Reading and Assignment Due

Pearlson & Saunders Introduction;

Carr's IT Doesn't Matter reading (how to get it)
Pearlson & Saunders 1, 2
Roche case (text pg. 34) (class discussion only)

Pearlson & Saunders 4

Final guidance for Wikis/Blogs Case
Wikis/Blogs at DrKW case analysis due
- case discussion
(individual) Questions to answer
IT and the Design of Work Pearlson & Saunders 3
Lands' End case analysis due (free on Blackboard
- case discussion
site) (group) Questions to answer
IT and Business Processes Pearlson & Saunders 5
Evergreen case analysis due (group) Questions to
- case discussion
answer

4 (Sept 7) Organizational Impacts

5 (Sept 10)
6 (Sept 12)
7 (Sept 17)
8 (Sept 19)
9 (Sept 24)
10 (Sept
26)

First Quiz

- covers material from Aug 27 to Sept 24

11 (Oct 1)

IT Architecture and
Infrastructure

Pearlson & Saunders 6

12 (Oct 3) - case discussion

13 (Oct 8)

Doing Business on the

Internet I

14 (Oct 10) - case discussion

CVS case analysis PowerPoint slide due (class

discussion only) Questions to consider (contest for
best group approach)
Pearlson & Saunders 7 part 1
Caregroup case analysis due (individual) Questions
to answer

Doing Business on the

Pearlson & Saunders 7 part 2
Internet II
16 (Oct 18) - case discussion
Netflix case analysis due (group) Questions to answer
17 (Oct 22) IT and Ethics
Pearlson & Saunders 8 part 1
How I Run IT in a Fortune Guest speakers: Kevin Horner, CIO and Karl Muraski
18 (Oct 24) 500 Manufacturing
of Alcoa (speaker will address class at 8:30 and again
Business
at 10:00)
15 (Oct 15)

Guest speaker: Tom Tabor, CIO and Senior

How I Run IT in a Fortune
VP of Highmark
500 Insurance Business
(Highmark was ranked 8th in the nation for
19 (Oct 29)
innovative uses of information technology)
(speaker will address class at 8:30 and
again at 10:00)
iPremiere case analysis due (individual) Questions
- case discussion
20 (Oct 31)
to answer
The MIS Organization
Pearlson & Saunders 9
21 (Nov 5) - case discussion
Manufact case (text pg. 246) (class discussion only)
22 (Nov 7) Funding IT
Pearlson & Saunders 10
23 (Nov
Second Quiz
- covers material from Oct 1 to Nov 5
12)
Data Management,
Pearlson & Saunders 12
24 (Nov
Knowledge Management; Access Assignment (on Blackboard site) in-class
14)
Access Assignment
(computers needed) - Due at end of class
25 (Nov
- case discussion
Zara case analysis due (group) Questions to answer
26)
26 (Nov
Management of IT
Pearlson & Saunders 11
28)
Projects
Rich-Con Steel case analysis due (individual)
27 (Dec 3) - case discussion
Questions to answer
Group Project
Innovation Projects Due
28 (Dec 5) Presentations - 5 minutes
(copies of slides for instructor due at presentation)
each
To Be Announced
Dec 10-13 Final Quiz
- covers material from Nov 7 to Dec 3 plus all cases
Updates
Note: Refer to the school's final exam schedule for dates and room assignments for any of your
other classes.
References
S. Hipple, K. Kosanovich, Computer and Internet Use at Work in 2001, Monthly Labor Review,
February 2003 (also available at http://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2003/02/art2full.pdf).