Ccob 204 Fall 2020 Syllabus

CCOB 204 – Fall 2020

Instructor Information

Instructor: Mr. Shawn Lough

E-mail: loughsr@jmu.edu (The best way to reach me)

Course Web page: http://Canvas.jmu.edu

Scheduled Class time:

COB 204 Section 0014 – Tues and Thursday, 9:30 am – 10:45 am

LEED 700 – Monday, 6 pm to 9 pm

The class time listed is dedicated to be used for meeting together, synchronously, by WebEx

watching asynchronous content, or completing assigned tasks. It is expected that students will

use this time wisely. If not, then the student fully understands that not using the dedicated class

time appropriately could put them behind with the content resulting in lowered performance that

can negatively affect their final grade in the course.

Instructions on how to access WebEx via Canvas can be located at the following link:

https://ask.lib.jmu.edu/techsupport/faq/273819?m=p.

Office Hours:

Virtual office location: https://jmu.webex.com/meet/loughsr

Virtual Office hours times:

 Tues and Thursday – 11 am to noon & 2 pm to 3 pm.

 By appointment

Appointments: If you are not able to meet during virtual office hours, please send me a meeting

request via Outlook (https://support.office.com/en-us/article/video-create-appointments-and-

meetings-6e6ddec6-5983-4c42-9652-b99e120206fb). Please note my availability provided in

the syllabus when requesting an appointment. If I am scheduled to be in class, I am not available

to meet.

Communications:

As I do have responsibilities beyond the COB 204 course, it is important to recognize that I am

not available to address email communications immediately. However, I will do my best to

respond as quickly as possible. If I do not respond within 24 hours, please resend the email.

Emails received after 9 pm will receive a response the following morning, regardless if an

assignment is due after this time.

Syllabus

Shawn R. Lough – James Madison University, Fall 2020

(online course template provided by Dr. Juhong Christie Liu)

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Table of Content

 Course Overview, Prerequisites, and Learning Objectives

 Textbooks and Course Materials

 Assignments, Grading, and Academic Integrity

 Instruction Method, Instructor Responsibilities, Class Format, Student

Responsibilities with Attendance Expectations, Instructor Evaluation, and

Technology & Support

 Important Time and University Policies

 Temporary Online Solutions

COURSE OVERVIEW

How do companies compete in this global economy? How does technology influence our

decisions, professionally and personally? Does technology provide the answer or a means to

find the answer? Will Wal-Mart and Amazon still be the dominant retailer in 10 years or suffer

the same fate as Sears, who was thought to be too bid to ever go away?

I invite you to understand how information systems play a role in all our everyday lives and your

future careers. Information systems have made our immensely large planet rather “small”, by

contributing to a rapidly growing global competition. Consequently, organizations are constantly

trying to find ways to gain a competitive advantage by developing new products and services,

developing new business models, providing outstanding customer service, improving decision

making via business analytics, and creating operational superiority all through information

systems.

I will make every effort to actively keep you involved within this course by having classroom

activities, interactive lectures, outside readings, and so forth. You will enjoy this active learning

approach and, by the end of the semester, gain a deeper understanding of information systems

and the importance of your future careers.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

This course provides a broad overview of information systems used by businesses. Upon completing this

course, you should be able to demonstrate your ability to perform each of the actions in the bullets listed

beneath each of the numbered topics:

Use basic business and information systems terminology appropriately when describing the

functions and applications of an information system.

a. Explain the difference between data versus information.

b. Explain information system concepts, including input, processing, and output.

c. Provide examples of the changing role and widening scope of information systems in

organizations.

d. Distinguish between the major types/purposes of information systems (such as

transaction processing systems, management information systems, decision support

Shawn R. Lough – James Madison University, Fall 2020

(online course template provided by Dr. Juhong Christie Liu)

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systems, business intelligence (BI), E-commerce, Enterprise Resource Planning

(ERP), collaboration systems, and Customer Relationship Management (CRM).

e. Explain how businesses use the Internet, mobile devices, and cloud computing

f. Identify different types of business processes and business process modeling notation.

1. Describe information system components, including hardware, software, databases, and

telecommunications.

a. Explain the purpose and major characteristics of the major hardware components of an

information system: primary memory, storage hardware, the central processing unit,

input devices, output devices, and communication devices.

b. Explain the concepts of operating system software, application software, and

programming languages.

c. Explain how one would select software and hardware.

d. Explain the differences between common operating systems.

e. Define the data hierarchy including field, record, file and database.

f. Describe the different types of databases, such as a data warehouse and a data mart.

g. Demonstrate an introductory level of knowledge about telecommunication and

network components such as media, devices, software, and protocols.

h. Explain the concepts of LAN, WAN, and client/server systems as they apply to wired

and wireless networks and systems.

i. Describe the World Wide Web and concepts such as browsers, search engines, and

HTML.

j. Describe Intranets and Extranets.

2. Identify and explain the cultural, political, security, ethical, development, and strategic

challenges that confront the management of global information technology.

a. Describe the activities that take place during each phase of the system development

life cycle.

b. Explain alternative system building approaches such as prototyping, end user

development, software packages, and outsourcing.

c. Explain the strategic role information systems play in organizations, including

competitive advantage and the value chain.

d. Describe the ethical and social impact of organizational and social media information

systems.

e. Explain Internet privacy and security issues.

f. Describe the different Information Systems job titles and functions.

g. Identify and define the threats to an information system and describe the

corresponding controls (safeguards) that will reduce system vulnerability.

h. Describe information systems ethical issues as they apply to the workplace.

i. Explain why there is a need for lifelong learning for information systems

professionals.

3. Use collaboration technology properly when interacting with team members and colleagues.

4. Create a database using a relational database management system and demonstrate the ability

to design reports and queries, and to join tables.

Shawn R. Lough – James Madison University, Fall 2020

(online course template provided by Dr. Juhong Christie Liu)

4

TEXTBOOKS AND COURSE MATERIALS

Using MIS, 11e – Vital Source: https://www.vitalsource.com/products/using-mis-david-

kroenke-randall-j-boyle-v9780135191941

or from Redshelf.com:

https://redshelf.com/book/1104894/using-mis-1104894-9780135191941-david-kroenke-

randall-j-boyle.

ASSIGNMENTS, GRADING, & ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

Assignments and Assessment

Item Points

Exam 1 150

Exam 2 150

Exam 3 – Final Exam 200

Total Exam Points 500

Reading Quizzes (10) 100

Collaboration assignments 50

Classwork/Participation/Homework Assignments 30

Database Assignments 50

Total Points 730

Due dates for assignments will be provided in Canvas with the assignment. Students are

responsible for reading the assignment requirements and keeping track of published due

dates. Late work will not be accepted unless arrangements are made well in advance of the

due date and may be subject to point deductions when submitted past the due date.

General Expectations of Assignments

As this course is to prepare you for the use of technology within the business environment,

specific applications will be considered “standard” for the use in the classroom and are

expected to be used, as appropriate, to complete assignments for this course. These

applications have been specified to allow for compatibility with the task, Canvas, and the

overall learning environment. If a student chooses not to abide by these application standards,

it is understood that a negative impact to the student’s grade can result.

All written assignments are to be submitted using Microsoft Word and free of spelling and

grammatical errors. The use of Google Doc and Apple’s Pages application are prohibited.

Effective writing is a critical professional skill. If you find that you are having difficulty with the

writing requirements for this course, you may visit the University Writing Center for support.