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1. I DON’T HAVE A TEMPERATURE BUT I AM POSITIVE I HAVE A VIRUS
Project Purpose: To understand the business value backups
Potential Solution: A Crisis in America's Schools — How It’s Done and
Why It’s Happening
Angelo Angelis, a professor at Hunter College in New York City, was recently
grading some student papers on the story of Paul Revere when he noticed
something strange. A certain passage kept appearing in his students' work, he
said. It went like this, Angelis told Primetime's Charles Gibson: "Paul Revere
http://abcnews.go.com/Primetime/story?id=132376&page=1
2. SUSTAINABLE DEPARTMENTS
Project Purpose: To understand how di.erent departments contribute to
environmental MIS issues.
Potential Solution: There are many issues that the di.erent departments
would face including:
Accounting and )nance would have issues such as computer upgrades and
energy use.
3. FACEBOOKS ENERGY USE
Project Purpose: To demonstrate the value of sustainable MIS and
environmental issues associated with technology
Potential Solution: Combating ewaste, energy consumption, and carbon
emissions requires a )rm to focus on creating sustainable MIS infrastructures. A
Celebrities Tell Facebook to Ditch Coal - Video
http://www.treehugger.com/)les/2011/02/celebreties-tell-facebook-to-ditch-coal
-video.php
4. PLANNING FOR DISASTER RECOVERY
Project Purpose: To create a disaster recovery plan.
Potential Solution: A backup is an exact copy of a system’s information.
Recovery is the ability to get a system up and running in the event of a system
crash or failure and includes restoring the information backup. A disaster
recovery cost curve charts (1) the cost to the organization of the unavailability
5. COMPARING BACKUP AND RECOVERY SYSTEMS
Project Purpose: To research di.erent backup and recovery strategies.
Potential Solution: Student answers to this question will vary. A few vendors
might include:
6. COOL SCHOOLS
Project Purpose: To analyze your schools data center.
Potential Solution: Students need to be focusing on your schools speci)c
data center structure and issues. If you can take this opportunity to do a mini
)eld trip by visiting your schools data center. If you have a big class you can
Business Driven Information Systems - Instructor’s Manual Chapter 5 Page 2 of 11
http://www.syr.edu/greendatacenter/
APPLY YOUR KNOWLEDGE BUSINESS PROJECTS
Instructor Note: There are few right or wrong answers in the business world.
There are really only e?cient and ine?cient, and e.ective and ine.ective
business decisions. If there were always right answers businesses would never
fail. These questions were created to challenge your students to apply the
materials they have learned to real business situations. For this reason, the
authors cannot provide you with one version of a correct answer. When grading
your students’ answers, be sure to focus on their justi)cation or support for their
speci)c answers. A good way to grade these questions is to compare your
student’s answers against each other.
PROJECT I: RANKING MIS CHARACTERISTICS
To understand infrastructure architecture organizations students must determine
which components are most important to their business. In a group, review the list
of IT infrastructure qualities and rank them in order of their impact on an
organization’s success. Use a rating system of 1 to 7, where 1 indicates the
biggest impact and 7 indicates the least impact.
The order of importance will vary depending on the business.
PROJECT II: DESIGNING A COMPANY INFRASTRUCTURE
Use this project to have your students tackle the common problem of building an
enterprise architecture. The list of questions required will vary for each student.
Components of a solid enterprise architecture include everything from
documentation to business concepts to software and hardware. Deciding which
You are responsible for developing the initial enterprise architecture. Create a list
of questions you will need answered to develop your architecture.
The list of questions required will vary for each student. A few examples could
include:
PROJECT III: RECYCLE YOUR CELL PHONE
Here are some excellent websites and programs you can share with your students
as you kick-o. this great activity.
In 2007, approximately 14 million Americans recycled their used cell phones.
Today, donating or recycling cell phones, PDAs, chargers, and batteries has
never been easier. Donating your working cell phone or PDA can bene)t your
http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/conserve/materials/ecycling/donate.htm
Cell Phones for Soldiers has committed to provide 750,000 FREE
communication tools to U.S. armed forces in 2011. Help us meet our goal by
donating today! http://www.cellphonesforsoldiers.com/
Answer the Call of the Wild! Bring your old cell phone to the guest
services counter at the main entrance of the Denver Zoo. Many of us have old
cell phones cluttering closets and taking up valuable space in our drawers at
oWhy should I recycle my cell phone? Help the environment by
recycling hazardous waste Cell phones contain a number of hazardous
Business Driven Information Systems - Instructor’s Manual Chapter 5 Page 4 of 11
substances that can seriously impact the environment. Donate your cell
oHelp Wildlife in the Congo: Columbite-tantalite, or Coltan for short, is
a dull metallic ore found in major quantities in the eastern areas of the
Congo. It is used in cell phones, laptops, pagers and other electronic
oWho gets the phones? Through the program, approximately 80
percent of the phones collected will be refurbished and reused by )rst
time, low income users in Latin America or by select local programs, such
oWhy is there Coltan in your cellular phone? When re)ned, coltan
becomes metallic tantalum, a heat resistant powder that can hold a high
oPrivacy & Recycling Your Phone ECO-Cell does not clear cell phones
of data or content left on phones. It is the responsibility of the donating
party to cancel or switch service on the phone and to delete any data
PROJECT IV: BACK ON YOUR FEET
****A great modi@cation to this exercise is to ask your students to de@ne
a backup and recovery plan for their own computer and information. If
they do not already have one, they will thank you for it if they ever
experience a computer crash****
To understand the value of backup and recovery. Each year businesses lose time
and money because of system crashes and failures. One way to minimize the
damage of a system crash is to have a backup and recovery strategy in place. A
backup is an exact copy of a system’s information. Recovery is the ability to get a
system up and running in the event of a system crash or failure and includes
restoring the information backup. Many di.erent types of backup and recovery
Business Driven Information Systems - Instructor’s Manual Chapter 5 Page 5 of 11
media are available, including redundant storage servers, tapes, disks, and even
Disasters such as power outages, Eoods, and even harmful hacking strike
businesses every day. Organizations must develop a disaster recovery plan to
prepare for such occurrences. A disaster recovery plan is a detailed process for
recovering information or an IT system in the event of a catastrophic disaster such
A disaster recovery cost curve charts (1) the cost to the organization of the
unavailability of information and technology and (2) the cost to the organization of
recovering from a disaster over time. A disaster recovery cost curve and shows
that where the two lines intersect is the best recovery plan in terms of cost and
Plan a Backup and Recovery Strategy
Computers in general are very reliable. You may run your system for months or
even years without experiencing any problems that cause you to lose information
Saving the information on your system is time-consuming and requires discipline.
Why should you do it? Why should you spend time planning and evaluating it?
1.Know What to Save and How Often To Save It
Business Driven Information Systems - Instructor’s Manual Chapter 5 Page 6 of 11
You should save everything in your system as often as possible. You may not be
2.Find Your Save Window
Realistically, when you run save procedures, how you run save procedures and
what you save depend on the size of your save window. Your save window is the
When you select a save strategy, you should balance what your users think is
If your system is so critical to your business that you do not have a manageable
a recovery.
3.Choose Availability Options
Availability options are a complement to a good save strategy, not a
replacement. Availability options can signi)cantly reduce the time it takes you
to recover after a failure. In some cases, availability options can prevent you
The following are the availability options that you can use to complement your
save strategy:
4.Test Your Strategy
If your situation requires a medium save strategy or a complex save strategy, it
also requires regular review, as follows:
The best way to test your strategy for saving is to test a recovery. Although you
can test a recovery on your own system, doing so can be risky. If you have not
saved everything successfully, you may lose information when you attempt to
restore.
PROJECT V: GROWING, GROWING, GONE
You had vision when you started Black Pearl. You knew the potential of your
business model to revamp the comic industry. You purchased high-end computers
and customizable software to support your operations. Now, you are faced with a
new dilemma. You have a large international following and you have decided to
pursue international opportunities. You would like to open stores in Japan, France,
and Brazil over the next year. To determine if this is possible you need to evaluate
your current systems to see if they are Eexible and scalable enough to perform
business internationally. You know that you are going to run into many
international business issues. Create a list of questions you need to answer to
determine if your systems are capable of performing international business.
Student answers to this question will vary, potential answers include:
PROJECT VI: EXCUSES, EXCUSES, EXCUSES
There is no excuse good enough that will keep a customer if they are unable to
access your applications or ebusiness site. There are dozens of competitors just
waiting to steal your customers and they are just a simple click away. You need to
ensure that your systems are operational and that your customers are con)dent in
your ability to keep their personal information secure. Organizations must
determine which components are most important to their business to ensure their
systems are meeting customer demands. The infrastructure architecture
components include:
PROJECT VII: EWASTE NOT, WANT NOT
There are so many ewaste companies available today, but warn your students to
be careful as not all are what they seem. Start this activity by showing the
following video.
Two arrested in electronic waste recycling fraud case
Two managers of a San Jose-based electronics and metal waste recycling
warehouse were arrested last week for allegedly attempting to defraud the state
out of $1 million in recycling reimbursement claims. Jason Huang, 65, of Foster
City, was arrested Aug. 19, and 38-year-old John Chen of Hillsborough was
arrested Friday, o?cials said. A third man, 69-year-old Joseph Chen of
Business Driven Information Systems - Instructor’s Manual Chapter 5 Page 9 of 11
and hazardous waste storage and handling violations. They face a maximum
nine-year prison sentence if convicted. An example provided by the attorney
http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/two-arrested-electronic-waste-recycling-fraud-cas
e
EWaste Fraud
It seemed a perfect symmetry: California, the world's high-tech capital, would lead
the way in recycling the debris of our digital revolution. But )ve years after its
launch, the state government-run electronic waste program stands out not as a
model of the green innovation for which California is famous but as an example of
http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2010/08/e-waste_recycling_begun_wi
th_l.html
Additional website and videos you might want to explore include:
Electronic Product Management DirectoryLooking for an organization that
collects speci)c types of electronic equipment for reuse or recycling? This
directory enables you to search for such opportunities by county. You should
contact any of the listed organizations to determine the details of their services
EPAs Listing: Where Can I Donate or Recycle My Old Computer and Other
Electronic Products?
http://www.epa.gov/osw/conserve/materials/ecycling/donate.htm
Ecycling: http://www.epa.gov/osw/conserve/materials/ecycling/
PROJECT VIII: ONE LAPTOP PER CHILD
There are so many exciting videos and photos demonstrating this incredible
program. Be sure to jumpstart this activity with a few overviews from the
following site
OLPC's mission is to empower the world's poorest children through
education
future.
http://one.laptop.org/
PROJECT IX: VIRTUALIZATING YOUR CELL PHONE
Virtualization is a di?cult concept for students to grasp. The best way to explain
virtualization is the switch from having one iPod, cell phone, and digital camera to one
device that can do all three. Printers also o.er an excellent example as we converged
from having a fax machine, printer, copier, and scanner to one device that can do all of
these things. Here is an excellent video to help your students understand virtualization.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnNX13yBzAU
PROJECT X: DATA CENTERS ON THE HIGH SEAS
Data centers are truly amazing and rather frightening when you think about the
impact to the environment of housing so many computer systems in one area. Just
http://www.cnn.com/2008/SPORT/09/18/computer.navy/
Google Search Heads to Sea
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/09/07/googles-search-goes-out-to-sea/
Business Driven Information Systems - Instructor’s Manual Chapter 5 Page 11 of 11
