Faculty Contact Information:
Stephen Marenka, Jr., Collegiate Associate Professor
MBA, MSMIS, Certified Information Systems Analyst
Microsoft Certified Professional + Internet (NT4)
Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (NT4)
Microsoft Certified Professional (Win2K)
Telephone: 06363-1608
U. S. Mail: PSC 2, Box 9304, APO AE 09012
German Mail: Am Brennofen 8, 67701 Schallodenbach | |
Consultation:
Office Hours: Before/after class, appointment or virtual meeting
Virtual Office Address:
E-mail address: marenkas@t-online.de
Web Page: http://faculty.ed.umuc.edu/~smarenka/
Class meeting times: 1/2, 15/16 November; 6/7, 20/21 December; 0900-1600 | |
Required Texts and Readings:
Wheelen, T. and Hunger, J. (2004). Strategic Management and Business Policy (9th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.
Applegate, L., Austin, R., and McFarlan, F. (2003). Corporate Information Systems Management (6th Ed.) Boston: McGraw-Hill Irwin. | |
Supplementary Readings:
The standard for papers in the graduate program is the APA style. All participants in this course and all graduate INSS, MGMT, PUAD, and ECON courses should have a copy of the style guide:
American Psychological Association. (2001). Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 5th Edition. Washington DC: Author.All graduate students should be prepared to utilize the UMUC online library at http://www.umuc.edu/library/. The library contains a large number of full text academic journals that are free of charge and immediately available. The library homepage also contains a number of links related to improving students' research and writing skills. | |
Recommended Journals:
Publications of the various professional societies (such as ACM -- the Association for Computing Machinery, the IEEE Computing Society, and the various management professional societies) are strongly recommended. In addition, there are many trade journals (such as eWEEK) that MIS professionals should become familiar with, many of these being published both weekly and on-line.
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Course Description:
| 3 semester hours credit. Prerequisites: All undergraduate prerequisites and INSS 540, or permission of the Program Director. Examines the issue of linking business performance with information systems technology. Alternative structures for matching the information system organization with the overall organization are discussed and evaluated. Planning mechanisms and strategies are examined. Behavior and legal issues that relate to information systems management are addressed. Case studies are used to expose students to information systems policy issues. Students in the public administration program are not eligible for INSS 620. | |
Course Goals:
Upon completion of the course, participants should have:
1. Gained knowledge and understanding of concepts, research, and theories concerning strategic management.
2. Developed and applied a framework of analysis for practical problem solving.
3. Practiced conceptual skills integrating management issues in organizations, especially in regard to information systems.
4. Developed abilities to analyze, both qualitatively and quantitatively, the performance of people responsible for strategic decisions.
5. Applied research capabilities and critical thinking required for strategic policy formulation and evaluation.
6. Developed an appreciation for problems associated with globalization of the economy.
7. Recognized and applied appropriate ethical standards as part of the strategic management process. | |
Course Objectives:
At the conclusion of this course the student will be able to:
1. Describe the purpose of a mission statement and its internal and external uses and tell how the mission statement impacts IS/IT in an organization.
2. Describe a strategic management process (at least 5 phases) making sure to describe the tasks involved in each phase and tell how IS/IT is involved in the process.
3. Discuss the role of managerial values, ethics, and power in the formulation and implementation of strategy, especially as related to IS/IT.
4. Describe the role of stakeholders in the development of a mission statement and/or strategic statements, and give examples of several different types of stakeholders, especially for IS/IT.
5. Describe Porter's model for analyzing an industry making sure to define each element and provide some examples of how companies may be affected, especially IS/IT.
6. Describe some of the elements in the environment beyond Porter's model that may affect an industry (macro-environment). Provide some examples of how companies may be affected, especially IS/IT.
7. Describe the concept of the value chain, including the various activities, and provide examples of its use in the IS/IT part of the business.
8. Describe the four basic generic corporate-level strategies and give examples for each, including the subcategories for two of the major categories. Tell how these strategies impact the IS/IT part of the organization.
9. Describe the generic business-level competitive strategies and provide examples of organizations using each of the various types. Be able to provide an IS/IT example also.
10. Describe the importance of matching a corporation's strategy with CEO style and experience and the IS/IT strategy with the manager/executive of that function.
11. Describe the role of control in an organization, the various types of control, and what controls should be used in what situations. Elaborate on those to be used in the IS/IT organization.
12. Describe the some of the problems with using an IS on an international scale.
13. Describe the importance of strategic alliances and provide two examples of where they have worked well and two examples of where they have worked poorly. | |
Grading Information:
A - 92 - 100
B - 80 - 91
C - 70 - 79
F - Below 70
Please note that Bowie State University does not use "D" for graduate students. The grade F(a) is used to designate academic failure. F(n) is used to designate failure for non-completion. Grades of Incomplete or Withdrawal are governed by UMUC-Europe policies. For further details, please refer to the UMUC-Europe Graduate Catalog, available in your local Education Center or online at http://www.ed.umuc.edu/general_info/publications/catalogs. | |
Course Requirements:
Graduate school at the masters level focuses on helping students obtain the education needed for success as professionals in their chosen fields. Thus, UMUC-Europe Graduate Programs and Bowie State University share the common goals of promoting excellence in academic scholarship through thoughtful inquiry and the skillful application of knowledge and theory for the betterment of society.
25% Group Project – Strategic IT Project
20% Case Analysis (3 Cases)
15% Article Reviews (3 Reviews)
30% Midterm and Final Exam (15% each)
10% Class Participation
100% Total
Please note that Bowie State University does not use "D" for graduate students. The grade F(a) is used to designate academic failure. F(n) is used to designate failure for non-completion. Grades of Incomplete or Withdrawal are governed by UMUC-Europe policies. For further details, please refer to the UMUC-Europe Graduate Catalog, available in your local Education Center or online at http://www.ed.umuc.edu/general_info/publications/catalogs. | |
Description of Course Requirements:
Participate in classroom discussions: You are expected to come to class prepared to engage in all discussions in a professional and informed manner. Usually this requires two to three hours for every hour of a face-to-face class and approximately ten hours of preparation per week for a DE class.
Complete graduate level projects or programming assignments, write graduate level papers or case studies: You are required to conduct professional-level research, including appropriately citing works of others and avoiding plagiarism. Plan on committing approximately 150 hours over the duration of this course to producing professional level deliverables, to include programs, projects, papers, and/or case studies.
Orally/visually present prepared material: You are required to present your results in a professional manner. In a face-to-face course, this typically means an oral presentation accompanied by appropriate visual material. In a DE class, this means creating a visual/textual presentation for your instructor and classmates.
Complete one or more written examination(s): The examination process in this class will assist you in developing the writing and critical thinking skills necessary for successfully passing the comprehensive exam required of all graduate students. The examination questions used for this course will either be taken directly from past comprehensive exams or written as though to be included on a comprehensive exam.
Article Reviews: Students will present article reviews on appropriate topics during the term. Each article will require a single double spaced page of review. Each review will be presented and discussed in class. Power Point slides are not required for article reviews. Students are graded on content, presentation and discussion.
Project Description: This is a group project requiring a professional analysis of an organization. The group will select a real world project and approach it as a possible MIS investment and development project. For instance, the consideration of the implementation of an IT project in your environment, such as a local area network or a shift from copper wire to fiber, should be the focus of your analysis. However, instead of focusing on the technical aspects of the project, the group will concentrate on the effects that implementation would have on the organization and its ability to conduct its business and operations. This project should be seen as a complement to systems analysis where there is more emphasis on the details and complexities of the information system or technology itself. A preponderance of the concepts covered in the texts and lectures should be included in the analysis. Each analysis will also assume a strategic shift and an implementation plan for the shift. The following are the required deliverables: (1) A paper of approximately 20 pages double-spaced. (2) A group presentation that should consist of PowerPoint slides with notes for an oral presentation that would last about 30 minutes. All members are expected to participate in the presentation and be prepared to answer questions during the discussion period. An outline for the presentation is included below.
Case Analysis: This is a requirement for individual presentation and discussion of cases selected from the texts during the term. Each case will require a written summary using the outline below. You will be expected to present each case and discuss it with the class. An outline for case analysis is listed below. You may amend the outline for these presentations. Do not pick one of the below group discussion cases. Cases 1 is due for discussion at the beginning of weekend 2, Case 2 weekend 3 and Case 3 weekend 4. Each presentation will consist of PowerPoint slides and a short paper summarizing the major points. An outline for each presentation is presented below.
Case Analysis Outline
Background:
Company Name
Key Players and Key Events
Products/Services
Analyze Current Status:
Mission Statement
Past and Present Strategies (and Objectives)
Past and Present Performance
Examine Prospects for the future:
Environmental Analysis (consider Opportunities and Threats)
Macro (circle chart)
Industrial (five forces)
Stakeholders
Internal Analysis (consider Strengths and Weaknesses)
Function Areas
Leadership, Culture, Organizational Structure, Processes, Staff
Resources, Organizational Climate, Communications, etc.
SWOT (Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats)
Clearly Define the Major Corporate Problem(s)/Opportunities
Set the future course:
Develop a list of 10 Feasible Alternatives (Strategic Shifts for the Group Project)
Compare Alternatives Against Corporate Objectives
Select One Alternative (Or Combinations of Alternatives) and a Contingency (For Group Project this is your strategic shift)
Put the Strategy to Work:
Develop Implementation Plans for Each Functional Area Affected
Develop Implementation Plans for Other Organizational Attributes
Evaluate and Control: Develop a plan for Controlling/Measuring Success (Meeting Objectives) | |
Course Schedule:
This schedule presents 16 units or modules, with each unit corresponding to a regular three-hour weekday meeting, a half-day on weekends, or a full week of DE.
Initial meeting:
Introductions
Review of syllabus
Clarification of goals, objectives and requirements
Orientation to subject
SMB Chapters 1, 2
Second meeting:
SMB Ch 3, 4
SMB Ch 14
Third meeting:
MIS Ch 1
Fourth meeting:
MIS Ch 2
Fifth meeting:
SMB Ch 5, 6, 7
Article and Presentation
Sixth meeting:
MIS Ch 3, 4
Article and Presentation
Seventh meeting:
SMB Ch 8, 9
Article and Presentation
Eighth meeting:
SMB Ch 10
Examination
Ninth meeting:
SMB Ch 11
Article and Presentation
Tenth meeting:
MIS Ch 5, 6
Eleventh meeting:
MIS Ch 7
Article and Presentation
Twelfth meeting:
MIS Ch 8
Article and Presentation
Thirteenth meeting:
MIS Ch 9
Fourteenth meeting:
MIS Ch 10
Article and Presentation
Fifteenth meeting:
Student Group Presentations
Sixteenth meeting:
Student Group Presentations
Course evaluations
Examination | |
Academic Policies:
Please refer to the UMUC - Europe Graduate Catalog, available online at http://www.ed.umuc.edu/general_info/publications/catalogs/index.html or from your local Education Center, for information on the following:
Academic Integrity
Course Load
Exception to Policy
Grade Appeal Process
Make-up Examinations
Nondiscrimination
Students with Disabilities | |
Faculty Bio:
| A retired field grade U. S. Air Force jet fighter pilot, Steve Marenka has an extensive practical background in administration and management at many operational levels, including both command and staff positions and computer intensive operating environments. His academic education includes: a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration and Economics from the University of Maryland; a Master of Business Administration degree in Financial Management from Saint Mary's University, San Antonio, Texas; an Information Systems Analyst Certificate and a Master of Science in Management Information Systems from Bowie State University, Europe; resident graduate of Air Command and Staff College at Maxwell AFB, Al.; studies at the University of the Saarland at Saarbrücken, including a German language proficiency certificate; and, a diploma in electronics from Devry Institute. Steve holds the qualification and teaches Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer courses. He has also provided consulting services for firms in the United States and Europe, addressing problems ranging from marketing analysis of demographic and location data, finance and computer applications and training, providing services in both German and English. He was once comptroller of the Marenka Stainless Steel Corporation, a closely held family corporation, and served as business manager for several private organizations. He has had considerable teaching experience in the classroom, both in the military and at the university level, teaching general management, human relations and technical courses. | |