Introduction to Management Information Systems

MGS 351 – Spring 2024

Instructor: David Murray Teaching Assistants: Jacobs 206J

Email: djmurray@buffalo.edu Joseph Doona: jmdoona@buffalo.edu

Office: Jacobs 284 Phone: 645-3249 Nicholas Falk: njfalk@buffalo.edu

Office hours: Thursday 2:00 - 3:20 (or by appointment) Sarah Jiva: smjiva@buffalo.edu

Web Site: mgs351.com Suleyman Tunc: sotunc@buffalo.edu

Course Objectives:

This course provides students with an introduction to Information Systems (IS) and Information Technology (IT) and their use in an increasingly competitive business world. As future managers, you need to be equipped to make decisions concerning the planning, development and implementation of information technology resources to increase organizational effectiveness and create a strategic advantage. The course accomplishes this by:

· Introducing basic concepts of IS and IT

· Exploring how technology can be used to create business value

· Examining the potential benefits and limitations of IT and providing an overview of the components of computers.

· Increasing awareness of managerial issues raised by the use of IT

· Providing “hands on” exercises to practice course material

· Providing a foundation needed for subsequent MIS coursework

Prerequisites:

MGQ 201 - Introduction to Computers and Statistics. Concurrent registration is not allowed.

Course Materials:

· (Optional) Management Information Systems for the Information Age: 9^th Edition Haag, McGraw Hill Inc., 2013.

Lectures:

The lecture is recorded on Thursday at 3:30 PM in Jacobs 106, and will be posted on UBLearns by Friday at 10:00 AM. Space permitting, any student is welcome to attend the “live” section of the class. It is important to keep up with the lectures online just as you would a “live” class. Please do not ask me or your TA questions about the class, homework or project if you haven’t watched the lecture that week yet! It’s your responsibility to first watch the lectures.

Labs:

The lab provides you with an opportunity to practice material covered in lecture and to work on homework assignments and the team project. Lab attendance is mandatory, and each absence will result in a 4-point penalty assessed on your Professionalism grade. Students arriving more than five minutes late to lab will be marked absent. Students arriving unprepared may result in a 3-point penalty at the discretion of the TA. Students are expected to actively use the lab time for the MGS351 coursework. Students who fail to properly utilize lab time may be penalized at the discretion of the TA. Please don’t ask me to change any of your lab grades as I will not change a lab grade that a TA has submitted to me.

Homework Assignments:

There are seven homework assignments designed to help reinforce the material that has been covered in the lecture and labs. Completion of these assignments is crucial to your success in this course. Late assignments are not accepted and will receive a score of 0. Questions pertaining to your homework grades must be addressed to your TA within two weeks of the assignment due date.

Final Team Project:

You will work in teams of no more than five to develop a database system using Microsoft Access and the Salesforce platform. Your teams will be assigned in labs so that you will have a dedicated time during which your team can meet. Additionally, teams are expected to connect and meet at least once a week outside of class. Projects will be evaluated based on the system’s required functionality and enhancements, adequacy of system testing, attention to aesthetics and group member peer evaluations. Further details will be given in lecture and lab.

Exams:

The midterm exam will be held in Norton 190 from 7:30-9:00 PM on 3/1. There are no make-up exams except under exceptional circumstances. Please reschedule your work, social and family commitments accordingly.

Course Conduct:

You are required to observe the rules of academic integrity and classroom conduct established by the University at Buffalo. Cheating will not be tolerated. Students found cheating will receive a grade of F for the course and may be subject to further disciplinary action by the University at Buffalo. The University at Buffalo and School of Management Academic Integrity policies are posted on the course website and should be reviewed carefully.

Grading:

Assignment	Points
Exam	40
Team Project Proposal & Design	5
Final Team Project Access Prototype	40
Final Team Project Salesforce	30
Homework 1: Chapters 1 and 2 Guided & Applied Exercises	15
Homework 2: Chapter 3 Guided & Applied Exercise	15
Homework 3: Chapters 4 and 5 Guided & Applied Exercises	20
Homework 4: Chapter 6 Guided & Applied Exercise	15
Homework 5: Chapter 7 Guided & Applied Exercise	15
Homework 6: Salesforce Trailhead Modules	15
Homework 7: Salesforce Trailhead Modules	15
Lab Assessments, Exercises and Professionalism	25

A course grade of A is 233 points and above, A- is 225 points and above, B+ is 217 points and above, B is 208 points and above, B- is 200 points and above, C+ is 192 points and above, C is 183 points and above, C- is 175 points and above, D+ is 168 points and above, D is 160 points and above and a grade of F is earned if you receive less than 160 points. Any decision to adjust the scale will only be made at the end of the semester once all of the course grades are in.

According to University Regulations, a grade of Incomplete can only be given if the student is currently passing the course and circumstances prevent them from completing the semester. **April 16^th is the last day to resign the course.

Tentative Course Schedule:

Week	Text	Ch	Topics	Assignments (Dates Due)
1/22			Course Introduction	Read Syllabus
	Haag	1	The Information Age in Which You Live
	Access	1	Overview of Microsoft Access Databases
1/29	Haag	XLM A	Computer Hardware and Software
	Access	2	Design and Create Tables to Store Data
2/5	Haag	XLM B	The World Wide Web and the Internet	HW 1 due 2/9 at 5:00 PM
	Access	3	Simplify Data Entry with Forms
2/12	Access	4	Obtain Valuable Information Using Queries	HW 2 due 2/16 at 5:00 PM
	Access	5	Create Professional Quality Output with Reports
2/19	Haag	XLM C	Final Project Overview – Relational Database Design
2/26	Exam (Haag Ch. 1, XLM A, XLM B and Access Ch. 1, 2, 3 and 4) on Friday, 3/1 at 7:30 PM
3/4	Access	6	Design & Implement Powerful Relational Databases	HW 3 due 3/8 at 5:00 PM
	Access	7	Build User-Friendly Information Systems	Proposal due in lab this week
3/11			Team Project Design Review and Assistance	HW 4 due 3/15 at 5:00 PM
3/18	No Class. Spring Break
3/25	Haag	3	Databases and Data Warehouses
	Salesforce		Salesforce Introduction
4/1	Salesforce	1	Overview of Salesforce	HW 5 due 4/5 at 5:00 PM
	Salesforce	2	Design and Create Objects to Store Data
4/8	Salesforce	3	Simplify Data Entry with Page Layouts	Prototype due in lab this week
	Salesforce	4	Obtain Valuable Information Using Queries
4/15	Salesforce	5	Create Professional Quality Output with Reports	HW 6 due 4/19 at 5:00 PM
	Salesforce	6	Build User-Friendly Information Systems
4/22	Haag	XLM F	Building a Web Page with HTML (Online Lecture)	HW 7 due 4/26 at 5:00 PM
4/29			Team Project Assistance	Project due in lab this week