Managing the Information Resource

1. Understand how to use information technology to design organisation that are competitive and effective in the complex global environment of contemporary business.
2. Understand and contribute towards developing an information architecture that supports the goals of the business and that takes into account both social and technical factors.

• Understand the competitive and strategic uses of information systems.
• Understand that information systems are more than computer systems.
• Understand how the Internet and Networking are transforming organisations.

• Identify the major types of organisational information systems and discuss how each supports the managers of the organisation.
• Demonstrate and show the major operations and management roles of information systems and the strategic role that they can play in gaining competitive advantage for the organisation.

• Explain the changing role of information systems in organisations.
• Discuss the impact of information systems on organisational structure, culture, political processes and management.
• Explain how information systems can assist managers and improve managerial decision making.

• Describe the major input and output devices and approaches to input and processing.
• Describe multimedia, network computers, and future information technology trends in outline.
• Identify major types of software and describe new approaches to software development.

• Describe traditional file environments and contrast these with a database management environment.
• Explain the managerial and organisational requirements for creating a database environment.

• Describe in outline the basic components of a telecommunications system and identify telecommunications applications that can provide competitive advantage to organisations.
• Explain the criteria used in planning for telecommunications systems.
• Describe characteristics of, and problems posed by, enterprise networking and the Internet, and recommend solutions.

• Understand why building new systems are a process of planned organisational change.
• Identify and describe core activities in the systems development process and distinguish between various systems-building alternatives in terms of strengths and limitations of each approach.
• Describe traditional and new approaches for promoting information systems quality.

• Describe appropriate strategies to manage the implementation process.
• Identify and explain the indicators of successful system implementation.
• Understand the enabling, role played by information systems and technology in Business Process Reengineering (BPR)

• Describe and discuss specific types of information systems that help organisations create, capture, and distribute knowledge and information.
• Appreciate the role of the Internet, Document Management technologies, collaborative work, and artificial intelligence in capturing and distributing knowledge.

• Explain in some detail the nature and role of decision support systems (DSS), group decision support systems (GDSS) and executive support systems (ESS).

By written examination. The pass mark is 40%. Time allowed 3 hours.

Eight questions of which four must be answered. All questions carry 25 marks.