INDIAN INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT BANGALORE

Management of Information Systems & Technology(MIST)

PGP

Term III (2011-12)

Credits: 3

Instructor: Dr. Rahul De'

Office: NF 202; Phone: 3297; rahul@iimb.ernet.in

Course Objectives
This course introduces students to the basic theory of Information Systems and aspects of practice
related to the design, implementation, evaluation, planning and strategic use of information technology.
This course will dwell on why organizations use information systems and how they are designed and
deployed for such use. Also, the course will cover the issues related to the management of information
technology within organizations.
The course assumes the perspective of a manager and all the topics are approached from this
viewpoint. Thus, when technology is discussed, it is covered from the viewpoint of a person who has to
make decisions regarding the technology and its use, rather than from the perspective of a programmer
or a computer scientist.
The basic learning objectives of this course are:
an understanding of the competitive need for information technology used by organizations
an understanding of the issues in the design, implementation and deployment of IT
an understanding of the Internet and its implications for organizations
an understanding of software development and project management
an overview of some IT applications
an understanding of ethical and social issues of IT
an understanding of ICT for development and e-government systems
Readings
There is no specific text assigned for this course. Reading material will be available on Moodle and
some will be provided in class.
Evaluation
The grade for the course will be based on evaluation along the following modules:
Component

Percentage

Class Participation + Quizzes (2)

30

Term Paper

20

Mid-Term

20

Final Exam

30

The topic for the term paper will be specified in advance. The term paper has to be about 2000
words in length (about 8 pages double-spaced) and will consist of two components. The first
component will have to be submitted by the middle of the term (25% of points) and the second and
final report will have to submitted by the end of the term (75% of points). As such, the paper should
focus on a review of the existing literature and reports. Details will be provided in class.
1

Course Outline
(This is a tentative outline. Readings and topics will be updated as needed.)
Session
Topic and Readings
1

Topics
Introduction to Course
IT and Competitive Difference
Readings
1. Computers, Networks, and the Corporation, Rockart and Malone, Scientific
American, August 1991.
2. The Four Ways IT is Revolutionizing Innovation, Hopkins, Sloan Management
Review, 2010.
3. IT That Makes a Competitive Difference, McAfee and Brynjolfsson, Harvard
Business Review, 2008.

Topic
MIS Decisions for Managers
Readings
1. Six Decisions Your IT People Shouldnt Make, by Jeanne Ross and Peter Weill
in Harvard Business Review, November, 2002
2. Information Technology and the Board of Directors, by Nolan and McFarlan,
Harvard Business Review, 2005.

Topics
Technology Infrastructure
Information Economy
Readings
1. Mastering the Three Worlds of Information Technology, by A. McAfee, HBR
2006.
2. Chapter 1 of Information Rules: A strategic Guide to the Network Economy by
Carl Shapiro & Hal R. Varian, Harvard Business School Press.

Topic
E-Commerce
Readings
TBA

Topic
Understanding Telecommunications Networks
Reading
1. Computer Networking: A Top-Down Approach Featuring the Internet, by J.F.
Kurose and K.W. Ross, Pearson, 2005. Chap 1.

Topic
Understanding Telecommunications Networks: Wireless, Multimedia, Security

Session

Topic and Readings

Topic
Database Essentials
Readings
1. Information Technology for Management, by Henry C. Lucas, McGraw-Hill,
2000. Chapter 10.
2. Designing Data Governance, Khatri and Brown, CACM, 2010.
3. Modeling Strategies and Alternatives for Data Warehousing Projects, Jukic,
CACM, 2006.

Topic
Software Development
Readings
1. McConnell Chapter 3 Case
2. Chapter 1, Software Runaways: Lessons Learned from Massive Software Project
Failures by Robert L. Glass; Prentice Hall, 1998
3. Project Retrospectives: Evaluating Project Success, Failure, and Everything in
Between, by R.R. Nelson, MISQ Executive, Sept 2005.

Topic
Project Management
Readings
1. Why the Vasa Sank? 10 Problems and Some Antidotes for Software Projects?
Fairley and Wilshire, IEEE Software, 2003.

10

Topic
Managing IT Infrastructure
Flexibility and Innovation
Readings
1. Dont Just Lead, Govern: How Top-Performing Firms Govern IT, by P. Weill,
MIS Quarterly Executive, March 2004.
2. How to Manage Outside Innovation, Boudreau & Lakhani, SMR, 2009.

11

Topic
The Challenge of Open Source Software
Reading
1. A Managerial Overview of Open Source Software, by S. Krishnamurthy,
Business Horizons, Sept-Oct 2003.

12

Topic
Economic Impact of Open Source; Open Data Standards
Readings
1. Open Source: Salvation or Suicide, Wilson and Kambil, HBR, 2008.
2. Back-propagation of user innovations: The open source compatibility edge,
Hicks and Pachamanova, Business Horizons, 2007.

Session

Topic and Readings

13

Topic
Social Networking for the Enterprise
Readings
1. Enterprise 2.0: The Dawn of Emergent Collaboration by A.P. McAfee, Sloan
Management Review, Spring 2006.
2. Collaborative organization: How to make employee networks really work, by
Cross et.al., SMR, 2010.
Case Analysis

14

Topics
ERP and CRM; Knowledge Management
Readings
1. Managing the Next Wave of Enterprise Systems, by Brown and Vessey, MISQ
Executive, March 2003.

15

Topic
Decision Support Systems and Business Intelligence
Readings
1. Competing on Analytics, by T.H.Davenport, HBR, 2006.
2. Analytics: The New Path to Value, Research Report, SMR, 2010.

16

Topic
Ethical Issues
Readings
1. Power Over Users: Its Exercise by Systems Professionals, by Lynne Marcus
and Niels Bjorn-Andersen in Communications of the ACM, June 1987

17

Topic
Workplace Monitoring and Privacy
Readings
1. Monitoring in the Workplace, Nord et. al., CACM 2006.

18

Topics
Digital Divide; ICT for Development
Readings
TBA

19

Topic
ICT for Development: Telecenters, Community Radio
Readings
1. n-Logue: The Story of a Rural Service Provider in India Jhunjhunwala et.al.
(2004).

20

Topic
E-Government Systems
Readings
1. Importance of Development Context in ICT4D Projects: A Study of
Computerization of Land Records in India,A. Prakash and R.De, Information
Technology and People, 2007.

Technology
4

Students are encouraged to use Free and Open Source software for this course, such as Libre Office.
Moodle (an Open Source Learning Management tool) will be used throughout the course.
Teaching Philosophy
Learning is an active and collaborative process. As the instructor, I will guide you towards concepts
and ideas, and encourage discussion around them in class. Your learning will come from reading the
material, contributing to discussions and completing the assignments.