THE WALLACE E. CARROLL SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT
MD240: Management Information Systems
Fall 2003
MD240 Home
Syllabus/Schedule
Guidelines/Grading
Case Study Questions
Team Project
GRADING:
The percentage breakdown of your final grade will be as follows:
20% Class Participation
10% Case Study Analysis Outlines
10% Quiz Scores
25% Team Project: CRM Case Study Simulation
15% Midterm Exam
20% Final Exam
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100%
CLASS PARTICIPATION:
Getting used to talking in the language of IS and reasoning about IS on one's feet is important. Therefore, it is important that everyone makes their best effort to contribute to class discussions. You should be prepared to make some substantive comments on the topic of the day when called upon in class, and you should attempt to ask any questions you may have regarding the topic during class, so everyone can learn.
Class contribution will be graded in a holistic sense. From prior experience, those students who openly contribute to classes tend to get A's. Other students who contribute less, or not at all, tend to get grades somewhere below those who contribute. To get a good participation score, you need not speak in every class. But, it is expected that throughout the semester you will contribute substantially to the learning of others. Note that it is the quality of comments that counts the most. You are always free to ask me in person directly about your participation.
CASE ANALYSIS OUTLINE:
Over the course of the semester, we will have four case study discussions. For these discussions to work well, it is essential that all students come fully prepared.
To help you structure your preparation, I will provide a list of discussion questions for each case study. You will be asked to turn in a typed, one-page outline for three of the four case studies. For each of these you will do your analysis individually.
The case analysis outline should concisely present your thoughts on each of the discussion questions. For the individual write-ups, your outline should be in the range of 1-2 pages (note: 0.5 pages is not enough), use full 1 inch margins, using a font no smaller than 12 pt Times Roman. Bullet points or other devices to get your thoughts across quickly are recommended.
Grades will be assigned on a 10 point scale, as follows:
Checkmark-plus = 10 pts: Outstanding analysis
Checkmark = 8 pts: Good analysis
Checkmark-minus = 6 pts: So-so analysis
TEAM PROJECT: CRM CASE SIMULATION:
You will be asked to form groups of approximately 5 students each. Your group will work under the guidance of professional CRM consultants from Deloitte Consulting to provide a solution to a case study. More information on this exercise will be given as the semester progresses (see the Team Project web page).
Grading of the CRM experience will be based on the following elements:
(1) quality and thoroughness of your analysis and solution,
(2) quality of your written deliverable(s),
(3) quality of presentation of your solution, and
(4) apparent original research effort involved, e.g., how thoroughly you interviewed your client, researching technologies that might relate to your project, etc.
QUIZ:
There will be a total of four multiple choice quizzes based on the readings. The top three quiz grades will be used to calculate your final grade. Quizzes will be taken during class time, but won't be discussed in class. Grade results, disputes, and question content discussions will be handled completely after class or via email. This way, the administrative aspects of the quizzes will be handled outside of class, leaving class time for other topics. A zero will be given on any quiz missed and there will be no make-ups.
MIDTERM AND FINAL EXAMS:
The examinations will provide opportunities for you to integrate the concepts, cases, and discussions. The midterm exam will be oriented toward mastering terminology and technologies from the first half of the course. The format of the midterm exam will be short answer. The final exam will be comprehensive and will cover all material from the full semester. The format of the final exam will be multiple choice, short answer, and short essay.
NOTE: The Carroll School's Educational Policy Committee clarified school policy for faculty during Fall semester 2001, stating that (i) faculty must hold an exam in each class during finals week unless they notify the Dean otherwise, and (ii) final exams must be held during finals weeek and not before. As such, each student in MD240 will be expected to take the final exam during finals week at the time specified by the Boston College final exam schedule.
Disability Accommodation:
If any student has need for a specific accommodation, please discuss this with me early in the semester.
Plagiarism, Unduly Stressful Situations, etc.:
All students are expected to do their own work, unless instructed to work in groups. If any homework instructions are unclear, please ask me to clarify. I will not tolerate cheating of any kind. Any academic offense, such as plagiarism or cheating, will be handled according to protocol in the Boston College student handbook.
Also, if you are having trouble keeping up with the material because of uncontrollable situations (e.g., personal loss, girlfriend or boyfriend left you, who knows what else) and have missed some classes or quizzes, please talk to me about it. I would rather know what is going on, than just be left wondering why you are not in class.