FIT1003 IT in Organizations , Unit Information Guide (Semester 1, 2006)

The unit will provide you with an introduction and broad overview of the application of IT to the management of information in organizations, and the role and responsibilities of the IT professional in developing and implementing IT-based solutions to information problems.

The discussion of the organizational framework for IT and IT professional practice will be set within its broader social context. The opportunities, problems and risks associated with IT will be examined, together with their implications for the rights and responsibilities of IT professionals.

At the completion of this unit you will have knowledge and understanding of:

• Basic concepts of information, including organizational and social issues relating to the ownership and control of information;
• Basic concepts of information systems, including their role and importance in organizations and society;
• Basic concepts of organizations, including organizational structures, the roles of individuals and groups in organizations, the role of communication in achieving organizational objectives, and the nature of communication in organizations;
• Basic concepts of IT as it is used in organizations and society, including the evolution of the role of IT in organizations and society;
• Information technologies and information technology infrastructures employed by organizations;
• The business and information management processes and functions for which IT is used in organizations, and in which IT professionals are involved;
• Opportunities, risks and liabilities arising from the usage and application of IT in organizations;
• Processes of acquiring, developing and managing IT in organizations;
• Techniques and tools for describing and analysing information management processes in organizations;
• The roles of IT workers in organizations and the range of ethical and professional rights and responsibilities associated with them;
• Organizational and social issues arising from the use of IT in organizations, including privacy and civil liberties issues.

You will be able to:

• Recognise the importance of information to organizational processes and functions;
• Recognise the opportunities and limitations of the role which IT can play in managing information in organizations;
• Appreciate the importance of the IT practitioner's role in organizations and society, and the responsibilities it entails.
• Document organizational information-related functions and processes;
• Assess the potential scope for using IT as part of the solution to an organizational information problem;
• Identify and discuss issues, problems and opportunities in using IT in organizations;
• Identify and discuss the organizational and social impacts of IT, and the ethical dimensions of IT-related decisions.

You will:

• Recognise the team skills necessary for successful development and implementation of IT solutions to information problems in organizations;
• Appreciate the importance of the inter-relationships between IT professionals and the stakeholders in IT-based systems in organizations.

Required text(s)

There is no single text book for this unit. A Reader will be available with the required reading, containing extracts of many books and journals. All the references are also available in the Monash library.

Text books are available from the Monash University Book Shops. Availability from other suppliers cannot be assured. The Bookshop orders texts in specifically for this unit. You are advised to purchase your text book early.

Software requirements:

There is no specific recommended software for the unit, however you will need access to:

• An Internet browser
• A word processor
• A simple graphics editor such as that in Word or PowerPoint

Students studying on-campus will have access to these in the computer labs.

Software may be:

• purchased at academic price at good software retailers

Hardware requirements:

Students studying off-campus are required to have the minimum system configuration specified by the faculty as a condition of accepting admission, as well as regular Internet access.

On-campus students, and those studying at supported study locations may use the facilities available in the computing labs. Information about computer use for students is available from the ITS Student Resource Guide in the Monash University Handbook.

You may need to allocate up to 5 or more hours per week in some weeks, for use of a computer, including time for participating in discussion groups and assignment preparation.

• Boddy D, Boonstra A, Kennedy G (2004) Managing information systems : an organisational perspective, Prentice Hall
• Brooks F (1995) The mythical man-month, Addison-Wesley
• DeMarco T & Lister T (1987) Peopleware: Productive projects and teams, Dorset House
• Edgar, Stacey, L. (2003) Morality and Machines: Perspectives on Computer Ethics, Second Edition, Jones and Bartlett, Sudbury, Massachusetts.
• Gelinas U, Sutton S & Fedorowicz J (2004) Business processes and information technology, Thomson
• Mohan T, McGregor H, Saunders S, Archee, R (2004) Communicating as Professionals, First edition, Thomson Learning

Study resources for FIT1003 are:

• A printed Unit Book containing 12 Study Guides
  
• A Reader with required readings
  
• This Unit Information outlining the administrative information for the unit
  
• The FIT1003 web site on MUSO, where lecture slides, weekly tutorial requirements, assignment specifications, sample solutions and supplementary teaching material will be posted
  
• A campus specific section of the website where communication information and with the discussion groups for each campus

The timetable for on-campus classes for this unit can be viewed in Allocate+

Assessment for the unit consists of 2 assignments with a weighting of 40% and an examination with a weighting of 60%. Read this section VERY carefully.

To pass this unit you must:

1. Attempt both assignments and the exam in the semester that you study the unit;
2. Achieve no less than 50% in the exam and 40% for the assignments overall.

On-campus students are required to attend at least 75% of scheduled tutorials. Attendance records will be kept.

Your score for the unit will be calculated by:

assignment result + exam result = Final Score

Where assignment result and exam result are marks out of 40 and 60 respectively.

Assessment Requirements

Assignment specifications will be made available from the Assessment link on the FIT1003 Website. Information about assignments will be published on the Unit's Notices Newsgroup.

You will be advised of assignment submission processes and requirements on the FIT1003 website.

Late submission of assignments

Assignments received after the due date will be subject to a penalty of 5% per day. Assignments received later than one week (seven days) after the due date will not normally be accepted. In some cases, this period may be shorter if there is a need to release sample solutions.

This policy is strict because comments or guidance will be given on assignments as they are returned, and sample solutions may also be published and distributed, after assignment marking or with the returned assignment. 

Extensions

It is your responsibility to structure your study program around assignment deadlines, family, work and other commitments. Factors such as normal work pressures, vacations, etc. are seldom regarded as appropriate reasons for granting extensions. 

Requests for extensions must be made by email to the unit lecturer on your campus of enrolment at least two days before the due date.

You will be asked to provide original medical certificates in cases of illness, and may be asked to provide other forms of documentation where necessary.

A copy of the email or other written communication confirming an extension must be attached to the relevant assignment submission.

Grading of assessment

Assignments, and the unit, will be marked and allocated a grade according to the following scale:

We will generally aim to have assignment results made available to you within two weeks after assignment receipt.

You will receive feedback on your work and progress in this unit. This feedback may be provided through your participation in tutorials and class discussions, as well as through your assignment submissions. It may come in the form of individual advice, marks and comments, or it may be provided as comment or reflection targeted at the group. It may be provided through personal interactions, such as interviews and on-line forums, or through other mechanisms such as on-line self-tests and publication of grade distributions.

You will be asked to provide feedback to the Faculty through a Unit Evaluation survey at the end of the semester. You may also be asked to complete surveys to help teaching staff improve the unit and unit delivery. Your input to such surveys is very important to the faculty and the teaching staff in maintaining relevant and high quality learning experiences for our students.

It is essential that you take action immediately if you realise that you have a problem with your study. The semester is short, so we can help you best if you let us know as soon as problems arise. Regardless of whether the problem is related directly to your progress in the unit, if it is likely to interfere with your progress you should discuss it with your lecturer or a Community Service counsellor as soon as possible.

Plagiarism and cheating are regarded as very serious offences. In cases where cheating  has been confirmed, students have been severely penalised, from losing all marks for an assignment, to facing disciplinary action at the Faculty level. While we would wish that all our students adhere to sound ethical conduct and honesty, I will ask you to acquaint yourself with Student Rights and Responsibilities and the Faculty regulations that apply to students detected cheating as these will be applied in all detected cases.

In this University, cheating means seeking to obtain an unfair advantage in any examination or any other written or practical work to be submitted or completed by a student for assessment. It includes the use, or attempted use, of any means to gain an unfair advantage for any assessable work in the unit, where the means is contrary to the instructions for such work. 

When you submit an individual assessment item, such as a program, a report, an essay, assignment or other piece of work, under your name you are understood to be stating that this is your own work. If a submission is identical with, or similar to, someone else's work, an assumption of cheating may arise. If you are planning on working with another student, it is acceptable to undertake research together, and discuss problems, but it is not acceptable to jointly develop or share solutions unless this is specified by your lecturer. 

Intentionally providing students with your solutions to assignments is classified as "assisting to cheat" and students who do this may be subject to disciplinary action. You should take reasonable care that your solution is not accidentally or deliberately obtained by other students. For example, do not leave copies of your work in progress on the hard drives of shared computers, and do not show your work to other students. If you believe this may have happened, please be sure to contact your lecturer as soon as possible.

Cheating also includes taking into an examination any material contrary to the regulations, including any bilingual dictionary, whether or not with the intention of using it to obtain an advantage.

Plagiarism involves the false representation of another person's ideas, or findings, as your own by either copying material or paraphrasing without citing sources. It is both professional and ethical to reference clearly the ideas and information that you have used from another writer. If the source is not identified, then you have plagiarised work of the other author. Plagiarism is a form of dishonesty that is insulting to the reader and grossly unfair to your student colleagues.

Because availability of staff varies from location to location, each campus will have different communication schedules. The FIT1003 website has a separate place for each campus to publish local information. Please check this section of the FIT1003 website for information on how and when to communicate with the staff at your campus.

Notices related to the unit during the semester will be placed on the Notices Newsgroup in the FIT1003 Unit Website. Check this regularly. Failure to read the Notices newsgroup is not regarded as grounds for special consideration.

Consultation Times

These will be made available to you through your campus link on the FIT1003 website, on MUSO.

If direct communication with your unit adviser/lecturer or tutor outside of consultation periods is needed you may contact the lecturer and/or tutors at:

Mr Martin Atchison
Senior Lecturer
Phone +61 3 990 31912

Ms Kim Styles
Senior Lecturer, and Director, Educational Quality
Phone +61 3 990 26285 +61 3 990 31965
Fax +61 3 9902 6879

Dr Damminda Alahakoon
Lecturer
Phone +61 3 990 59662

Mr Andrija Maricic

Mrs Yumiko Isawa

All email communication to you from your lecturer will occur through your Monash student email address. Please ensure that you read it regularly, or forward your email to your main address. Also check that your contact information registered with the University is up to date in My.Monash.