Information Systems - 2024 entry

***DEGREE APPRENTICESHIP STUDENTS ONLY***

The integrating theme of this module is the focus on an organisation and the ways it can develop its capabilities using information technology.

Information systems are an integral part of all business activities. This module is designed to introduce you to contemporary information systems and demonstrate how these systems are used throughout organisations. The focus will be on the key components of information systems - people, software, hardware, data, and communication technologies, and how these components can be integrated and managed to create competitive advantage.

You will gain an understanding of how information is used in organisations and how IT enables improvement in quality, speed, and agility. This module also provides an introduction to systems and development concepts, technology acquisition, and various types of application software that have become ubiquitous in modern organisations and society.

The aim of this module is to ensure you understand the role and value of IS/IT in organisations. In particular, you will be able to demonstrate the following competence:

• Critically analyses a business domain in order to identify the role of information systems, highlight issues and identify opportunities for improvement through evaluating information systems in relation to their intended purpose and effectiveness.

On successful completion of this module you should be able to:

Module Specific Skills and Knowledge

1. Critically analyse a business domain in order to identify the role of information systems and highlight issues.

2. Evaluate information systems in relation to their intended purpose with regard to their effectiveness.

3. Explain why Information Technology is important to business and society.

4. Understand how and why information systems are used today.

5. Explain the technology, people, and organisational components of information systems.

6. Understand the alignment between IT strategy and organisational strategy

7. Understand globalisation and the role information systems has played in this evolution.

8. Understand how businesses are using information systems for competitive advantage vs. competitive necessity.

9. Understand the value of information systems investments as well as learn to formulate a business case for a new information system, including estimation of both costs and benefits.

Discipline Specific Skills and Knowledge

10. Identify the major components of an information systems infrastructure.

11. Understand how information systems are enabling new forms of commerce between individuals and organisations.

12. Understand how information systems enable core and supportive business processes as well as those that interface with suppliers and customers.

13. Appreciate how IS represents a key source of competitive advantage for firms.

14. Understand existing and emerging information technologies, the functions of IS and its impact on the organisational operations.

15. Aware of emerging technologies that enable new forms of communication, collaboration, and partnering.

16. Understand how various types of information systems provide the information needed to gain business intelligence to support the decision making for the different levels and functions of the organisation.

17. Understand how enterprise systems foster stronger relationships with customers and suppliers and how these systems are widely used to enforce organisational structures and processes.

18. Understand how organisations develop and acquire information systems and technologies.

19. Understand how to secure information systems resources, focusing on both human and technological safeguards.

Personal and Key Transferable / Employment Skills and Knowledge

20. Communicate orally and in writing

21. Think analytically and critically

22. Organise your own work

23. Work to a deadline

24. Make decisions

Introduction (1 week)
• Digital transformation and information systems
• The need for information systems
• Components of information systems
• Types of information systems; their uses, functions and impacts
IS in organisations (2 weeks)
• Role and impact of IS in business processes
• Information systems for competitive advantage/necessity
• Alignment between IT strategy and organisational strategy
IS applications (2 weeks)
• Enterprise applications
• New forms of IT-enabled commerce
• Business Intelligence and decision making
IS infrastructure and architecture (4 weeks)
• Organisational IT infrastructure for IS
• Cloud-based solutions
• Enterprise architecture; EA frameworks
• IT management and IT governance processes
IS acquisition (2 weeks)
• The acquisition process
• Analysing a business domain to highlight issues and identify IS needs
• Value of information systems investments; benefits realisation
• Formulating a business case for information systems
Emerging technologies (1 week)
• New forms of communications
• Social information systems

Deferral – if you miss an assessment for certificated reasons judged acceptable by the Mitigation Committee, you will normally be deferred in the assessment. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of deferral will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment.

Referral – if you have failed the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 40%) you may be required to sit a referral. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of referral will be capped at 40%.

ELE: http://vle.exeter.ac.uk/

Reading list for this module: