Co-coordinators are:

Dr Cate Jerram
#08 8313 4757
cate.jerram@adelaide.edu.au
10.34, Nexus 10


Mr Ian Matthews
ian.matthews@adelaide.edu.au
Nexus 10

On successful completion of this course students will be able to
1. Source, validate, use, and manage relevant and appropriate information for ethical and effective decision-making and problem-solving, applying systems thinking skills and techniques.
2. Analyse the technology needs required to support a business and liaise effectively with technology personnel for acquisition, maintenance, and business support.
3. Use basic/intermediate spreadsheet skills effectively for information management and decision-making.
4. Be able to explain the use of databases for information management and decision-making, and demonstrate a fundamental grasp of the principles of database design.
5. Assess the quality of information solutions to business problems, applying systems thinking skills and techniques.

Mission Statement

This course will give students a powerful entry to the thinking, skills and tools needed to solve problems and leverage technology for business success.

REQUIRED TEXT

There is no required text. Students research and resource as required.

USUALLY REQUIRED (Excel upskilling)

It is strongly recommended that students update/refresh (or acquire) MS Excel skills to intermediate level. The course will commence with a quick refresher, but is essentially built on an assumption of intermediate level Excel skills.

ONSITE STUDENTS ARE REQUIRED TO BRING EARPHONES TO CLASS

A site which we will use extensively in the course is: The Systems Thinker.

Again - we recommend that students access Excel Tutorials on YouTube and from Microsoft to refresh and update their Excel skills. A useful (but not necessary) text is: Meadows, Donella. 2008. Thinking in Systems: a Primer. (Ed: Diana Wright). Sustainability Institute. (online with free delivery is cheapest)

BISM is run on heutagogical principles and is very much a case-study and research-based course, so there will be considerable online activity both in class and out.

When possible, sessions will be recorded. However – occasionally recordings fail. As much of the content is research-based and case-based, very little of it will record well. There are few lectures in this class - it's all interactive. Therefore, it is highly recommended that students attend classes whenever they can, whether on campus or in the Live Zoom classroom, as trying to catch up by asynchronously watching recordings of the live class will inevitably be difficult, frustrating, and tedious.

This is a mixed cohort class. That means there will be students attending both onsite and online only (from many time zones) simultaneously. Reminder - onsite students must bring earphones to class. As classes are delivered simultaneously to students on campus in Adelaide and to students with only online access, many classes and sessions will be delivered online. On-campus students must check schedules and watch announcements for sessions and classes when the academic will be online only and not in the classroom. On such occasions on-campus students are free to attend the online sessions in the class lab which remains reserved for the class as scheduled, or join online.

This course is Mixed Cohort (as explained above in Online Learning).

BISM is case-based and will be taught in 3 hour blocks that will (usually) be separated into (approximately) 3 x 50 min sessions with a 10 minute break between them.These three sessions will (roughly) focus on the 3 critical components each week of:

1. Systems Theory & Thinking (for Management & Decision-Making);
2. (Use of) IT & IS in Business; and
3. Spreadsheets & Databases for Decision-Making

(not necessarily in that order).

Although having a business (rather than technology) focus, the onsite class will be taught in computer labs for access to information management programs such as MS Excel (spreadsheets) and MS Access (database), as well as online research facilities.  If attending class online, it is highly recommended to have a second monitor.

Blended Learning / "Flipped" Classroom

Software will be a necessary component of the course, and much of the course content will be online, primarily acquired by students through research. In particular, class lessons on Excel will focus on Excel USE for problem-solving, NOT on "how to do Excel"... each week in the "Preparation for Week #..." page, recommended URLs will be posted for online learning of "how to do Excel" for the necessary functions for the week's lesson. Students are free to use any additional or alternate form of learning Excel, so long as they are able to use Excel adequately well to participate in the "problem-solving with Excel" components of lessons.

The University expects full-time students (i.e. those taking 12 units per semester) to devote a total of 48 hours per week to their studies.
This means that students are expected to commit approximately 12 hour per week to this course (including class time and the research, collaboration, online, & study time outside of your regular classes). 

• Students are expected to attend all class sessions (live or zoom).
• Students are required to complete class preparation (posted in MyUni) before the start of class.
• NOTE PARTICULARLY – there is a heavy spreadsheet component. Students new to Excel will have extra preparation each week to be able to work with “spreadsheets for decision-making”. It is possible for new Excel users to succeed in this class, but only if the extra time is invested before class.

BISM (M) will be taught in 3 hour blocks that will (usually) be separated into (approximately) 3 x 50 min sessions with a 10 minute break between them.

These three sessions will (roughly) focus on the 3 critical components described above in Learning & Teaching Modes.

Core information management software will be studied: MS Excel.

Theoretical debates will be embedded regarding methods for and approaches to data sourcing and analysis, information management, and related ethical, legal, and security issues.

The seminar schedule is flexible and responsive, however, the primary topics taught in the 3 foci are:

1. Focus One: Systems Theory & Thinking
   • Complexity & Systems
   • Systems Perspective/ Systems thinking & lots of different Systems branches
   • Thinking analysis/self-awareness
   • Systems Structure and Behaviour
   • Systems Theory/Theories
   • Mental Models
   • Causal Loops Diagrams
   • Feedback Loops
   • Reinforcing Loops
   • Balancing Loops
   • Why Systems Work So Well
   • Decision Making and Problem Solving
   • Systems applications to teams & other decision-making situations
   • Levers & Leverage for Outcomes (Strategy & Tactics)
   • Working with Mental Models
   • System Dynamics & CLDs
   • System Dynamics & Spreadsheets
2. Focus Two: IT & IS in Business (Business Information Systems / Management Information Systems)
   There is considerable cross-0ver between Focus Two & Focus Three.
   • Data, Information and Information Systems in Business (references learning from Business Data & Cyber Security course)
   • Information Systems (IS/MIS/BIS) in the professional’s workplace
   • Business Requirements Analysis
   • Business Analysis Tracking and Documentation
   • FlowCharts & Business Mapping & Documentation (BPMN)
   • Business, Business Information Systems and IT; how to relate case to theory
   • Organisational Strategy, Information Systems, and Competitive Advantage
   • Overview of Hardware, Software, Firmware, Data Communications and other technical necessities
   • Ram & Rom as memory / cognitive load
   • Business Process Management using Functional, Cross-Functional & Inter-organisational Systems
   • Information Systems Development
   • Information Systems Management & Developing IS Proposals and Budgets
   • Information Security Management and Managing Computer Security Risk (references learning
   • from Business Data & Cyber Security course)
   • Strategic Business Use of e-Commerce (B2B, B2C, B2G), Web 2.0, Social Networking and User-
   • Generated Content
   • Business Intelligence and Information Systems for Decision-Making;
   • Business Implications of the latest developments in IS (incl AI & ML, Blockchain...) (references learning from Business Data & Cyber Security course)
3. Focus Three: Spreadsheets (& Databases) for Decision-Making Technical skills required include all Basic* and Intermediate level Excel skills. Advanced skills are helpful.

• Business Requirements Analysis
• Business Analysis Tracking and Documentation
• FlowCharts & Business Mapping & Documentation (BPMN)
• Business, Business Information Systems and IT; how to relate case to theory
• Information Systems Management & Developing IS Proposals and Budgets
• Information Security Management and Managing Computer Security Risk

Basic & Intermediate skills assumed: Workbook & Worksheet; formatting cells; printing; basic functions & formulae (& the difference); charts; pivot table; named range; drop-down list; conditional formatting; text-to-column.

As this class has a mixed cohort (simultaneous on-site and online students),

• onsite students are expected to bring earphones or other means of being able to communicate with online classmates from the class lab;
• all cohorts are expected to make the extra effort required to communicate across technological and other challenges, including consideration for students in other time zones.

There is an extremely challenging administrative management load in this course, and students are required to carefully read provided instructions and course advice before contacting a course academic for information already supplied.
ie:
Before contacting a course academic with a question:

• Read the course outline.
• Read the assessment descriptions.
• Read the rubrics (all the cells).
• Read all announcements as they arrive.
• Check the FAQ section.
• Check past announcements.
• Check the Discussion Boards: Course Admin and Social.

There is no official teamwork in this course. However, students are encouraged to work together.

Please read COLLABORATION vs COLLUSION in the Assessment section of this document.

Collaboration vs collusion

While students may collaborate as a team to discuss their ideas of appropriate response to the problem, and design of technical information management solution in the time leading up to the assessment, students will individually determine and write-up their proposed solution, and create their own individual spreadsheet solutions to support their management solution.

Submission

All assessment activities occur in class, therefore submission of all assessment activities occurs in class – on-campus or in the zoom classroom. Any student unable to attend (live or synchronously) an assessment-focused class must negotiate a private assessment with the course coordinator or designated delegate.

The three assessment activities occur (or at least commence) in class. Therefore submission of all assessment activities occurs in class. Any student unable to attend an assessment-focused class (weeks 4, 8, and 12) must negotiate a private assessment with the course coordinator or designated delegate. All written coponents of submissions will be run through TurnItIn.