Undergraduate Course: Global Information Systems and Electronic Business (BUST10098)
Course Outline
| School | Business School |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | Multinational businesses have increasingly relied on digital computing and communications for the
operation of their internal and external business processes for decades, and so the ?electronification?
of business is not a new direction for business but a logical extension of existing practice. As global
network infrastructure has become cheaper to access and easier to use through developments such as
the ?Web and the Grid, organisations of all sizes and geographical spread are using this infrastructure
to manage internal and external information, improve efficiency of business processes and develop it
as a channel to access new markets.
This course looks at the development and exploitation of management information systems in the context of global business operations and global markets, focussing on their impact on the competitiveness of organisations managing the ?tyranny of distance?.
The course comprises 10 two-hour classes that will involve lectures, speakers from industry, class discussion, and class presentations of group-work as part of the (formative) assessment process. These begin with a review of key technologies and capabilities that form a global
infrastructure for electronic business, and then a series of lectures that develop an understanding of the relationships between data, information and knowledge and how management information systems are developed to manage them within an organisation. The impact of these systems on
competitiveness is considered from strategic, technical and organisational perspectives to promote effective integration of information systems and business processes.
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| Course description |
Not entered
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Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |
Learning Outcomes
Knowledge and Understanding:
(i) describe qualitative differences between data, information and knowledge and their relation to
the hierarchy of management information systems
(ii) describe the basic capabilities and limitations of global information infrastructures
(iii) explain the relationship between the architecture of a global information network and the effectiveness of a globally pervasive high-performance computing service
(iv) describe how global information systems can contribute to an increase in revenue as well as a
reduction in operating costs
(v) explain why investing in electronic business channels can lead to an increase in transaction costs and a reduction in revenue
Cognitive Skills:
(vi) differentiate between the contributions to competitiveness that arise from flexible business
models and flexible business technologies
(vii) understand the impact of physical distance on performance characteristics of information systems and demand characteristics of synchronous and asynchronous markets
Key Skills:
(viii) recognise both the benefits and limitations of ?transformational? information systems
technologies
(ix) develop and present formal case for technology change based on improving access to global information infrastructures and attendant improvements in competitiveness within new or existing markets
Subject Specific Skills:
Note. These learning objectives align closely with the 2007 QAA Subject Benchmark statement for undergraduate Business and Management degrees in the areas of ?information systems - the development, management and exploitation of information systems and their impact upon
organisations?. In addition the course is relevant to learning about ?pervasive issues? identified within the same benchmark in areas such as globalisation, enterprise development, business innovation and knowledge management.
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Ashley Lloyd
Tel: (0131 6)50 3817
Email: Ashley.Lloyd@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Miss Anne Cunningham
Tel: (0131 6)50 3827
Email: Anne.Cunningham@ed.ac.uk |
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