IST 301: Information and Organizations 30 October 2012

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1 IST 301 Overview Organizations exist to help direct human and capital resources toward activities that support the organization s goals. The organization s structure helps to determine the division of tasks, the roles and responsibilities of individuals within the organization, and the reporting lines of staff through their managers. When the organizational structure matches with the tasks and the purpose of the organization, they are said to have achieved a strategic fit where the organization is operating at high levels of efficiency and effectiveness. Information technology systems support organizations by linking the individuals within them to facilitate (1) communication, (2) decision-making, and (3) coordination. Information technology systems are designed by evaluating the culture of the organization and understanding the flow of tasks between individuals and between functional areas. Within the IT system design, it is very important to consider what the various stakeholders within the organization need of the system, including how they want to interact with the system and how their work is supported by the system. In today s complex and interconnected world where global commerce is supported by globally distributed work, IT systems are increasingly expected to also help coordinate activities across organizations. Moreover, successful organizations will leverage global differences to add value to their activities. In IST 301, Information and Organizations, students will learn the basic principles of organizational design, including the various ways an organization can be structured, the importance of culture in determining underlying rules and values for the organization, and the relationship of tasks and information flows as they support decision-making and activity. Students will also gain a better appreciation for the importance of diversity within the organization, as well as explore the role that organizational ethics plays in the operations of the organization. From an IT systems perspective, students will learn how IT systems can support individuals, teams, and distributed work. Students will explore the way that information collected in one part of the organization can be combined with information collected elsewhere to inform the organization s employees and decision -makers. An important aspect of this includes how IT systems can create competitive advantage for an organization by enabling it to recognize important business, financial and/or market trends both within and outside of the organization and to act on this information more quickly than its competitors. Recommended Text Richard L. Daft (2003) Organization Theory and Design. Publisher: South-Western College Pub.; 8th edition (chapter 1: Organizations and Organization Theory & chapter 3: Fundamentals of Organizational Structure) 1

2 Jones, G.R. (2003) Organizational Theory, Design and Change (chapter 11: Organizational Change and Transformations & chapter 7: Creating and Managing Organizational Culture) Additional suggested readings, cases, and instructional materials reside in the ANGEL IST 301 Course Development folder. Course Composition and Objectives IST % 10 % Organizational Structure Organizational Culture Organizational Ethics Organizational Decision Making Distributed Work Instructor Choice * 1. Organizational Structure () Students will be able to analyze the organizational structure of a variety of organizations based on the characteristics of organizational design, information processing, and information flow. a) Explain at least three common organizational designs (e.g., functional, matrix, divisional, virtual, etc.). b) Compare and contrast different organizational designs. c) Describe or diagram common organizational processes (e.g., logistics, finance, marketing, human resources, etc.). d) Describe or diagram the information flows necessary to complete an activity in an organization depending on the type of organizational structure. 2. Organizational Culture (10%) Students will be able to analyze an organization's culture, including underlying rules, values, and norms regarding power and politics, gender and diversity, and global differences. a) Describe how power and politics influence organizational operations. b) Explain the importance of diversity in organizational effectiveness. c) Explain how organizational design and organizational culture are influenced by global differences (in, for example, business processes, work-life values, expectations and regulations, wage rates, etc.) 2

3 3. Organizational Ethics (10%) Students will be able to identify ethical issues underlying a given situation. a) Explain the importance of ethics in organizational contexts. b) Provide at least two different examples of the way that government regulations, laws, or standards influence an organization's choice for conducting its activities (e.g., HIPAA, HITECH, etc.). c) Describe the kind of policies organizations put in place to influence personal behaviors in the workplace (e.g., equal opportunity, dating in the workplace, etc.). d) Describe how ethics influence personal choices in the workplace. 4. Organizational Decision Making () Students will be able to identify relevant stakeholders and anticipate the types of information needed to support organizational tasks and decision making at multiple levels in the organizational structure. a) Describe organizational activities as a set of organizational processes (e.g., Customer Relationship Management, logistics, Enterprise Resource Planning). b) Identify the relevant stakeholders and their needs in the context of a particular problem. c) Describe how distributed data is used to support decision making and organization activities. 5. Distributed Work () Students will be able to describe the difference between individual work and distributed work, including tasks, decision making, and information needs. a) Describe how work partitioning affects roles and responsibilities. b) Describe how work flows across distributed activities (e.g., multinational organizations, supply -chain collaboration, humanitarian aid, disaster relief, etc.). c) Explain how Information Communication Technologies facilitate distributed work. 6. * Instructor Choice () Instructors may choose topics and learning objectives that meet the spirit of the course as defined here. Instructors may choose to devote more time to the learning objectives listed above or to add additional, complimentary objectives. Supplementary material and objectives should not overlap with the defined content of other courses in the curriculum. Curricular Assessment The objectives labeled as 2b, 2c, 3a, 3b, 3c, and 3d are defined as critical course objectives underneath critical course goals. These are aligned with the following College s Curricular Goals and Objectives: 3

4 Curricular Goal 3: Communicate and work effectively (both individually and in teams) with a range of perspectives and audiences through a variety of media Curricular Objective 3c. Seek out, analyze, and incorporate diverse ideas and broader perspectives represented in the diversity of people Course goal 2: Organizational Culture Students will be able to analyze an organization's culture, including underlying rules, values, and norms regarding power and politics, gender and diversity, and global differences. Course objective 2b: Explain the importance of diversity in organizational effectiveness. Course objective 2c: Explain how organizational design and organizational culture are influenced by global differences (in, for example, business processes, work-life values, expectations and regulations, wage rates, etc.) Curricular Goal 4: Understand professional responsibilities in terms of the ethical, legal, security and social aspects of any given problem and its solution Curricular Objective 4a. Demonstrate an understanding of the cognitive, social, legal, ethical, diversity, and security perspectives surrounding a given problem Course goal 3: Organizational Ethics (10%) Students will be able to identify ethical issues underlying a given situation. Course objective 3a: Explain the importance of ethics in organizational contexts. Course objective 3b: Provide at least two different examples of the way that government regulations, laws, or standards influence an organization's choice for conducting its activities (e.g., HIPAA, HITECH, etc.). Course objective 3c: Describe the kind of policies organizations put in place to influence personal behaviors in the workplace (e.g., equal opportunity, dating in the workplace, etc.). Course objective 3d: Describe how ethics influence personal choices in the workplace. When the College assesses the curriculum, instructors of this course will be called on to provide evidence of students outcomes regarding the noted course objectives, as well as supporting documentation. Evidence and supporting documentation consist of the following: a description of assignment(s) tied to the noted course objectives the rubric(s) used to assess students work submitted for these assignment(s) against the specified, critical learning goals and objectives for this course [note: there is a common rubric created by the IST 301 Course Committee see the Assessment folder in the ANGEL course development group for this course] 4

5 the distribution of scores on the rubric 3 samples of student work (one excellent, one very good, and one acceptable) that were submitted to fulfill the assignment(s) completed rubrics for the three samples of student work 5