6 ECTS credits
159 h study time

Offer 1 with catalog number 4018126ENW for working students in the 1st semester at a (E) Master - advanced level.

Semester
1st semester
Enrollment based on exam contract
Impossible
Grading method
Grading (scale from 0 to 20)
Can retake in second session
Yes
Enrollment Requirements
Enrolling in 'Informatics for Management' means that you simultaneously take 'Introduction to Informatics and Supply Chain Management' or have successfully passed 'Introduction to Informatics and Supply Chain Management'.​
Taught in
English
Faculty
Faculty of Social Sciences & SolvayBusinessSchool
Department
Business Technology and Operations
Educational team
Peter Jan De Bruyn (course titular)
Activities and contact hours
20 contact hours Lecture
12 contact hours Seminar, Exercises or Practicals
127 contact hours Independent or External Form of Study
Course Content

This course covers a broad overview on how Information Technology (IT) can be or is typically used in the context of organizations.  
After briefly summarizing the strategic importance of information systems for contemporary organizations, the different types of information systems or enterprise applications (ERP, CRM, SCM, etcetera) as well as their most important building blocks are introduced.  
Next, a profound overview of IT project management (i.e., the system development lifecycle) is given during which special attention is devoted to the responsibilities of managers in a typical IT project.  
Afterwards, it is studied how the resulting information systems can impact or enable an organization's business model.  A set of current organizational IT trends are discussed and analyzed in terms of their potential business value.  
The course is ended with an introduction to data modelling, data querying, and process modelling.

Course material
Digital course material (Required) : Slides and supporting material available through Canvas, Canvas
Handbook (Recommended) : Management Information Systems, Managing the Digital Firm, Laudon & Laudon, 14th Edition, Prentice Hall, 9781292403281, 2021
Additional info

The following handbooks provide additional background and can optionally be studied:

  • Silver (2011), BPMN Methods and Style, Cody-Cassidy Press, 2nd edition.
  • Fowler (2003), UML Distilled: A Brief Guide to the Standard Object Modeling Language, Addison-Wesley Professional (3rd edition).

Optionally, inspiring guest lecturers are invited to complement the theoretical knowledge that is acquired in the course with enriching practical testimonials.  Attendance to these guest lectures is (as far as the time schedule allows for it) obligatory.

Teaching Methods

  • Lecture: collective contact-dependent moments during which the lecturer engages with learning materials
  • Seminar, Exercises or Practicals (Practical): collective or individual contact-dependent moments during which the students are guided to actively engage with learning materials
  • Independent or External Form of Study (Self): independent study

This description of the teaching methods is indicative, in order to assess the expected study load.

Lecture: 20 hours

Practical: 12 hours (3 x 4 hours)

Self: 127 hours

  • keeping up with the course material during the semester, amouting to 2 hours per hour lecture: 40 hours
  • preparing exercises, amounting to 1,5 hours per hour practical: 18 hours
  • reading of papers before coming to class: 16 hours
  • individual preparation of actuality, amounting 1 hour per week: 13 hours (13 x 1 hour)
  • preparation exam: 40 hours (5 days of 8 hours)
Learning Outcomes

General Competencies

The purpose of this course is to provide students with the competences to:

  • List, characterize and recognize the most important types of information systems and their primary building blocks within a realistic organizational setting

  • Identify and distinguish the different phases within IT project management (i.e., the software development life cycle), as well as the most crucial challenges and management responsibilities involved in each of them

  • Independently assess the impact of information systems on the business models of organizations (including phenomena such as digital transformation), and the business value of information systems in general

  • Explain the most important contemporary IT hypes, trends and technologies in terms of management terminology and critically reflect on their business potential

  • Formulate and validate elementary functional requirements of information systems by drafting and interpreting basic ERD diagrams, BPMN processes and SQL queries

Grading

The final grade is composed based on the following categories:
Written Exam determines 100% of the final mark.

Within the Written Exam category, the following assignments need to be completed:

  • Written Exam with a relative weight of 100 which comprises 100% of the final mark.

    Note: The written exam may consist out of a combination of multiple choice questions, open-ended questions and exercises. The exam is a closed book exam.

Additional info regarding evaluation

Not applicable.

Allowed unsatisfactory mark
The supplementary Teaching and Examination Regulations of your faculty stipulate whether an allowed unsatisfactory mark for this programme unit is permitted.

Academic context

This offer is part of the following study plans:
Master of Management: Standaard traject
Master of Linguistics and Literary Studies: Profile Profile Literary Studies
Master of Movement and Sports Sciences: Sports Policy and Sports Management Profile Profile Sports Policy and Sports Management (only offered in Dutch)