UNIVERSITYOF ALBERTA SCHOOLOF BUSINESS
DEPARTMENT OF ACCOUNTING, OPERATIONS AND INFORMATION SYSTEMS MIS 417
Telecommunications in Business
COURSE SYLLABUS Winter 2014
Instructor: Jim Kiddoo
Class:BUS 3-6 -Tues & Thurs Time: 11:00 - 12:20pm Office: By Appointment
Office Hours: By Appointment E-Mail: [email protected] Website: https://ulearn.ualberta.ca
Overview
The purpose of the course is to provide an overview and introduction to
fundamental concepts required to understand and apply telecommunication / Data communication technologies within a business environment. The course emphasizes the principles of those technologies to familiarize the students with the fundamental concepts and terminology of tele/Data communications. Tele/Data communications equipment, networks, protocols and architectures are introduced and discussed regarding their relevance and impact on business-oriented organizations. The course also introduces managerial aspects such as planning, budgeting, design and performance of telecommunication/data communication systems.
As new data communication technologies keep coming, managers must make prudent investment decisions to maximize the bottom line value. Organizations, which successfully recognize, plan and manage this new world of changes, are likely to add significantly to their efficiency, productivity and profitability.
IS managers need to have an in depth understanding of a gamut of issues relating to data communications and distributed processing, including technical, economic and managerial details. Along with pure technical details we will examine relevant managerial insights. For example, an IS manager needs to know some technical details of high speed data communication options like FDDI, Frame Relay and
ATM's; however, it is more important that the manager be aware of the cost benefit and adoption implications of the technologies, and be able to make sound decisions based on a variety of organizational factors. With technology bettering business today, there is also the downside, so we will cover security issues dealing with everything from Spam and viruses to hackers and how to do your best to find them and prevent them. The course will focus on currently observed industry trends, including the digital convergence of voice, video and data, enterprise wide connectivity, distributed computing environments and the massive demand for Internet based open systems.
The projects will entail purchasing the I.T infrastructure to meet the needs of a medium sized business and justifying your decision.
We will use a lot of real world examples and expose the students to occurring events that deal with what they will learn. It is assumed that students have
familiarity with the Internet and that they will utilize it as an additional resource to seek further information and knowledge regarding course content.
Materials
Supplementary resource materials: URL: https://ulearn.ualberta.ca with articles, software, case studies, and exercises, etc.
Pre-requisites
You must have completed the introductory information systems course MIS 311 and have some experience with using computers. If you lack such pre-requisites, you should discuss your situation with the instructor prior to enrolling in this course.
Format
The format of the course will consist of lectures, group discussions, case studies, web-casts, scheduled lab sessions, a mid-term & final exam, two assignments and class participation.
Grading Scheme and Weighting
The grading scheme is based on assignments, the term project and a final exam:
Measurement Tool Worth Overview
In Class exercises 10% Questions, comments, attendance, etc Assignment #1 10% See Assignment Link
Mid-Term 25% See Exam Link
Assignment #2 25% See Assignment Link
Final Exam 30% See Exam Link
Schedule - Class (Subject to tweaking) - see web site for updated version
MIS 417 Telecommunications in Business Lecture Notes/Schedule
Date Topic Text
PP
Additional
Resources Instructor/GuestComments/Notes week 1
-Intro
Introduction to Data Communications
Jim Kiddoo
week 2 Application Layer Jim Kiddoo
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week 3 Physical Layer
week 4 Data Link Layer Jim Kiddoo
week 5 Network and
Transport Layers Jim Kiddoo
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week 6
- review and MID- TERM EXAM (Feb 13th)
Jim Kiddoo
MID-TERM Exam on the Feb 13th - 25% and will cover material to date including in class activities week 7 Break Time!
week 8
AICT Server room Tour, Wired and Wireless
tour AICT Thursday Ass#1 due Mar 6th
week 9 Backbone Networks Jim Kiddoo
week 10 Wide Area Networks/
The internet Jim Kiddoo
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week 11
Security/Network Design and Management
Jim Kiddoo
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week 12 Presentations Jim Kiddoo Ass#2 due Mar 27th
week 13 Presentations/review Jim Kiddoo
week 14 review Jim Kiddoo
Final Exams - MIS 417 Final 30% - and any additional resources, Class Activities
*Guest speakers may vary in presentation dates
