ITM501cs1, cs2, cs3, cs4, and cs5

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ITM501cs1, cs2, cs3, cs4, and cs5 to include a reference page for each.

ITM501cs1 – (5 to 7 pages double spaced courier new 12 font and include reference page)
Information overload! The phrase alone is enough to strike terror into the hardiest of
managers; it presages the breakdown of society as we know it and the failure of
management to cope with change. The media constantly dissect the forthcoming collapse
brought on by TMI ("Too Much Information"), even as they themselves pile up larger and
larger dossiers on the subject, and we are frequently informed that it is our own damn
fault that we are drowning in data, since we simply can't discriminate between the
important stuff and everything else. Hence, the info-tsunami warning signs posted all
along what we once so naively called the "information superhighway".
Of course, this is arrant nonsense -- human beings have been suffering from information
overload in varying forms since about the time we hit the ground and found ourselves
simultaneously running after the antelope and away from the lion. There's no question
that the human mind has a limited capacity to process information, but after several
million years we've gotten pretty good at figuring out how to handle a lot. The two basic
tricks turn out to be distinguishing between short-term and long-term information
storage, and "chunking" -- putting things in a limited number of baskets. This isn't
primarily a course in the psychology of memory -- it's about information tools and
systems -- but in fact the same things that make our information tools and systems work
are the same things that have kept us near the antelopes and away from the lions (mostly)
for the last million years or so. So we're beginning this course by thinking about
information tools, what makes them like and unlike other kinds of tools, how the concept
of a socio-technical system (in which social and behavioral functions shape results as
much as does the technology itself) helps make sense of what we're facing, and why the
technology just might win after all.

Let's start with a little historical review. Amy Blair has recently done a very
intriguing summary of just why information overload isn't something that we, or still
less our kids, dreamed up -- people have been drowning in data for ages regardless of the
tools at their disposal:
Blair, A. (2010) Information Overload, Then and Now. The Chronicle of Higher Education
Review. November 28. Retrieved November 15, 2010 from
http://chronicle.com/article/Information-Overload-Then-and/125479/?
sid=cr&utm_source=cr&utm_medium=en
We thought we had it all nailed down when the information theorists came up with their
typology distinguishing between "data" (raw stuff), "information" (cooked stuff), and
"knowledge" (cooked stuff that we've eaten). This rather elegant approach did have the
virtue of emphasizing that information processing is a human task, even though we might
delegate part of it to machinery, and that the tests of that task are the results for
humans. It helps return us to the perspective outlined in the module introduction -- that
is, tools need to be judged by what they do, not just what they are. Here's a good brief
summary of this perspective:
Bellinger, G., Castro, D., & Mills, A. (2004) Data, Information, Knowledge, and Wisdom.
The Way of Systems. November 15, 2010 from http://www.systems-thinking.org/dikw/dikw.htm
But just when we thought we had everything nailed down, the emerging technologies of
networking seemed to be blurring things a bit. First, with so much stuff floating around,
it's not at all clear just how much "cooking" is really involved in the data/information
boundary; a lot of data turns out to be pretty self-interpreting, and no matter how much
we cook some of the stuff, it's never going to be particularly nutritious. In addition,
it turns out that information sometimes looks an awfully lot like property, so that the
kind of disembodied knowledge management framework we thought was going to make things
clear for us gets all tied up with personal self-interest, organizational and social
politics, generational conflicts, and all of the other fun things that human beings have
teamed up to make life difficult for one another over the years. Here is a useful
introduction to this concern:

Green, P. (2010 ) Social Media Is Challenging Notions of the Data, Information,
Knowledge, Wisdom (DIKW) Hierarchy. CMS Wire. August 16. Retrieved November 25, 2010 from
http://www.cmswire.com/cms/enterprise-20/social-media-is-challenging-notions-of-the-datainformation-knowledge-wisdom-dikw-hierarchy--008320.php
But now let's put this all in a bit of organizational context. As we noted in the module
introduction, the language of socio-technical design can be very helpful in diagnosing
where systems are going wrong, particularly when there appear to be disconnects between
the capacities of the technology and the ability of the company to establish the right
kind of behaviorl and procedures to take advantage of the tools. Here is a very useful
short introduction to socio-technical design and how it can be used:
Liu, X. and Errey, C. (2006) Socio-technical systems - there's more to performance than
new technology. PTG Global. Retrieved February 27, 2011, from http://www.ptgglobal.com/PDFArticles/Socio%20technical%20systems%20-%20There's%20more%20to
%20performance%20than%20new%20technology%20v1.0.pdf
So how does all this tie together? Well, we've got all this lovely data, information, and
maybe even knowledge floating around most organizations, but we don't seem to be able to
make a lot of use of it. Either there's just too much, or we can't identify relevant
material on a timely basis, or things fall between the organizational cracks. In any
event, we experience what amounts to "information overload" on a pretty regular basis,
despite having all this understanding of information and some really good tools for
managing and using it. How come?
There's a lot more out there in the optional and supplemental readings as well as the
wide wonderful world of the Internet to give you a feel for whether or not we’re about to
be washed away by the “info-tsunami”; the more widely you can spread your own information
gathering net, the more effective your analysis is likely to be.
When you believe you have a reasonable feel for how information tools do (or don't)
manage an info-tsunami, you'll be in a position to write an effective short paper on the
topic:

How taking a socio-technical perspective can be more productive in helping organizations
manage information overload than either technical solutions or organizational solutions
alone
Case assignment expectations:
Use information from as many sources as you can, as long as it’s of good quality. At the
least, you are expected to show evidence of having read and understood the required
readings. Please cite all sources and provide a reference list at the end of your paper.
LENGTH: 5-7 pages, double-spaced.
The following features of your paper will be assessed in particular:
Your ability to see what the module is all about and to structure your paper
accordingly. In this case, there isn’t a single right or wrong, yes-or-no answer
– either perspective can be justified. Your task is to construct a logical,
well-reasoned, and persuasive argument for your conclusions.
Your ability to consolidate ideas from reading materials and your understanding
of the materials. Select your illustrative cases to prove your point; don’t just
dump a bunch of illustrations onto the page just to fill space.
Your informed commentary and analysis -- simply repeating what your sources say
does not constitute an adequate paper.
Some in-text references to your readings, with citations in proper academic
format.

ITM501CS2 – (5-7 pages double space courier new 12 font and reference page)
In this module's case, you're going to explore some of what passes for conventional wisdom in the domain of business intelligence application,  
probably noting in passing that first, much of the advice may be contradictory although delivered with great passion and enthusiasm, and second,  
most of it manages to avoid any real confrontation with traditional management structures and decision procedures and priorities, concentrating  
instead on ways of manipulating information to presumably work around the organization rather than allow itself to point out shortcomings in the  
organizations themselves. This is not a course primarily about organizational politics ­­ there is plenty of time in the rest of your program to come  
to terms with the old reptilian sub­brains of the organization that perpetuate power differentials, reward distributions only vaguely related to  
organizational priorities, suboptimization of organizational resource utilization, and all of the other weirdnesses that pretty much guarantee  
performance and satisfaction shortfalls and failures. But, as you may have surmised, even though it's not our main focus it is the key subtext for all  
these issues. Unless we openly acknowledge that decisions are largely political (in either the organizational or national sense) and that information  
is often more useful as a cloak for political priorities than as a substitute for them, the only ones we're going to fool are ourselves.
Let's begin with a story. A number of years ago, a couple of researchers from the RAND Corporation conducted a study on the implementation of  
some information technologies at the World Bank. The technologies themselves are no longer of particular relevance, but the article does contain  
a number of useful observations on the processes of IT implementation. Read it quickly with an eye toward learning about the predictable  
dynamics of implementation:
Bikson, TK and Eveland, JD (1996) Groupware Implementation: Reinvention in the Sociotechnical Frame. Proceedings of the 1996 Conference on  
Computer­Supported Cooperative Work. New York: Association for Computing Machinery. Retrieved February 27, 2011, from  
http://jdeveland.com/Papers%20for%20Website/worldbank.htm
The Business Intelligence Guide website is a gold mine of useful information about BI specifically. Read some of the overview articles (they're  
short), to generally familiarize yourself with BI terminology:
Electrosmart Ltd. (2011) The Business Intelligence Guide. Retrieved February 27, 2011, from  http://thebusinessintelligenceguide.com/index.php . 
Recommended sections include:
BI Best Practices. http://thebusinessintelligenceguide.com/bi_strategy/BI_Best_Practices.php
BI Solutions. http://thebusinessintelligenceguide.com/bi_solutions/index.php

BI Drivers. http://thebusinessintelligenceguide.com/bi_strategy/Drivers_Of_BI.php
BI Barriers. http://thebusinessintelligenceguide.com/bi_strategy/Barriers_To_BI.php
Getting Started in BI. http://thebusinessintelligenceguide.com/bi_program/index.php
But feel free to follow up in any other sections that you believe will help you address the case.
Now it's time for you to become a business intelligence practitioner of sorts, by doing a little research on your own. Try googling a couple of search  
phrases, something like “Failures in Business Intelligence” and “Successes in Business Intelligence” or some variants on those that appeal to you,  
in search of one or two real­life examples of both success and failure in the business intelligence enterprise. You may even know of a case or two  
from your own experience.
There's a lot more out there in the optional and supplemental readings as well as the wide wonderful world of the Internet to give you a feel for  
what's working and what's not in this area; the more widely you can spread your own information gathering net, the more effective your analysis is  
likely to be.
When you believe you have a reasonable feel for a variety of business intelligence implementation experiences, you'll be in a position to write an  
effective short paper on the topic:
Steps that organizations can take in creating, implementing, and using business intelligence that would substantially enhance the  
chances for BI success.
Remember, BI is a complex socio­technical innovation, so thinking about the question in socio­technical terms is likely to be of some value to you.
Case assignment expectations:
Use information from as many sources as you can, as long as it’s of good quality. At the least, you are expected to show evidence of having read  
and understood the required readings. Please cite all sources and provide a reference list at the end of your paper.
LENGTH: 5­7 pages, double­spaced.

The following features of your paper will be assessed in particular:





Your ability to see what the module is all about and to structure your paper accordingly. In this case, why is BI so difficult to implement  
successfully, and what can be done to avoid common implementation pitfalls and enhance success? 
Your ability to consolidate ideas from reading materials and your understanding of the materials. Select your illustrative cases to prove  
your point; don’t just dump a bunch of illustrations onto the page just to fill space. 
Your informed commentary and analysis ­­ simply repeating what your sources say does not constitute an adequate paper 
Some in­text references to your readings, with citations in proper academic format 

ITM501CS3 – (5-7 pages double space courier new 12 font and reference page)
In July 2009, a musician named Dave Carroll was traveling with his band from Toronto Canada to Nebraska somewhere, much like many millions  
of other folks have done. Looking out the window the plane, however, Dave noticed that the United Airlines baggage handlers were, to put it  
mildly, failing to treat his rather expensive guitar and a number of other musical instruments belonging to the band with suitable care, preferring  
instead to sort of fling them through the air into the cargo hold. Dave pointed out to the UAL cabin attendants that this was not likely to be of  
significant benefit to the instruments' health, but was told that nothing could be done and he should simply sit down and be quiet. Upon arriving in  
Chicago, Dave determined that in fact he had been right, and his $2400 guitar was now $2400 worth of rather expensive kindling. He pointed this  
out to the United Airlines staff at the time, and suggested that perhaps some compensation might be in order. United Airlines, in the best  
bureaucratic tradition, took almost a year to conclude that its folks certainly hadn't done anything wrong, that Dave was probably just being  
excessively picky, and that they weren't about to pony up anything. After all, weren't they a Fortune 25 company engaged in a conflict with one  
rather slender young musician? It seemed like a classic application of the business motto once attributed to the old monolithic AT&T: “We’re the  
phone company…we don’t care. We don’t have to.”
Back then, that worked. In fact, it still does, a lot of the time; money and power still convey a lot of advantage. But here’s where things get  
interesting. As a practicing musician, Dave was well aware of a recent phenomenon known as Youtube – a strange sort of Internet place where  
you could essentially tack up as many electronic versions of “95 Theses” as you wanted to, allowing some creativity, some luck, and something  
called “viral video” behavior to be leveraged on occasion into something quite unprecedented. Let’s start by watching what Dave posted:
Carroll, D. (2009) United Breaks Guitars. Music video posted to Youtube. Retrieved November 27, 2010, from  http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=5YGc4zOqozo&feature=channel
Now lots of people post things on Youtube, and most of them don’t go anywhere. But here’s where it got different in his case; for reasons known  
primarily to the gods of the Internet, Dave actually did “go viral” – accumulating well over a million hits in fairly short order, rocketing to the top of  
the charts (to date, almost 10 million hits overall) – and, in the process, vastly confusing United Airlines by creating a highly visible public relations  
nightmare out of what ought to have been a minor transaction, and also causing the whole IT analysis profession and assorted professors of  
business to suddenly take seriously the possibility that here was a tool that just might have the potential to bring about a whole new kind of  
customer relations management. Here are two more videos featuring experts probing at this rather simple case for deep lessons:
Milliken, J. (2010) Brands and Social Media Participation; United Breaks Guitars. Coreographytv. Retrieved November 27, 2010, from  
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNpry5iSTBo&feature=related

Owyang, J. (2010) Social Media, Crisis & Reputation Management. Coreographytv. Retrieved November 27, 2010, from  
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43­7gDTk49k&NR=1
Dave has even achieved the ultimate B­school immortality – being made into a Harvard Business School case! Here’s how the august professors  
are now phrasing the Lessons Learned:
Hanna, J. (2010) HBS Cases: United Breaks Guitars. Working Knowledge: Harvard Business School. November 29. Retrieved November 27,  
2010, from http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/6492.html?wknews=112910
So what does this all mean? Is it just a cute little song that somehow made it big ­­ the proverbial flash in a pan ­­ or is it actually a vision of a new  
kind of relationship between companies and customers mediated by the larger world of social media? It could be either, or anything in between.  
One thing is clear, however ­­ this could not have happened even as recently as 2 to 3 years ago. It's probably equally clear that we're going to  
see a lot more of it ­­ and we're going to see a lot more things like this using tools and technologies that are today still barely on the drawing  
boards, if they've even gotten that far out of the heads of the smart 12­year­olds who are going to be billionaires before they need to shave.
There's a lot more out there in the optional and supplemental readings as well as the wide wonderful world of the Internet to give you a feel for the  
nature and effects of social media in business; the more widely you can spread your own information gathering net, the more effective your  
analysis is likely to be. Your own social media experiences are likely to be useful sources of information as well.
When you believe you have a reasonable feel for how social media are affecting business, you'll be in a position to prepare an effective short  
paper (or alternative – see below) on the topic:
Will the availability and use of social media on the Internet really induce businesses to change in fundamental ways? If so, how? If not,  
why not?
Special possibilities:
Since this is a case about new media, it’s only fair that you have some new media alternatives in dealing with it. So while you’re perfectly free to  
write the same sort of paper that you’ve been accustomed to writing (as described below in the “Regular Case Expectations”), you are also  
encouraged to think about using some sort of more creative social media application in response. If I gave you all the possibilities, it wouldn’t be all  
that creative, now would it? But by way of stimulus, you might consider:

A video essay and/or discussion and/or presentation made available through Youtube
Using a Facebook page or related approach to formulate your response, either alone or perhaps working together with some of your colleagues
Submitting your paper as a series of 142­character tweets through Twitter (see this module’s SLP assignment) – daunting as a prospect, but  
theoretically possible
Something else entirely. 
An unspecified number of points may be awarded for creativity of presentation as well as quality of ideas – but the ideas have to be there first,  
even if the medium is the message.
PLEASE NOTE: You certainly do not have to use any of these alternatives; it's perfectly fine just to write a paper as you are accustomed to doing.  
You won't be penalized in any way. The alternatives are included here just to get into the spirit of the thing, if you happen to have a little extra time  
and a little extra tolerance for learning to use new tools under pressure. Please do not feel that you will be disadvantaged in any way by not  
participating in this strange part of what's already a very unusual and experimental course!

Regular Case assignment expectations:
Use information from as many sources as you can, as long as it’s of good quality. At the least, you are expected to show evidence of having read  
and understood the required readings. Please cite all sources and provide a reference list at the end of your paper.
LENGTH: 5­7 pages, double­spaced.
The following features of your paper will be assessed in particular:





Your ability to see what the module is all about and to structure your paper accordingly.
Your ability to consolidate ideas from reading materials and your understanding of the materials.
Your informed commentary and analysis ­­ simply repeating what your sources say does not constitute an adequate paper. 
Some in­text references to your readings, with citations in proper academic format

ITM501CS4 – (5-7 pages double space courier new 12 font and reference page)
The case for this module calls for you to explore some of the divergent opinions about this new approach to organizational information systems  
and weigh some of the competing claims. First off, if you don't know anything about computer networking or what a client/server netwiork is in  
particular, it'a recommended that you start with this reasonably good short guide to network terminology (if you're already on top of this stuff, you  
can probably skip this one):
Sensible Computer Help (2008) Choosing the best computer network. Sensible­Computer­Help.com. Retrieved February 27, 2011, from  
http://www.sensible­computer­help.com/computer­network.html
With that foundation, you can now begin to learn about "the cloud". A good general reference to start with is here:
Chee, B. and Franklin, C. (2010) Applications for Clouds. Chapter 4 in  Cloud Computing: Technologies and Strategies of the Ubiquitous Data  
Center. CRC Press. Retrieved November 15, 2010 from  
http://media.techtarget.com/searchSystemsChannel/downloads/Cloud_Computing_Techn_Strat_of_the_Ubiq_Data_Cent_Chapter_4.pdf
As we noted in the introduction, a term often used more or less interchangeably with “cloud computing” (despite some significant differences of  
focus) is “software as a service” – described as a software distribution model in which applications are hosted by a vendor or service provider and  
made available to customers over a network, typically the Internet. The following article discusses some of the difficulties with organizational  
implementation of this model:
Fornes, D. (2010) The Software as a Service Dilemma. The Software Advice Blog. Retrieved November 10, 2010, from  
http://www.softwareadvice.com/articles/uncategorized/the­software­as­a­service­dilemma­104071/
Finally, this discussion would not be complete without the views of the skeptic; the following article points out some of the all­too­apparent  
complications that might ensue from a wholesale stampede into the clouds:
Schneier, B. (2009) Cloud Computing. Schneier on Security. Retrieved November 15, 2010 from  
http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2009/06/cloud_computing.html
But back to the enthusiasts. SaaSBlogs is a website that , in its own words, is “a community centered around the idea that Software as a Service  
(SAAS) represents the largest shift in the software industry in decades. We cover ideas, technologies, challenges, and business strategies related  

to this new and exciting paradigm.” Basically, it’s a lot of blog posts primarily authored by three experts, addressing a very wide range of topics  
related to SaaS deployment, use, and effects. It’s a very good place to see how people committed to this model think and what they bring to the  
table. In fact, it’s so good at this that it’s going to be your primary source material for this case assignment.
Scrolling down the SaasBlogs home page points you to the archive of posts on various aspects of this issue . You should spend some time looking 
through these posts for discussions of things that you find interesting relating to SaaS operation, implementation, or results. Perhaps they will  
relate directly to issues in your own environment; perhaps they will remain largely academic – but in either case, you should be alert to the  
language of the discussion and how both technical and social issues are being talked about. There are also other SaaS­related blog sites that you  
may wish to look at (google a few and see what you find).
In addition, the Background Readings page lists some optional readings that may be useful to you as you consider these issues, or you may find  
other sources yourself (be sure to reference properly whatever specific sources you draw on).
When you've read through the articles and related material and thought about them carefully, please compose a short paper on the topic:
Why “software as a service” is (or is not – pick one) going to dominate the next several years in information management
Be sure to include at least some reference to the SaaSBlogs material spomewwhere in your paper.
Case assignment expectations:
Use information from as many sources as you can, as long as it’s of good quality. At the least, you are expected to show evidence of having read  
and understood the required readings. Please cite all sources and provide a reference list at the end of your paper.
LENGTH: 5­7 pages, double­spaced.
The following features of your paper will be assessed in particular:


Your ability to see what the module is all about and to structure your paper accordingly. In this case, as in earlier ones, there isn’t a single  
right or wrong, yes­or­no answer – either perspective can be justified. Your task is to construct a logical, well­reasoned, and persuasive  
argument for your conclusions. 





Your ability to consolidate ideas from reading materials and your understanding of the materials. Select your illustrative cases to prove  
your point; don’t just dump a bunch of illustrations onto the page just to fill space. 
Your informed commentary and analysis ­­ simply repeating what your sources say does not constitute an adequate paper. 
Some in­text references to your readings, with citations in proper academic format. 

ITM501CS5 (5-7 pages double space courier new 12 font and reference page)
The core of the case for this module involves your careful assessment of a rather ambitious view of strategic enterprise information. But before  
you’re ready to tackle it, you need to get somewhat up to speed on the underlying issues and dynamics. The following two articles are highly  
suggested as briefing material:
Nobel, C. (2010) How IT Shapes Top­Down and Bottom­Up Decision Making. Working Knowledge: Harvard Business School. November 1.  
Retrieved November 25, 2010, from http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/6504.html?wknews=110110

Hayles, R.A., (2007) Planning and Executing IT Strategy. IT Professional Magazine. Sep/Oct. 9(5):12-20. Retrieved March 8, 2011,
from http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=1382579171&Fmt=6&clientId=29440&RQT=309&VName=PQD
Now to the real meat. The Enterprise Architecture Center has prepared a couple of substantial documents reflecting a fairly detailed vision of what  
an “enterprise architecture” for information management might look like, including specific attention to the social as well as technical issues that  
need to be addressed, and a lot on how the whole thing needs to be governed and controlled. This is going to take you some time to go through,  
so give yourself adequate time. It’s not all that technical, but deserves your full attention.

Enterprise Architecture Center (2010) Enterprise Architecture Organizational Readiness and Change Management. Retrieved March
7, 2011 from http://www.enterprisearchitecturecenter.com/enterprise­architecture­blogs/enterprise­architecture­organizational­readiness­and­
change­management

Enterprise Architecture Center (2010) Enterprise Architecture Governance Retrieved March 7, 2011, from
http://www.enterprisearchitecturecenter.com/enterprise­architecture­blogs/enterprise­architecture­governance
There's a lot more out there in the optional and supplemental readings as well as the wide wonderful world of the Internet to give you a feel for  
whether or not this all makes any sense; the more widely you can spread your own information gathering net, the more effective your analysis is  
likely to be.
Your task is pretty simple: write an effective short paper on the topic:
"Ideas and topics that need to be added to the EAC documents in order to make them more effective as IT system implementation  
guides, based on what I've learned in this course about information technology in business"

This could even be fun!
Case assignment expectations:
Use information from as many sources as you can, as long as it’s of good quality. At the least, you are expected to show evidence of having read  
and understood the required readings. Please cite all sources and provide a reference list at the end of your paper.
LENGTH: 5­7 pages, double­spaced.
The following features of your paper will be assessed in particular:






Your ability to see what the module is all about and to structure your paper accordingly. Again, there isn’t a single right or wrong, yes­or­no  
answer – several things could be identified. Your task is to construct a logical, well­reasoned, and persuasive argument for your  
conclusions. 
Your ability to consolidate ideas from reading materials and your understanding of the materials. Select your illustrative cases to prove  
your point; don’t just dump a bunch of illustrations onto the page just to fill space. 
Your informed commentary and analysis ­­ simply repeating what your sources say does not constitute an adequate paper. 
Some in­text references to your readings, with citations in proper academic format. 

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