MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEMS
Seventh Edition
INSTRUCTOR MANUAL
Introduction
Kenneth J. Sousa
Bryant University
, Effy Oz
The Pennsylvania State University
,Table of Contents
HOW THIS MANUAL CAN HELP YOU ................................................................................................................... 4
CONVENTIONS AND ORGANIZATION OF THIS MANUAL ........................................................................................................... 5
SAMPLE SYLLABUS .................................................................................................................................................... 5
SAMPLE OUTLINE: SEMESTER CALENDAR, 15 WEEKLY MEETINGS..................................................................................... 11
SAMPLE OUTLINE: QUARTER CALENDAR, 10 WEEKLY MEETINGS. ..................................................................................... 12
PREPARING YOUR SYLLABUS ............................................................................................................................. 13
ALTERNATIVE COURSE ORGANIZATION .................................................................................................................................. 15
PROPOSED TERM PROJECTS............................................................................................................................... 16
QUIZZES, HELP SHEETS, AND DVDS........................................................................................................................................ 17
INTEGRATION OF ADDITIONAL RESEARCH ............................................................................................................................. 18
TEXTBOOK ................................................................................................................................................................ 18
SUMMARY INFORMATION .......................................................................................................................................................... 18
INSTRUCTOR’S MANUAL ............................................................................................................................................................ 19
CASE CHARACTERS ..................................................................................................................................................................... 19
CONTACTING THE AUTHOR ....................................................................................................................................................... 19
Revised: January 2014
, How this manual can help you
A 1989 meta-analysis by K. Feldman1 found that the four most important factors cited by
students as contributing to their success in the final examination were, in descending order:
(1) Teacher’s course organization, (2) Teacher’s presentation clarity, (3) Relevance of
subject, and (4) Teacher’s stimulation of interest. The findings were valid for a wide variety
of subjects.
Bloom’s taxonomy was a structure of learning objectives developed by a group of educators
in 1956 defined as cognitive, affective and psychomotor2. This textbook can provide a solid
foundation for several skills recognized by two of the classifications. Some of which are
analysis, application, synthesis and adaption. The cases (textbook and end of chapter) can
create a learning environment to role play a model of a real world business environment.
The restaurant example is simple for students to visualize and understand. The instructor
can offer “right turns” during the discussion of these cases simply by asking … “Did you
consider _____?” or “What would happen if _____ occurred in the restaurant operation (or
case company)?” These “turns” can develop creative thinking (and a business agility
mindset) through analysis, textbook concepts and topics. Not to mention, a more
interesting classroom environment for the instructor.
Thus, to be an effective educator, it is important that you organize well both your course
and individual lectures. While simplistic in words, it requires a significant amount of effort
for the classroom experience to be effective and engaging. This manual proposes a syllabus
for organization of the course and plenty of tips to use in individual lectures. However, it is
ultimately your duty to organize your course and lectures in a manner that will work best
for you and your students.
The book is accompanied with materials that can help you make clear presentations. Again,
teaching tips may enliven the material for the students, especially when discussing the
technical topics. For example, do not just discuss microprocessors and RAM chips; bring a
few old and unused chips to class and impress the students with how tiny these chips are
despite the fact that they contain millions of circuits, each representing a bit.
Each chapter of the textbook has a feature called “Why you should…” which tells the student
why the chapter’s topics are important for the student’s career. You should try to enhance
this relevance with your own examples or current news/facts.
One of the best methods to stimulate interest is to use a “hook” at the beginning of each
class. One type of hook is this: present a problem with which the students may be
somewhat familiar. Let the students give their solution, and then show them that there is a
better way to solve the problem. For example, when you start teaching about databases, ask
the students to use a spreadsheet to create a client and salespeople table for recording all
1Feldman, K. “The Association between Student Ratings of Specific Instructional Dimensions and
Student Achievement,” Research in Higher Education, 30(6) 1989, pp. 583-645.
2Taxonomy of educational objectives: the classification of educational goals; Handbook I: Cognitive
Domain New York, Longmans, Green, 1956.
Seventh Edition
INSTRUCTOR MANUAL
Introduction
Kenneth J. Sousa
Bryant University
, Effy Oz
The Pennsylvania State University
,Table of Contents
HOW THIS MANUAL CAN HELP YOU ................................................................................................................... 4
CONVENTIONS AND ORGANIZATION OF THIS MANUAL ........................................................................................................... 5
SAMPLE SYLLABUS .................................................................................................................................................... 5
SAMPLE OUTLINE: SEMESTER CALENDAR, 15 WEEKLY MEETINGS..................................................................................... 11
SAMPLE OUTLINE: QUARTER CALENDAR, 10 WEEKLY MEETINGS. ..................................................................................... 12
PREPARING YOUR SYLLABUS ............................................................................................................................. 13
ALTERNATIVE COURSE ORGANIZATION .................................................................................................................................. 15
PROPOSED TERM PROJECTS............................................................................................................................... 16
QUIZZES, HELP SHEETS, AND DVDS........................................................................................................................................ 17
INTEGRATION OF ADDITIONAL RESEARCH ............................................................................................................................. 18
TEXTBOOK ................................................................................................................................................................ 18
SUMMARY INFORMATION .......................................................................................................................................................... 18
INSTRUCTOR’S MANUAL ............................................................................................................................................................ 19
CASE CHARACTERS ..................................................................................................................................................................... 19
CONTACTING THE AUTHOR ....................................................................................................................................................... 19
Revised: January 2014
, How this manual can help you
A 1989 meta-analysis by K. Feldman1 found that the four most important factors cited by
students as contributing to their success in the final examination were, in descending order:
(1) Teacher’s course organization, (2) Teacher’s presentation clarity, (3) Relevance of
subject, and (4) Teacher’s stimulation of interest. The findings were valid for a wide variety
of subjects.
Bloom’s taxonomy was a structure of learning objectives developed by a group of educators
in 1956 defined as cognitive, affective and psychomotor2. This textbook can provide a solid
foundation for several skills recognized by two of the classifications. Some of which are
analysis, application, synthesis and adaption. The cases (textbook and end of chapter) can
create a learning environment to role play a model of a real world business environment.
The restaurant example is simple for students to visualize and understand. The instructor
can offer “right turns” during the discussion of these cases simply by asking … “Did you
consider _____?” or “What would happen if _____ occurred in the restaurant operation (or
case company)?” These “turns” can develop creative thinking (and a business agility
mindset) through analysis, textbook concepts and topics. Not to mention, a more
interesting classroom environment for the instructor.
Thus, to be an effective educator, it is important that you organize well both your course
and individual lectures. While simplistic in words, it requires a significant amount of effort
for the classroom experience to be effective and engaging. This manual proposes a syllabus
for organization of the course and plenty of tips to use in individual lectures. However, it is
ultimately your duty to organize your course and lectures in a manner that will work best
for you and your students.
The book is accompanied with materials that can help you make clear presentations. Again,
teaching tips may enliven the material for the students, especially when discussing the
technical topics. For example, do not just discuss microprocessors and RAM chips; bring a
few old and unused chips to class and impress the students with how tiny these chips are
despite the fact that they contain millions of circuits, each representing a bit.
Each chapter of the textbook has a feature called “Why you should…” which tells the student
why the chapter’s topics are important for the student’s career. You should try to enhance
this relevance with your own examples or current news/facts.
One of the best methods to stimulate interest is to use a “hook” at the beginning of each
class. One type of hook is this: present a problem with which the students may be
somewhat familiar. Let the students give their solution, and then show them that there is a
better way to solve the problem. For example, when you start teaching about databases, ask
the students to use a spreadsheet to create a client and salespeople table for recording all
1Feldman, K. “The Association between Student Ratings of Specific Instructional Dimensions and
Student Achievement,” Research in Higher Education, 30(6) 1989, pp. 583-645.
2Taxonomy of educational objectives: the classification of educational goals; Handbook I: Cognitive
Domain New York, Longmans, Green, 1956.
