Bachelor 2023/2024

Information Systems and Organisations

Type: Compulsory course

Area of studies: Business Informatics

Delivered by: Department of Business Informatics

Where: Graduate School of Business

When: 2 year, 4 module

Mode of studies: offline

Open to: students of one campus

Instructors: Svetlana Arkhipkina

Language: English

ECTS credits: 3

Contact hours: 36

Course Syllabus

Abstract

The subject of information systems includes a rather broad set of topics and issues. The concerns we will address here certainly go beyond a narrow focus on technology – that is a subject that might be better studied under the heading of ‘computer science’ or ‘computer engineering’. Rather, this subject, and this course, investigates what we do with this particular technology in the world, why we choose to use it, who is affected or interested in its uses and how we organise ourselves to be able to get the best from it. We even go a bit further, beyond questions of what uses are found for information and communication technologies (ICTs), to questions about the consequences that follow – what are often spoken of as the impacts or the ‘so what?’ questions. Information systems are considered in terms of the needs and tasks required by formal organisations. Often we will focus on business organisations – firms or companies – but we will also consider public sector organisations – a government ministry or some public agency such as a school or police district. Sometimes we may consider other kinds of organisations that need information systems such as non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and voluntary organisations. As a student, you need to understand from the start of this course that we are concerned with more than just computers and networks and their most direct uses. Rather, we are studying the information systems which are found in, and are a fundamental part of, all manner of human organisations. Of course, these information systems may not use much digital information and communications technology (i.e. computers) – a paper notebook or diary, a noticeboard, a meeting room or a conversation can each serve as a part of an information system too. However, here we are mostly concerned with the more formal and deliberately structured information systems found in organisations and which, in most countries of the world, draw in large part on digital technology. Some "hot" topics of todays business environment will also be covere during the course, like different types of personal data depending on the context, mobile operators and their business based on data, human-computer interaction and different examples of interfaces.