In attendance were: Mike Martel, Gabe Giordano and Sara Shanfelt. We discussed the text, delivery and schedule of the course.
The new text greatly improved depth of content (which was an issue repeated on our evaluations), and updated content. The adoption was initially planned for Spring, but it did not make sense to have Gabe, our new faculty move through two new preps, if did not make this change during his first quarter. I also explained that Kroenke's book was most popular amongst b-schools in the midwest (runner up texts: Baltzman, Gallagher), and closest to the content we had been using in the class.
With regards to the course components, Mike suggested using "Active Review" questions in the text as HW assignments for each chapter and volunteered to create rubricized solution sets so that graders (Sara and Meghan would be able to support grading without issue). I volunteered to create chapter-based quizzes, circulate for review, upload and have Sara test. We briefly noted that the supplemental materials included videos, of which the case videos featuring Dee Clark were more interesting than the educational ones featuring the author.
We plan to deliver a chapter per class session, and require that the students read the chapter before the class. We expect to have an assignment and quiz associated with each chapter. Mike preferred to collect homework and deploy a quiz on a chapter one day after the the lecture on the chapter was delivered. I felt motivated to collect the homework, BEFORE the chapter was delivered. I felt that it was simple enough to do so, and that it would motivate the students to review the chapter before class. I am uncertain about this strategy, since I have never delivered this content before.
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I have completed the quiz and posted it on the dropbox created to share materials. Also, I discovered that the Active Review section that Mike was planning to use for homework assignments are really section headings in the chapter, and are therefore answered rather directly. I don't like this because there is little analysis required and more of just copying and pasting in order to complete the homework assignment. I would like to suggest perhaps using selected questions from the section on "Using Your Knowledge" from the text, which poses questions that require reflective and analytical thinking with the concepts learned.
ReplyDeleteFor instance, one question states:
Consider costs of a system in light of the five components: costs to buy and maintain the hardware; costs to develop or acquire licenses to the software programs and costs to maintain them; costs to design databases and fill them with data; costs of developing procedures and keeping them current; and finally, human costs both to develop and use the system.
a. Over the lifetime of a system, many experts believe that the single most expensive component is people. Does this belief seem logical to you? Explain why you agree or disagree.
b. Consider a poorly developed system that does not meet its defined requirements. The needs of the business do not go away, but they do not conform themselves to the characteristics of the poorly built system. Therefore, something must give. Which component picks up the slack when the hardware and software programs do not work correctly? What does this say about the cost of a poorly designed system? Consider both direct money costs as well as intangible personnel costs.
c. What implications do you, as a future business manager, recognize after answering parts a and b? What does this say about the need for your involvement in requirements and other aspects of systems development? Who eventually will pay the costs of a poorly developed system? Against which budget will those costs accrue?