OSRA Technological Solutions for Business

Organizational & End-user Information Systems

Curriculum Model

Special Topics

Course Description

This course is the study of advanced concepts and issues relevant to OEIS. Content will vary according to the needs and interests of the students and the interests and expertise of the faculty. Selected topics should emphasize current technological advancements and OEIS management concerns. Prerequisites: Generally, students should have completed the core OEIS courses. Specific prerequisites should be established by the instructor(s) when the course is designed.

Course Outcomes

General outcomes provide students with up-to-date information on special contemporary topics. Specific outcomes will vary with the topics and modules selected.

Special contemporary topics of particular interest and value to the OEIS student are explored at various skill levels, depending on the topic. Using a student-oriented approach, the instructor may use special exhibits, conferences, speakers, or equipment available for a particular time period. Students may also take an active part in the course design by researching and presenting topics of interest.

Course Approach

This course may be taught in a highly condensed format, such as a workshop, or as part of the normal school year curriculum. Modules may be taught separately or related modules may be joined together. Team teaching is encouraged to maximize individual instructor expertise. This course may be offered for variable credit and may be repeatable, depending on the topics offered.

Course Content

The following modules are offered only as examples; they are not meant to be an exhaustive list of topics which may be included in the course. Modules are probably skill level 3.

1. Certification

Material covered: A course may be designed to prepare students to take a specific certification examination such as the certified administrative management (C.A.M.), certified network engineer (C.N.E.), or certified computer professional (C.C.P.) examinations

2. Group Decision Support Systems

Material covered: The use of groupware for decision making and other group processes in instances where GDSS systems are available

3. Alternative Applications Development

Material covered: The use of computer assisted system engineering (CASE) tools, prototyping, rapid application design, and joint application design. May include diverse topics such as object oriented technology and its impact on applications development

4. Management Survival Skills

Material covered: The critical success skills needed for a new OEIS specialist, preferably taught by instructors with a lot of practical business experience. The course could emphasize problem solving skills for people-oriented problems, negotiating and facilitating skills, and team building skills

5. OEIS and Society

Material covered: The business obligations and responsibilities to society and the community in which business functions. Could include health and safety issues, business ethics, and the impact of technology on society. Could also include gender issues such as the difference in how men and women communicate and manage, sexual harassment, job discrimination, and the like

6. Human Factors Engineering (Ergonomics)

Material covered: Students analyze the physical components of a workplace that affect the worker: e.g., workstations, HVAC, lighting, spacial layout, noise, color schemes

7. OEIS Project

Material covered: Students actually analyze, design, and build a working prototype of an OEIS to solve a real business problem. Students could elicit practical problems from local businesses and then prepare a working solution to those problems using technology

Resources

Resources will vary with the topics of modules selected. However, every effort should be made to include the latest material available that is relevant to the subject matter. Other resources such as business practitioners and experts from other disciplines could be recruited for guest lecturers.

The OSRA Curriculum Revision Group

page design by Preston Lathrop
last revised: December 23, 1996