Undergraduate Program in Information Systems
The Stern School of Business has always been a leader among management schools in teaching and research on information technology in business. In the current climate of rapid globalization and electronic commerce, an understanding of why and how information technology is driving changes in markets and businesses is essential for every business manager. Increasingly, many of the strategic and day-to-day decisions general managers face involve information technology. The information systems (IS) major provides students with the skills and knowledge they require to prepare for and manage the transition from entry-level positions to management.
The central question that Information Systems (IS) courses address is the following: Why do some organizations get value from their information technology investments while others do not?
"Decisions about information technology are critical, as the ability to understand and work with systems," says David Baker, Stern alumnus and global head of program trading at Deutsche Bank. "In this emerging marketplace, a strong background in information technology is essential for opening doors as well as career advancement."
Professionals with skills in management and information systems work in both business and government. Typical problems handled by IS professionals include designing and maintaining the information infrastructure of organizations, aligning information technology strategy with business strategy, and supporting technology requirements of the various functional areas of organizations. Information technology skills are particularly important in industries such as financial services, consulting, telecommunications, and technology.
Information Systems courses offered in Spring 2012
- INFO-UB-0035 Computer Fundamentals (MW 11am), Professor Tuzhilin
- MULTI-UB-0037 Electronic Communities and Social Media (TR 2pm), Professor Sosulski
**New Spr12** - MULTI-UB-0038 Networks, Crowds and Markets (MW 11am), Professor Sundararajan
**New Spr 12**
- INFO-GB-3322 Design and Development of Web and Mobile Apps (MW 3PM)
- INFO-GB-3336 Data Mining for Business Analytics (T 6pm)
- INFO-GB-3350 Financial Information Systems (R 6pm)
In addition, some computer science classes can count towards IS.
Courses in Information System
INFO-UB.0001 (C20.0001) Information Technology in Business & Society (offered Fall & Spring)
INFO-UB.0022 (C20.0022) Design and Development of Web and Mobile Apps
INFO-UB.0035 (C20.0035) Computer Fundamentals
INFO-UB.0038 (C20.0038) Electronic Commerce
INFO-UB.0043 (C20.0043) Systems Analysis and Design
INFO-UB.0046 (C20.0046) Database Management Systems
INFO-UB.0050 (C20.0050) Financial Information Systems
INFO-UB.0057 (C20.0057) Data Mining for Business Analytics
MULT-UB.0035 (C70.0035) Trading Strategies and Systems
MULT-UB.0036 (C70.0036) Search and the New Economy
MULT-UB.0037 (C70.0037) Electronic Communities and Social Media **New in Spring 2012**
MULT-UB.0038 Networks, Crowds and Markets **New in Spring 2012**
Independent Study
Programs of Study
Information Systems MajorRequirements: 12 points
An information systems major at Stern requires four information systems electives in addition to the IS core course INFO-UB.0001 (C20.0001). Students who wish to pursue a career in information technology are advised to take INFO-UB.0035 (C20.0035) and INFO-UB.0046 (C20.0046) as two of their required four courses. (Note: These classes presume a programming background equivalent of V22.0002, Introduction to Computer Science.) Students may also take selected computer science electives, with the permission of the IS undergraduate program advisor.
Students majoring in information systems should consult with their advisor in the Office of Undergraduate Advising and Student Services by the end of their sophomore year to ensure that course distribution requirements are being met and to declare formally the information systems major. The Information Systems undergraduate program advisor is always available to advise on information systems course selection or other matters information systems students may wish to discuss.
Requirements: 9 points
The information systems concentrations are separate from the information systems academic major. They are designed for students who want/need some knowledge of technology to augment another major. An information systems concentration requires 9 points of Stern information systems electives selected from the courses listed for that concentration. Typically, at least one of the courses is required for the concentration. Students cannot complete more than one concentration. Students receive a separate certificate indicating they have completed a concentration when they graduate.
- Financial Systems: This concentration is designed for students comajoring in finance who want to understand systems in the financial services industry.
INFO-UB.0046(C20.0046) Database Management Systems
INFO-UB.0050 (C20.0050) Financial Information Systems (required for concentration)
INFO-UB.0057 (C20.0057) Data Mining for Business Analytics
INFO-UB.0006 (C60.0006) Operations in Financial Services
INFO-UB.0007 (C60.0007) Decision Models
- Enterprise Systems: This concentration is designed for students who are interested in the implementation and implications of enterprise-wide systems and tools for personal productivity. The courses are especially useful for students who wish to enter a career in consulting.
INFO-UB.0022 (C20.0022) Design and Development of Web-based Systems
INFO-UB.0022 (C20.0046) Database Management Systems
INFO-UB.0057 (C20.0057) Data Mining for Business Analytics
OPMG-UB.007 (C60.0007) Decision Models
- Web-Based Systems: This concentration is designed for students who are interested in using the Web to interface with customers and suppliers. The Web has become the standard method of delivering content to both internal and external users, as well as the basis for new XML-based standards for interfacing between business processes. This concentration includes courses that cover both development techniques for Web-based systems as well as business applications.
INFO-UB.0022 (C20.0022) Design and Development of Web-based Systems
INFO-UB.0035 (C20.0035) Fundamentals of Computer Systems (required for concentration)
INFO-UB.0038 (C20.0038) Electronic Commerce
INFO-UB.0046 (C20.0046) Database Management Systems
Information Systems Courses
Core Course: Information Technology in Business & Society
INFO-UB.0001 (C20.0001). 4 points. Fall and spring.
Information Technology (IT) has radically changed the internal operations of organizations and the market places in which they compete. The toolkit of skills of the business professional must include an understanding of the fundamentals of IT and its impacts on the other functional areas of business: strategic management, finance, accounting, marketing, and operations. This course is intended to provide this base set of skills and understandings.
This course introduces you to information technology in business. Broadly, the objectives of the course are:
- First, as a future knowledge worker you will use personal systems in your work every day. You need to know how to publish information on the Internet, model and analyze decisions using a spreadsheet, and get information from relational databases. Over this course, your in-class conceptual learning of these topics will be complemented by a set of computer-based self-learning tools.
- Second, in the digital firm, you will be involved increasingly in decisions about information systems. You will therefore need to understand how information systems contribute to effective business strategy, how they are developed and implemented by organizations, and how to participate effectively in the roles you might play in this regard.
- Third, you must know how to evaluate and analyze information-based products and services in industries that have a growing digital or technology-based component. You will learn about the unique economics of information pricing, technological lock-in and network effects, so that you can perform informed business analysis and formulate effective strategy in the digital economy.
Advanced Courses
INFO-UB.0022 (C20.0022). 3 points. Spring.
Restriction: Sophomore, junior, or senior standing.
The Web and the new technologies and standards surrounding it have dramatically changed the way systems are developed and used in organizations and markets. This course covers the issues and concepts in developing data-driven Web sites. Students evaluate a variety of different Web development approaches and architectures, including the common gateway interface models Java, Active Server Pages, .NET, and Web services. A variety of alternative development approaches are compared, looking at issues such as the development environment and the security, performance, scalability, and maintainability of systems developed with the different approaches. The class is divided into student teams. Each team implements a small system using one of the supported technologies and evaluates their experience. Students should have the ability to build a simple Web page and be proficient with common Microsoft Office business applications, especially Access. Light programming is used for examples of how to build dynamic Web pages for B2C and B2B sites. Assignments include both Active Server Pages as well as J2EE. Unix, Windows 2000, and Linux platforms are available to host projects.
INFO-UB.0035 (C20.0035). 3 points. Spring.
Restriction: Sophomore, junior, or senior standing.
This course provides an in-depth introduction to some of the fundamental concepts of computer systems, including programming languages and the principles of analysis and design of software systems. The students will learn the material through the combination of class lectures and discussions, in-class demos, homework assignments and work on a term project.
We will start the course with an introduction to programming and study the principles of structured programming and how it can be used for developing business systems. We will use Visual Basic 2010 as the language of choice, but will generalize the covered concepts to other programming languages in order to understand the underlying programming principles. The course does not assume any prior familiarity with programming concepts, and we will start from the very basic concepts in the course. Therefore, if you have not studied any programming languages before, you can still take the course. At the end of this part of the course, the students will develop sufficient familiarity with programming concepts and will acquire basic programming skills required in other parts of this course and possibly other IS courses.
After covering the basic programming concepts and developing basic programming skills, the students will study more advanced programming concepts, including elements of object-oriented programming, files, structures, elements of Web-based application development, and how to access database management systems from within Visual Basic and other programming languages.
Finally, the course will also cover the principles of software design and development of end-to-end business applications. The students will learn the principles of structured and modular software development, the Systems Development Lifecycle (SDLC), how to initiate and plan IT projects and how to analyze, design, implement and support IT systems. In addition, the students will study how business applications are organized into client-server, three-tier and other types of application architectures. Finally, the course will cover the concepts of layered and modular approaches to application development, technology stacks, and Application Programming Interfaces (APIs).
Upon completing the course, students will be able to:
- Understand the principles of writing structured programs, and developing practical programming skills,
- Understand the principles of software development and what it takes to design and develop large software systems,
- Learn how to plan, analyze, design and implement and support Information Systems as a part of the integrated Systems Development Lifecycle process, and
- Develop practical hands-on skills by learning Visual Basic 2010 and developing an end-to-end information system using Visual Basic.
INFO-UB.0038 (C20.0038). 3 points.
Restriction: Sophomore, junior, or senior standing.
The Internet and the World Wide Web are revolutionizing the way people, businesses and governments transact business via electronic commerce. From Twitter to Facebook to Google, the shared infrastructure of IT-enabled platforms are playing a transformational role in today's digital age. The Internet is now encroaching on core business activities such as new product design, advertising, marketing and sales, creation of word-of-mouth and customer service. It is fostering newer kinds of community-based business models. It is having significant economic consequences on industries and markets transformed by its shared technology infrastructure in ways that we have not seen before. There is a lot of economic value accruing from the content generated in spaces mediated by social media and there are tangible means for monetization of such content through newer forms of online advertising. These processes are just beginning and will have enormous impact on our activities and the way we related to people and organizations.
This course will examine major trends and technologies in electronic commerce (e-commerce) that include online advertising, internet marketing and pricing, and newer social issues. Aside from various Internet marketing strategies and applications, the course will cover the business implications of social media such as blogs (e.g., Technorati), wikis, social networks (e.g., Myspace, Facebook), search engine advertising (e.g., Google, Yahoo, Microsoft) and other kinds of emerging online communities and applications. The topics will include issues that affect firms in EMT (Entertainment, Media and Technology) industries such as TV/cable, books, movies, and music.
The key objectives of the course include:
- Understanding how the presence of IT-mediated markets will alter advertising, pricing, retailing and other marketing practices.
- Discussing new strategic initiatives by firms engaging in Internet Commerce and how that changes market structure and firm competition in EMT industries.
- Discussing relevant economics theory and understanding new emerging techniques like Economining that aid firms in making strategic and tactical decisions in the business world using quantitative data analysis.
INFO-UB.0043 (C20.0043). 3 points. Summer.
Restriction: Sophomore, junior, or senior standing.
Stresses concepts and methods used in the analysis and design of computer-based information systems. Explores the major issues at each stage in the design of a system, including the management of the implementation process. Various technical tools ranging from flowcharts and decision tables to automated design techniques are discussed. Emphasizes the importance of users in the design process and focuses on approaches that improve the successful implementation of a computer system. A team project provides students with an opportunity to apply the concepts in class to a systems analysis and design problem.
INFO-UB.0046 (C20.0046). 3 points. Spring.
Restriction: Sophomore, junior, or senior standing.
Focuses on the overall management of the data needs of an organization and the design and development of database applications. Cover global database architecture, logical and physical data design, and the integration of databases with programming and fourth-generation languages. Topics include conceptual data modeling, data security and integrity, distributed data management, recovery strategies, and overall database administration. Students learn the SQL language – an industry standard for relational databases – and design their own database applications using an available database management system such as Microsoft Access or Oracle.
INFO-UB.0050 (C20.0050). 3 points Fall.
Restriction: Sophomore, junior, or senior standing.
As financial markets become more electronic and more liquid, a higher degree of knowledge about systems and analytics is required in order to compete. This course teaches students how modern financial markets function as a network of systems and information flows, and how to use information technology for decision making in trading and managing customer relationships. Information systems serve two purposes in the financial industry. First, they facilitate markets and their supporting services such as payment, settlement, authentication, and representation. Second, they facilitate or engage in making decisions such as when and how much to invest in various instruments and markers. The first part of the course describes how systems facilitate various kinds of payments and settlement mechanisms, enable financial markets such as exchanges and ECNs, and support inter-institution communication. The second part of the course describes how traders, analysts, and risk managers use systems to cope with the vast amount of data on the economy, markets, and customers that flow into their systems each day. It covers automated trading systems and other types of customer-oriented analytic systems that are becoming increasingly intelligent in how they make or support decisions. The course features a mix of case studies, Excel-based illustrations and assignments, and the latest industry tools. It is particularly suited for finance and marketing students interested in understanding information technologies in financial services from a practical career standpoint.
INFO-UB.0057 (C20.0057). 3 points. Spring.
Restriction: Sophomore, junior, or senior standing.
This course will change the way you think about data and its role in business.
Businesses, governments, and society leave behind massive trails of data as a by-product of their activity. Increasingly, decision makers rely on intelligent systems to analyze these data systematically and assist them in their decision making. In many cases automating the decision-making process is necessary because of the volume of data and the speed with which new data are generated. This course addresses how technology can be used to connect data to decision making. The use of real-world examples and cases places data-mining techniques in context and fosters the development of data-analytic thinking, and also illustrates that proper application of data-mining techniques is as much an art as it is a science. In addition to the cases, the course features hands-on exercises with data mining software. The course is suitable for those interested in working with and getting the most out of data as well as those interested in understanding data mining from a strategic business perspective.
Trading Strategies and Systems
MULT-UB.0035 (C70.0035). 3 points.
As financial markets become more electronic and more liquid, a higher degree of knowledge about systems and analytics is required in order to compete. This course teaches students how modern financial markets function as a network of systems and information flows, and how to use the information emanating from the markets for decision making and building and implementing systematic computer-based models for trading. The financial industry as we know it today wouldn’t exist without high powered information systems. These systems make markets possible through electronic intermediation and supporting services such as data and analytical support, payment, settlement, authentication and representation. They are also becoming used increasingly to support or make decisions about taking or controlling some sort of risk – financial, operational, and regulatory.
The course begins with a description of the financial markets, specifically, equity, currency, fixed income, and commodities, and the systems that enable them. We consider exchanges, ECNs, and other dealer markets and the information that emanates from them. This provides the backdrop for the bulk of the course which covers the design, evaluation and execution of trading strategies that are commonly used by professionals in the various markets. There is increasing interest in particular, on systematic trading strategies and execution systems because of their scalability and transparency.
The course strikes a balance between theory and practice by grounding the discussion in the current state of financial markets. Senior portfolio managers from industry are invited to class periodically, and students are encouraged to make the most of these visits. The course requires students to do several hands-on exercises with real market data. The exercises start with a review of simple concepts of risk and return and progress to simple trading strategies that students build and evaluate. The objective is to help you understand how to assess markets in an orderly and scientific way so as to be able to draw sound inferences from the analysis.
The course should be of interest to students across the financial services industry. It will not transform you into a trading expert, which takes considerable effort, time, and pain. It will, however, bring the concepts of risk and return alive by working with real data and exercises, and through industry experts describing their approach to fund management and administration. More generally, the course should give you a clearer appreciation on the fact that understanding markets is a theory building exercise, where professionals spend a lot of time in understanding emerging market phenomena with the objective of translating their insights into profitable strategies. These concepts are useful regardless of your specific interest in the financial industry, i.e. whether you intend to be a trader, risk manager, controller, salesperson, or analyst.
Search and the New Economy
MULT-UB.0036 (C70.0036). 3 points. Spring.
This course will provide an overview of current and future search and related internet technologies, including how they work, current business models and the implications of future developments. This information should be particularly relevant to anyone who plans to work in media, advertising, publishing, investment banking or technology, or who plans any type of start-up. Topics include alternative page ranking approaches, enterprise search, paid advertisements, on-line auctions, privacy concerns , internationalization, anti-spam efforts, local search, peer-to-peer search, the semantic web, the “dark” web, and search of blogs and online communities.
Electronic Communities and Social Media
MULT-UB.0037 (C70.0037). 3 points. Spring.
(See video on youtube – search for Stern Electronic Communities)
An eCommunity is defined as a group of people organized online around a topic or issue. In this course, students will be introduced to the landscape of online communities and social networks.
Examples and case studies of online communities will be discussed and analyzed to identify the characteristics of effective communities and methods for evaluation. Students will review and interact with several online platforms used to design, develop and maintain online community. Students will use this knowledge to design and/or redesign an online community for a business client. Student will work in teams with a small business owner or organization leader to analyze their online community presence, their competitors, and propose and maybe implement a new online community strategy. To provide cutting edge perspectives several industry professionals will be invited to lead class discussions on special topics. Guest speakers in the past included Helen Todd, founder of SocialitySquared Christian Erhardt, V.P. of Marketing @ Leica, Angie Gentile, Assistant Marketing Manager for the Mountain Dew Brand @ PepsiCo, Lauren Drell, Assistant Editor @ Mashable and Community Manager for Luke’s Lobster, Erica Swallow, Assistant Editor @ Mashable, Dina Gold, Account Manager @ Facebook, and Eric Friedman, Business Development Manager @ FourSquare.
Why is this important?
New technological innovations have changed the way we communicate, cooperate, collaborate, and share. According to Nielsen Online (2009), 74% of the North American population has Internet access for a total of approximately 1.7 billion Internet users worldwide. “Until recently, the Internet was largely an information medium. However, in the last couple of years, the Internet has become increasingly social” (Weinburg, 2009, p. 3). There are a substantial number of users participating in large, Web-based groups outside of the work context. Many are organized around recreation and entertainment; some are organized around civic and political issues; some are organized around personal needs for support or advice; some are organized around technical topics; and some are organized around consumer products. With the growth in open-source technologies, social media, and advanced collaboration tools it is evident that these groups can be shaped into a source of business revenue. According to McGracken (2010), “The digital space is an economy after all. People are creating, exchanging and capturing value, as they would in any marketplace. But this is a gift economy, where the transactions are shot through with cultural content and creation. In a gift economy, value tends to move not in little "tit for tat" transactions, but in long loops, moving between consumers before returning, augmented, to the corporation” (¶ 8).
Prior to the introduction of the World Wide Web, community feedback to individuals and companies flowed one way. “The popularity of the Internet enables communication – both positive and negative – to flow continuously from an individual to its community of customers and then back again” (Powell, 2009, p. 69). This is made even more seamless with the rich set of Web 2.0 technologies available.
This change in community-based communication and feedback presents enormous business opportunities and threats. Throughout this course students will explore the characteristics of online communities, discuss the issues surrounding online communities and evaluate the best practices in participating and managing online communities.
LEARNING GOALS
By the end of the course students will be able to understand the opportunities and challenges inherent in online communities; identify and apply the best practices and techniques used to design successful Web-based communities; assess and interact with select technologies used to create, manage, and maintain online communities; and design/redesign an online community.
Networks, Crowds and Markets
MULT-UB.0038 (C70.0038). 3 points. Spring.
This is a course on how the social, technological, and natural worlds are connected, and how the study of networks sheds light on these connections. Topics include: social network structure and its effects on business and culture; crowdsourcing; games on graphs; the propagation through networks of information, fads and disease; small worlds, network effects, and "rich-get-richer" phenomena; the power of networks for prediction; the power of the network for web search; networks and social revolutions, and the melding of economics, machine learning, and technology into new markets, such as "prediction markets" or markets for on-line advertisements.The class will be a combination of lectures based on the textbook and guest lectures from well-known experts on these topics, primarily Stern faculty (a well-known center of excellence for research on networks, crowds, and markets).One main goal of this class is to work our way through most of the new, acclaimed textbook: Networks, Crowds, and Markets: Reasoning About a Highly Connected World, by David Easley and Jon Kleinberg.
http://www.cs.cornell.edu/home/kleinber/networks-book/networks-book.pdf
The textbook readings will be complemented with classic and recent research papers.
Independent Study in Information Systems
Fall and Spring.
Prerequisite: permission of the Information Systems undergraduate program coordinator.
