MODULE IMPLEMENTATION PLAN

ASSESSMENT BRIEF

Course Title : Masters of Business Administration

Module Title : Managing Information

Module Number : F105721UN

Module Tutor : Mr. Rajaram Segaram (Accounting & Finance)

Dr Hendry HS Ng (IT & Statistics)

Submission Place : Unity College International, Malaysia

Unit Aims

1. To develop an understanding of the nature of information within an organization and of

management needs for information.
2. To develop an understanding of the methods and techniques of providing relevant
information for management for the purposes of planning, decision making and control.
3. To enable students to understand when to use each such technique and to be able to
perform the simpler types of related calculations.

Indicative Content
Information and Information Systems

(a) The contribution of IS/IT to the attainment of competitive advantage and competitive
effectiveness for organizations.

(b) The organization from an information perspective e.g. types of organizational Information
system; informational requirements of different organizational functions and activities.

(c) Current software applications for data processing, report generation, modeling and
communications.
Accounting and Finance

(a) Structure and interpretation of financial statements.

(b) Calculation and interpretation of management ratios.

(c) Basic costing concepts and techniques; standard costing; budgets; cost benefit analysis; cash
budgets.

Statistics

(a) Presentation of statistics; sources of data.

(b) Statistical concepts: frequency distributions; mean; standard deviation; index numbers;
sampling; significance tests; correlation and regression; time series analysis; control charts.

(c) Use of current software applications for computation of statistics. Simple business calculations.

Recommended Text:
Information Technology
Accounting and Finance Statistics
and Information Systems
AVISON, D. and FITZGERALD,
G. (2006) Information Systems BALAKRISHNAN, N., RENDER, B.
Development 4e, McGraw Hill, MEREDITH, G.G (1995) & STAIR, R.M. 2007, Managerial
Accounting & Management for decision modeling with spreadsheet
LAUDON, M., and LAUDON, K., Business Decisions, 1st edition, 2nd edn. Upper Saddle River, New
(2007) Management Information McGraw Hill Jersey: Pearson Education
Systems 10e, Prentice Hall, International.

TURBAN, E. and VOLONINO, L. STEVENSON, W.J. & OZGUR, C.

(2010) Information Technology 2007. Introduction to management
for Management 7e, John Wiley science with spreadsheets. Int. edn.
& Sons. New York: MacGraw-Hill
Companies, Inc.

ETHERIDGE, D. n.d. Microsoft

Excel 2007 Tutorial, Baycon Group
Inc.
<
http://www.baycongroup.com/excel2
007/01_excel.htm > (accessed 10th
Sept 2009)

KELLER, G. (2008) Statistics For

Management And Economics, 8th ed.
Thomson South-Western

WEIERS, R.M. (2007) Introduction

To Business Statistics, 6th ed.
 Thomson South-Western

Module Implementation Plan:

Accounting and Finance

Hours
Week Topics Covered Text & Chapter

1 Definition of ratios, identifying key aspects

of financial performance and financial
MEREDITH, G.G (1995) – Topic 5, pp. 4
position that are evaluated by the use of
ratios, explaining the terms profitability, 165 - 188
liquidity, efficiency, gearing and investment
ratios, computation of the ratios and
interpretation
MEREDITH, G.G (1995) – Topic 5, pp.
2 Interpret basic profitability, liquidity, 165 - 188
efficiency, gearing and investment ratios, 4
and limitations of ratios MEREDITH, G.G (1995) – Topic 11, pp
380 - 392
MEREDITH, G.G (1995) – Topic 6, pp
3
205 – 210
4
MEREDITH, G.G (1995) – Topic 5, pp.
Analysis of behavior of costs according out 214 – 220
put, classification of costs, setting up MEREDITH, G.G (1995) – Topic 7, pp.
standard costs, preparation of flexible
budgets and variances, analysis of 248 – 250; 251 – 256
favorable and adverse variances, MEREDITH, G.G (1995) – Topic 7, pp.
preparation of cash budgets, Cost-
Volume-Profit analysis 278 - 279
Statistics

Week Topics Covered Text & Chapter Hours

 Types of data: sources of data;
collecting and sampling. BALAKRISHNAN, RENDER & STAIR (2007) –
Chapter 1, pp. 4-9
 Presenting data: tables and graphs;
BALAKRISHNAN, RENDER & STAIR (2007)
4 frequency distributions; ogives - Chapter 10, pp.462-467 4

 Measuring data: averages; dispersion; STEVENSON & OZGUR (2007)

reliability. - Chapter 14, pp. 731-739.

 Forecasting: correlation; regression; STEVENSON & OZGUR (2007)

time series analysis; discounting. - Chapter 2, pp. 37-84
 Probability: expected values, decision
5 STEVENSON & OZGUR (2007) 4
making and expected values. - Chapter 10, pp. 555-556;
BALAKRISHNAN, RENDER & STAIR (2007)
- Chapter 8, pp. 365-366.

Information Technology and Information Systems

Week Topics Covered Text & Chapter Hours

Data Information, Knowledge and

Communication
 Implementation issues - LAUDON & LAUDON (2007) Chapter 1 & 2;
Management Info. Systems TURBAN & VOLONINO (2010) Chapter 1 & 2.
6  Executive Information 4
Systems
 Decision Support Systems LAUDON & LAUDON (2007) Chapter 11;
& Knowledge management TURBAN & VOLONINO (2010) Chapter 10.

e-Commerce & e-Business

7  Digital markets, Digital goods LAUDON & LAUDON (2007) Chapter 10; 4
TURBAN & VOLONINO (2010) Chapter 6.

TOTAL HOURS 28
 ASSESSMENT BRIEF
Type of Marks Allocated Submission
Field Requirement
Assessments (%) Due Date

Information Technology Assignment 2,000 words 50%

17 April 2010
and Information Systems (Individual) report

3 – 9 May 2010
Accounting & Statistics Examination 2 Hours 50%
(to be confirmed)

Learning and Teaching Strategy

The syllabus will be delivered through a combination of lectures, seminars and workshops in the
computer suite. An integrated approach to teaching will be used whereby students learn and
develop their understanding of different areas of the syllabus simultaneously through exercises and
case studies.

Skills will be built up through the use of increasingly complex case studies which students will be
expected to work both individually. Initially these studies will be worked in computer lab/class, but
as the student progresses they will be expected to broaden their understanding through
independent study.

Assessment Requirements
Typically two forms of assessment will be used for this module.

In Course Assignment

Typically a computer generated report of 2000 words, involving the collection, analysis and
presentation of a range of data and incorporating the use of various applications software.

The assignment will constitute 50% of the total marks available for this module.

Examination:

Typically a two hour unseen examination:

Part A will require the student to answer an in-depth question on accounting and finance. In
particular this will test the development of the defined accounting skills.

Part B will require the student to answer one integrated question on the topic of management
information.
The examination will comprise 50% of the total marks available for this module.

Assignment Title:
Inventory Control Problem at Hi-Life Corporation

The Task:
Hi-Life Corporation owns and operates 720 convenience retail stores in Taiwan, where the
company sells over 3,000 different products. A major problem is keeping a proper level of inventory
of each product in each store. Overstocking is expensive due to storage costs and tying up space
and money to buy and maintain the inventory. Understocking reduces potential sales and could
result in unhappy customers who may go to a competitor.

To calculate the appropriate level of inventory, it is necessary to know exactly how many units of
each product are in stock at a specific time. This is done by what is known as stock count. Periodic
stock count is needed since the actual amount in stock frequently differs from the computed one
(inventory = previous inventory - sales + new arrivals). The difference is due to "shrinkage" (e.g.,
theft, misplaced items, spoilage, etc). Until 2007, stock counts at Hi-Life were done manually.
Employees counted the quantity of each product and recorded it on a collection sheets on which
the products' names were pre-printed. Then the data were painstakingly keyed into each store’s
PC. The process took over 21 person-hours in each store, each time a count was needed,
sometimes once a week. This process was expensive and frequently was delayed, causing
problems along the entire supply chain due to delays in count and mismatches of computed and
actual inventories.

Exercises to Do:

1. Identify the business processes that may have caused the inventory control problem.
2. Do literature research in wireless and mobile computing.
3. Look for an appropriate Pocket PC (a handheld device) that enables employees of Hi-Life to
enter the inventory tallies directly into electronic forms, using Chinese characters for additional
notes. The inventory information should be relayed instantly to Hi-Life's headquarters once the
Pocket PC is placed in its synchronized cradle.
4. Search for a compact barcode scanner that can be added on in the Pocket PC's expansion slot.
Employees of Hi-Life can scan the products' barcodes and then enter the quantity found on the
shelf. It is expected that this new feature will expedite data entry and minimize errors in product
identification. The up-to-the-second information will enable Hi-Life headquarters to compute
appropriate inventory levels in minutes, to better schedule shipments, and to plan purchasing
strategies using decision-support system formulas.
5. Use the Internet (with a secured feature such as VPN) to upload data to the intranet at
headquarters.

Consider your action plan and individually write a 2,000-word report titled "Better Inventory Control
at Hi-Life Corporation." In your report you should include the following:

a. Introduction: define objective (including a brief description of the inventory control problem);
provide an outline of report.
b. Analysis: suggest how the corporate decision making process can be improved; comment on
the proposal that the data collected at the handheld devices be uploaded to a PC and
transmitted to the corporate intranet via a wireless system.
c. Recommendations: justify the proposed solution; summarize the benefits to the customers,
suppliers, store management, and employees;
d. Conclusion: reiterate key points.
e. A well-organized report, with a proper referencing style (5-10 references).
f. Appendices may be included.

Adapted from: TURBAN and VOLONINO (2010, p. 239).

Criteria for Assessment

Generic assessment scales (see university regulations) to be employed for grading the case study
report are included below:

Grade % Comment
A16 80-100 Excellent: demonstrates intelligent understanding of the material with an insightful
A15 75-79 interpretation of its relevance in context, provides a thorough discussion of the
A14 70-74 implications with some original observations or recommendations.
B13 67-69 Very Good: demonstrates an appreciation of the material with an informed
B12 64-66 interpretation of its relevance in context, provides an appropriately critical
B11 60-63 discussion of the implications covering the expected observations or
recommendations.
C10 57-59 Good: demonstrates a correct but limited grasp of the material with adequate
C9 54-56 interpretation of its relevance in context, attempts some critical discussion of the
C8 50-53 implications covering many of the obvious observations or recommendations.
D7 47-49 Satisfactory: demonstrates a correct but superficial grasp of the material with a
D6 44-46 superficial or incomplete interpretation of its relevance in context, attempts a little
D5 40-43 critical discussion of the implications covering some of the obvious observations or
recommendations.
E4 35-39 Marginal Fail/Fail: demonstrates a lack of understanding of the material with
F3 31-34 minimal interpretation of its relevance in context, provides minimal or incoherent
F2 16-30 discussion of the implications covering very little in the way of observations or
F1 0-15 recommendations.
Based on the above assessment scale, marks allocated for each component of an answer:

Introduction
 Brief Outline of the Issues
 Context and Rationale 10%
 Background / Situational Analysis
 Approach / Methodology
Analysis
 Content and Coverage
 Critical Discussion / Examples %05
 Level of Understanding of Concepts, and Relevant Application
 Range of Literature Sources in Evidence
Recommendations & Conclusion
 Flow of Discussion
30%
 Quality of Conclusion and Recommendations
 Justification for Recommendations
Style and Referencing
 Language (including Grammar)
 Clarity of Expression %01
 Report Structure and Formatting
 Use of Harvard System
This individual assignment contributes 50% of the whole assessment.
100%
The final exam contributes the other 50%.

REFERENCING
[We just use the same template as given by UWN below. No changes in this section please.]
It is very important that the sources of material used in your assignments (and Management
Reports/Projects, Dissertations etc) are appropriately referenced. The system of referencing
adopted by UWCN is known as the Harvard system. Please note below the standard formats that
must be adopted in your work.

Reference to a book:
Author [or editor] [surname in capitals], Initials. Date. Title in Italics. Edition [unless 1 st edition].
Place of Publication: Publisher
MAY, J.1994. Reference Wales.2nd edn. Cardiff: University of Wales Press.

Reference to a contribution in a journal:

Author, Initial. Year. Title of Article. Title of Journal in Italics, Volume and Page Numbers.
PROPPER, C. 1993. Incentives in the new UK health-care market. The Economic Review. 10(3),
pp. 15-18.

Reference to a Web citation:

Author, Initial. Title of Document URL Date Accessed.
Mainster, L. APA Publication Manual Crib Sheet
< http://www.gasou.edu/psychweb/tipsheet/apacrib.htm>undated (accessed 27th Jan 1999)
Titles of books and journals if hand written should be underlined, otherwise they should be as
stated above and be in italics.

Short quotations [under 4 lines] should be placed in the body of the text and enclosed in quotation
marks. Longer quotations should be preceded by a colon, set off from the text and indented by at
least 2.5 cm, quotation marks should not be used

Please note that inappropriate or absence of referencing in your work may affect your final score
for the work.