Internship Report
MIS Term Project Specifications
PROJECT DESCRIPTION In this project, you will investigate and evaluate an information system (or systems) within an organization. You will apply the material and thought processes learned in class to the assessment of a real-world MIS. As part of a five- or six-person team, you will also practice teamwork and allocation of work within project planning. Each team will select an organization, obtain its co-operation, interview one or more employees within the organization to learn about its MIS, and write a paper describing its investigation and assessment. Each team member will complete a peer evaluation of the others. Each paper will differ depending on the organization and MIS investigated, but all must include: 1. 2. 3. 4. A description of the organization and the products and/or services it provides. A description of the system functions and a categorization of the system(s) analyzed. The impacts of the MIS on the organization. A criticism of this system.
Other information that may be included, as pertinent to the company, the system(s), and your interests, is: 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. A description of the hardware, software, and telecommunications system. A description of how the system was built or acquired. A discussion of how the system is used to gain competitive advantage. A description of its use. A comparison to other systems discussed in class and/or studied in the text and readings.
When narrowing the topic for your paper, consider the person(s) to be interviewed. Interviewees who are end-users of systems are likely to know more about topics 7 and 8 than about 5 and 6. The reverse is probably true for interviewees who work in Information Systems departments. Also, consider that most organizations have multiple information systems; you may choose to cover one in very extensive analytical depth or to do an overview of all (or several) systems within the organization, in which case a detailed "compare-and-contrast" among the
PROJECT DESCRIPTION In this project, you will investigate and evaluate an information system (or systems) within an organization. You will apply the material and thought processes learned in class to the assessment of a real-world MIS. As part of a five- or six-person team, you will also practice teamwork and allocation of work within project planning. Each team will select an organization, obtain its co-operation, interview one or more employees within the organization to learn about its MIS, and write a paper describing its investigation and assessment. Each team member will complete a peer evaluation of the others. Each paper will differ depending on the organization and MIS investigated, but all must include: 1. 2. 3. 4. A description of the organization and the products and/or services it provides. A description of the system functions and a categorization of the system(s) analyzed. The impacts of the MIS on the organization. A criticism of this system.
Other information that may be included, as pertinent to the company, the system(s), and your interests, is: 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. A description of the hardware, software, and telecommunications system. A description of how the system was built or acquired. A discussion of how the system is used to gain competitive advantage. A description of its use. A comparison to other systems discussed in class and/or studied in the text and readings.
When narrowing the topic for your paper, consider the person(s) to be interviewed. Interviewees who are end-users of systems are likely to know more about topics 7 and 8 than about 5 and 6. The reverse is probably true for interviewees who work in Information Systems departments. Also, consider that most organizations have multiple information systems; you may choose to cover one in very extensive analytical depth or to do an overview of all (or several) systems within the organization, in which case a detailed "compare-and-contrast" among the