Objectives

The last decades show a growing importance of Information Systems (IS) in the business world; the last two years being no exception. Beyond the role IS play as digital backbones of more and more organizations, this development is also fueled by faster innovation cycles based on digital technologies. Nowadays, digital technologies have wide-ranging impacts on businesses, from the enrichment of routine working tasks (e.g., employee portals to integrate disparate applications, data, and processes) to the e-enabled integration of entire business eco-systems (e.g., platform-based integration of supply chains). Consequently, the ability to use digital technologies to support the overall value proposition of an organization is a central success determinant for many firms. Moreover, the capacity to leverage the strategic capabilities of IS is crucial to protect and improve a business’s competitiveness and to ensure its ability to continuously innovate digitally.

To help you understand the global digital context and build the skills needed to respond effectively to new challenges companies are facing, the Information Systems course introduces you to the nature, role, and potential of IS in organizations.

Once you have successfully completed the course, you will be able to ...

... appreciate IS as an integral part of executing modern businesses
... understand how digitalization impacts and transforms businesses
... recognize relevant IS capabilities
... identify key information systems businesses need in the digital age
... understand and execute IS strategy, planning, and implementation
... apply relevant conceptual knowledge to real-life cases
... critically reflect on the models and methods introduced by this course

Contents

To achieve these goals, the Information Systems course is structured around three modules.

Module 1 (Digital business models) explores the range of IS-related impacts important to build and drive successful business models in the digital age. Based on a general introduction to business models, the module emphasizes a business perspective on IS focusing on products and processes.

Module 2 (Key systems) introduces and analyzes the most important types of systems. This module helps you build a foundational understanding of how systems can be matched to strategically valuable business impacts.

Module 3 (Managing IS for strategic impacts) emphasizes on the management skills needed to successfully turn IS investments into business impacts. The module will also challenge you to build a forward-looking understanding of the long term impact of IS on businesses.

References

Each session of the class assigns 1-2 readings to students who are expected to read and prepare the materials prior to class. All assigned readings are mandatory and relevant for the examinations. Readings will be provided on Moodle.

Pre-requisites

The class is taught either online or face-to-face. In the event of online classes, students must have (a) access to Moodle and (b) a Zoom account under the UNIL campus license (i.e. registered under the student email address).

Term project

- Type of project : no individual term project
- Maximum number of projects admitted for this course : 0
- Deadline for applying to course professor for project : n/a
- Deadline for submitting finished project : n/a
- Method of evaluation (including resit options) : n/a
- Other information : n/a

Evaluation

First attempt

Exam:

Written 1 hours

Documentation:

Allowed

Calculator:

Allowed

Evaluation:

• Knowledge-oriented task (50% of final grade): individual online exam, MCQ, open book, 1 hour
• Analytical task (50% of final grade): case- and problem-based tasks assigned to students who collaborate in small teams, distributed throughout the semester

Retake

Exam:

Written 1 hours

Documentation:

Allowed

Calculator:

Allowed

Evaluation:

• Knowledge-oriented task (50% of final grade): individual online exam, MCQ, open book, 1 hour
• Analytical task (50% of final grade): case- and problem-based tasks as part of the retake exam, 1 hour