Management Systems

Masters of Science in Management Systems

MS 505

Breyer State University
Instructor: William A. Ryan, Ph.D.

SYLLABUS

COURSE OVERVIEW: MS 505 - Management Systems is a ten-semester-hour course. It is a keystone program designed to provide you with a strong foundation of the systems perspective and a new way of thinking about the various management problems you will encounter in the remainder of your Management System courses and throughout your management career.

The antecedents of system thinking were planted in the fertile management soil of the last half of the twentieth century. These "seeds" have firmly taken root and the systems phenomenon is now experiencing extraordinary growth. Graduate students that enroll in Breyer State University 's Management Systems curriculum will have made a wise choice in becoming prepared for recognizing and reaping all of the benefits that the systems age has to offer in the field of management.

TIME FRAME: MS 505 - Management Systems is designed to be completed in a ten-week period. "Week 1" begins on the first Monday after you comply with the following two requirements:
1) register and pay for the course, and
2) notifies me that your textbook has arrived and that you are ready to begin your studies.

If the ten-week period elapses and you have not completed the course, you must provide me with a well-reasoned and justifiable petition as to why you should be granted an extension. I will then forward the petition to the University's administrative personnel for evaluation. Each case is evaluated on an individual basis. Be advised that the University will not provide an extension exceeding five weeks. If you have not completed the course successfully after the extension period, I must post a course grade of "incomplete." You will then be required to contact BSU's administrative personnel for instructions on how to proceed.

TEXTBOOKS: There is one textbook required for this course.

Book 1: Management Systems - A Global Perspective. 1st Edition. Steven Cavaleri and Krzysztof Obloj. Belmont, CA; Wadsworth Publishing: 1993: ISBN # 0534925111.

Note: This textbook is out of print. Consequently, it will not be available through the BSU Bookstore. However, I have arranged to maintain a supply of new spiral-bound copies to eliminate your having to search for a copy from commercial booksellers. The cost of this copy will be competitive with commercial booksellers' limited stock of new hard cover textbooks, and the shipping fee will be the same. Upon receiving your e-mail request for the textbook at MS505Book@Sys-Temics.com, I will obtain the shipping fee for your location and reply to your e-mail request with the total cost of your purchase. If this cost is acceptable to you, simply e-mail me your approval to proceed at the above address. Along with your approval, be sure to include: your full name, your ship to address, and the number of copies that you need (if jointly ordering). Your order will shipped to you on receipt of payment.

Please pay for your textbook by Money Order - the fastest method of receiving your shipment. Money orders are easily acquired by banks, credit unions, Wal-Mart, Travelers Express, CVS, post offices, Western Union, et cetera.

Send your Money Order to:

Dr. William A. Ryan,
P.O. Box (Supplied in the reply to your e-mail approval to proceed.)
Johnston, SC 29832.

As an option to purchasing the new spiral-bound copy, you may also attempt to locate new and used copies of the textbook from the following commercial booksellers:

Amazon.com at:
www.amazon.com (Click on "New and Used Textbooks " link tab.)

Barnes & Nobel at:
www.bn.com (Click on "Used and Out of Print" link tab.)

Borders Books at:
www.borders.com (Click on the regular book search.)

or

Books-A-Million at:
http://www.booksamillion.com/ (Click on the "Hard to Find" link tab.)

As you might expect, used copies, even though they may be complete, can be highly marked up to emphasize someone else's perception of importance. This can be disconcerting to some people and you should consider this fact prior to purchasing a used copy.

OPTIONAL BOOKS: I highly recommend both of the following books for your personal library.

Book 2: Systems Thinking: Managing Chaos and Complexity - A Platform for Designing Business Architecture; 1st Edition. Jamshid Gharajedaghi. St. Louis, MO or Burlington, MA: Elsevier (Butterworth-Heinemann): 1999: ISBN # 0750671637.
(Hint: You will eventually need this book for MS 726, Strategic Planning and Policy Making Systems. Get familiar with it in your spare time. )

Book 3: Toward a Systems Theory of Organization; 1st Edition. Jamshid Gharajedaghi. Seaside CA: Intersystems Publications: 1985: ISBN # 0914105353.
(Note: This book is now dated and no longer in print. However, some new and good used copies are available from various commercial booksellers. And there is always a college library with a good business reference section. Those of you who expect to participate in an environment of accelerating change, increasing uncertainty, and growing complexity would be well advised to locate a copy of this "little red book" and take the time to understand its contents. About three reads should do it!)

Book 4: Enterprise-Wide Change: Superior Results through Systems Thinking; 1'st Edition (Due out in late 2004). Stephan G. Haines, Gail Aller-Stead, and James McKinlay. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Publishers. (No ISBN # assigned as of yet.)

EXAMINATIONS: There are two major examinations for this course, a mid-term and a final. Both of these examinations will be essay type. All of the questions will be derived from your textbook. The mid-term examination must be taken by the end of your fifth week in the course; the final examination must be taken by the end of your tenth week in the course.

In addition to the two essay examinations, there are two scheduled quizzes. The first quiz must be taken by the end of your third week in the course; the second quiz must be taken by the end of your eighth week in the course.

Each quiz and examination will be programmed and located in the virtual classroom for this course. Each quiz will be a 60-minute "open book" objective type test; each essay examination will be a 180-minute subjective type test. You can take the tests anytime during the week you are scheduled. To access the tests, you must send me an e-mail and request access to the examination. I will then program BSU's automated testing program, QuizMaker, to allow you access into the testing program and e-mail you back my authorization for your access to the test.

To access the test, you will come into the classroom, click first on testing, and then on the test you are taking. After inputting your User ID and Password, the test will appear on your screen. When you are ready, type in your responses and then click submit. Remember, the tests are timed once you start. Again, you will have 60-minutes for a quiz and 180-minutes for the mid-term and final examinations. Therefore, set aside time during the week when you will not be interrupted while taking your test. We consider you a responsible graduate student and scheduling the correct amount of time to take a test should not become an issue. Your answers must be completed within the allotted time limit or the incomplete questions will be graded as incorrect. The automated testing program provides me with the exact date and time that you accessed the test as well as the exact date and time that you submitted your answers.

In the case of an objective quiz I will receive a copy of your quiz and your score. Along with your score, you will be informed of the questions that you missed, and the correct answers. In certain instances, I will provide you with supporting information on the nature of the question and the correct answer. If your test is a subjective, essay-type examination, you will receive your answers, but you will not automatically receive the results. I will e-mail you the results of your examination, what questions you missed and the correct response. Again, in certain instances, you will be provided with supporting information regarding the nature of the question and the correct answer.

GRADING: The grading scale for this course is as follows:

90-100%    = A
80-89%      = B
70-79%      = C
Below 70% = D or an F - Both constitute the failure of the course.

Note: I am allowed to post a grade of "D," but no semester hours will be given with that grade. If you should receive a failing grade of D, I will carefully review your course performance - especially that of your mid-term and final examinations - and if deemed worthy, I will work with you, perhaps in the form of a course project to justify raising your grade to a passing level. If you receive a course failure of F, you will be required to contact BSU's administrative personnel for instructions on how to proceed.

The grading criterion for this course is as follows:

• I. Each of the two objective quizzes will count 10% toward your grade.
• II. Your mid-term essay examination will count 30% toward your grade.
• III. Your final essay examination will count 50% to war d your grade.

Both your mid-term and final examinations will be evaluated as follows:

CONTENT AND COMPREHENSIVENESS OF YOUR RESPONSES: 60%

•  Is the content of each response pertinent with respect to the reading assignments?
•  Are the positions you take in your responses both justifiable and logical.
•  Are your responses comprehensive?
•  Do your responses adequately reflect the scope and intent of the questions?

FORMAT AND GRAMMAR OF YOUR RESPONSES: 20% ( Refer to Note below.)

•  Is your spelling and sentence structure without error?
•  Is your punctuation and choice of words proper?

READABILITY AND STYLE OF YOUR RESPONSES: 20%

•  Do your responses reflect a synthesis of ideas from your readings?
•  Are the styles of your responses appropriate to your academic level?

Note: Where English format and grammar remain a problem for foreign students or those foreign students who have recently immigrated to the United States , the following adjustments will be made:

The CONTENT AND COMPREHENSIVENESS component will be increased to 70%.

The READABILITY AND STYLE component will be increased to 30%.

This issue must be brought to my attention at the beginning of the examinations or the above adjustments will not be made.

COMMUNICATIONS: I encourage you to communicate with me whenever you believe you need assistance regarding this course. In many ways, distance learning demands that of us in order to ensure that we are both operating on the same "wave-length" and that you and I agree on your goals for this course. I would naturally prefer that we communicate by e-mail as I am hearing impaired. I have set up an e-mail address on my website, especially for this purpose. I normally check all of my e-mail every day, so your questions will not go unanswered for too long - unless I do not know the answer and then I will have to get back to you after I am certain that I am providing you with the correct information. Also, if I should happen to be traveling, my Internet connection is sometimes s-l-o-w! Please be patient under that circumstance. I am also willing to meet with you on a one-on-one basis in the course chat room or on my website chat room. In addition, if I detect through examination results that we all need to discuss an idea or concept that is not clear to the majority, we can set up a scheduled chat session for any of you who might want to participate.

PLEASE NOTE: If at any time during this course you change your e-mail address, be sure to notify me immediately. And be sure to keep my e-mail address handy so that you can contact me whenever necessary. You should also keep the University's administration personnel informed of any changes in your address, phone number, e-mail address, et cetera.

COURSE OBJECTIVES: Please refer to your course schedule under Assignment section of the classroom. The objectives of each assignment will be provided to you for your serious consideration.

ASSIGNMENTS: I would also encourage you to visit my website at www.Sys-Temics.com/bsu (click on the link for MS-505) to review my views and comments on this course. I will add them as the course proceeds. Some of them may be of help to you when it comes time to take your mid-term and final examinations.

ABOUT YOUR INSTRUCTOR: Dr. William A. Ryan currently teaches in the Graduate School of Breyer State University. He holds a Ph.D. in Management with a major in Management Systems, a Sc.D. candidacy in Management Systems, a post-doctorate MBA, a Master of Science in Management, and a Baccalaureate in Industrial Engineering. He is also a graduate of United Aircraft Corporation's four-year apprenticeship program in manufacturing processes. He has completed numerous certificated courses in systems engineering, steam and diesel power systems, optical engineering, electric utility power systems analysis, management development, and mainframe computer applications. He has authored and co-authored numerous technical research papers on advanced generation power systems and has published work on the future competitive business environment for the New England Business Administration Association.

Dr. Ryan is a member of Sigma Beta Delta, the national honor society in business, management, and administration and IABS, the International Association for Business and Society. He is a licensed pilot, a certificated instructor in motorcycle skills and handling and a graduate of the U.S. Coast Guard seamanship program. He currently maintains a number of websites that he has developed for various public and private institutions. Prior to his formal education, he was a machinist/tool-maker for a number of years. His primary academic interest deals with corporate governance research and its effect on corporate malfeasance in the U.S. business community.

PREREQUISITES: This course must be the first course you take in the Management Systems curriculum.

LATE WORK: Late submissions of your examinations will not be accepted without penalty. You will automatically lose 10% of your total grade for every week you are late in meeting assigned testing deadlines.

EXTRA CREDIT: The only extra credit allowed in this course is for students that qualify for an additional assignment in an attempt to increase a failing grade of "D" to a passing grade of "C."

ACADEMIC HONESTY: All Breyer State University students agree to maintain the high standards of the "Honor Code for Students" at all times during their enrollment.  Failure to adhere to the Honor Code may result in a student's dismissal.

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