 |
||||||||||||
Strategic Planning and Policy Making Systems Masters of Science in Management Systems MS 726 Breyer State University SYLLABUS COURSE OVERVIEW: MS 726 - Strategic Planning and Policy-Making Systems is a ten-semester-hour course. The material to which you will be exposed has been developed and presented by two of the best contemporary authors in the artful field of systems thinking and problem solving in management and planning: Dr. Jamshid Gharajedaghi and Dr. Russell L. Ackoff. This course is a compilation of their ideas concerning the systematic analysis of management problems. By understanding the concepts introduced in this course, you will be able to better able to increase your control of the future and your ability to respond effectively to what you do not or cannot control. You will gain a sense of how to manage chaos and complexity. You will also gain an understanding of how a business acumen based on systems thinking will help you deal with relevant issues and avoid the endless search for more detail and useless information. You will gain a sense of how best to create your own corporate future. Armed with the background you have obtained thus far and that of this course, coupled with a focused and determined effort on your part, you cannot avoid success. TIME FRAME: MS 726 - Strategic Planning and Policy-Making Systems is designed to be completed in a ten-week period. "Week 1" begins on the first Monday after the student complies with the following two requirements: 1) registers and pays for the course, and 2) notifies the instructor that their textbook has arrived and that they are ready to begin their studies. If the ten-week period elapses and the student has not completed the course, he or she must provide the instructor with a well-reasoned and justifiable petition as to why they should be granted an extension. The instructor 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 the student has not completed the course successfully after the extension period, the instructor must post a course grade of "incomplete." The student will then be required to contact BSU's administrative personnel for instructions on how to proceed. TEXTBOOKS: There are two " textbooks " required for this course. Book #1: Systems Thinking: Managing Chaos and Complexity - A Platform for Designing Business Architecture; 2nd Edition. Jamshid Gharajedaghi. Burlington, MA or St. Louis, MO: Elsevier (Butterworth-Heinemann): 2005. ISBN # 0750679735. Book #2: Creating the Corporate Future: Plan or be Planned For; 1st Edition. Russell L. Ackoff. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons: 1981. ISBN: 0471090093.
OPTIONAL BOOKS: I highly recommend the following books for your personal management reference library. Book #3: Strategy Formulation and Implementation: Tasks of the General Manager; 5'th Edition. Arthur A. Thomson, Jr. and A. J. Strickland III. Burr Ridge, IL: Irwin: 1992. ISBN # 0256097186. Book #4: Strategy Implementation: Structure, Systems and Process; 2'nd Edition. Jay R. Galbraith and Robert K. Kazanjian. St. Paul, MN: West Publishing Company. ISBN # 0314582360. 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. 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 also 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 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 15% toward your grade. • II. Your mid-term essay examination will count 30% toward your grade. • III. Your final essay examination will count 40% toward 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? FORMAT AND GRAMMAR OF YOUR RESPONSES: 20% ( Refer to Note below .) • Is your spelling and sentence structure without error? READABILITY AND STYLE OF YOUR RESPONSES: 20% • Do your responses reflect a synthesis of ideas from your readings? 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 OBJECTIVE: The intent of this Strategic Planning and Policy-Making Systems course is to introduce you to the exciting system design concept of interactive management - managing interactions between purposeful members of a highly interactive social organization (which you now understand is a particular type of system, like, for example BSU) so that they can create their own future. Examples: In Redesigning the Future (1974), Russell Ackoff submits that purposeful social systems are capable of recreating their future by redesigning themselves. In The Design of Inquiring Systems (1971), C. West Churchman demonstrated that the best way to learn a system is to design it. And later, in A Prologue to National Development Planning (1985), Jamshid Gharajedaghi and Russell Ackoff use the interactive systems design model as the main vehicle of social development. This model explicitly recognizes that choice is at the heart of human development. And since development is the enhancement of the capacity to choose, interactive systems design becomes a vehicle for the enhancement of choice and holistic thinking. ASSIGNMENTS: There are no specific weekly assignments in this course. You will be expected to read Systems Thinking: Managing Chaos and Complexity - A Platform for Designing Business Architecture within the first five weeks of this course. Your mid-term examination will be based specifically on the contents of this book. You will then be expected to read Creating the Corporate Future: Plan or be Planned For over the last five weeks of the course. Like your mid-term, your final examination will be based specifically on the contents of this book. 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: MS 505, MS 526, MS 539, MS 562, MS 584, MS 600, MS 635, MS 647, & MS 685 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. INFORMATION:
If you have any questions regarding this program, you may contact the instructor at adm@breyerstate.com.
|
||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
Degrees : Degrees
By Design : Degree Completion : Certificates : Continuing
Education : FAQ's |
||||||||||||
© 2005 Breyer State University-Alabama |
||||||||||||
