Course Syllabus

TEC/401
HUMAN FACTORS IN TECHNOLOGY

Course Start Date: 08/17/2010

Course End Date: 09/20/2010

Please print a copy of this syllabus for handy reference.

Whenever there is a question about what assignments are due, please remember this syllabus is
considered the ruling document.

Copyright

Copyright ©2009 by University of Phoenix. All rights reserved.

University of Phoenix© is a registered trademark of Apollo Group, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries.

Microsoft©, Windows©, and Windows NT© are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other
countries. All other company and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies. Use of
these marks is not intended to imply endorsement, sponsorship, or affiliation.

Edited in accordance with University of Phoenix© editorial standards and practices.

Facilitator Information

Rollin Thomas
rthomas115@email.phoenix.edu (University of Phoenix)
z115@excite.com (Personal)
205-238-9291 (CST)

Facilitator Availability

I am available from 6 p.m. - 11 p.m. Central Time on most weekdays, but I attempt to reserve the
weekend for my family. During the week, I am online most of the time during that 3 p.m. - 8 p.m. time
frame.

On Saturdays, I tend to be online in the afternoon only. If these times are not convenient for you, please
let me know. I will be happy to accommodate your schedule, if possible. I provide you with these times to
make it easier to communicate with me, and not to limit our contact.

I want you to know that, should you need to contact me outside these time frames, you should not
hesitate to do so.

For emergencies, when you are not able to gain access to messages on the Online Learning System
(OLS), please send a message to my personal email address. In the event a third party needs to contact
me, please direct them to my contact information listed under "facilitator information." No third party
should use your login credentials to gain access to the classroom.

Where to Go to Class
Main: This is the main forum for the class and is where discussion is conducted. It has read-and-write
access for everyone.

Chat-Room: This is a read-and-write access forum. It is designed as a place to discuss issues not related
to the course content. This is the forum to which we will send our bios.

Course-Materials: This is a read-only forum, which means you can read messages here but cannot send
any. This is where I will post the course syllabus and materials.

Learning-Team-A, B, C, D, E and F: These six Learning Team forums will be used as workrooms for
the learning teams. You will be assigned to one of these learning teams.

Individual Forum: You will see one forum with your name on it. This is a private forum, shared only by
you and me, the facilitator. Your classmates will not have access to this forum. This is where you will post
your individual assignments, and where I will post your feedback. You can also ask questions here.
However, if you have general questions about instructions of assignments, please post those in the Main
forum, since other students may benefit by that exchange as well.

Policies
For class policies, please see the Policies link on the left side of the Materials page for the course on
eCampus. Faculty and students/learners will be held responsible for understanding and adhering to all
policies contained within that link. University policies are subject to change so please be sure to read
them at the beginning of each class as it may have changed since your last class. Policies may be slightly
different depending on the modality in which you attend class. If you have recently changed modalities it
is important you read the policies governing your current class modality.
Late Assignments

Late assignments receive a 10% deduction for each day they are late if assignments are not posted by
11:59 p.m. M.S.T. on the day they are due. Assignments more than 1 days late will not be accepted.
Technological issues are not considered valid grounds for late assignment submission. In the event of a
University of Phoenix server outage, students should submit assignments through email to the instructor
and post to the Assignment section when systems are restored. Unless an Incomplete grade has been
granted, learner assignments submitted after the last day of class will not be accepted.

Learning Teams
University of Phoenix students are expected to work effectively in diverse groups and teams to achieve
tasks. They must collaborate and function well in team settings as both leaders and followers. They
should respect human diversity and behave in a tolerant manner toward colleagues and peers. If you
experience difficulties working with your team, you are expected to resolve them within the team if
possible. However, please feel free to contact me for guidance if you have concerns in this area. Because
Learning Team projects are outcome-based, all members of your Learning Team will generally earn the
same grade for Learning Team projects. However, I reserve the right to report different grades for
different Learning Team members if I see a substantial imbalance in individual contribution. Learning
Teams should provide a brief summary of any communication held outside the forum. Therefore, if you
hold conference calls, work in a real-time chat room, or get together outside the OLS (Online Learning
System) environment in another way, please post a log, transcript, or summary in the Learning Team
forum. Further, do not use any of these supplementary communication tools unless everyone on your
Learning Team agrees to the method and to the schedule. If you have any questions, please contact me.

Several of the assignments in this class will be completed in Learning Teams of three to six students. I
will set up these teams by the end of Week 1. If you have any requests for teammates, please let me
know by Thursday of the first week via your Individual Forum. Learning Team Charters and Peer
Evaluation forms are required. Please see the instructions in the weekly sections for more information. All
Learning Team assignments must be submitted to the Learning Team forum.

It is expected that you will actively participate with your learning team and contribute to the team
discussions by a) contributing original work that is accepted and used by the team with proof of originality
b) participating in the project from assignment organizing through meaningful final review of the team
project for submission, and c) ensuring to your team that your contributions are your original work and
properly quoted, cited, and referenced.

Technical Support
Technical Support is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Call 1-877-832-4867, or use the e-mail
support form.
Answers to the most common issues are found in the Knowledge Base by clicking Help, found at the top
of every student Web site.

Feedback
Each week, I will provide grades or scores and comments on assignments within 6 days of when they
were submitted. I will send feedback to your Individual forum. After I send feedback each week, I will
post a notification in the Main forum.

Grading Formula
Points Grade

95+ A

90-94 A-

87-89 B+

84-86 B

80-83 B-

77-79 C+

74-76 C

70-73 C-

67-69 D+

64-66 D

60-63 D-

<59 F

Course Description

This course provides an understanding of the effective integration of technology to improve organizational
performance. Students will learn how to evaluate strategies for utilizing technology to support personal
and organizational growth. Additionally, students will examine the increasing influence of e-commerce on
the role of managers in the workforce. Impacts of the effective integration of technology upon customer
relationships are also explored.

Course Topics & Objectives

• Define the role of management in relation to using technology in the workplace

• Discuss management expectations of technology in the business place.
• Explain how staff and customers rate technology's effectiveness.
• Describe what happens when technology fails.

Course Materials

Regan, Elizabeth A. & O'Connor, Bridget N. (2002). End-user information systems: Implementing
individual and work group technologies. (2nd ed.) New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Point Values for Course Assignments

Assignment Points Per Week

Participation 2.5

DQ 2.5
Total 5

ASSIGNMENTS Points

Individual (70%)

End-User Systems Paper (Week 1) 10

Help Desk Paper (Week 2) 10

Business Processes Paper (Week 3) 10

Customers & Information Technology Paper (Week 4) 10

IT-Driven Companies Paper (Week 5) 10

Participation and DQs (5 points per week, Weeks 1 - 4) 20

Learning Team (30%)

Team Charter (Week 2) 4

Real World Scenario 1 (Week 3) 13

Real World Scenario 2 (Week 5) 13

Total 100
Week One
Learning Objectives

See Week 1 objectives listed in the Course Materials.

Required Reading and Assignments

• Read Part I - Chapter 1 (pp. 1-37), and Chapter 8, Sections 8.1-8.3 (pp. 259-269) in the text End-
User Information Systems.
• Read lectures in the Course Materials forum.
• Read all messages in the Main forum, the Course Materials forum, and the Chat Room forum.

Due Day 1 (Tuesday): Post your biography to the Chat Room forum. Respond to each other's
biographies.

Due Day 2 and 4 (Wednesday and Friday): Discussion Questions: Post your responses to the Week 1
Discussion Questions in the Main forum and begin responding to each other's responses. Please post
your responses in the DQ threads. Responses to each question should be at least 200-300 words.

Due Day 7 (Monday): End-User Systems Paper (10 points). This paper should be posted as a Word
attachment in your Assignment section and should adhere to APA formatting. Prepare a 1000-1200-
word paper describing how end-user systems affect businesses. Address the following topics in your
paper:

• What are end-users

• What are knowledge workers
• How information technology changed organization structure
• Business value of end-user systems
• Give a real-world example of an end-user system

Weekly Reminders

* If the entire paper assignment is a just a cited verbatim copy of a reference, you will receive a
zero

Discussion Questions

Discussion question responses will not count towards the class participation requirement and will be
evaluated separately.

Only posts in the Main classroom forum will count towards your class participation score.

Participation

All Week: Remember to participate in the class discussions 4 out of 7 days during the week.
Summary of Week 1 Deliverables

Assignment Individual or Location Due

Learning Team

Participation Individual Main Ongoing— 4 days per week

Bio Individual Chat Room Tuesday

Discussion Question 1 Individual Main Wednesday

Discussion Question 2 Individual Main Friday

End-User Systems
Individual Assignment section Monday
Paper
Week Two
Learning Objectives

See Week 2 objectives listed in the Course Materials.

Required Reading and Assignments

• Read Part III - Chapters 6 and 7 of your e-book

• Read lectures in the Course Materials forum.
• Read all messages in the Main forum, the Course Materials forum, and the Chat Room forum.

Due Day 2 and 4 (Wednesday and Friday): Discussion Questions: Post your responses to the Week 2
Discussion Questions in the Main forum and begin responding to each other's responses. Please post
your responses in the DQ threads. Responses to each question should be at least 200-300 words.

Due Day 3 (Thursday): Team Charter Assignment (4 points).

Your first Learning Team assignment is to develop a Learning Team Charter (LTC)—a plan of action for
the Learning Team that takes characteristics of each team member into consideration.

Team members must collaborate in their assigned Learning Team forum in order to integrate the
contributions of each team member into one cohesive document. One member of the team should post
the final Learning Team Charter as a new post in the Learning Team forum labeled “Final Team
Charter”.

Due Day 7 (Monday): Help Desk Paper (10 points). This paper should be posted as a Word attachment
in your Assignment section and should adhere to APA formatting. Prepare a 1000-1200-word paper
describing how software can improve the efficiency of Help Desk. Address the following topics in your
paper:

• What is Help Desk

• Characteristics of an effective and an ineffective Help Desk agent
• List pros and cons of outsourcing Help Desk operations.
• Give a personal example of any experiences with Help Desk

Weekly Reminders

* If the entire paper assignment is a just a cited verbatim copy of a reference, you will receive a
zero

Discussion Questions

Discussion question responses will not count towards the class participation requirement and will be
evaluated separately.
Only posts in the Main classroom forum will count towards your class participation score.

Participation

All Week: Remember to participate in the class discussions 4 out of 7 days during the week.

Summary of Week 2 Deliverables

Assignment Individual or Location Due

Learning Team

Participation Individual Main Ongoing— 4 days per week

Discussion Question 1 Individual Main Wednesday

Team Charter
Learning Team Assignment Section Thursday
Assignment

Discussion Question 2 Individual Main Friday

Help Desk Paper Individual Assignment section Monday

Week Three
Required Reading and Assignments

• READING: Read Chapters 9 – 12 (pp. 293-416) in the text End-User Information Systems.
• Read lectures in the Course Materials forum.
• Read all messages in the Main forum, the Course Materials forum, and the Chat Room forum.

Due Day 2 and 4 (Wednesday and Friday): Discussion Questions: Post your responses to the Week 2
Discussion Questions in the Main forum and begin responding to each other's responses. Please post
your responses in the DQ threads. Responses to each question should be at least 200-300 words.

Due Day 7 (Monday): Business Processes Paper (10 points). This paper should be posted as a Word
attachment in your Assignment section and should adhere to APA formatting. Prepare a 1000-1200-
word paper describing the interaction between business processes and information technology. Address
the following topics in your paper:

• What is a process
• The basic phases of process redesign
• The relationship between information technology and business process and job design
• Give a an example of a job process you would redesign at work or school

Due Day 7 (Monday): Real World Scenario 1 (13 points). Pretend I am a client who wants your
company to redesign the business processes for my t-shirt company. Assume that all current processes
are done manually and I do not use any modern technology (i.e. website, automation, etc.)

Create a PowerPoint presentation showing:

• A diagram of my current processes (flowchart diagram)

• A diagram of my new processes after applying new technology (flowchart diagram)
• How the new processes will improve my company

This PowerPoint slide should be a least 3 slides posted as an attachment in the Team forum.

Weekly Reminders

* If the entire paper assignment is a just a cited verbatim copy of a reference, you will receive a
zero

Discussion Questions

Discussion question responses will not count towards the class participation requirement and will be
evaluated separately.

Only posts in the Main classroom forum will count towards your class participation score.

Participation

All Week: Remember to participate in the class discussions 4 out of 7 days during the week.
Summary of Week 3 Deliverables

Assignment Individual or Location Due

Learning Team

Participation Individual Main Ongoing— 4 days per week

Discussion Question 1 Individual Main Wednesday

Discussion Question 2 Individual Main Friday

Business Processes
Individual Assignment section Monday
Paper

Real World Scenario 1 Team Assignment Section Monday

Week Four
Required Reading and Assignments

• READING: Read Chapter 2 (pp. 39-73) in the text End-User Information Systems
• Read lectures in the Course Materials forum.
• Read all messages in the Main forum, the Course Materials forum, and the Chat Room forum.

Due Day 2 and 4 (Wednesday and Friday): Discussion Questions: Post your responses to the Week 2
Discussion Questions in the Main forum and begin responding to each other's responses. Please post
your responses in the DQ threads. Responses to each question should be at least 200-300 words.

Due Day 7 (Monday): Customers & IT Paper (10 points). This paper should be posted as a Word
attachment in your Assignment section and should adhere to APA formatting. Prepare a 1000-1200
word paper describing the interaction between business processes and technology. Address the following
topics in your paper:

• Impact of information technology on our lives

• Working or Learning in a Remote Environment
• The keys to success in a technology-driven economy
• Give a an example of how technology has changed some business industries (i.e. Typewriters,
computers, telephones, etc)

Weekly Reminders

* If the entire paper assignment is a just a cited verbatim copy of a reference, you will receive a
zero

Discussion Questions

Discussion question responses will not count towards the class participation requirement and will be
evaluated separately.

Only posts in the Main classroom forum will count towards your class participation score.

Participation

All Week: Remember to participate in the class discussions 4 out of 7 days during the week.

Summary of Week 4 Deliverables

Assignment Individual or Location Due

Learning Team

Participation Individual Main Ongoing— 4 days per week

Discussion Question 1 Individual Main Wednesday

Discussion Question 2 Individual Main Friday

Customers & IT Paper Individual Assignment section Monday
Week Five
Required Reading and Assignments

• READING: Read Chapter 8, Sections 8.4-8.8, in the text End-User Information Systems.
• Read lectures in the Course Materials forum.
• Read all messages in the Main forum, the Course Materials forum, and the Chat Room forum.

Due Day 7 (Monday): IT-driven Companies Paper (10 points). This paper should be posted as a Word
attachment in your Assignment section and should adhere to APA formatting. Prepare a 1000-1200
word paper describing the interaction between management and IT. Address the following topics in your
paper:

• Critical Factors for managing systems

• Data Backups
• Copyrighting software

Due Day 7 (Monday): Real World Scenario 2 (13 points). Create a PowerPoint presentation describing
how new technology has changed how companies operate using four real world companies as an
example. (i.e. AT&T, Verizon, Apple)

This presentation is expected to look professional with no grammatical errors

Focus on:

• Previous business models (Topic 1)

• How technology changed the company (Topic 2)

Use more than one company in your paper

Each company must include all three topics listed above, and the presentation must have at least 8
slides. This should be posted as an attachment (Labeled Final Assignment) in the Team assignment
section.

Weekly Reminders

* If the entire paper assignment is a just a cited verbatim copy of a reference, you will receive a
zero

Final Week Requirements

Discussion question responses and participation will not be required during the final week of the course.
The final week will be dedicated to completing the final assignments listed below.

Participation
* Remember that students must still post a note on two days during the final week
to meet attendance requirements.

Summary of Week 5 Deliverables

Assignment Individual or Location Due

Learning Team

IT-driven Companies
Individual Assignment section Monday
Paper

Real World Scenario 2 Team Assignment Section Monday