Monash University

Leader: Dr. Ai Cheo Yeo

Offered

Clayton First semester 2008 (Day)

Synopsis

Introduction to the Internet, World Wide Web and business application tools. Introduction to basic computing concepts. Principles of spreadsheets and relational databases, covering their use for the generation of business plans, reports, financial statements, etc. Both the spreadsheet and database components incorporate an introduction to programming with macros. The database component covers principles of database design. The business application software packages used in the unit are Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Access.

Objectives

At the completion of this unit, students will have:

1. Gained an overall understanding of the Web and its relationship to current business practice;
2. Learnt the fundamentals of relational databases, which will provide them with an understanding of the relational model, database design and query construction;
3. Learnt the fundamentals of spreadsheets which will provide them with an understanding of spreadsheet modelling, presentation and analysis;
4. Learnt fundamental program construction skills using VBA;
5. Learnt to construct applications using VBA as the language for enhancing the appearance and useability of database and spreadsheet systems.

At the completion of this unit, students will have acquired the knowledge and understanding of the following aspects of business applications software:

1. The use of data representation and analysis tools in the Microsoft Office suite of applications;
2. The design and creation of a multi-page web site for a specific purpose;
3. The use of web sites to enhance the business opportunities of an organisation;
4. The use of relational databases to capture and maintain the persistent information required by organisations;
5. The use of relational databases for analysis and presentation of organisational information;
6. The use of spreadsheets for analysis and presentation of organisational data;
7. The appropriateness of these tools in varying organisational circumstances.

At the completion of this unit, students will have developed the following attitudes, values and beliefs:

1. An appreciation that Business Systems are better designed and managed by professionals with a sound knowledge of the technologies used to build these systems;
2. An appreciation that business software tools can directly enhance the productivity of people achieving business goals;
3. An appreciation of a cohesive structure to a web site as beneficial for both the developers of the web site and the customers who use the web site for interaction with the company;
4. An appreciation of the benefits and limitations of the relational model as an efficient and versatile structure for storing and retrieving information;
5. An appreciation that a knowledge of programming can be used to enhance the utility of office productivity software packages.

At the completion of this unit, students will have developed practical skills to enable them to:

1. Create a small web site implemented in XHTML;
2. Construct a small business application using Excel and VBA macro enhancements;
3. Develop a small business application using Access and VBA macro enhancements;
4. Use fundamental SQL skills for tasks such as creating retrievals and joins of data tables.

Assessment

Examination: 60%
Assignments, tests and class assessments: 40%
Students must pass the examination in order to pass the unit.

Contact hours

4 x contact hrs/week

Prohibitions

CSE1720, GCO1851, MMS1401, BUS1010