Authorised by Academic Registrar, April 1996
Objectives At the completion of this subject students should know how to analyse, document and measure the performance of basic business processes; know and understand the information and processing required by typical business information systems; and understand general systems concepts and their application to the information systems that support business activities.
Synopsis This subject will provide students with an understanding of information systems and how they may be used to support business activities. The basic types of business information systems such as order entry and billing, supply and inventory management, debtors and creditors will be studied in some detail. An introduction to some process modelling techniques will be provided to enable students to understand the structure and processing of typical business information systems. The notion of business processes will be introduced together with an introduction to the techniques that are used to analyse their performance. These include physical flow analysis, workflow analysis, work study and simulation. The role of information technology in radically changing the way that business processes are performed will also be addressed. The skills required for effective fact finding will be emphasised. These include oral and written communication skills and presentation and interview techniques.
Assessment Examination (3 hours): 60% + Practical work, exercises based on business case studies: 40%