Greetings

Hello CAPP-340 Students,

Welcome to "Computer Applications in Management". Here you are, using computer applications to manage your educational career and studying the use of computer applications in management. OJT.

Another UM term is underway and I am happy that you have chosen to spend the next four months with me - well part of them anyway. My name to all my students and colleagues is Phil. It is my pleasure to help you through CAPP-340 this DE Term 5. We need to get to know each other better before we start so I have gone first and shared something of myself with you if you follow the link above.

Please use the course designator, capp340, as the first part of the subject line of each email you send in this course.

Please confirm to me that you have the required textbooks. If you do not have your books yet, please give me the estimated delivery date and later confirm their arrival. Also, please confirm you have, or have access to, Microsoft Office 97-2000. (MS Office is available for your use in all UMUC computer labs.)

We will use MS Office in this course. You do not have to own MS Office if you have access to it. Some will have personal copies of WordPerfect Office or Star Office. If we were only working with spreadsheets, either would reportedly do; however, the database needs to be relational , not flat. And the relationships need to be maintained during conversion to MS Office file formats (some of which you would do and some I would have to do). I do not think either qualify on that score. Also, integration of files is necessary as demonstrated in Carol Cram's book; that integration must also be retained when files are saved into MS Office formats so I can see and evaluate your work. MS Works is not a full substitute for Office. The spreadsheet is weak and the database is not relational; saving files to MS Office formats is purposefully made difficult by Microsoft. I'll let you guess why.

All this goes to reiterate the point that you need to have, or have access to, Microsoft Office 97-2000 to work effectively in this course. In addition, you need WinZip (shareware download from www.download.cnet.com) and you need to be able to use it to archive (compress or zip) folders with files within them. Again, I am aware that I am asking you to know a certain amount about "computer applications in management" before the course even starts. Given our course delivery method, we really have no choice.

This course is intended to help ground business and management students with respect to general purpose computer applications used in business and management. James Senn's book is an excellent survey of the basic uses of computers in business. (Those who have taken IFSM 201 or IFSM 300 will find some overlap in focus, albeit from a different perspective.) Carol Cram leads you through the variety and power of Microsoft Office 2000 (even as Office XP hits the streets and many are still using Office 97). We will complete each book.

One excellent way I have found to understand computer applications is to use them. We will do just that. I want you to select one or two topics that will provide a focus for your learning the power and versatility of spreadsheets and databases. I start you off with the spreadsheet project because it is the easier to learn and often more familiar to many students. (Some knowledge of the structure and power of spreadsheets is also needed to construct databases.) However, we actually use the database features of spreadsheets when we enter data with labels and structure and then reuse templates to capture similar data for follow-on periods so we can compare past with present performance - and look forward to the future. So to some extent, the sequence is open to case-by-case modification.

Ideally, you will select projects that need to be completed in your work area, or in some activity or organization of which you are a member. If your spouse, partner or friend has such a project and can get you access to the data, you can build this computer-based tool for them to use. Personal projects at home often lack the complexity needed to fully exercise these software tools, but I will entertain some proposals for those who are stuck for a work project. All projects are first come, first served by type of project. I do not want significant repetition in types of projects. If you have separate spreadsheet and database projects in mind, then the sequence described in the Schedule and Assignments page will be just right. If you have a single topic for which you want to create both a spreadsheet and database, you will have to enter some sample data directly into the spreadsheet during the first part of the course and then, once your database is complete, integrate the database into the spreadsheet.

Back to course start up: I need you to put a brief bio sketch highlighting your relevant background for this course on WebTycho (in the class conference area) within the first two days of the start of the course, please. Tell us why you are taking this course and, just as importantly, what it is that the other students and I can help you achieve this term. I also want you to post your special concerns about your preparation for taking this course and state your desires for areas we should emphasize over the next four months.

Your next assignment is to read the course syllabus, where I set the stage for the course, and various supplemental Guidance and handouts on my web site. I have posted a link to my site in our WebTycho virtual classroom, but you have one here as well. Please read through this information. If you have Web Wacker software (a web site download utility program) and use it carefully, you can download that part of my site related to this course and keep it on your own system. Alternatively, you can use the site download feature of Microsoft Internet Explorer. Also, you can save a copy of any individual page you wish (Use CAPP-340 Index Page as your starting page. See your MSIE help menu as needed.)

We will spend much of this first week confirming our skill with the WebTycho method, getting to know new colleagues and establishing a routine. I also want you to survey your local library and unit holdings to determine how much help they might be to you in this course. If you have an Excel or Access guru in your organization, you may find that she or he has some reference material you can study.

On that point, there are hundreds of books on MS Office 97-2000, Excel 97-2000, Access 97-2000, not to mention those on general spreadsheet and database topics and other specific software products. I have spent several hundred dollars on such books - you may have spent a few bucks on them yourself. You can get on-line help on these programs, but look around for books that you can borrow to answer specific questions before you spend even more money.

You will control the content and conduct of our exchanges, for I will concentrate first and perhaps principally on those concepts you ask me to cover. I will also ask you to comment on certain topics relevant to our subject during the course.

It is your responsibility to get each assignment to me on time (post it to the Web Tycho assignments area). Start early. Complete major assignments a week or two in advance so you have a chance to critically review them for content and quality of ideas. If you just hit the cutoff date early in the course, you have an excellent chance of being late on subsequent assignments. Keep a copy of each assignment. If you cannot meet a deadline, please e-mail, fax or call me for an extension prior to the due date. The course is sequenced and timed reasonably as it is, and you can expect that if you are late on an assignment, you will just make it harder for yourself to complete the next portion of the course successfully.

Perhaps no assignment is more important than looking for one article or web site a week to share with the class. The general topic is "Computer Applications in Management". As noted elsewhere, the specific topic should relate to assignments for the current, prior or upcoming week. Many of the articles you will find in the UMUC databases or on the web (try different search engines during the course) will provide specific examples of uses of computers in management. Ensure that you comment on the lessons you learned from reviewing the site or article. (Don't forget to search also for specific types of applications - spreadsheets, databases, presentation graphics, etc. - on databases and the Web.)

I have a flexible personal schedule and work out of my home. See the contact details on this web site for how and when to get in touch with me.

I am frequently out for short periods (that sometimes become longer than I intended), so if your concern is urgent and I am not in, leave a message on my voice mail (hold on for at least seven rings) or fax me your question. Of course, watch out for my email response to you and continue trying to reach me directly by phone. If your email goes down temporarily, use a friend's account to email me or fax to keep in touch.

If you have a particular worry about your course of study or find yourself in difficult circumstances, contact me right now instead of waiting. (Naturally, should something come up later in the course, get in touch with me at that time.) I want to deal with your concerns now so we can get on with the task at hand - which I view as helping you learn as much as you want to learn.

Please email me your primary and any alternate email address, supporting UM center, your telephone and, if available, fax number.

Should you be unable to check your email and WebTycho at least once every 48 hours and respond to questions within that same period, please notify me.

Finally, ask for help from me sooner rather than later, while there is still time for such help to make a difference. Whether it is difficulty with the study material, finding adequate time or surroundings for your study, personal emergencies - whatever - I am truly here to help you succeed.

I look forward to hearing from you concerning questions asked and points raised above. We shall have an exciting and fruitful term with your help.

Yours Faithfully,

Phil

PS. To help you visualize the organization of this site, I have provided a Locator Page.