THE AMERICAN UNIVERSITY IN CAIRO

School of Business
Department of Management
MOIS3201-01
Management Information Systems and Database Management
F A L L Semester 2020

Instructor name: Dr. Sami Akabawi

Office number: BEC Room 2009/ Online with arrangement
Class Session SW 11:30 AM – 12:45 PM
Lab Session Lab 1063 accessible online. See procedure in Bp page
Office hours: Sunday Online from 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM &
1:00 PM - 2:00 PM
Wednesday Online from 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM &
1:00 PM - 2:00 PM
Other days by request through email

Telephone number: 0122-2174836

E-mail address: akabawi@aucegypt.edu

TA: Farah Elsaieed

Office Hours: By appointment
Sunday 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM
Wednesday 4:00 PM- 5:00 PM

Telephone number: 01228588583

E-mail address: farahelsaieed@aucegypt.edu

Course Prerequisite:

Prerequisite: MOIS 2101

Vision of the School of Business

To be the leading knowledge hub with Arab regional relevance and global influence.

Mission of the School of Business

The School of Business provides a stimulating learning environment that develops entrepreneurial and
responsible global leaders and professionals. 

AUC School of Business is a Triple Crowned Business School

AUC School of Business is recognized as the top private business school in Egypt, as well as being the
first in the Arab region and third in Africa to receive triple-crown accreditation from the European
Quality Improvement System1 (EQUIS), the Association of MBAs (AMBA) and the Association to

1
https://www.efmd.org/accreditation-main/equis/accredited-schools
1
Advance Collegiate Schools of Business2 (AACSB). The school is among less than 1 percent of the
14,000 business schools worldwide to achieve triple-crown accreditation.

Mission of the Department of Management:

Our mission is to develop business leaders who are dedicated to the betterment of society by providing a
high quality business education to top caliber students from all segments of Egyptian society as well as
from other countries while focusing on continuous improvement and a commitment to excellence in
learning, intellectual contributions and service.
In support of this mission the department of management:
 Provides high quality contemporary-style business education that blends a global perspective with
national cultures and is relevant to the business needs of Egypt and the region.
 Provides programs that encourage the development of an entrepreneurial spirit that emphasizes
creativity, innovation, individual initiative and teamwork
 Provides a learning environment that fosters faculty/student communication and promotes lifelong
learning and career development
 Encourages faculty development activities that improve teaching, maintain competence and that
keep faculty current with ideas and concepts in their field.
 Seeks to develop a portfolio of intellectual contributions to learning and pedagogy, to practice,
and to the theory and knowledge base of the disciplines.
 Encourages the establishment of close partnerships with the business community through
consultancies and service that enhance the intellectual and economic quality of Egypt while
enriching the learning process

Course Description:

The course is an introduction to the basic concepts and uses of database systems within the scope of
Management Information System implementation. Topics include: Introduction to Database Management
Systems - Conceptual Designs - Relational Model - Structured Query Language - ER Modeling and
ER/EER to Relational models Mapping - Functional Dependencies and Normal Form - ER Model to
Relational Model Mapping.

Course Objectives:

 Familiarity with the concepts of data/data science within information systems realm.
 Understanding the role played by database management systems (DBMS) in information systems
applications as well as their development.
 Mastery of Data modeling techniques
 Familiarity with data independence, views, normalization
 Acquisition of new skills in using the basic tools of some commercial database management
systems and in building databases.
 Understanding the new concepts and developments of big data organization and the new concept
NOSQL and object-oriented DBMSs.

2
http://www.aacsb.edu/en/accreditation/accredited-members/global-listing.aspx
2
 Database Management Essentials provides the foundation you need for a career in database
development, data warehousing, or business intelligence, as well as for the entire Data Warehousing
for Business Intelligence specialization. In this course, you will create relational databases, write SQL
statements to extract information to satisfy business reporting requests, create entity relationship
diagrams (ERDs) to design databases, and analyze table designs for excessive redundancy. As you
develop these skills, you will use MS Access DBMS to acquire hands-on experiences in such
profession.

Course Format

The course will be taught remotely as decided by the university administration (so far), I will use
Blackboard as the Learning Management System and Zoom for the class sessions. Additionally, some
recorded lectures will be done using Windows Screen Recorder and Voice Over Narration using
PowerPoint. In other words, all classes will be conducted synchronously (could be hybrid: face-to-face
&/or online), but some recorded lectures will be provided over and above the classes.
Exams could be a hybrid of in-class exams, oral exams, take home exams, exams on google docs, and
exams on google sheets.

Communication Procedures

I will respond to all weekday questions via email within 24 hours (weekends vary). All students are
required to use the official AUC email for communication. Blackboard announcement feature will be
used throughout this course; these announcements are automatically sent to your AUC email. You could
send me an email directly by using Blackboard via the link titled “Send Email”.

Coverage of MICT Undergraduate Learning Goals

In addition to the specific objectives of the course, the material and activities have been selected to aid
students in their progress toward achieving the following departmental learning goals:

Learning Goal Level of Coverage

Communication: Each student will be expected to
effectively communicate orally and in writing.
1. 4
Technical writing and presentations are an integral
part of the project work.
Career Readiness: Each student will be able to
2. apply his/her gained academic education and 4
knowledge into a professional career.
Responsible Citizens: Each student will
demonstrate knowledge of the purpose of business
3. 3
in society and act on their personal values with
responsibility.
4. Integration of Information and Communication 4
Technologies. This goal has 3 major sub-goals:
Professional Ethics: Each student will be expected
to demonstrate responsible ethical attitudes
3
 towards peers, clients and all material used in the
projects/assignments.
Information Technology: Each student will be able
to describe the business case that he/she will
address, the suggested technology and constraints.
Problem Solving: Each student will be able to
demonstrate knowledge and problem-solving skills
while addressing a real-world business situation.
Integrating of Information and Communication
Technologies with Business Disciplines: Each
student will be able to analyze the business
processes’ current performance within both the
internal and external environments, identify
problems, and suggest solutions by applying
5. 4
foundations of information technologies.
Additionally, they will be able to employ
appropriate methodologies to achieve the business
goals and integrate this knowledge when solving
the specific problem or seizing the new
opportunity.
Entrepreneurship: Each student will be given an
opportunity to suggest a creative business solution
6. 4
to the problem in the domain area that he/she will
address/select for the project.
Regional Awareness: Each student will be able to
realize regional differences in the business analysis
7. 2
process with a special focus on the Egyptian
environment while working on their projects.
1= not at all covered 2= covered to a limited extent 3= covered to some extent 4=covered to a
large extent

Text book and additional Reading Materials:

- Fundamentals of Database Systems by ElMasri and Navathe, Addison Wesley.

- Database Management by Greg Riccardi, Addison Wesley 2003.
- Business database systems by Thomas Connolly, Carolyn Begg, Richard Holowczak
- Database processing: fundamentals, design, and implementation by David M. Kroenke

It is important to note that additional selected readings and assignments in the form of articles and case
studies will be assigned for search or distributed during class sessions according to the topics and issues
covered. Such material needs to be read and comprehended since they represent material for course
examinations.

Coverage of Undergraduate Learning Goals

In addition to the specific objectives of the course, the material and activities have been designed to aid
students in their progress toward achieving the following departmental learning goals:

4
 Learning Goal Level of Coverage
Communication: Each student will be expected to
effectively communicate orally and in writing.
1. Technical writing and presentations are an integral 4
part of the project work.

Readiness to the Market: Each student will be able

2. to apply his/her gained knowledge into a simple 4
yet typical database application.
Responsible Citizens: Each student will acquire
knowledge of the purpose of business data and
3. information in society and act on their personal 2
values with responsibility. They get to practice
while working with their peers and team members..
Integration of Information and Communication
Technologies. This goal has 3 major sub-goals:
Professional Ethics: The course material will touch
on professional IT Codes of ethics. Each student
will be expected to demonstrate responsible ethical
attitudes towards peers and all material used in the
4. projects/assignments. 4
Information Technology: Each student will be able
to describe the database solution that he/she will
address, the suggested technology and constraints.
Problem Solving: Each student will be able to
demonstrate knowledge and problem-solving skills
in addressing a real-world business situation.
Integrating Business Disciplines: Each student
5. will be expected to describe the data model within 3
its business domain.
Entrepreneurship: Each student will be given an
6. opportunity to suggest a creative data modeling 2
solution to the domain area that he/she will select.

1= not at all covered 2= covered to a limited extent 3= covered to some extent 4=covered to a large
extent

Teaching Method

 Traditional Lectures (face-to-face and/or online)

 Tutorials and Lab Sessions
 Business Cases
 Project Work, Lab Work, Class Exercises and Assignments

Students are required to attend all class sessions, in other words, twice a week. Attendance is taken using
screen shots of the zoom class to avoid argument of who was present; otherwise attendance is taken
physically when we meet in class. The same face to face attendance policies apply with the online classes.
If students had network issues, this will be counted from the 6 times that students can miss before getting
an F grade. Students should then attend the online office hours to understand what was missed.

5
Competency coverage

- Analysis and design of business processes

- Database management system ( DBMS ) development
- Excel use in data analysis

Assignment/Case Guidelines

1. Clearly write your name, assignment number, and date.

2. Hand in assignments on due dates to avoid getting a zero.
3. Start every question on a new page to avoid getting a zero on the second question.
4. Do NOT give more than one answer to the same question to avoid getting a zero.
5. Be sure to submit your assignments in a file.

Project Documents Guidelines

1. Clearly write your name, Project title, Project Phase, and date.
2. Be sure to follow the standard document structures that will be provided.
3. Hand in the documents (in soft copies) on due dates to avoid getting a zero.
4. Be sure to submit the soft copies of your project documents to me by email.

Evaluation Criteria

Attendance & Participation 10%

Assignments 10%
Lab and in class exercises 10%
Project Phase I 10%
Project Phase II 10%
First Midterm Exam 15%
Second Midterm Exam 15%
Final Exam 20%

NOTE: Late assignments will not be accepted and makeup exams will not be allowed unless under
factual force majeure.

Grading
Grading will be based on class performance curve which is expected to be approximately standard
according to the following:
93% to 100% A
90% to < 93% A-
87% to < 90% B+
85% to < 87% B
80% to < 83% B-
75% to < 80% C+
6
 70% to < 75% C
65% to < 70% C-
60% to < 65% D+
55% to < 60% D
0% to < 55% F

Assignment/Case Exercises

9-10 points -entirely or nearly correct/perfect

7-8 points -considerably more correct than incorrect
6 points -slightly more correct than incorrect
4 points -slightly more incorrect than correct
2 points -considerably more incorrect than correct
0 points -entirely incorrect or nearly entirely incorrect

Attendance:

Students are expected to attend class on time and to maintain an orderly conduct throughout the lecture.
Missing 6 or more lectures will result in an “F” grade. Those who have formal excuses for missing a
lecture (e.g. medical, sports, conference, etc.), need to provide a formal document within one week of the
missed lecture.

Online Course Components:

Students are expected to attend all lectures (whether online or face-to-face) and to participate in class
discussions. Assignments and quizzes will be submitted either in class (when we use face-to-face) or
through email (when we work online).

Note: This schedule is subject to change according to any unforeseen circumstances or to new instructions
from the University.

Academic Integrity:

All students are expected to agree to and comply with the University Academic Integrity Policy.

Detailed information about the University Academic Integrity Policy may be found in the University
Catalog and on the University Web site.

Grades: Scores will always be available with the instructor.

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Class Schedule

Schedule and Topics to be covered

Date Topic Citation

Introduction to course … what is Database/Database

9/6 Part 1/ch. 1
Management System
9/9
The role of DB systems in MIS/BI/KM Readings

9/13
Data life cycle / Hierarchy of IS and Data Part 1/ch. 2

9/14
Big data and the strategic use of DBMS Readings

9/16 Determining and representing Data requirements /

Groups formation and Projects selection
9/20
Conceptual data modeling and database design Part 2/ch. 3

9/23 In Class Assignment-1, developing a model Entities

and Relations for group cases
9/27 Hand-in Assignment -1
Part 2/ch. 3
E-R model formally / Project Phase 1 preparation
9/30
The EER Model Part 2/ch. 4

10/4
Revision

10/7
First Mid Term Exam

10/11 EER modeling, Mapping the EER models into tables.

In class Access hands on
10/14
Project Phase 1: presentations and discussions

10/18
Relational Data Model and SQL Part 3/ch. 5

10/21
Analyzing and Structuring Data Queries, Basic SQL Part 3/ch. 6

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 10/25
The Relational Algebra and Relational Calculus Part 3/ch. 8

10/28
In Class Assignment-2 / Group work

11/4 Group presentations for Assignment-2/ Hand-in after

class
11/8 Relational Database Design by ER-EER to relational
Part 3/ch. 9
Mapping
11/11
Basics of Functional Dependencies and Normalization Part 6/ch. 14

11/15 Hand out on

Normalization …. In class video sessions
BB
11/18
Second Mid Term Exam

11/22 Database Design Issues: Functional Dependencies,

Part 6/ch. 14
Normalization and Integrity
11/25 Database Design Issues: Functional Dependencies,
Part 6/ch. 14
Normalization and Integrity
11/29
Revision and wrap up

12/2
In Class Assignment-3/ Hand-in after class

12/6
Groups Project Presentations

12/9
Groups Project Presentations

MT-1-Exam, MT-2-Exam, 3 in class assignment sessions, Project presentations (Phase -1, Phase- 2, 2
Final Presentations), 20 Lectures: Total Sessions (28)
Final Exam Week: 13-19th of Dec. …. Exam day as per the official university schedule

Note: This schedule is subject to change