UNIVERSITY OF GHANA

(All rights reserved)

Department of Operations and Management Information Systems
University of Ghana Business School

Second Semester 2022/2023 Academic Year

OMIS 604 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES POLICY AND STRATEGY
3 Credit Hours

MPHIL/MBA (REGULAR AND WEEKEND MBA)

Lecture Period and Venue:

Regular: Wednesdays: 3:30pm – 5:30pm || Venue: 0E5/ONLINE
Weekend: Saturdays: 7:30am – 9:45am (Group 2) and 3:35pm – 6:10pm (Group 1) ||
Venue: ONLINE/1E4/1W4

LECTURERS:
Acheampong Owusu, Ph.D.
aowusu@ug.edu.gh
Office: GBS10, Third Floor Graduate Block, UGBS Main Campus || Consulting Hours: Friday
1:00pm - 5:00pm

Richard Boateng, Ph.D.

Richard.boateng@ug.edu.gh
Office: RT 18 (UGBS Main Campus) || Consulting Hours: Friday 1:00pm - 5:00pm

Introduction and Course Description

The course aims at introducing students to how organizations and institutions develop information
systems strategies and corresponding policies to govern the development, deployment and use of
information systems. The objectives are to equip students with the knowledge and practice of
strategic information systems planning and how the implications of new technologies have on
their employees and the organisation as a whole. Through real-world case studies, the course
enables students to evaluate the internal (e.g., processes, political and organizational culture) and
external (e.g., laws, global concerns, and cultural issues) environments that organizations compete
in and plan accordingly.

Learning Outcomes
Upon completing this course, students will have the knowledge, skills, and competence to:

1. Understand, assess, and develop IS strategies and policies for organizations;

2. Evaluate new and emerging technologies to develop strategic plans on how they can be
leveraged alongside business processes and policies;
3. Assess the technology policy needs of an organisation and develop and implement relevant
policies to address the identified needs; and
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 4. Produce an information systems and business alignment audit report and propose
strategies to enhance a strategic fit between these two dimensions.

Course Delivery
The course is lecture, project, presentation, and discussion based. Case studies, published research
articles and book chapters would be used to enhance the understanding of concepts and their
practical application. Every student is required to participate in class discussions, project works,
presentations, and group assignments. Please prepare adequately for lectures by following the
trends in research with respect to their various academic disciplines.

Assessment
The assessment component of the course is as follows:

Component Weighting Assessment

Final Exams (3 hours) 40% Individual mark
Class Participation and Attendance 10% Individual
Individual Assignments 30% Individual
Group Project/ Presentations 20% Group
Total 100%

Exams
The final exams will consist primarily of essay-type questions. Students will be tested on all topics
covered during class.

Class Attendance and Participation

Every student is expected to attend all lectures and participate in all class discussions. The ground
rules for class participation will be spelt out during the first and second week of lectures.

Grading Scale
Refer to the Graduate Handbook.

Course Policies
1. The Course instructors reserve the right to modify any of the material in the Syllabus and
Class Schedule with sufficient notice given to students.

2. Students are expected to attend all lectures well prepared, having done all the required
readings in detail. Do not come to class late.

3. Each student must actively participate in discussions during lectures, as well as all group
assignments, since much of the learning will come from these. THIS IS AN IMPORTANT
REQUIREMENT.

4. Students are expected to treat the instructors and other students with dignity and respect,
especially in cases where a diversity of opinion arises.

5. All papers will be prepared using the APA referencing style, 7th edition.

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 6. Plagiarism Caution: Please note that in all assignments; plagiarism of any form is
unacceptable and shall be treated as a serious offence. A Turnitin report must be submitted
with all assignments. Please carefully read the plagiarism policy of the University which is
available at www.ug.edu.gh/aqau/policies-guidelines.

7. Students are required to follow all the instructions given when it comes to Assignments,
Final Exams etc. Assignment Deadlines should be treated with utmost importance since
the instructors will not tolerate late submissions and excuses from students who failed to
follow the specified instructions.

Course Schedule

Week Topic Chapter

(Boateng, 2017)

1 IT Policy in Organizations One

2 Types of IT/IS Policies Two

3 Examples of IT/IS Policies Two

4 IT/IS Policy Development and Implementation Three

5 Interim Assessment – Assignments (Individual/Group)

6 IT/IS Strategy and Strategic IS Planning Four

7 Strategic IS Planning and Business-IT Alignment Four

8 Examples of IT/IS Strategies Five

9 Linking Policy to Strategy: E-governance in Senegal and Ghana Six

10 Strategic Management Theories Seven

11-12 Final Semester Assessment – Student Presentations

13 Revisions

Reading Materials
The following books will be used in teaching the topics. Supplementary materials (lecture notes,
relevant journal articles and cases) will also be provided during teaching sessions.

Books
1. Boateng, R. (2017). Information Technology Policy and Strategy – Workbook Edition,
Charleston, USA: CreateSpace Independent Publishing (Amazon). ISBN-13: 978-
1544115221: Available on Amazon: https://goo.gl/PVPSM9
a. Students can also buy book from the University of Ghana Bookshop

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 2. Wallace, M. and Webber, L. (2017). IT Governance: Policies and Procedures, Pap/Cdr
edition, Aspen Publishers.

Edited Case Study Book

3. Boateng, R. (2016) (ed). Choices, Changes and Chances – Doing Business in Ghana. (part of the
series, Cases for Academic Study). Charleston, USA: Create Space Independent Publishing (an
Amazon Company). ISBN-13: 978-1539626299: Available on Amazon:
https://goo.gl/hvQO3O

Published Case Study Papers

1. Owusu, A., & Broni Jr, F. E. (2020). Strategic information systems planning (SISP)
implementation and use in a developing economy: The case of Ghanaian organizations.
In Handbook of research on managing information systems in developing economies (pp. 1-27). IGI
Global.
2. Asiedu, S.T., & Boateng, R. (2019). Development of Strategies and Transformation
Paths for Structured and Targeted Digital Change: The Case of the Presbyterian Church
of Ghana Trinity Congregation. In N. Urbach & M. Röglinger (eds.) Digitalization Cases
(pp. 205-224). Springer, Cham.
3. Boateng, R. (2016). Resources, Electronic-Commerce Capabilities and Electronic-
Commerce Benefits: Conceptualizing the Links, Information Technology for Development, 22(6),
1-23.
4. Boateng, R. (2014). Achieving E-commerce Benefits in a Garment Manufacturing Firm,
Emerging Markets Case Studies, 4(7), 1-22.

Technical Report
5. Boateng, R. (2016). Smartphones and Micro-entrepreneurship. In D. Coyle, H. Williams,
R. Cowell, R. Boateng, J. Shoham & B. Ingram (eds) Towards A More Equal World: The
Mobile Internet Revolution, Vodafone Group Plc. www.vodafone.com/equalworld

Individual/Group Project Assignments

Problem-based Learning Approach
Students will be taught the rubrics of problem-based learning and will be guided to use the rubrics
to conduct these group assignments.

1. Develop an internet usage and communication policy for the University of Ghana Business
School. The policy should include, among others, a website policy, a social media policy,
an email policy and an internet usage policy. [Individual – 20 Marks]
Submission Date: 25th June 2023

2. Develop a proposal for the implementation of a model smart classroom for UGBS.
[Individual – 10 Marks]
Submission Date: 2nd July 2023

3. In relation to the above policies and model classroom (Q. 1 and 2), develop a strategic plan
and budget to implement and roll-out the policy. [Group/Presentations – 20 Marks]
Submission Date: 9th July 2023
Group Presentations: Week 10

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 UNIVERSITY OF GHANA
(All rights reserved)

MPHIL/REGULAR AND WEEKEND MBA

SECOND SEMESTER EXAMINATIONS: 2017/2018

OMIS 604 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES POLICY AND STRATEGY

(3 Credits)

INSTRUCTION:
ANSWER question one and question two and any other question

TIME ALLOWED:
Two Hours 30 minutes

QUESTION 1 (Compulsory)
Using an organization of your choice, develop an Employee Information and Technology Security
Agreement to be signed by all employees.
(40 marks)

QUESTION 2 (Compulsory)
Using relevant examples of your choice, discuss four (4) key factors which often lead to
failure in strategic information systems planning in organizations.
(40 marks)

QUESTION 3
Discuss the relevance of an Incident Response Handling Programme in an information
systems policy of a bank.
(20 marks)

QUESTION 4
In reference to Exhibit 1 (overleaf), briefly explain Nike’s information systems strategy and
two (2) benefits Nike is deriving from it.
(20 marks)

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EXHIBIT 1 NIKE ID –DESIGN YOUR OWN SHOE

Designing your own running shoes on a computer and having them arrive in a box a few weeks
later is the sort of thing that is both futuristic and mundane, all at once. Nike iD was launched in
way back in 1999. It was Futuristic, because the idea of Nike iD alone - the very conceit - that you
can boot up a computer, design a pair of shoes in a few seconds and send them off to a big factory
where someone, a robot ideally, will sew, package, and send them to your door exactly as you
requested. The customer becomes the designer as they change and add a personal look and feel to
a selected item. The service can be accessed both online from their homepage and in physical
branches (called NIKEiD Studios) which are situated in parts of Canada, France, England,
Mainland Europe, China, and the USA. In total, NIKEiD has 102 studios where customer can
access the customization design service.

Source: Rundale, : M. (2013). "Nike LunarGlide+ 5 iD Review: What It’s Really Like To Make Your Own Running Shoes," [Online].
Available: www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/07/24/nike-id-review-lunarglide_n_3643907.html. [Accessed 23 09 2013].

EXAMINERS: PROF. RICHARD BOATENG AND DR. ACHEAMPONG OWUSU

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 UNIVERSITY OF GHANA

(All rights reserved)

MPHIL/REGULAR AND WEEKEND MBA

SECOND SEMESTER EXAMINATION: 2021/2022

OMIS 604 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES POLICY AND STRATEGY (3

Credits)

INSTRUCTION:

ANSWER Question 1 and any other three questions

TIME ALLOWED:

Two Hours 30 minutes (2.5 hours)

QUESTION 1

Comparing the Earl’s Approaches to Strategic Information Systems Planning (SISP),

determine the approach(es) which best fits your organisation.

In answering this question, indicate:

a. Your organisation’s Business Model
b. The industry of your organisation
c. Has SISP been adopted by your organisation?
d. Has SISP been implemented and in practice in your organisation?
e. Which approach(es) of SISP has been adopted?
f. Why were these approach(es) adopted in your organisation?
g. If SISP has not been adopted, implemented and in practice in your organisation,
why is it so?
h. How will you mitigate against this and ask for SISP adoption, implementation
and use in your organisation?
(40 marks)

QUESTION 2
You have been approached by a large organisation in Ghana to develop an Information
Technology Policy to govern the responsible and strategic usage of information
technology resources by their staff, customers and all stakeholders. With examples, briefly
discuss eight (8) key components of the policy.

(20 marks)

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QUESTION 3

Nolan and McFarlan (2005) proposed the IT Strategic Grid made up of four quadrants
(Strategic, Turnaround, Factory and Support) which facilitates evaluation of the
relationship between IT strategy and business strategy and operations. Using any company
of your choice as an example, briefly describe the features of each quadrant in relation to
where and how IT investment has been made.
(20 marks)

QUESTION 4
In measuring IT/IS success, Segars and Grover (1998) developed a four dimensional
instrument to measure the success of SISP as alignment, analysis, cooperation and
capabilities. Briefly explain each of these concepts with specific examples to indicate the
conditions under which success has been achieved.

(20 marks)

QUESTION 5

In relation to Exhibit 1 below, briefly review Amazon's return policy and outline the
regulatory, advisory and informative roles of the policy.

(20 marks)

EXHIBIT 1: AMAZON.COM RETURNS POLICIES

Amazon.com and most sellers on Amazon.com offer returns for items within 30 days of receipt
of shipment.

Holiday Return Policy

Items shipped by Amazon.com between November 1, 2016 and December 31, 2016, may be
returned until January 31, 2017, for a full refund, subject to our other return guidelines listed
below. Items shipped from sellers other than Amazon.com are subject to this same holiday
return policy unless otherwise stated in the seller's individual Return Policy. For more details on
policies for items not shipped by Amazon.com, see Seller Returns Policies below.

Amazon.com Return Policy

Items shipped from Amazon.com, including Warehouse Deals, can be returned within 30 days
of receipt of shipment in most cases. Some products have different policies or requirements
associated with them.

Seller Return Policy

When you order from a seller that fulfils and ships its own inventory (also called a third-party
seller), your return will be sent back to the seller instead of Amazon.com. While most sellers
offer a returns policy equivalent to Amazon.com's, some seller returns policies may vary. You
can view the Seller's return policy before you purchase an item by viewing the Returns and
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Refunds Policy section of the Seller's profile page. Once you have ordered, you can select your
order in the Online Returns Center, to view the seller's return policy.

Third party sellers must either provide a return address within the United States, provide a pre-
paid return label, or offer a full refund without requesting the item be returned. If a seller does
not offer these methods to return your items, you may file an A-to-z Guarantee claim to seek
help with your return.

Source: Amazon, "About Our Returns Policies," Amazon.com, 2017. [Online]. Available:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=15015721. [Accessed 14 01
2017].

EXAMINERS: Dr. Acheampong Owusu and Prof. Richard Boateng

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