Information Systems - A Manager's Guide to Harnessing Technology

Reviewed by Roger Finnegan, Community Faculty, Metropolitan State University on 2/8/17

Comprehensiveness rating: 4

The textbook does cover the basics that other MIS textbooks cover:
• Systems development – plus cloud, opensource and off the shelf
• BI – data warehouses and marts
• Telecommunications
• Security
• E-commerce
• Enterprise applications – CRM, ERP and SCM
• Ethics
I did not find an index or glossary.

Content Accuracy rating: 4

I did not find any issues with the accuracy of the information in the textbook. It does in fact try to go beyond what other textbooks provide. Instead of just stating the facts as most other textbooks do the author provides more of the flavor of how things really are in IT.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

The relevance is both a strength and a weakness for this textbook. It is very relevant right now but could become outdated very quickly. While this is true of any IT book this one is particular seems to aim at being as relevant to the current market as possible. For many textbooks you need to add current articles as additional reading to stay up to the minute in discussing IT. This text tries to include the up to the minute info. Again, it is very relevant now but may not have great longevity.

Clarity rating: 5

Clarity is a strength for this textbook. The author states in the forward that “The information systems (IS) course should be the most exciting class within any university. But far too often students resist rather than embrace the study of tech.” The author strives for a clear and engaging style that is similar to periodicals like “Wired and Fortune.” If is not uncommon to discover after the course is over that many of the students did not read the textbook. The engaging style would hopefully encourage more of the students to actually real it.

Consistency rating: 4

The book is very consistent. Each chapter has multiple sections. These sections are written like short self-contained articles with learning objectives, key take always, questions and references.

Modularity rating: 3

The book is very modular. In fact an instructor could choose to assign just certain sections or specific articles in the textbook. Each section is written to stand on its own like a periodical article.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

The book does not break subjects up like other MIS textbooks. There is not an ethics chapter or a networking chapter or a systems development chapter. Those subjects are interlaced with other subjects throughout the book. While this is a different structure from other textbooks it is more real world since these ideas do not standalone but are incorporated into situations that the students will find in their careers.

Interface rating: 4

The textbook is very well put together. It is also available in different formats such as PDF, XML, ePUB and Kindle.

Grammatical Errors rating: 4

I did not see any grammatical errors in the textbook.

Cultural Relevance rating: 4

I did not see anything in the book that was culturally insensitive.

I found the textbook to be quite good. Students can have difficulty with a textbook that is dryly written. The author does make a very good effort to make the subject engaging. As stated above the author’s forward notes that “information systems (IS) course should be the most exciting class within any university.” I absolutely agree but the students don’t always realize that. This book is a step in the right direction in engaging students and helping them realize how exciting IT can be.