Principles of Information Systems

MEANINGFUL CRITICAL-THINKING EXERCISES PROMPT ACTIVE LEARNING. These brief cases raise technical, organizational, behavioral, legal and ethical issues that test the reader’s grasp of the material. Exercises cause the reader to analyze and evaluate, rather than simply remembering facts, promoting active learning. A critical-thinking exercise appears at the end of each major section, providing three to six exercises per chapter to assign for homework or to use in class discussion. All critical-thinking exercises are tagged to AACSB skill areas.

THE SAM APP IN MINDTAP ALLOWS YOU TO FURTHER YOUR STUDENTS' PROFICIENCY IN MICROSOFT® OFFICE SKILLS APPLICATIONS AS PART OF YOUR COURSE. This app provides access to SAM, an interactive online learning environment, designed to help students master Microsoft® Office and computer concepts essential to academic and career success. Students observe, practice and train, then apply their skills live in the application. All Office 365 trainings, exams and projects are available in this edition’s MindTap.

FULLY UPDATED TEST BANK OFFERS A VARIETY OF PROVEN QUESTIONS TO TEST STUDENTS’ COMPREHENSION OF COURSE MATERIALS. This edition’s updated and enriched test bank features a breadth of both low-level and moderate-level questions to help you more accurately assess each student's knowledge of IS concepts.

MINDTAP ONLINE LEARNING PLATFORM ENABLES YOU TO MEASURE STUDENT SKILLS AND OUTCOMES WITH EASE. MindTap offers powerful digital learning resources, including new ConceptClip videos and interactive cases. MindTap personalizes instruction with a customizable Learning Path that highlights key student objectives and gives you the ability to control and add to the content your students see. Analytics and reports provide a snapshot of class progress, time in course, engagement and completion rates.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES CLEARLY OUTLINE THE PRINCIPLES OF TODAY'S INFORMATION SYSTEMS AND GUIDE STUDENT LEARNING. This edition offers a completely reorganized, fresh approach. Each chapter begins with a set of IS learning objectives that provide specific direction and guidance in decision making. The revised learning objectives for this edition offer clear, measurable direction with updated content and assessments to ensure students understand what concepts they will learn in each chapter.

CONTEMPORARY EXAMPLES REINFORCE PRINCIPLES USING FAMILIAR ORGANIZATIONS. Each chapter offers new examples that highlight today’s real businesses and non-profit organizations applying the principles and concepts presented in this edition. These real-world examples are relatable and engaging to today’s learners and work with this edition’s updated coverage to equip students with the IS and business skills they need for success as workers, managers, decision makers and leaders.

SUMMARIES LINK TO AND REINFORCE KEY INFORMATION SYSTEMS PRINCIPLES. Each chapter concludes with a detailed summary. To ensure comprehension, each updated section of the summary connects directly to a specific critical IS principle.

END-OF-CHAPTER QUESTIONS AND EXERCISES OFFER A RICH VARIETY OF ACTIVITIES. An extensive and robust set of practice opportunities keeps students actively learning and applying newfound skills. Options at the end of each chapter include a Self-Assessment Test, Case Study with Critical Thinking Questions and Business-Driven Exercises.

CASE STUDIES EXPLORE PRACTICAL SOLUTIONS FOR DILEMMAS IN REAL-WORLD ORGANIZATIONS. This edition's unique cases follow real companies or organizations facing a problem or concept discussed in the chapter and provide a wealth of practical information for students. You can assign these cases for homework or use them to prompt lively class discussion. One case is included in the end-of-chapter exercises and a second updated case is available in MindTap digital resources and on the Instructor Companion Site.

CLASSIC CASES APPEAR ON THE INSTRUCTOR COMPANION SITE FOR YOUR FLEXIBILITY AND CONVENIENCE. Several cases from the previous edition of this text are available on the book’s companion website to provide you with an even greater selection of real-world cases. Cases feature small, medium and large businesses as well as non-profit organizations from around the world.

YOU MAKE THE DECISION ACTIVITIES PLACE STUDENTS IN POSITIONS AS KEY DECISION MAKERS. These new branching scenario activities within MindTap allow learners to apply their knowledge to novel business cases where they are positioned as the decision maker. The students make a series of decisions and see instant results. MindTap indicates if the decisions achieved an optimal or sub-optimal outcome, which provides the students with immediate feedback on their choices.

NEW "INFORMATION SYSTEMS IN ACTION" CHAPTER OPENERS PROVIDE INTRIGUING EXAMPLES OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS MAKING AN IMPACT IN BUSINESS TODAY. Each chapter begins with a fascinating opening case about a real-world business scenario related to the subject matter in the chapter. These cases pique the reader's interest, show the importance of what they are learning and motivate students to read further.

NEW CONCEPT CLIP VIDEOS BRING IS CONCEPTS TO LIFE IN TODAY'S BUSINESS CONTEXT. Fresh, new ConceptClip videos illuminate challenging IS concepts to help learners succeed in business today.

NEW “USE IT” ACTIVITIES INTRODUCE STUDENTS TO SCENARIOS WHERE THEY ARE CHALLENGED TO ACHIEVE THE BEST OUTCOME BASED ON A SERIES OF DECISIONS THEY MUST MAKE. The Use It activities are high-level, multiple-choice questions where students apply the IS concepts they are learning to various business scenarios. Students develop the critical-thinking and decision-making skills needed to succeed in today’s business environment.

NEW SQL LABS: ESSENTIALS FOR THE REAL WORLD is a self-contained SQL micro-course that introduces database concepts and MySQL fundamentals including self-paced lessons and assignments within GitHub coding labs. This activity supplements narrative discussion of database management systems by introducing the basics of SQL and providing students with hands-on coding experience.

NEW Career and concept videos in MindTap enable learners to dig deeper into potential career paths and foundational course content.