Professor Wayne Thomas Spies's courses at Mountbatten Internship Programme
Mountbatten Internship Programme
Michael House, Fifth Floor
35-37 Chiswell Street
London, EC1Y 4SE
United Kingdom
 Mountbatten Internship Programme
Managing InformationCambridge Managing Information Module
Objectives: This module will enable students to:
 
  • classify information and demonstrate its use in business decision-making;
  • use Information Technology effectively within the working environment;
  • elicit and communicate information effectively within the working environment;
  • prepare for, lead, manage and contribute effectively to meetings within the working environment;
  • present information within formal business settings; and,
  • complete the “Managing Information” assignment administered by Cambridge International Examinations (CIE).
Text:
 		 Managing Information, published by FT Knowledge (FTK). I will provide supplements in class and at this Web site.
Time: Our class meets Thursdays, from 6:30 P.M. until 7:55 P.M. Be prompt.
Location:
 		 We meet at 50 East 42nd Street, 20th Floor. The location may change from week to week, so look for the posted signs or ask someone at the front desk.
Grading: Grades will be calculated using the following two-tier system:
 
  1. For the Certificate in Business Practice administered by MIP, I will give you a letter grade in the American style.
  2. The completed assignment, known as the Cambridge Examination, will be submitted to CIE for marking. Upon successfully completing the assignment, candidates will be awarded a separate certificate by CIE. CIE grades are Fail, Pass, Merit, and Distinction.
Download: From time to time, I provide .PDF files for your convenience at this Web site. Do not try to open .PDF files directly. Instead, right-click the link and select “Save Target As” from the pop-up menu. Save the document to your desktop and then open it from there. Please don’t tell me you are getting an error message. That would occur because you didn’t read the directions.
Homework:
Prior to your first lecture:
1. Optional Review:
Here are my Lecture Notes.
2. Read:
Chapter 1, FTK.
Chapter 2, FTK.
3. Prepare the Introduction section: e-mail me at and attach a one-page, double-spaced Microoft® Word document:
- In two or three paragraphs, identify your organization, describing it, its purpose, products/services and the department for which you work; and,
- In one or two paragraphs, explain your role in your department.
Note: Each assignment will eventually become a component of your final paper. Don’t submit papers that are incomplete or in outline (or “bullet”) form. This is fine to organize your thoughts, but submit a traditional, double-spaced narrative, as you would for any formal paper, followed by a table summarizing your findings, as explained in my class notes.
Session 1Session 1
  1. Lessons:
    • Introduction to the course
    • About the Cambridge paper
    • Qualitative v. quantitative information
    • The Productivity Paradox
  2. Optional Review:
  3. Deliverables; before this session, you were to have sent me:
    • a one-page Introduction section.
  4. Homework; before our next meeting:
Session 2Session 2
  1. Lessons:
    • Evaluation Information
    • Principles of Information Technology
      1. data entry
      2. application integration
      3. automation
      4. programming
    • ICT Security and Privacy
    • Research
  2. Optional Review:
  3. Deliverables; before this session, you were to have submitted:
    • the Background section.
  4. Homework; before our next meeting:
Session 3Session 3
  1. Lessons:
    • Problem definition
    • Research requirements
    • SWOT analysis
  2. Deliverables; before this session, you were to have:
    • submitted the Evaluation Report report.
    • submitted the Information Systems Report.
  3. Optional Review:
  4. Homework; before our next meeting:
Session 4Session 4
  1. Lessons:
    • Problem discussion
    • Solutions
    • Budgets, Timelines
  2. Deliverables; before this session, you were to have:
    • submitted the Research References.
    • submitted the Recommendations Report.
    • had the Internship Project Agreement form signed by your sponsor. (Bring this hard-copy to class.)
  3. Optional Review:
  4. Homework; before our next meeting:
    • Read:
    • Continue refining your problem definitions and solutions. As Charles Franklin Kettering once said, “A problem well-stated is a problem half-solved.”
    • Submit the Recommendations Report.
Session 5Session 5
  1. Lessons:
    • Problem discussion
    • Your presentation
    • Writing the Cambridge paper
  2. Optional Review:
  3. Deliverables:
    • Submit the Recommendations Report.
  4. Homework; before our next meeting:
    • Schedule a time to present your proposal to your sponsor and at least one other person.
    • Prepare your presentation materials:
      • a one-page agenda, to be distributed to participants;
      • a Microsoft® PowerPoint presentation; and,
      • one Feedback Form for each person in attendance.
    • Present your proposal to your sponsor. During the presentation, obtain and record feedback from those in attendance.
    • After your presentation, write a 1-2 page Presentation Report as we discussed in class.
Session 6Session 6
  1. Lessons:
    • Writing the Cambridge paper.
  2. Optional Review:
  3. Deliverables:
    • Submit the Meeting Agenda for your presentation.
    • Submit the PowerPoint slides of your presentation.
    • Submit the three-part Presentation Report after you make your presentation.
    • Submit two (or more) scanned Feedback Forms after you make your presentation.
  4. Homework
    • Submit your completed draft via an e-mail attachment sent to Professor Spies at .
    • IMPORTANT! Do not edit your work until you receive it back from me.
    • After receiving my comments, incorporate my suggestions into your paper, make the indicated changes and resubmit it via an e-mail attachment sent to Professor Spies at .
    • When the paper is acceptable, I will return it with a cover sheet.
    • Add your ID number to the Cover Sheet.
    • Print and proofread a hard-copy of the paper; when satisfied with the paper, send it back to me for final approval.
    • When all is in order, I will add my signature and forward it electronically to Mountbatten.
Sessions 7 & 8Sessions 7 & 8
  1. Continue polishing your paper.
  2. One-on-one meetings, as scheduled.
  3. We will continue editing your document, via e-mail, throughout this period.
How to contact meHow to Contact Me
Postal Address:
Telephone:
E-Mail:
SupportSupport
1.My job is to help you thrive in this course, in this program, and in your career.
2. I provide information at this Web site for your convenience. Nothing posted on this Web site should be construed as a contract, implied or expressed, between the student and me and/or this program.
3. Do you have special needs? A disability or medical condition? Language or cultural issues? Special responsibilities at work? The extent to which these factors require special accommodation may not be obvious! If you have special needs, discuss the matter with me at your earliest convenience, and I will be happy to work with you to avoid and/or address any problems.
Submit homeworkSubmit Homework
Unless told otherwise, submit homework as an attachment to e-mail sent to:
AttendanceAttendance
Attendance is very important, but I understand that some of you actually have lives outside of my classroom. If you cannot attend a session, please let me know, via e-mail. Even if you cannot appear, make sure that your assignment does! It is up to you to get caught up with the class.
RequirementsRequirements
To complete the work, you will need e-mail, Internet access, and Microsoft® Word and PowerPoint. Have a back-up plan. Note that Citi, UBS, and other large firms may not give you access to your Web-based e-mail (e.g., Hotmail, G-Mail), and may not allow you to send or receive messages with attachments. Have a back-up plan.
Time ManagementTime Management
Through steady work, you will achieve your goals in this course. Time management is essential. Don’t wait until just before the deadline to do your work. I guarantee that, just before the deadline:
  1. you will get sick;
  2. your boss will impose onerous requirements on you;
  3. friends will invite you to a special event that you can’t miss;
  4. family will visit; and,
  5. your PC will get a virus.
The later you submit your work, the later I examine it — pushing you back even further. Even worse, if you miss a deadline, I have less time to review the material. Please, don’t wait until the deadline to start your work!
I will award bonus points to interns who submit an assignment on or before the Friday preceding the class in which it is due.
Anglo-American RelationsAnglo-American Relations
U.S. and U.K. audiences have differ­ent expectations regarding spelling, usage, punctuation, and other issues of style and structure. Part of your experience is to appreciate these differences. Unfortunately, it isn’t much help if you are debating whether to place the quotation marks inside or outside the period (Americans put them outside). See Definition of American and British English Differences.
By education and experience, you will naturally follow the UK model. That’s fine, since the people grading your paper will be in the UK. My advice: be consistent. Use the U.S. form or the UK form, but mixing them may place unnecessary strain on a 200-year alliance.
Don’t confuse verbal complexity with quality. Passive voice, flatulent phrasing, and convoluted clauses result in bad papers. Passive voice is boring, wordy, and unclear. Clear, specific, organized writing is always appropriate.
EthicsEthics
Making ethical choices is an essential part of one’s professional life. I expect interns to conform to the highest standards of academic honesty and ethical behavior in accordance with the mission of this program. Cheating — attempting to deceive me, your sponsor, the Mountbatten Internship Programme, or the CIE on matters of academic perfor­mance — is a grave issue and will result in most severe sanctions.
I understand that you face enormous pressures and temptations, but I reiterate: academic deception will not be tolerated. There are no exceptions. You are personally and solely responsible for your actions.
Citing SourcesCiting Your Sources

Failing to properly attribute the intellectual contribution of others is sloppy at best, and plagiarism at worst. It is never appropriate — never — to pass off the work of others as your own.

Citations are not limited to direct quotations or copyrighted material. You must document all intellectual contributions others make to your paper. Simply paraphrasing a paragraph, a sentence, or even an important phrase from someone else does not relieve you from your duty to cite its source. Citations clarify authorship, and they allow the reader to assess the currency and authenticity of information.
There are many ways to cite sources, but there is only one wrong way, and that wrong way is to leave ambiguity in the mind of the reader about authorship.

Which style guide should you use? Cambridge does not seem to care — as long as you use one! Here are some helpful links:
Level of analysisLevel of Analysis

Your work is to be based on an internal analysis at the operational or departmental level; you need not look outside your sponsor’s organiza­tion. Your putative audience should be at that level, as well — not senior managers, not officials of the Mountbatten Internship Programme, not Cambridge, not me. It may be hard to remember this, because they all have an interest in the outcome. Trying to satisfy everyone will certainly result in a bad paper. When in doubt, ask me.