Welcome to BUS303: Strategic Information Technology

Specific information about this course and its requirements can be found below. For more general information about taking Saylor Academy courses, including information about Community and Academic Codes of Conduct, please read the Student Handbook.

Course Description

Explore how managers determine when new information technology initiatives are necessary and how to deploy them by focusing on how to allocate IT resources across your business as part of its organizational strategy.

Course Introduction

This course will focus on the allocation and use of technology resources across an entire firm as part of the larger organizational strategy. Because firms do not have an unlimited supply of capital, they must decide when and where to deploy new information technology. Firms must not only focus on when to deploy IT but also if they should deploy IT at all! This brings up the bigger question about technology: Can the use of IT bring a sustainable competitive advantage to an organization? Some say

This course includes the following units:

Unit 1: Information Technology and Competitive Advantage. Unit 2: ERP Systems, Business Processes, and IT. Unit 3: Using Information for Decision-Making. Unit 4: Online Business. Unit 5: Emerging Technology Trends. Unit 6: Creating a Technology Strategy

Course Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able to:

[1] Summarize how business organizations employ information technology to create a competitive advantage; [2] Differentiate among the ways businesses use IT strategically, such as for enterprise, business-to-business, and e-commerce computing; [3] Explain the roles and impact of business processes as they relate to information systems within an organization; [4] Compare formal methodologies to improve system planning, analysis, and architecture design; [5] Analyze the architecture of an electronic commerce system, including the system hardware, system software, database system, online transaction, and user interface; [6] Summarize how each component of an e-commerce system can be used to improve a business organization and contribute to its competitive advantage; [7] Create a technology strategy for an organization.

Throughout this course, you will also see learning outcomes in each unit. You can use those learning outcomes to help organize your studies and gauge your progress.

Course Materials

The primary learning materials for this course are articles, lectures, and videos.

All course materials are free to access and can be found in each unit of the course. Pay close attention to the notes that accompany these course materials, as they will tell you what to focus on in each resource and will help you understand how the learning materials fit into the course as a whole. You can also see a list of all the learning materials in this course by clicking on Resources in the navigation bar.

Evaluation and Minimum Passing Score

Only the final examination is considered when awarding you a grade for this course. To pass this course, you will need to earn 70% or higher on the final exam. The exam will be password-protected and requires a proctor.

Your score on the exam will be calculated as soon as you complete it. There is a 14 days waiting period between each attempt. You may only attempt the final exam a maximum of 3 times. Be sure to study in between each attempt! If you do not pass the exam after 3 attempts, you will not complete this course.

There is also a practice exam that you may take as many times as you want to help you prepare for the final exam. The course also contains end-of-unit assessments in this course. The end-of-unit assessments are designed to help you study and do not factor into your final course grade. You can take these as many times as you want to until you understand the concepts and material covered. You can see all of these assessments by clicking on Quizzes in the course's navigation bar.

Tips for Success

BUS303: Strategic Information Technology is a self-paced course, meaning you can decide when to start and complete the course. We estimate the "average" student will take 35 hours to complete. We recommend studying at a comfortable pace and scheduling your study time in advance.

Learning new material can be challenging, so here are a few study strategies to help you succeed:

  • Take notes on terms, practices, and theories. This helps you understand each concept in context and provides a refresher for later study.
  • Test yourself on what you remember and how well you understand the concepts. Reflecting on what you've learned improves long-term memory retention.

Technical Requirements

This course is delivered entirely online. You will need access to a computer or web-capable mobile device and consistent internet access to view or download resources and complete auto-graded assessments and the final exam.

To access the full course, including assessments and the final exam, log into your Saylor Academy account and enroll in the course. If you don’t have an account, you can create one for free here. Note that tracking progress and taking assessments require login.

For more details and guidance, please review our complete Technical Requirements and our student Help Center.

Optional Saylor Academy Mobile App

You can access all course features directly from your mobile browser, but if you have limited internet connectivity, the Saylor Academy mobile app provides an option to download course content for offline use. The app is available for iOS and Android devices.

Download on Google Play Download on the App Store

Fees

This course is entirely free to enroll in and access. All course materials, including textbooks, videos, webpages, and activities, are available at no charge. This course also contains a free final exam and course completion certificate.

Last modified: Wednesday, 7 May 2025, 10:53 AM