Background Reading
Foundation Mathematics, 2nd Edition, A. Croft and R. Davidson, Addison-Wesley, 1997, ISBN 0201178044
Quantitative Methods for Accounting and Business Studies, 3rd Edition, G. Bancroft and G. O'Sullivan, McGraw-Hill, 1993, ISBN 0077077318
Essential Reading
Modern System Analysis and Design, 4th Edition, Valacich, J, Prentice Hall, (2004), ISBN: 0131273914

Students must be in related employment and have access to a work-based Mentor.
Disqualified Combination - CE00825-4 IT SKILLS

An integrated suite of software packages, such as Microsoft Office.
Case Tools - such as SELECT SSADM, Together ControlCenter 6.0

Basic Mathematics
Numbers and Number Systems: arithmetical operations, fractions and decimals, percentages and ratios, powers and indices, binary, octal and hexadecimal systems.

Introduction to Spreadsheets
Financial arithmetic: compound interest, net present value.Algebra: linear equations and functions, quadratic equations and functions, graph plotting.Statistics: different types of data, extracting information from data, presentation of data using charts and diagrams, mean, mode, median, standard deviation, uses and abuses of statistics.
Probability: definition, laws of probability, tree diagrams, expectation, discrete probability distributions.
Business modelling and decision support using spreadsheets.

Systems Analysis and Design
What constitutes a system? The history of systems development, the reasons for system failure.
The traditional systems development lifecycle.

Introduction to Database Systems
Data and Information

Introduction to structured methods
Requirements capture
Process Modelling
Data Modelling
Event modelling
Use of CASE tools

Implementation of a prototype
A DBMS to implement basic queries, forms and reports to meet user required specification.

A COURSEWORK weighted at 50%.
consisting of a portfolio assessing Learning Outcome 1
The portfolio (a phased series of tasks) will comprise a set of practical exercises utilising spreadsheets to resolve problems based on a case study. (2000 words max.)

A COURSEWORK weighted at 50%.
consisting of a portfolio assessing Learning Outcomes 2-5
The portfolio (a phased series of tasks) will comprise a series of practical exercises requiring the design and implementation of a database to resolve problems based on a case study. (4000 words max.)

24 hours classroom teaching is advised but the precise delivery mechanism for this module is left flexible with each centre to choose a method suitable for the students involved. It is anticipated that broad coverage of the indicative content will be achieved through seminar sessions, which will include individual and group activities, discussions and case study analysis.
Outside the classroom, students will be encouraged to discuss aspects of the module within discussion forums that are part of the VLE. These forums will allow discussion with a student's peer group as well as the module tutor. Where group work is essential, students will be expected to utilise the VLE and other means of electronic communication to facilitate this.
Independent study will involve directed reading in order to gain and extend knowledge in areas of the indicative content not covered in depth by the classroom teaching.
Students are encouraged to seek re-enforcement of academic learning through practical experience in their own workplace. Work based learning will include the students working through exercises and tasks in the module work-book guided by their work-based Mentor. Employer Feedback Forms will be completed by the work-based mentor with formative feedback. This feedback will be discussed at regular reviews (usually two per teaching block) with the module tutor.