AMDS 8000 Success Strategies in the Online Learning Environment (4 cr.)
This course is designed to provide students with an understanding of the expectations for becoming successful online learners, and to familiarize them with Walden’s mission, the School of Management, and the Information Systems Management specialization. In addition, students learn to use the online learning environment, including Internet tools such as email, Web browsers, and other techniques of online communication and interaction with instructors, administration, and students. Students practice APA formatting, writing skills, critical-thinking skills, case-study methods, time and stress management, and group activities in doctoral work. Students also learn about student services, including registering online, ordering textbooks, and preparing their Program Development Plan (PDP) and Program of Study (POS), and are introduced to the KAM process.

 

AMDS 8002 Writing a Quality KAM Demonstration (2 cr.)
This course covers the structure of the Knowledge Area Module (KAM) as well as research and writing techniques needed for the successful development of a KAM. Students draft a Learning Agreement for their first KAM, under an instructor’s guidance. (Completion is required before KAM studies can begin in the Information Systems Management specialization. Prerequisite: AMDS 8000 and all other core courses.)

 

AMDS 8110 Management Information Systems (4 cr.)
This course provides broad coverage of information systems management concepts and trends underlying current and future developments, as well as principles for providing effective implementation of information technology. The course is heavily case- and discussion-oriented. A business case study is usually assigned, as well as one or more articles or chapters, for each class. Students are expected to be able to develop and define, as necessary, their position and reasoning on a variety of current issues in information systems as the course progresses.

 

AMDS 8125 Organizational Performance Improvement (4 cr.)
This course is designed to acquaint students with the concepts of performance improvement and process re-engineering. Achieving high-level improvements in organizational performance through redesigned business processes and using information technology to re-engineer an organization are central to the course.

 

AMDS 8135 Project Management (4 cr.)
This course explores the theory and practice of how to manage projects. Topics include effective project management styles, critical factors for project success, organizational support systems that enhance projects, project authority, and ethics in project execution. Cost, schedule, technical planning, and control methods are examined. Project management software is used for a typical project plan and tracking.

 

AMDS 8215 Systems Analysis, Design, and Implementation (4 cr.)
This course examines the analysis, design, and development of computer-based information systems. The key characteristics of object-oriented methodologies are presented and compared with traditional methods. Students are introduced to the life-cycle concept and related activities including information requirements determination, prototyping, detailed systems design, development, testing, and implementation strategies.

 

AMDS 8225 Database Concepts (4 cr.)
This course examines database systems as the focus for studying concepts of data modeling, techniques of data definition, and data manipulation. Methods for creating, managing, sorting, and processing data files are discussed. Concepts of relational database methods and issues of managing information in a database are covered.

 

AMDS 8235 Communications and Networking (4 cr.)
Students learn the concepts and terminology of data communications, network design, and distributed information systems. Topics include communications equipment, protocols and architecture, transmission alternatives, communications environments, regulatory issues, and network pricing and management.

 

AMDS 8300 Advanced Individual Studies: New Faculty Training (4 cr.)
This online faculty development course not only teaches the skills and strategies necessary for effective online teaching, it also gives students firsthand experience communicating within the actual software environment they may be using to teach an online course. The course replicates the Walden online classroom and provides a model for online instruction. It takes students from the initial stages of course content creation through actual setup of a classroom site.

 

AMDS 8301 Advanced Individual Studies: Academic Publishing Option (4 cr.)
This option for advanced individual study is designed for students who wish to integrate learning from the core curriculum in preparation for advanced KAM and dissertation research.

 

AMDS 8305 Readings in Information Systems (4 cr.)
This course examines the Information Systems (IS) body of knowledge. Through a review of the literature, students classify and evaluate what accredited scholars and researchers have written on topics that interest them most. By studying the literature, students increase their understanding of what it means to be an IS doctoral student as well as a scholar-practitioner, including responsibilities, expectations, and roles.

 

AMDS 8316 Security Management and Risk Assessment (4 cr.)
This course covers the management aspects of information security from a business perspective. The focus is on assessing risks to an organization, identifying threats, and implementing safeguards on corporate networks and the Internet. Other topics include the return on security investment, business continuity planning, development of security policies, and information security auditing.

 

AMDS 8325 E-Commerce Strategies (4 cr.)
This course introduces students to the emerging theories and practices of e-commerce strategies. Strategies associated with both sides of the electronic commerce world are included: e-commerce solutions for existing companies and e-business concept development for venture startups.

 

AMDS 8335 Principles of Knowledge Management (4 cr.)
This course examines how information systems enable organizations to systematically identify, acquire, store, analyze, distribute, and reuse information and knowledge from all sources (e.g., internal and external, explicit and tacit) to enhance organizational productivity and competitiveness. The course also examines how information technology supports the organizational knowledge process. (6-week course. Completion is required in the first four quarters of enrollment for students in the Knowledge Management and Learning Management specializations.)

 

AMDS 8427 Research Seminar II: Design in Applied Management and Decision Sciences Research (5 cr.)
Topics include theory and hypothesis testing; variable definition and measurement; correlational, survey, observational, and nonexperimental designs; experimental designs; language, logic, and execution of qualitative designs; and integrated qualitative and quantitative designs. Students work on writing the dissertation prospectus. (Ph.D. students must complete this course before nominating the dissertation supervisory committee and generally take it while developing their dissertation proposal. Prerequisite: SBSF 8417.)

 

AMDS 8437 Research Seminar III: Data Analysis in Applied Management and Decision Sciences Research (5 cr.)
Topics include descriptive statistics; statistical inference; and quantitative techniques, including analysis of variance and covariance, multiple linear regression, and various nonparametric techniques. Other topics include software for data analysis, qualitative data reduction and analysis, data management techniques, and integrating qualitative and quantitative data for analysis. (Offered every quarter. In the spring and fall quarters, the course is totally online. In the summer and winter quarters, the online course includes a face-to-face component that is completed at an appropriate Walden residency. Prerequisite: SBSF 8417.)

 

AMDS 8800 Epistemology and the Practice of Knowledge and Learning Management (4 cr.)
This course reviews the history of knowledge from the early contributors, including Plato and Aristotle, to contemporary writers. It reviews the evolution of major movements, including rationalism, empiricism, functionalism, structuralism, and behaviorism. It covers contemporary authors involved with knowledge, learning, and change management, including Senge, Drucker, Deming, Nonaka, Garvin, Argyris, Knowles, and Rogers. The course provides a broad foundation for the study of knowledge and learning management. (12-week course. Completion is required in the first four quarters of enrollment for students in the Knowledge Management and Learning Management specializations.)

 

AMDS 8801 Principles of Learning Management (4 cr.)
This course defines learning and the emergence of learning management and reviews the responsibilities of the chief learning officer and the foundations of adult learning and development. The role of corporate universities and distance learning in support of organizational learning is reviewed. (6-week course. Completion is required in the first four quarters of enrollment for students in the Knowledge Management and Learning Management specializations.)

 

AMDS 8810 Integrating Knowledge Management With Strategic Initiatives (4 cr.)
The course provides an opportunity to examine major organizational change initiatives and determine how Knowledge Management (KM) can be used to leverage these initiatives. Emphasis is placed on KM as an integral and essential component of an organizational system at both operational and strategic levels. Factors such as quality, systems thinking, environmental scanning, convergence, and constructive conflict are emphasized as essential contributors in the integration of KM in planning, decision-making, and implementing operational and strategic initiatives. Embedded system elements like leadership and corporate culture are also addressed. Because the adoption of a KM initiative may require structural and behavioral change to gain organizational acceptability, ways to circumvent roadblocks and pursue pathways to needed change are addressed. (Prerequisites: Foundation and core courses; or permission of the program director.)

 

AMDS 8811 Advanced Knowledge Management Concepts (4 cr.)
This course reviews the merging roles of chief knowledge officers and chief learning officers. It explores the future direction of knowledge management based on the history of knowledge, the demands of global competition, the needs of 21st-century organizations, and the views of futurists looking at both organizational change and organizational learning. (Prerequisites: Foundation and core courses; or permission of the program director.)

 

AMDS 8812 Expert Systems (4 cr.)
This course examines the role of expert systems in knowledge management, including the use of artificial intelligence, neural systems, and other advanced concepts in the creation, retrieval, and competitive use of knowledge. (Prerequisites: Foundation and core courses; or permission of the program director.)

 

AMDS 8813 E-Systems (4 cr.)
This course examines the role of e-systems, Internet, e-commerce, e-business, and business-to-business with knowledge management. It examines the new languages, HTML, and other emerging applications. (Prerequisites: Foundation and core courses; or permission of the program director.)

 

AMDS 8830 Adult Learning (4 cr.)
This course examines the foundational concepts essential for understanding and developing adult learning, including understanding the adult as a client, diagnostic procedures for adult education, participative learning, and small-group theory in adult education. (Prerequisites: Foundation and core courses; or permission of the program director.)

 

AMDS 8831 Lifelong Learning (4 cr.)
This course examines the role of lifelong learning in improving effectiveness of adult learners and in strengthening career development. It examines how individuals use education to develop career options, while organizations use education to help obtain and retain the best individuals. (Prerequisites: Foundation and core courses; or permission of the program director.)

 

AMDS 8832 Education Design for Adult Learners (4 cr.)
This course examines the theories and concepts of the learning process, including intelligence, cognition, motivation, and facilitation of adult learners. It examines the design and development of adult learning curriculum. (Prerequisites: Foundation and core courses; or permission of the program director.)

 

AMDS 8833 Integration of Knowledge and Learning Management With Strategic Educational Initiatives (4 cr.)
This course examines the design and use of appropriate organizational learning, including the use of corporate universities, distance-learning techniques, and other advanced educational concepts. (Prerequisites: Foundation and core courses; or permission of the program director.)

 

AMDS 8899 Capstone Seminar (6 cr.)
This course integrates all of the previous work on knowledge and learning management, resulting in a comprehensive dissertation proposal for each student. (Prerequisites: Foundation, core, and specialization courses, and at least one KAM; or permission of the program director.)

 

AMDS 9000 Dissertation (30 cr.)
This course offers doctoral students the opportunity to integrate their Program of Study into an in-depth exploration of an interest area that includes the completion of a research study. Students complete the dissertation independently, with the guidance of a dissertation supervisory committee chair and committee members. Students complete a prospectus, proposal, institutional review board application, and dissertation. Once students register for AMDS 9000, they will be registered each term until successful completion of the dissertation. (Prerequisites: Foundation course, core KAMs, SBSF 8417, AMDS 8427.)