Identifying the best way to organize the IS functions within an interprise has been a critical IS management issue since the mid-1980s. Yet to date, MIS researchers have offered little empirical evidence on which to base guidelines for the practitioner. This study seeks to explain a firm's IS organization design decision for a decentralized, centralized, or "hybrid" locus of responsibility from an expanded set of environmental overall organizational, and IS-specific antecedents as well as a larger concept of organizational alignment. Potential antecedents (drivers or enablers) are selected from prior contingency research and the IS literature; other variables emerge from the data collection. Data collected via on-site interviews from IS and general managers in six multi-divisional firms, paired by industry, confirm that centralized, decentralized, and hybrid IS structures exist-but often not in "pure" form-and that industry type is not a strong predictor. Data was also collected via survey form to capture ratings of importance for drivers (for enablers) for a recent IS design change in each firm. Based on both qualitative and quantitative data, four configurations are discussed: patterns of antecedents that are associated with (1) highly centralized or (2) highly decentralized IS structures; and patterns of antecedents that explain a firm's choice to (3) decentralize or (4) recentralize systems development and application planning functions in particular. A mode/based on these configurations is then proposed, The article concludes with implications for researchers and practitioners.

The authors develop theory for predicting the distribution of decision making between the corporate and business-unit levels of management for a subset of information systems (IS) resources referred to as systems development. Drawing on literature from the fields of MIS, strategic management, and organization theory, they first determine how potentially influential context factors are likely to affect the locus of the lead decision-making role from a multiple-contingencies perspective. Then they theorize how conflicting corporate and business-unit contingencies are likely to be resolved. They present a set of six propositions that predict a centralized, decentralized, or compromise design solution for a given business unit on the basis of (1) business-level strategy, (2) whether or not information technology (IT) plays a strategic role for the business unit, (3) the degree of line managers' IT knowledge at the business-unit level, and (4) the level at which opportunities for IT-related synergies across business units are being pursued at the corporate level.

In response to numerous external pressures, business schools today are struggling to enact and evaluate educational outcomes to help establish both validity and accountability. This article describes the process used by a management department to create an outcomes document that serves as a student guide for skills development. Student portfolios are now a required part of the curriculum to measure the attainment of knowledge, skills, and abilities. The article concludes by discussing the ramifications of these processes (for curriculum, students, and faculty) as well as articulating the lessons learned from this process, which may serve to guide other institutions.

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This article discusses the competitive advantage firms can derive from the wise utilization of foreign trade zones. Recent environmental changes which have necessitated an increasing use of FTZs are discussed, as well as the benefits offered by FTZs as compared to other government tariff incentive programs. Several examples demonstrate the various ways information is given regarding the money required and the time involved in the establishment and use of an FTZ or a subzone.

The mission statement is recognized as a vital component to achieving long‐term success for organizations. What is the appropriate process for developing the mission statement? The bottom‐up mission process is described and advocated for the growing number of professional service organizations comprised of opinionated and highly trained individuals. A case study based on an educational organization is detailed and a flowchart is developed. Guidelines for a bottom‐up mission process for professional service organizations are developed for those organizations attempting to create their own bottom‐up mission.

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