The whys and whats of an IT specialisation within a generalist management tertiary education

Abstract

The use ofInformation Technology (IT) in support of business is widespread and becoming more so. Indeed, it is no longer possible to meet the expectations of users of financial and other business performance information without information technology. IT both enables and supports new corporate structures and strategic thrusts. To remain competitive, companies are re-thinking how they do business and re-engineering their business processes. IT applications are being used to assist in this transition. To be able to capitalise on the exciting opportunities IT presents and to ensure business benefits are delivered consistently, managers need an understanding ofthe role technology plays in the business and in its future strategies. This paper analyses the impact of IT on the structure of business organisations and on the roles executives within these organisations. It examines some management issues associated with the delivery of IT services and attempts to identify some of the opportunities and the challenges that the restructuring of business organisations opens for the executives involved. In particular it examines emerging management structures involving the corporate IT function and identifies some opportunities and challenges for the traditional corporate executive. These opportunities and challenges are the key to identifying the relevance of integrating a meaningful sequence of information technology studies into tertiary education programs primarily designed for managers and accountants. It also identifies the need for IT professionals to be given a broader more business based education and argues the case for an integration ofIT and business education.

An Overview: Approaches for the Development of Basic IT Skills

“…Approximately 5% of the total credits are reserved for IT courses. Researchers such as Paturi (1997), Hewett (1997) and Shan et al (1997) believe that if students are to be prepared to meet the challenges of the contemporary business world, the credits or the IT courses offered to business students are too few and needed to be increased. The additional courses should be based on advanced digital technologies used in business, and students are urged to acquire these skills to prepare them better to understand and see the role of these technological advancement in modern business practices.…”

“…Hewett (1997) has suggested that general business students need to take additional relevant IT units and the courses should be more application-oriented than technical.…”