Given questions surrounding the skills portfolio for IT professionals, this study investigates the types of IT-related skills that non-IT business graduates use in their early careers. The relative importance of these skills for non-IT specialists can indicate areas in which specialist IT personnel are required and can assist ITeducators of both specialists and non-IT specialists in focussing their curriculum design

Letch, Nicholas

Randolph, Cherilyn

English

AIS Electronic Library (AISeL)

Association for Information SystemsAIS Electronic Library (AISeL)AMCIS 2000 Proceedings Americas Conference on Information Systems(AMCIS)2000Do the Skills of Non-IT Business GraduatesOverlap with those of IT Specialists?Nicholas LetchUniversity of Western Australia, nletch@ecel.uwa.edu.auCherilyn RandolphUniversity of Western Australia, crandolp@ecel.uwa.edu.auFollow this and additional works at: http://aisel.aisnet.org/amcis2000This material is brought to you by the Americas Conference on Information Systems (AMCIS) at AIS Electronic Library (AISeL). It has been acceptedfor inclusion in AMCIS 2000 Proceedings by an authorized administrator of AIS Electronic Library (AISeL). For more information, please contactelibrary@aisnet.org.Recommended CitationLetch, Nicholas and Randolph, Cherilyn, "Do the Skills of Non-IT Business Graduates Overlap with those of IT Specialists?" (2000).AMCIS 2000 Proceedings. 78.http://aisel.aisnet.org/amcis2000/78Do the Skills of Non-IT Business Graduates Overlapwith Those of IT Specialists?Nicholas Letch, Department of Information Management and Marketing,The University of Western Australia, nletch@ecel.uwa.edu.auCherilyn Randolph, Department of Information Management and Marketing,The University of Western Australia, crandolp@ecel.uwa.edu.auAbstractGiven questions surrounding the skills portfolio for ITprofessionals, this study investigates the types ofIT-related skills that non-IT business graduates use intheir early careers.  The relative importance of these skillsfor non-IT specialists can indicate areas in whichspecialist IT personnel are required and can assist IT-educators of both specialists and non-IT specialists infocussing their curriculum design.IntroductionAdvances in technology and changes in the role of theIT function within organizations raise questions about theskills that IT professionals must possess.  One factor thatis often neglected in discussions of the necessary skills ofIT professionals is the growing familiarity andproficiency in IT of non-IT specialists.  Graduates ofbusiness disciplines such as Accounting and Managementoften study one or more units in information systems /information technology (IS/IT).  When they commenceemployment, these graduates can use their knowledge ofIS/IT to take on limited roles in developing and managinginformation systems - roles that have traditionally been inthe domain of the IT professional.In this research we consider the skills required by ITprofessionals in an indirect way, by investigating thetypes of IT-related capabilities that business graduateswho do not have an IT specialisation require.  We aim todiscover the relative importance of the IT-skills that thesegraduates perceive they use in doing their jobs.  By doingso, we can investigate overlapping  (or converging) areasof IT-related skills between business graduates who donot have an IS/IT specialisations and the required skills ofIT professionals.  These findings will indicate directionsfor IS/IT education for both specialist and non-ITspecialist graduates.BackgroundInformation systems are increasingly developed, usedand managed by end-users within functional departments.User led developments are common and the role of the ISorganization has changed from that of being the proprietorof information systems and products for an organization,to that of a service provider to end users.  With theemergence of this IS environment, there have been manycalls for IS professionals to move away from being purelytechnical experts providing solutions, towards acting aschange agents supporting the integration of IT withinbusiness processes (Lee, Trauth et al., 1995).  The typesof skills that IS professionals need to develop in thischanging environment are frequently seen as those relatedto interpersonal relationships and communications(Trauth, Farwell et al., 1993) and knowledge of businessfunctional areas (Lee, Trauth et al., 1995).  Todd et al.(1995) provide an alternative perspective of the skillrequirements of IS personnel by suggesting that, becauseend-users are becoming more competent in informationsystem development and management, IS professionalsshould maintain a specialist technical focus to providetechnical support when their specialist IS expertise isrequired.  Both of these perspectives are suggestedresponses for IT professional development based on thegrowing sophistication of end users.Observing this trend towards end-users being lessreliant on IS professionals, McLean and Kappelman(1993) suggest that there is a convergence betweenend-user computing and corporate computing.  While it isstill normal for end-users to get services from ISpersonnel, they frequently take on the IS unit’s traditionalresponsibilities for the planning and implementing of newtechnology.  As well as having educational implicationsfor IS professionals, this decentralization of IS activitiesalso affects the abilities that end-users require in order todevelop, use and manage information systems.There is little doubt that the abilities required bypersonnel involved in developing and managing IS havechanged.  Markus and Benjamin (1996) suggest that in thefuture IS professionals will perform a mixture offacilitator and advocate roles rather than the traditionalguardian and supplier of technical wisdom.  They suggestthat IS professionals must move towards this newparadigm and outline key features of education that wouldsupport this trend.  This is confirmed by the ongoingdetailed work in specifying appropriate courses of studyfor IS professionals by academic committees andprofessional organisations in the IS community (ACM,AIS et al., 1997; ACS, 1997; IRMA and DAMA, 1997).Curriculum recommendations such as these typically1973identify core areas of knowledge required by IT specialistgraduates and there is a high degree of overlap betweenthose recommendations developed in the United Statesand those developed in other parts of the world such asAustralia.Research QuestionsAt tertiary levels, Information Systems is taught in avariety of differently named faculties (Business,Commerce, Computer Science, MIS etc.) and in eachinstitution the focus of what is taught differs to reflect theobjectives of the specific academic environment.  Coursescan be roughly divided into those for IS/IT specialists andthose for accountants, managers and economists forwhom IS/IT is a basic tool but not their primary area ofexpertise.  Although students graduate from many sourcesthey all enter the same job market and face similardemands regardless of the idiosyncrasies of the co-ordinators who determined the content of their IS/ITcourses.  By addressing graduates who have not had aspecialist IT education, this research aims to discoverwhich IT-related capabilities they find relevant to theirwork.  In doing so, this research will identify areas ofIS/IT work that are either exclusively or partly the domainof IT professionals and make suggestions as to how theeducation requirements of both IT and non-IT specialistscan complement each other.Research MethodologyThere have been few studies that have systematicallyinvestigated the match between what is taught inuniversities and the IS/IT skills that are required duringthe first few years of working life for business graduateswithout an IS/IT specialisation.  The main reason for thisdearth of research lies with the difficulty in measuring ofthe level of knowledge/capability/skill required.  Wefocus on the early careers of graduates because we believethat as their careers progress, other factors such asin-house training are likely to confound efforts to measurethe relative importance of IS/IT skills.To investigate overlap between the IS/IT skills onnon-IT specialist business graduates and IT-specialistgraduates, we have developed a set of questions thatrepresent the necessary skill capabilities of ITprofessionals.  Using three currently accepted standardcurricula (ACM, AIS et al., 1997; ACS, 1997; IRMA,1997) and a review of relevant IS/IT literature (Nelson,1991; Leitheiser, 1992; Lee, Trauth et al., 1995; Todd,McKeen et al., 1995; Tye, Poon et al., 1995), a set ofcapabilities were extracted and reworded as necessary toallow non-specialists to understand the terms used.  Anearly form of this instrument was used with graduatesfrom a single year with some valuable results for thedevelopment of the instrument. A combination ofreliability testing and factor analysis led to the refinementof sixty-seven items in fourteen groups of capabilities.The group factor labels are given in the first two columnsof Table 1 with an example question. These groups ofcapabilities represent a range of technical andnon-technical skills that is applicable to both specialistand non-IT specialists alike.  Each question in the surveyis answered on a seven point Likert scale anchored withthe phrases ‘of no use’ and ‘of absolute necessity’.  Thereis a further column labelled ‘unknown’ to capture theresponse of those who do not understand the question forwhatever reason.Results and Proposed AnalysisThe survey instrument was administered to Commerceand Computer Science graduates who completed theirstudies in the years 1996-1998.  One hundred andeighty-one useable responses were received representing a22% response rate. Respondents were employed primarilyin Australia and several South East Asian countries suchas Singapore, Hong Kong and Malaysia.  Each responsewas classified according to one of eight employmentcategories including Accounting/Finance, GeneralManagement, IS/IT Development and Support, andBusiness Analysis.  The last two columns of Table 1 showthe mean importance of each IS/IT capability factor forthe Accounting/Finance and IS/IT Development andSupport categories.As can be seen from this preliminary analysis, forAccounting/Finance personnel and IS/IT developmentpersonnel, there is no significant difference in theperceived importance of the capabilities that aretraditionally in the domain of general business.  However,beyond the use of personal computing software, it appearsthat personnel in Acounting/Finance do not perceivecapabilities that are traditionally in the domain of ITprofessionals to be particularly important in their jobs.One tentative suggestion from this finding is that while ITprofessionals are embracing capabilities that are in thegeneral business domain, graduates from non-ITbackgrounds employed in traditional business positionsdo not see their roles extending into the domain of ITprofessionals.A full analysis of the data will be presented at theconference investigating whether or not there aresignificant differences in the capabilities required by eachgroup.  Where significant differences in capabilities arefound, the implication is that it is in these areas that thenecessary capabilities are not converging.  Given thisanalysis, suggestions for IS/IT education will beadvanced.1974Table 1 - Survey Instrument Item FactorsCapability Factors Mean Factor ImportanceFactor Example Question Accounting/FinanceIS/IT Devlt.& SupportCommunication Observe, note andexplain events5.46 5.36General Management Apply concepts ofcontinuous qualityimprovement4.27 4.40Interpersonal Work with people ofdiverse backgrounds5.10 5.18Problem Solving Devise questions thatwill identify problems4.99 5.46PersonalProfessionalismArticulate a personalposition5.73 5.68Ethical Issues Assess organisationaland societal impactsof an IS4.20 3.99Personal ComputingSoftwareUse word processingsoftware4.84 4.75InformationTechnology ConceptsRecognise thefunctions andcomponents ofnetworks3.90 5.78Interface Between ISand General BusinessFit IS policies andplans with the goalsand objectives of theorganisation3.49 4.36Information SystemsSupportMaintain and enhanceexisting IS forcorporate use3.68 4.62Systems Installationand IntegrationInstall and integratepurchased informationsystem solutions1.92 3.59Programming Formulate queries toaccess data using SQL1.56 4.11Information SystemsDesignSelect and applyinformation systemdesign methodologies1.85 4.06ReferencesAssociation for Computing Machinery, Association forInformation Systems."IS '97 Model CurriculumGuidelines for Undergraduate Degree Programs inInformation Systems", Association for InformationTechnology Professionals, 1997.Australian Computer Society. "The ACS Core Body ofKnowledge for Information Technology Professionals",Sydney, Australian Computer Society, 1997.Information Resource Management Association. "IRMCurriculum Model", Hershey, PA, Information ResourceManagement Association, 1997.Lee, D. M. S., E. M. Trauth and Farwell, D. “CriticalSkills and Knowledge Requirements of IS Professionals:A Joint Academic Industry Investigation.” MIS QuarterlySeptember, 1995, pp.313-336.Leitheiser, R. L. “MIS  Skills for the 1990s: A Survey  ofMIS  Managers'  Perceptions,” Journal of ManagementInformation Systems 9(1), 1992, pp 69-91.McLean, E. R. and L. A. Kappelman “The Convergenceof Organisational and End-User  Computing,” Journal ofManagement Information Systems 9(3), 1993,pp. 145-155.Markus, M. L. and R. I. Benjamin “Change Agentry - theNext IS Frontier,” MIS Quarterly December, 1996,pp 385-407.Nelson, R. R. “Educational Needs as Perceived by IS andEnd-User Personnel: A Survey of Knowledge and SkillRequirements,” MIS Quarterly December, 1991,pp. 503-525.Todd, P. A., J. D. McKeen and Gallupe, R.B. “TheEvolution of IS Job Skills: A Content Analysis of IS JobAdvertisements from 1970 to 1990,” MIS QuarterlyMarch, 1995, pp. 1-23.Trauth, E. M., D. W. Farwell and Lee, D. “The ISExpectation Gap: Industry Expectations Versus AcademicPreparation,.” MIS Quarterly September, 1993,pp. 293-303.Tye, E. M. W., R. S. K. Poon and Burn. J. “InformationSystems Skills: Achieving Alignment  Between theCurriculum and the Needs of IS  Professionals in theFuture,” Data Base Advances 26(4), 1995, pp. 47-61.1975

Do the Skills of Non-IT Business Graduates Overlap with those of IT Specialists?

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Do the Skills of Non-IT Business Graduates Overlap with those of IT Specialists?

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