Charles H. Mawhinney

Executive information systems: a critical perspective

Abstract The purpose of this paper is to clarify what EIS are, why they are developed, and what should be considered when such systems are proposed. Although EIS can be very valuable, there is a need for a critical perspective and careful review of proposed investments in such systems. Various organizational conditions might lead to a premature development of EIS when the required MIS sub-structure is not yet well formed, and when investments in MIS would be more beneficial. Furthermore, for some situations, the periodic distribution of focused and integrated MIS reports may be better than the online EIS reporting mode.

Updating the IS curriculum: faculty perceptions of industry needs

Perhaps more than in any other discipline, information systems (IS) curriculum needs are driven by what goes on in the business world. This paper will report on a study of 120 Information Systems department chairs and area coordinators throughout the country. It will compare the faculty responses to those of 192 employers regarding 162 curriculum related items varying from the very general to the very specific.

The IS undergraduate curriculum: predicting student outcomes in the IS'97.5 course (programming, data, file and object structures)

I. AIKJXACT The student experience in the introductory programming course in the undergraduate Information §ystems (IS) curriculum is viewed as being an important contributor to the success of an IS program. A methodology which utilizes pre-tests for predicting student outcomes is being investigated. This study will compare an objective instrament with a widely used subjective instrument to attempt to predict student outcomes.

A cross-cultural comparison of personal computer utilization by managers: United States vs. Republic of South Africa

This paper reports on research in progress which compares personal computer (PC) utilization by 105 managers in the United States with a similar set of 85 managers in the Republic of South Africa. The analysis completed to date has indicated, among other things, that 1) average weekly computer use time was higher in South Africa, 2) PCs in the United States were more accessible, and 3) users in the United States were generally more satisfied with their systems. Future analysis will focus on resolving which of the observed differences were attributable to cultural rather than sampling differences.

An instrument for assessing the computer background of entering college freshmen

The lack of guidelines for computer education in the public school system has created a vast diversity in the computer background of entering college freshmen. This has resulted in the need for a standard instrument to assess computer background and provide summary measures for monitoring change and doing comparative analysis. Such an instrument is described in this paper along with supporting construct validity and reliability analysis. Concurrent validation with gender and computer anxiety is also described which indicates 1) males have a significantly stronger computer background than do females, and 2) computer anxiety is associated with a weak computer background.

Employee characteristics for IT workers in a transition job market

The bursting of the dot-com bubble in the early 2000s resulted in a tightening of the belt in most sectors but especially in Information Technology. Two key issues faced by employees and would-be employees were: (1) how to get a job in this tight market? and (2) just as significant, how to keep a job in this market? This paper seeks to determine what set of characteristics is important in hiring new employees, what set of characteristics is important in retaining current employees and how the two sets of characteristics compare.

The realities of being a teleworker (panel session)

This panel will address the following issues: 1. What are the advantages to the employee of being a teleworker? 2. What are the disadvantages to the employee of being a teleworker? 3. What are the key technologies usedl to facilitate telework? 4. What are the critical success factors for telework (teleworker/organization)? 371

Updating the IS curriculum (extended abstract): student perceptions of industry needs

The need for ongoing change and updating has been a cornerstone of IS curriculum concern for the past decade. It was once fhe case that entry level positions were as “programmer” or “programmer/analyst” in medium to large companies where applications were developed internally; expertise in COBOL was the most critical requirement for a f~st job out of college. Today there is a multitude of new job titles in this arena that did not exist ten years ago (e.g., database analysts, telecommunications/networking specialists, EDP secnrify/auditing specialists, user support analysts, and office automation specialists). Entry level jobs now cover a variety of positions and require a variety of dcills (Trauth, et al, 1993; Lombardo & Larsen, 1992). Thou,gh some studies give cordlicting results (Archer, 1993; Knapp, 1993), COBOL proficiency is probably no longer the key to a f~st jolx its relevance at all in the IS curriculum is in question (Hehns & Morrell, 1994). What other topics and skills belong in today’s IS curriculum is an even larger question.