Chetan S. Sankar

Reusability-based strategy for development of information systems: implementation experience of a bank

This paper describes the experience of a large bank in designing and implementing an information systems strategy that is based on the concept of reusability. The design and implementation was performed in two stages: (1) building a prototype to investigate the feasability and attractiveness of reusability concept for the bank; and (2) its subsequent implementation using a library of reusable entities and a programmers workbench. The implementation experience confirmed that applying the reusability concept to all stages of the systems life cycle results in both strategic (e.g., improving programmer productivity and increasing the banks capacity for timely response to market opportunities) and operational (e.g., reducing and controlling system development and maintenance costs) benefits. It is estimated that the library of reusable entities embedded within the programmer workbench saved the bank over

Identification of factors that lead to perceived learning improvements for female students

1.5 million in development costs in 1989 alone. Two of the most important lessons learned in implementing the reusability-based strategy are: (1) reusability comes in many flavors and should be applied to all stages of systems life cycle; and (2) major challenges in implementing the reusability-based strategy are managerial, not technical.

Teaching Project Management through an Information Technology-Based Method

Past research has shown that females have more negative attitudes toward engineering and technology than do males. These negative attitudes may explain the decreasing number of females choosing technical careers. Past studies have shown that a change in learning environments and the methods by which learning takes place might foster a change in this situation. A multimedia case study incorporating a real-world engineering and technical problem faced by a power plant was developed in order to provide a new learning environment for engineering and business students. This research investigates whether the use of this material by female and male students led to differences in perceived higher level cognitive skills and, if so, seeks to identify the factors that cause the difference. The results suggest that when designing new learning environments, it is important for the female students to be challenged and have opportunities both to learn by themselves and to learn from others. These results have implications for teaching programs, such as the provision of opportunities for group learning, especially for female students.

Intraorganizational Versus Interorganizational Uses and Benefits of Electronic Mail

New information technology-based teaching methods are essential to bring the issues faced by a project manager to the classrooms electronically. This paper describes implementation of a method to achieve this objective and compares its learning effectiveness with lectures and written case study methods. The major findings were that the information technology-based method was more effective compared to written case studies and lectures in developing higher-level cognitive skills and triggering interest in learning about project management. This research shows that information technology-based methods need to be deployed in order to impart higher-level cognitive skills to potential project managers.

Job orientation, perceptions, and satisfaction: a study of information technology professionals in Singapore

The success of an organization depends on rapid, reliable, and direct communications within the organization and with the outside world. To determine if electronic mail e-mail provides a competitive benefit, a sample of 99 management-level participants in 41 companies responded to a survey that assessed their intraorganizational internal and interorganizational external uses of e-mail. Through the use of factor analysis and regression methodologies, the researchers investigated whether a significant relationship exists between the internal and external uses and benefits of e-mail. The intraorganizational uses of e-mail indicated a significant and positive relationship with the organizational benefits of e-mail, thus, supporting the electronic exchange of information within organizations.However, the results indicated that interorganizational uses of e-mail did not promote corporate communication outside the company. Thus, managers need to know which communication technology is appropriate for intraorganizational and interorganizational uses.

Importance of Learning-Driven Constructs on Perceived Skill Development When Using Multimedia Instructional Materials

Abstract In this paper, we develop a conceptual model for job satisfaction vis-a-vis technical or managerial orientation of the information technology (IT) professionals job. We suggest that the linkage is mediated by perceptions of the professional on the “micro-environment” of the job (occupational pay fairness and occupational advancement prospects) as well as on the “macro-environment” of the job (organizational progressiveness posture and organizational cohesiveness). The model was supported empirically by testing a sample of 140 IT professionals in Singapore. We found that a high degree of technical orientation results in the perception that moving into management would bring better pay and advancement prospects; this then leads to job dissatisfaction. Further, a technical orientation brings a perception that the organization is a less progressive place and is held together by an emphasis on procedures rather than on accomplishments. On a broader perspective, our findings would be useful for Singapore policy makers in national IT manpower planning as well as in fine-tuning its implementation of the current vision of Singapore as an “intelligent” island by the turn of the century.

Tailoring database training for end users

Researchers disagree on the impact of multimedia on perceived skill development. This research investigated whether intervening variables such as task-technology factors might explain the difference in the research findings. An experiment was conducted where thirty-nine students worked on a case study using both paper-based and multimedia-based technologies. An exploratory factor analysis design employing a structural equation model was utilized to analyze the data. The findings from this study suggest a strong indirect relationship between multimedia and perceived skill development with learning-driven constructs (challenging, learning interest, self-reported learning, and learned from others). The study concludes that it is critical to consider these factors in developing multimedia instructional materials.

Factors That Influence Dissemination in Engineering Education

Lack of familiarity with database design methods could prevent many end users from effectively implementing their database management system packages. An inexpensive solution would be for end users to learn required database design skills from software tutors tailored to their needs. This research describes two tutors developed to teach these skills to end users. The tutors were based on a modified Entity-Relationship database design method. They improved an end users natural learning process by incorporating design principles and facilitators. Empirical comparison of the tutors tested the teaching effectiveness of the facilitators. The results lead to recommendations for closing the gap between skills required and skills learned by end users in database design. Development of tutors that teach specific database design skills irrespective of the software package used in implementation has important implications for practitioners and researchers.

Perceptions of reward systems by technologists and managers in information technology companies

Although the need for new educational materials and methods in engineering education is increasing, the process of disseminating (making target groups become aware of, accept, and use) these innovations remains a challenge. A literature review shows that few studies have thoroughly investigated this area. The purpose of this article is to identify factors that may affect the adoption and use of educational innovations used in engineering education and to offer advice to educators on how they may better disseminate their materials. This study uses extant theories related to diffusion and acceptance of innovation as the basis for identifying factors that may impact the dissemination of educational innovations. These factors are tested via a Delphi study employing 21 subject-matter experts and content analysis of 410 research abstracts. The results suggest nine factors that are most important for facilitating acceptance and use of educational engineering innovations. In particular, new materials should be designed such that they demonstrate an obvious relative advantage over existing materials, are compatible with and adaptable to existing pedagogy, lack complexity, and are generally easy to use. Management support and availability of resources are found to be important environmental conditions that facilitate acceptance; logistical issues and cultural differences are the chief impediments.

A Proposed Framework for Educational Innovation Dissemination.

The authors summarize empirical research that studied the perceptions of 91 technologists and managers about rewards systems in eight information technology companies. An analysis of the responses shows that although the companies differ in business and location, technologists and their managers share different sets of perceptions about the same reward systems. Technologists strongly perceive that they must move into management to increase their pay, status, and importance. Managers believe that their pay reflects their current responsibilities and they do not perceive that they are at a dead-end in their jobs. Although they state that technologists need not progress to management positions in their careers, managers agree that technologists must move into management to get higher pay and status. All respondents expressed a strong need for a parallel technical career ladder in their companies. >