Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
INTRODUCTION
Information technology (IT) has been changing rapidly over a long period, and this rate
of change is likely to continue or increase (Benamati & Lederer, 2001; Fordham, 2001). This
rapid rate of change has produced many opportunities for organizations but has also brought
with it many challenges (Lederer & Mendelow, 1990). Among these challenges is the struggle
for organizations to obtain personnel with the appropriate knowledge and skills in order to
meet the growing demands for IT services (Doke, 1999). This is mirrored by the continual
requirement for IT professionals to keep up to date with the skills required by organizations
(Benamati & Lederer, 2001; Klobas & McGill, 1993).
Previous research investigated the importance employers place on various skills and
perceived deficiencies in these skills (e.g., Doke, 1999; Leitheiser, 1992; Nelson, 1991). While
the call for improved communication and social skills has been consistent, the technical skills
in demand have varied dramatically over time. Less has been written about students'
perception of the importance of various IT skills, though this was addressed in a recent study
that compared Australian and American students' perceptions of IT job skills (von Hellens,
Van Slyke, & Kittner, 2000).
Given that the skills required by IT professionals change over time, IT professionals
need effective methods to keep up to date. The methods used by IT professionals to keep
up to date were studied by Klobas and McGill (1993). They identified the existence of a variety
of information-gathering strategies and noted that while IT professionals tended to be
diligent in their efforts to keep up to date, a majority found it difficult to do so. In a more recent
study, Benamati and Lederer (2001) investigated the coping mechanisms adopted by IT
professionals and noted that many mechanisms were not successful.
If it is difficult for experienced IT professionals to keep up to date, it is likely that it is
even more difficult for IT students to do so. New graduates require marketable skills in order
to gain good employment, but the skills most in demand change regularly. Little has been
written about how IT students keep informed of employers' requirements or about how they
ensure that they can meet these requirements. Yet, this knowledge would be of use to
educational institutions aiming to facilitate this process and to potential employers hoping
to recruit students with the required skills. This chapter describes a project that investigated
the channels of information that undergraduate and postgraduate telecommunications
management and electronic commerce students use to keep up to date with employers' needs.
The role of instructors in this process was of particular interest, because they are ideally
placed to facilitate it.
THE RESEARCH PROJECT
This research was conducted by survey. Participants in the study were students
enrolled in several electronic commerce and telecommunications management courses at an
Australian university. Students who successfully complete these particular courses can also
pursue Cisco certification as the courses make use of the Cisco curriculum. Participants were
recruited during class and completed a questionnaire on the spot. It was stressed that the
completion of the questionnaire was voluntary and that it formed no part of their assessment
in the course.
The questionnaire was designed to be easy to read and understand and to require no
more than five minutes to complete (the Appendix at the end of this chapter contains a list
