Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Table 9. Comparison of importance placed on soft skills by IS/IT professionals and
employers
IS/IT Professionals
IS/IT Emp
loyers
Skills
Mean
Mean
Work as a team
6.52
0.66
6.39
0.81
Possess problem-solving skills
6.44
0.57
6.37
0.68
Work under pressure
6.42
0.78
6.27
0.75
Quickly acquire new skills
6.37
0.64
6.15
0.73
Independently acquire new skills
6.35
0.72
6.23
0.71
Meet deadlines
6.35
0.68
6.13
0.81
Work independently
6.27
0.94
6.22
0.65
Manage time
6.21
0.95
5.98
0.84
Possess problem definition skills
6.18
0.74
6.14
0.74
Be willing to undergo ongoing professional
6.18
0.89
5.93
0.89
development
Possess written communication skills
6.18
0.85
6.04
0.76
Have a client-focused service ethic
6.16
1.00
6.09
0.94
Handle concurrent tasks
6.16
0.81
6.08
0.81
Interact with people of different backgrounds
6.13
0.73
6.03
0.85
Think creatively
6.08
0.89
6.09
0.71
Work with people from different disciplines
6.04
0.74
6.10
0.82
Accept direction
6.03
0.89
5.98
0.84
Have information seeking skills
5.83
0.96
5.82
0.93
Possess oral presentation skills
5.79
1.07
5.56
0.88
Place organizational objectives first
5.73
0.95
5.74
0.97
Possess business analysis skills
5.63
1.03
5.51
1.04
Have leadership potential
5.18
1.08
4.99
0.94
Have a good sense of humor
5.15
1.35
5.58
1.14
Be able to prepare multimedia presentations
4.73
1.25
4.32
1.38
n =
136
138
•
Confusion
: Research results that call for more “business skills” have handily and
traditionally been interpreted as meaning exposure of students to additional, formal
business subjects. While an IS student may gain knowledge and skill in marketing,
economic analysis, or international business in that way, our findings suggest that it
is the “soft” skills, rather than formal academic skill, that are wanted by IS/IT
practitioners and employers.
•
Tradition and inertia
: It is easy to offer traditional business subjects, as they are
already being taught. In many institutions, the existing IS academic staff would have
to acquire the additional academic background and skills needed to introduce a
substantive soft skills emphasis into the IS curriculum. In most instances, there is
unlikely to be sufficient time or interest in doing so.
•
Resources
: If a substantial portion of an undergraduate degree program was shifted
from traditional business subjects to the acquisition and development of soft skills,
who would develop, teach, and assess the new soft skills curriculum component?
