Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
INTRODUCTION
As the new millennium ushered in, the new global order of the Internet-kind unfolded
and exponentially changed the way people live. One of life's facets that has been most
affected by this new order is the conduct of business, where products are now sold and
bought online within what is now called e-business (Turban et al., 2000).
But, developments in e-business and technology have been so mercurial, courtesy of
the handful of e-business and computer demigods (Knight, 2002), that most mortals may soon
find themselves inadequate or obsolete. Will such a nightmare be a reality? What can be done
before it happens?
In this chapter, it is hoped that answers to these questions may be found by addressing
the following research problems:
1.
How academically prepared is the incoming workforce of the Philippines in facing the
challenges of e-business? How prepared are they vis-à-vis their counterparts in North
America?
2.
What breakthrough strategies can IT practitioners and academicians implement to help
them prepare?
3.
How effective are these strategies?
FRAMEWORK OF RESEARCH
METHODOLOGY
Graduating students from the top four universities in the Philippines were surveyed in
November 2000 to assess their e-business readiness.
To have a global benchmarking, graduating students from three universities in the
United States, Canada, and the Philippines were surveyed in December 2000. These
universities were chosen, because they were reputed to be among the pioneers in e-business
education in their state or province. Furthermore, the two North American universities were
also offering e-business courses to nonbusiness and noncomputer students, while the
Philippine university was contemplating offering a similar course. E-commerce curricula of
other universities, at least those that are published, often cater to computer or business
students (Knight & Chan, 2002; Cohen, 2002). Subjects of the study were students enrolled
in degree programs in engineering, science, education, or arts, that had less curricular
exposure to e-business than students enrolled in computer or business-degree programs.
They were assumed to be the ones that would be most likely left in the cold in e-business
education.
The e-business programs for nonbusiness and noncomputer students of the three
universities were reviewed, in order to develop a system of breakthrough practices that could
be adopted in the Philippines. To determine the market feasibility of this system, a second
survey among Philippine students was conducted. Using the survey results, a group of
students brainstormed to enhance the system that would be jointly implemented by the
industry and academe. This joint implementation was deemed necessary to bridge the gap
between industry and academe (Knock, 2002).
To determine its effectiveness, the system was pilot-run in a Philippine university for
one trimester, starting in June 2001, and the results were evaluated in September 2001.
