Are General Managers Well Prepared to Manage It? the Role of it in General MBA Programmes in Australia

Authors

Chris Sauer, Fujitsu Centre for Managing Information Technology in Organizations, Australian Graduate School of Management, The University of New South Wales, Sydney NSW 2052, Australia
Rajeev Sharma, Fujitsu Centre for Managing Information Technology in Organizations, Australian Graduate School of Management, The University of New South Wales, Sydney NSW 2052, Australia
Barbara Potter, Fujitsu Centre for Managing Information Technology in Organizations, Australian Graduate School of Management, The University of New South Wales, Sydney NSW 2052, Australia

Document Type

Research Article

Abstract

This paper reports on the results from a survey of the provision of information technology (IT) course units in general MBA programmes in Australia. The results establish a baseline for future studies. They show widespread penetration of IT courses in general MBAs, but the amount and type of content they provide is only sufficient to give students a partial preparation for the general management task with respect to IT. There is an internal expectation gap between what IT academics view as core and the time and space available in the Master of Business Administration (MBA) curriculum. There is an external expectation gap between the issues currently of concern to business and the topics taught. At present the gap is widest in respect of business managers’ concerns about information infrastructure and organizational learning. The evidence suggests that neither expectation gap will decline over the next 5 years and may increase. We conclude that there is a need for increased provision in the curriculum. Recommendations are made for two core courses, with more attention to be given to topics of current concern to business managers.

DOI

10.1177/026839629701200403

Recommended Citation

Sauer, Chris; Sharma, Rajeev; and Potter, Barbara (1997) "Are General Managers Well Prepared to Manage It? the Role of it in General MBA Programmes in Australia," Journal of Information Technology: Vol. 12: Iss. 4, Article 3.
DOI: 10.1177/026839629701200403
Available at: https://aisel.aisnet.org/jit/vol12/iss4/3