Symposium Editors' Foreword

Abstract

In a recent issue of The Chronicle of Higher Education Jeffery Moore, assistant dean for computers and information systems at Stanford University's Graduate School of Business, was quoted on his description of the area of management information systems (MIS) as A practice in search of a theory.' According to Moore, the paucity of MIS theory has led business school MIS teachers to emphasize the use of specific hardware and software, software development techniques, and application development. MIS theory may seem in short supply, but it is plentiful compared to theories focusing on public management information systems (PMIS). Like business school faculty, public management educators have begun to recognize the importance of information management and the use of computers,2 but there is little agreement on what should be taught or even what can be taught. Consequently, the danger is that PMIS education is little more than technical skills training. Public management educators, unlike practitioners, have come late to the information management party. But late arrival has some advantages. It may be possible to learn from others' mistakes. It may also be possible to use or adapt the theories, curricula, and practices of