Information Systems Skills Research Articles

Enhancing Geographic Information System Skills through Boundary Mapping Training at Pesantren Rahmatullah, Lempake, Samarinda

This program designed to enhance the skills and knowledge of students and teaching staff at Pesantren Rahmatullah (Islamic boarding school) regarding the use of Geographic Information System (GIS) technology in boundary mapping. The initiative was launched recognizing the importance of understanding territorial boundaries in the context of natural resource management, development planning, and disaster mitigation in the surrounding areas. The training includes a series of theoretical sessions and field practices. The first stage involves learning how to gather coordinate points in the field using the Garmin 60 CSX GPS device. The second stage focuses on field data processing and coordinate data correction, covering basic GIS knowledge, introduction to GIS software, and usage of Autodesk Map software and Arc GIS 10.8. The third stage is the scaled printing of processed field data. The duration of the training is one semester, following the curriculum set by the Rahmatullah Islamic boarding school. This training aims to equip participants with the necessary skills to produce accurate and informative boundary maps, which will later serve as tools for decision-making and strategic planning at Rahmatullah Lempake Islamic boarding school in Samarinda. Additionally, this activity also aims to enhance the boarding school’s awareness and capacity in utilizing geographic information technology for educational and environmental management purposes.

DIGITALIZATION IN EDUCATION

Business today cannot be separated from issues that relate to sustainable development. For example, business is often accused Technology has altered the way people are conducting their business by utilizing information systems (IS). The velocity of development of IS has been perceived as a knout in conducting business in many sectors such as educational institutions, profit, and non-profit companies, government, and other areas. However, the development of IS has encouraged people to catch up with the pace of technology by digitalizing their work to take advantage of and compete with people in the world. Moreover, information system skills have become essential for recruiters, as companies use technology for their activities. Therefore, education’s role becomes very vital to create a better education system to produce well-equipped people for companies. This paper presents such a review for highlighting the progress and aims to help improve the awareness on the best experiences of creating an active teaching and learning method by integrating the information technology knowledge. It is intended to provide a clear idea for those wishing to generate a road map for digitizing the most technology used in education. Note that, this literature review provides a concrete explanation about curriculum, eLearning, artificial intelligence (AI), and gamification which are implemented and used in education, and categorizes the discussion based on the methodology of literature, Technology Used, and Year. This literature review will provide information on research from 2009 to 2019 that has been conducted regarding digitalization in education and review gaps in the literature for future research.

Relevance of mastery of information systems skills and success of business management in the digital age: a systematic review

The search for the relevance of mastery of skills and mastery of information systems on the success and strength of business management in the digital era is the main objective of our systematic review. We make evidence of the study findings from dozens of international publications that have discussed various themes of ways and approaches to advance or manage the business with the assistance of technology which has become the hallmark of a tool in all business sectors. We conducted an electronic search on all supporting data from Google Scholar from the 2010 to 2021 issue. After obtaining the data, we then analyzed it by involving the coding system, extract data, evaluating, in-depth interpretation, and concluding response to this question with valid findings and high reliability. By considering the existing evidence, we can report the results; there is a significant correlation between technology skills and successful business management. In short, the ability to use the Internet plays a vital role in a business because managers can search and meet a customer for any purpose through search engines. Similarly, the consumers will instantly be able to get what they need using the same tools of technology-savvy.

Information Systems Enacted Capabilities and Their Effects on SMEs' Information Systems Adoption Behavior

Studies show that information systems (IS) adoption behavior is dependent on well‐defined characteristics. However, firms must also be enabled for use and ultimately utilize IS. This study develops a model of how IS enacted capabilities of small‐ and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) affect IS enablement through perceived net benefits and attitude. Follow‐up interviews with chief executive officers (CEOs)/owners of SMEs indicated that IS enacted capabilities play an integral part in determining the extent to which SMEs become enabled and utilize IS. Top management IS skills and knowledge and trust in trading partners dominate the effect on perceived net benefits at the enablement stage.

THE USE OF FOCUS GROUP TO ELICIT RELEVANT DIRECTION ON INFORMATION SYSTEMS SKILLS

This paper presents the results of a focus group conducted in 2012, among Information Systems (IS) alumni from the Caribbean region; to obtain relevant direction on IS skills, based on their experiences as IS professionals. The focus group, as well as the computer-assisted tool used, is explained. The most significant IS skill categories, in order of importance, were listed. The majority of those skills were consistent with the results of previous studies conducted in other geographical areas, which tend to indicate alumni of different cultural and geographical areas share the same challenges as IS professionals. The additional IS skills categories identified in this study were: negotiation with clients about a possible and cost-effective solution as well as awareness and use of innovative technology equipment. This study contributes to the IS body of knowledge by providing a unique description for each IS skill category, new additional IS skill categories, and the order of relevancy for the IS skill categories. The results of this study are only considered to be applicable to the sample used, so generalizations should be done with caution, as it is true for other research methods. The replication of this study can be done by using similar samples.

Towards A Career Skills Oriented Undergraduate Information Systems Curriculum

The Information Systems (IS) curriculum needs to be updated to be current with the advances in information systems (IS), the technologies that drive IS, and also industry’s skill requirement of IS graduates. This paper is for IS academicians and it describes a career skills oriented approach to enhance the IS curriculum based on current information from recent career skills studies, IS2002 model curriculum recommendations, United States Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the current demand for information security professionals, professional certifications in demand, and the availability of the resources of a School of Management. Employers in industry are in serious need of IS professionals with the specialized skills required to strive in the Internet economy. The career skills oriented approach is an effective method to enhance the IS curriculum to educate and train IS undergraduates to meet the IS skills needs of industry.

Information Systems Skills Differences Between High-Wage and Low-Wage Regions: Implications for Global Sourcing

Developing Information Systems (IS) skills for a company's workforce has always been challenging, but global sourcing growth has caused the determination of needed IS skills to be more complex. The increased use of outsourcing to an IS service provider and from high-wage regions to low-wage regions has affected what IS skills are required globally and how to distribute the workforce to meet these needs. To understand what skills are needed in locations that seek and those that provide outsourcing, we surveyed IS service provider managers in global locations. Results from 126 reporting units provide empirical evidence that provider units in low-wage regions value technical skills more than those in high-wage regions. Despite the emphasis on commodity skills in low-wage areas, high- and low-wage providers value project management skills. Low-wage regions note global and virtual teamwork more than high-wage regions do. The mix of skills and the variation by region have implications for domestic and offshore sourcing. Service providers can vary their staffing models in global regions which has consequences for recruiting, corporate training, and curriculum.

Using Contradictions to Ravel Teaching and Learning Challenges in a Blended IS Course in an African University

Introduction As university student interaction and sharing of electronic resources in Web-enabled environments are becoming an embedded practice (Ng'ambi & Rambe, 2008), educators are under pressure to evolve pedagogical approaches (Salmon, 2007) that could support and leverage these forms of interactions. However, educators' implementation of Web-enabled courses for first year university students is often constrained by varying student academic underpreparedness, large classes, and inadequate curriculum design (Jaffer, Ng'ambi, & Czerniewicz, 2007) and student incapacity to learn when confronted with a learning environment that requires an unfamiliar degree of initiative and autonomy (Tan & Chan, 1997). The latter is the case for Social Media-enhanced learning environments that often put additional cognitive demands on learners to generate, share, and meaningfully engage with Web content, notwithstanding their underdeveloped self-regulation and learning abilities. Social Media denotes an aggregate of Web 2.0 based tools, applications, business models, and social networking that allows people to collaborate in novel ways at a large scale (Leadbeater, 2007). Instances of Social Media encapsulate social networking sites, blogs, podcasts, multimedia sharing sites, and aggregation tools. Pargetter et al. (1998) suggest that students consistently identify independent learning and self-iscipline as basic goals of their university education, although many are unsure about how to achieve those goals. In Social Media where there is limited lecturer-student direct interaction, not only are students challenged by using social networking applications for meaningful learning, but rather how self-directed learning can be fostered in these quasi-formal learning spaces. As Dabbagh and Kitsantas (2005) suggest, in Web-based learning environments, the physical absence of the instructor and the increased responsibility demanded of learners to effectively engage with learning tasks may present difficulties for learners, particularly those with low self-regulatory skills. The challenge, therefore, is grasping how Social Media like Facebook could impact student conceptual and practical understanding of Information Systems (IS) if it was appropriated for teaching and learning. Mindful of the uptake of these technologies in South African universities for sharing academic information, responding to student queries and building trust among academic communities (Moore, 2010), exploring the implications of implementing them in university is essential to effective pedagogical delivery. The South African government expects Information Systems (IS) education to produce technically competent graduates who not only know how to effectively apply Web-based technology for their lifelong learning, but also understand how to appropriate it to solve complex work-elated problems. Emphasising the social relevance of higher education training to nation development, the South African White Paper on Higher Education (Republic of South Africa, 1997) reiterates the need to develop professionals and knowledge workers with globally equivalent skills and who are conscious of their role in contributing to national development. As Shen, Lee, and Tsai (2007) comment, a vocational education system constantly involves meeting the needs and the new demand for highly skilled manpower, the continued progress of modern technology, the worldwide economic development, and the changing industrial structure. The above points out the central role that technological skills play in the structural dynamics of national development in addition to psychological development. The challenge however for IS practitioners is designing learning environments that afford the acquisition and development of sophisticated IS skills and respond to the learning needs of university learners. Graetz (2006) argues that the migration of content which lecturers traditionally delivered in lecture format to the Web is helping shift the function served by brick and mortar classrooms from information delivery to collaboration and discussion. …

An Assessment of Geographic Information System Skills Used by Field-Level Natural Resource Managers

Abstract Geographic information systems (GIS) have become a standard tool to assist with mapping and spatial analysis needs of natural resource managers. Most recent graduates of university-level forestry and natural resource programs are required to complete a course in this area, and many employers expect recent graduates to have been exposed to the technology. Over the past 20 years, surveys of spatial technology have been conducted to assess needs of employers and capabilities of educational systems but have fallen short of identifying the needs of end users. We present one of the first surveys of end users, a set of recent graduates who are employed in natural resource management-related positions. The survey identifies the types of GIS software used by respondents, illustrates the processes and databases typically used, and highlights methods used to locate assistance when needed. Additionally, we discuss how to adapt GIS education to meet the needs of natural resource managers.

Accounting Processes and the Accountant's Role in AIS: An Instructional Resource

Abstract This paper outlines an Accounting Information Systems (AIS) manual practice set that is purely accounting-oriented. AIS faculty make extensive use of manual practice set projects in upper-division courses. A common feature of projects is their substantial bookkeeping component. In addition to their accounting components, such projects usually require students to perform the tasks of clerk and bookkeeper for the main business processes—sales, cash receipts, cash disbursements, purchases, and payroll—before beginning each accounting task. This amount of repetitive work can be tedious and time-consuming. The accounting-oriented practice set offered here (available free of charge with proper citation) requires only accounting and auditing tasks. Yet it enables students to gain an appreciation of AIS, and to carry their understanding into other systems, including computerized environments. This is consistent with the stated objective of increasing the student's information system skills, as opposed to teaching bookkeeping skills. The paper also explains why this teaching approach may be preferable.

Undergraduate performance in accounting and business‐based information technology

AbstractThe pervasiveness of information systems (IS) in organizations mandates the need for high levels of IS skills. In recognition, professional bodies impose IS course requirements for accreditation. For both students and employers, performance in IS courses has become important. The tertiary entrance overall performance score accounted for 19.7 per cent of the variance in students' passing grades. Thereafter, proficiency in office automation software and programming accounted for 1.5 and 0.8 per cent of the variance, respectively. Students living in a stable, family home‐based environment performed better and it is likely that this environment underpinned other factors affecting performance.

Redesigning the Traditional Business Gaming Process – Aiming to Capture Business Process Authenticity

Background Higher-level business and information systems (IS) education is in a state of change, as the curriculum does not coincide with business realities. There is a clear move in business schools away from viewing programs as solely concerned with the transmission of content, knowledge and skills, towards developing deeper intellectual skills and the capacity to think independently (Prince & Steward, 2000). There is also a lack of integration of all the traditional functional areas (e.g. accounting/finance, marketing, operations, management) in relation to evolving overall business models and strategies (Selen, 2001). Business schools and faculties have a linear, disciplinary focus on business education, which neglects the introduction of process perspective needed in the business curriculum (Walker & Black, 2000). The range of teaching techniques must be extended to include process-oriented approaches (Leitch & Harrison, 1999). This development also has some implications for IS education. Within IS the major debate about technical versus managerial and business skills started during the late 1960s and early 1970s. During this mainframe era the IT organization was a reactive, cost-control enabler, not an initiator of strategic efforts. As personal computers and local area networks were introduced during the 1980s, the IT organization had to adapt to a more business-responsive environment, characterized by shorter software development cycle times and the need to satisfy user clients (Byrd & Turner, 2001). The studies in the 1990s reported that today's IT professionals need a combination of managerial, business, interpersonal, and technical skills to service their organizations. The IS organization has begun to play a service role by providing training, consulting, and trouble-shooting (Gupta & Wachter, 1998). The most important IS activity in the future is to analyze business problems and IS solutions (Lee, Trauth, & Farwell, 1995). The mission of IS is shifting from developing and supporting information processing applications to developing, managing and supporting the information technology infrastructure for the entire organization. Thus, in-depth knowledge of business operations is a prerequisite. Trauth, Farwell, and Lee (1993) describe the employers' vision of the future IS professional as an integrator devoting as much effort to analyzing business problems as to developing technical solutions. Professionals will possess IS skills but will be focused on integration of applications and business functions rather than systems development. In their study, Lee et al. (1995) found out that among the highest rated skills of IS professionals in the future are: ability to learn about business functions, ability to interpret business problems and develop appropriate technical solutions, ability to understand the business environment, and knowledge of business functions (these four skills were among the seven most needed skills). Work (1997), when citing some studies about whether IT projects live up to their expectations, notes that the causes of failure in unsuccessful projects are primarily human, not technical: poor management, inadequate training of users, ignorance of the need to revise processes and procedures, organizational politics. Work (p. 334) argues: Unfortunately, the misconception that technology, particularly information technology, is an end, rather than a means to an end, permeates government, business education, and the mind of the public. All this has made it necessary to rethink the IS education paradigm. Work (1997) discusses the findings of Lee et al. (1995). He claims that there is little that is unique to an IS curriculum. The skills in demand are features of general education. He notes that business knowledge hardly differentiates an IS education. The same is true of technical management. …

Distance education and the use of computers as instructional tools for systems development projects: A case study of the construction of expert systems

The nature of the nation's dynamic workforce and the demand for workers with knowledge-based and information systems skills require with increasing importance the delivery of education with a focus on these areas of activity. Those who seek post-secondary education often are unable to attend class seminars in the traditional campus-oriented learning environment. Advanced information technologies-interactive television for example-are becoming viable and popular extensions of the traditional classroom. The capabilities of these media differ, however, in their characteristics and in their ability to deliver instruction. Case data were collected in order to explore whether and how the computer-based systems construction, in the form of expert systems development by students, can be achieved successfully in a distance learning environment. The results of the study suggest that not only can successful systems development be achieved, but that the hands-on aspect of systems development contributes to increased student attention, learning, and sense of achievement. However, one must be cautious when implementing such projects in a distance environment. Issues which merit careful consideration prior to such an undertaking include the choice of software, direction in the use of the software, and means of instructional support for students who have questions or experience difficulties with the concepts and software.

Computer End-User Skills Needed by Business Professionals Now and toward 2000

The focus of this research was to determine the computer end-user skills needed by business professionals now and toward the year 2000. Human resource executives of 83 Fortune 500 companies completed a questionnaire that identified the important computer end-user skills related to hardware, operating systems, word processing software, spreadsheets, databases, desktop publishing, programming, telecommunications and groupware, and discipline-specific information systems. The findings indicated that 20 end-user skills are important for all the business professionals now and toward 2000, and 15 discipline-specific information systems skills are important for the professionals in the respective disciplines now and toward 2000. The respondents also provided additional valuable suggestions for business professionals to stay on the competitive edge.

Information Systems Skills: A Comparison of Perceptions between Information Systems Professionals from Indonesian and Malaysian Organizations

The aim of this paper is to present results of a study which investigates the present and future tasks expected of information systems (IS) professionals in a range of Malaysian and Indonesian organizations. The results are based on views of senior executives working in information technology areas from organizations in these two countries. Respondents were asked to identify and rate the present and future importance of a comprehensive list of tasks and skills which they perceived to be important for IS professionals working in their organizations. The results show that IS professionals in these two countries perceived that technical expertise will be important for IS professionals in the future.

Information systems skills

The objectives of this study are to find out the perceived information systems (IS) skills which are important at present and in five years time, and the perceived emphasis of IS curricula on these skills. It is found that the scope of skills required of IS professionals will broaden towards the end of the decade. Interpersonal skills, business skills, analysis and design skills, and programming skills are the most critical for career development. Results also show that there is a match between the skills and knowledge possessed by IS graduates of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University and industry requirements for the current IS environment. However, the curriculum is not aligned with industry needs in the future. This indicates that the education the respondents received does not prepare them for progression up the career ladder. Implications of the findings are discussed so that a new curriculum may be designed to provide the preferred IS graduates to industry.

Waiting for innovation in the human resources department: Godot implements a human resource information system

AbstractThe implementation of a new human resource information system (HRIS) represents a major form of planned organizational change for the Human Resource function, yet little research has been conducted on this issue. This article presents a longitudinal case study of the reactions of the Human Resource community in a large energy company to the planned implementation of a new corporate HRIS. Implementing an HRIS to enhance strategic and business decision‐making has important organizational development implications. A new HRIS (1) represents an attempt to enable Human Resources to become more of a business partner, (2) changes the nature of HR work to encompass a greater information broker and decision support role, and (3) alters power dynamics and communication patterns involving Human Resources. Varying levels of resistance and ambivalence were found regarding the extent to which human resource information systems skills were valued as a critical competency. While there is a trend, toward attitudinal convergence within the human resource community, over time, the results suggest that user skill level may be more strongly related to variance in attitudes toward the value of a new HRIS than to hierarchical level or business unit affiliation. The study also found that face‐to‐face seminars were a significantly more effective intervention than was written communication in influencing favorable intention to use the HRIS.

Impact of Organizational Maturity on Information System Skill Needs

This article presents the results of a study which analyzes skills perceived as useful by information systems (IS) managers and systems analysts in IS organizations of different levels of maturity. These IS skills were examined under two major subgroups of generalist/managerial and specialist/technical skills as well as under more detailed categories of organizations, people, society, systems, computers, and models skills. Generalist, i.e., organizational and people skills, were rated highest. Based on these rankings, which deviated little between managers and analysts and across the maturity spectrum, recommendations concerning graduate IS curriculum are suggested.