CAREER GUIDELINES: INFORMATION SYSTEMS AND

YOUR CAREER

Kenneth C. Laudon
Stern School of Business
New York University
2007

It's not business as usual, and it's not the same old labor market either. Work and careers are
changing, and for you to succeed in this new labor market you will need a broad skill set if you
are to help business firms achieve their objectives. In the next six years, looking out to 2012,
the American economy will create 21.6 million new jobs, expanding the labor force to 165 mil-
lion. In this same period about 28.5 million existing jobs will open up because their occupants
will retire. Over 95% of the new jobs will be created in the service sector with minimal growth
in the manufacturing sector (about 3.5%). Nearly all the new jobs, and the replacement jobs,
will require a college degree to perform. What this means is that American business firms are
looking for candidates who have a broad range of liberal arts skills—the ability to read, write
and present ideas—as well as the technical skills required for specific tasks. Over this same
period American firms will be investing a total of $16.1 trillion on information systems and
technologies in an effort to achieve the business objectives we have described previously
(operational efficiency, new products and services, customer/supplier intimacy, improved
decision making, competitive advantage, and survival). What this means for business school
graduates is that regardless of what your business school major, or your future occupation,
information systems and technologies will be playing a major and expanding role in your day
to day work and your career. Your career opportunities, and your compensation, will in part
depend on your ability to help business firms use information systems to achieve their objec-
tives. In the section below we describe how specific occupations will be affected by informa-
tion systems and what skills you should be building in order to function effectively in this
new, emerging labor market (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2005; Statistical Abstract 2004-
2005).

ACCOUNTING
Accountants and auditors help to ensure that firms are run efficiently, its public records kept
accurately, and its taxes paid properly and on time. There are about 1.1 million accountants in
the labor force to day, and the field is expected to expand by 20% to the year 2012 by adding
200,000 new jobs, and similar number required for replacement of retirees. This above aver-
age growth in accounting is in part driven by new accounting laws for public companies,
greater scrutiny of public and private firms business by government tax auditors, and a grow-
ing demand for management and operational advice. There are many different types of
accountants which can be broadly classified as public accountants, management accountants,
government accountants, and internal auditors.
Accountants provide a broad range of services to business firms including preparing, ana-
lyzing, and verifying financial documents in order to provide information to clients, budget
analysis, financial and investment planning, information technology consulting, and limited
legal services. In addition, a new, rapid growing specialty called “forensic accounting” has
emerged as a result of the financial scandals in public firms. Forensic accountants investigate
white collar crimes such as securities fraud and embezzlement, bankruptcies and contract dis-
putes, and other possibly criminal financial transactions. Forensic accountants require knowl-

1
2 Career Guidelines Information Systems and Your Career

edge of accounting and finance as well as familiarity with law and investigative
techniques in order to determine if illegal activity is going on.
Accounting was one of the very first applications of computers beginning as
early as the 1950’s when the first commercial computers were used to develop
accounting information systems, including general ledge, payroll, and manage-
ment accounting systems. In the next six years information systems will have a
massive effect on the work performed by accountants and auditors. Using
enterprise systems (described later) and other specialized packaged software,
accountants will rely on information systems to summarize transactions, create
financial records, organize data and perform financial analysis. In fact there is
no way that firms today can perform even basic accounting functions without
extensive investment in systems. Increasingly, as access to systems becomes
more mobile and wireless, auditors will perform there work using mobile work-
stations and wireless connections. As a result, accountants and auditors will
require extensive computer skills to understand the new software, correct prob-
lems with software, and to help develop software to meet the changing needs of
management and business. As a result of new public laws, accountants are
beginning to perform more technical duties, such as implementing, controlling,
and auditing systems and networks, and developing technology plans and
budgets.
What kinds of information system skills are really important for accounting
majors given these changes in the accounting profession? Here is a short list:
• Knowledge of current likely future changes in information system infrastruc-
ture including hardware, software and telecommunications that will be used
by public and private firms, government agencies, and financial advisors as
they perform auditing and accounting functions. This would include an
understanding of accounting and financial database systems and design fac-
tors to ensure firms are able to maintain accounting records and perform
auditing functions, and an understanding of system and network security
issues which are vital to protect the integrity of accounting systems.
• Understanding of the new role played by enterprise systems for achieving
corporate wide financial reporting on a global and national scale. Because so
many transactions are occurring over the Internet, accountants need to
understand online transaction and reporting systems, and how systems are
used to achieve management accounting functions in an online, wireless and
mobile business environment.
• Ability to participate in the design and implementation of new accounting
and auditing systems, work with technical specialists and systems designers,
and work with software packages that provide accounting information.
• Awareness of the ethical and social issues, and the new legal environment,
which impose constraints on public and private accounting systems.

FINANCE
Finance majors perform a wide variety of jobs in the U.S. economy. Financial
managers develop financial reports, direct investment activities, and imple-
ment cash management strategies. There are about 600,000 financial managers
in the labor force and this occupation is expected to grow by about 20% to 2012,
adding about 120,000 new jobs, and requiring the replacement of about 100,000
additional jobs. Financial manager jobs are among the most highly compen-
sated jobs in the U.S. economy, with a median salary of $73,000, but much
higher salaries for senior financial managers. In addition, there is a huge finan-
 Career Guidelines Information Systems and Your Career 3

cial service industry (which includes banking, brokerage, insurance and real
estate industries) which employs many more college graduates who are finance
majors. The financial services industry alone employs more than 7% of the
labor force, or about 10 million people. This includes job titles such as broker,
trader, sales representatives, insurance agents, bank officers, and a variety of
real estate occupations and job titles. Employment growth in the financial ser-
vices industry is expected to be above average as more American's retire and
need extensive financial advice and services. In the next six years the financial
services sector employment is expected to add an additional 1 million new jobs,
and replace another 800,000.
Because information systems, and a new legal environment which imposes
new, strict rules on financial reporting, are increasingly vital to the perfor-
mance of financial management, advice and service, financial managers
require strong system skills, and play an important role in planning, organizing
and implementing information system strategies for their firms. Financial man-
agers work directly with a firm’s Board of Directors, CEO and Chief Information
Officer (CIO) to ensure investments in information systems help achieve cor-
porate goals and achieve high returns.
When compared to other industries, financial service firms are the most
intensive investors in information systems and technologies, spending as much
as 60% of their capital each year on systems and technologies. Each of the
many job titles in this sector involve working with information systems to
ensure the financial health of firms, agencies and private investors. In fact, the
relationship between information systems and the practice of modern financial
management and services is so strong, that many advise finance majors to also
co-major in information systems (and vica-versa).
What kinds of information system skills should finance majors develop?
Below is brief list of general skills:
• An understanding of likely future changes in information system infrastruc-
ture including hardware, software and telecommunications that will be used
by financial managers and financial service firms. This would include an
understanding of financial database systems and design factors to ensure
firms are able to manage their investments, manage cash, and manage their
risks; the use of new kinds of mobile and wireless hardware to manage finan-
cial reporting; development of online systems for financial transactions. As
new trading systems emerge, financial service firms and managers will need
to understand how these systems work and how they will change their firm's
business.
• Knowledge of the new role played by enterprise wide financial reporting sys-
tems for achieving corporate wide financial reporting on a global and
national scale. As more and more transactions move online, finance majors
need to understand online transaction reporting systems, and how systems
are used to achieve the firm's financial goals. Increasingly, as customer move
towards online transactions, financial service firms are required to make
extensive investments in online systems.
• Ability to participate in the design and implementation of new financial
reporting systems, work with technical specialists and systems designers,
and work with software packages that provide financial information.
• Awareness of the ethical and social issues, and the new legal environment,
which impose constraints on financial reporting, and set new standards for
financial reporting.
4 Career Guidelines Information Systems and Your Career

MARKETING
Perhaps no other field has undergone more technology-driven change in the
past five years than marketing and advertising. The sea change in marketing
and advertising is Internet driven. Online e-commerce continues to expand at a
torrid 25% in the B2C sector, amounting to about $175 billion in retail trade;
B2B commerce passed the $5 trillion mark in 2006; and more than 175 million
Americans—not to mention over 1 billion other people around the world—are
now connected to the Internet. These recent changes mean that the eyeballs
are moving rapidly to the Internet. As a result, Internet advertising is the
fastest growing form of advertising, growing at over 30% annually, and reach-
ing $13 billion in 2006 (when other forms of marketing communications are
growing at a much slower 5% rate). All this means that branding products and
communicating with customers is moving online at a fast pace.
Marketing majors perform a wide variety of jobs in U.S. industry. There are
three major categories of jobs: marketing, sales, and public relations. In each of
these categories college degrees are mandatory, and marketing requires strong
creative, writing, and analysis skills. Marketing managers develop the firm’s
detailed marketing and branding strategy and work with product development
managers, market research managers, creative and media managers, and pro-
motion managers. Sales managers are responsible for making sales which
includes managing a sales force, developing sales campaigns, and ensuring
sales meet business targets. Public relations managers develop publicity pro-
grams that support the firms overall marketing and sales objectives, and com-
municate with key constituencies like shareholders, consumers, and govern-
ment regulators. There are multiple entry-level positions in marketing which
include job titles such as marketing assistant, creative writer, media consultant,
and market research assistant; sales representatives, sales analyst, and sales
force trainer; public relations assistant, copy writers, and media reporter.
There are about 900,000 marketing, promotions, public relations, sales, and
advertising managers in the 2005 labor force, and this field is growing faster
than average, and is expected to add over 200,000 jobs by 2012, and replace an
additional 150,000 employees who are retiring. The median salary of this group
is approximately $72,000. There is a much larger group of 2.6 million non-man-
agerial employees in marketing-related occupations (Arts, design, entertain-
ment, sports, and media occupations), and more than 15.9 million employees
in sales. These occupations together are expected to add and additional 1.8 mil-
lion jobs by 2012.
For each of the major occupational groups within marketing, information
systems skills are crucial as marketing activities, branding, promotion, and
public relations increasingly involve an understanding of the Internet as well as
major internal marketing and sales information systems. The field of market-
ing—including sales and public relations—has also been effected by major
changes in legislation just like accounting and finance, and major lawsuits,
involving product liability claims, misrepresentation, and fraud. Marketing and
sales managers are increasingly held partially responsible for product claims,
and product promotion strategies. This new legal and ethical environment
forces marketing and sales managers to become involved in corporate record
retention policies for email, and other records. Below are the general informa-
tion systems skills that marketing majors should focus on:
 Career Guidelines Information Systems and Your Career 5

• An ability to understand emerging new hardware and software platforms,

and how they impact on traditional marketing activities like brand develop-
ment, production promotion and sales. This would include an understanding
of marketing database systems and design factors to ensure firms are able to
market their products, develop reports on product performance, retrieve
feedback from customers, and manage product development.
• An understanding of how enterprise wide systems for product management,
sales force management, and customer relationship management systems
are used to develop products that consumers want, to manage the customer
relationship, and to manage an increasingly mobile sales force.
• An ability to participate in the design and implementation of new marketing
and advertising reporting systems, work with technical specialists and sys-
tems designers, and work with software packages that provide marketing and
sales information.
• Awareness of the ethical and social issues, and the new legal environment,
which impose constraints on marketing and advertising claims, record reten-
tion, and public relations statements to consumers, government regulators,
and shareholders.

MANAGEMENT
Management is the largest single group in the U.S. business labor force with
over 14 million members in the labor force, not including an additional 547,000
management consultants. Overall, the management corps in the U.S. is
expected to expand faster than other occupational groups, adding about 3.8 mil-
lion new jobs by 2012, with about 2 million replacement openings in this period
due to retirements. There are over twenty different types of managers tracked
by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, all the way from Chief Executive Officer, to
human resource managers, production managers, project managers, lodging
managers, medical managers and community service managers. Managers per-
form a wide range of activities in all industries throughout the economy includ-
ing planning, leading, organizing, coordinating and communicating. Managers
are above responsible for the efficient operation of business firms and supervi-
sion of employees. The median compensation for managers in the U.S. is
$52,000 although many middle and senior managers earn a great deal more.
There are three major categories of management jobs: supervisor, middle
management, and senior management. Supervisors directly manage day to day
operations and directly supervise employees in the performance of their jobs.
Middle management is concerned primarily with monitoring overall opera-
tional performance, developing new products and services, meeting business
objectives and targets, and reporting to senior management. Senior manage-
ment is concerned primarily with deciding on what products and services to
produce, what markets to enter, monitoring overall performance, and reporting
to shareholders and the public. Most management jobs today require college
degrees, strong leadership, analytic, and presentation and writing skills.
For each of the different types of managers information systems skills are
crucial as the job of management increasingly is enabled by digital technologies
like the Internet, e-mail, cell phones, Blackberrys, and that permit managers to
more precisely observe and keep track of employees, customers, suppliers, and
firm performance—in short, to improve decision making. As with other busi-
ness fields, management is under increasing social, ethical and legal scrutiny
of both government regulators and the public. It is management, for instance,
that is responsible for meeting equal employment opportunity guidelines,
6 Career Guidelines Information Systems and Your Career

occupational health and safety requirements, public health requirements,

information retention policies, and a host of requirements mandated by law.
The job of management has been transformed by information systems, and
arguably it would be impossible to manage business firms today without the
extensive use of information systems, even very small firms. What this means
is that nearly all of the 14 million managers in the U.S. use information systems
and technologies everyday to accomplish their jobs, from desktop productivity
tools, to enterprise systems, supply management systems, customer relation-
ship management systems, and knowledge management systems (all described
in greater detail in following chapters).
Below are the general information systems skills that marketing majors
should focus on:
• Knowledge of new hardware and software that can make management more
efficient and effective, enhance leadership and coordination capabilities, and
improve the achievement of corporate business objectives in the broadest
sense. This would include an understanding of the role which databases play
in managing information resources of the firm.
• An in-depth understanding of how enterprise wide information systems for
production management, supplier manbagement, sales force management,
and customer relationship management systems are used to achieve efficient
operations and meet other firm objectives.
• An ability to participate in the design and implementation of new manage-
ment systems, work with technical specialists and systems designers to
ensure system meet corporate objectives, and work with software packages
that enable management such as spreadsheets, presentation software, and
document processing.
• Awareness of the ethical and social issues, and the new legal environment,
which impose constraints on management, including the reporting require-
ments of the firm, record retention policies, and customer privacy policies.

OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT IN SERVICES AND

MANUFACTURING
The growing size and complexity of modern industrial production and the
emergence of huge global service companies has created a growing demand for
employees who can coordinate and optimize the resources used to produce
goods and services. Operations management as a discipline is directly relevant
to three occupational categories: industrial production managers, administra-
tive service managers, and operations analysts. Industrial production man-
agers work in goods production and are responsible for production planning,
staffing, procurement, quality control, inventory control, and coordination with
other departments like marketing and finance. Today's production managers
work in highly computerized environments where the flow of raw, intermedi-
ate and final products are very precisely coordinated to reduce inventory costs
to a minimum, speed time to market, and achieve exceptionally high quality.
Production managers are the leaders in efforts to achieve high levels of produc-
tion efficiency such as Total Quality Management (TQM), ISO 9000, Six Sigma,
Just-in-time production, and mass customization. Each of these programs
requires extensive production data and intensive use of information systems.
Administrative service managers work in service organizations such a banks,
insurance companies, food services, hotels and lodging services, and govern-
ment services, which together employ over 60% of the labor force and generate
 Career Guidelines Information Systems and Your Career 7

over 40% of the gross domestic product. Administrative service man-

agers—like their industrial production manager cousins described above—are
responsible for allocating and coordinating the resources and human resources
needed to produce services. They utilize many of the same quality manage-
ment techniques pioneered in manufacturing described above. Operations
analysts (also known as “operations research analysts”) use analytical
methods from mathematics and engineering to solve business problems. They
work on diverse problems such as planning and forecasting, performance man-
agement, scheduling, facilities design, supply chain management, transporta-
tion and distribution, often relying on the analysis of data stored in large data-
bases.
There are about 180,000 industrial production managers in the labor force
and future growth in these occupations will be average or below average,
between 3% and 9% through 2012. There are about 60,000 operations analysts
in the labor force, and this group also is expected to grow slowly through 2012.
The slow growth in production management and operations analysts positions
is in part due to the slow down in the growth of industrial production in the
U.S., as well as the increases in productivity in the remaining factories, and
changes in management technique which push quality control down to the fac-
tory floor level and machine operators, reducing the need for supervision.
However, employment opportunities in this field will be good as organizations
throughout the economy—especially in the service sector—strive to improve
their efficiency and competitiveness through the use of massive databases, and
analysis of production data. There are about 320,000 administrative services
managers in the labor force—almost all in the service sector—and these jobs are
expected to grow as fast as average or about 15% through 2012. Expanding job
opportunities in this field will result from a growing emphasis in the service
sector on the use of databases and analytic software as tools to improve the effi-
ciency and effectiveness of services delivery.
While industrial production will continue to expand in the U.S., the number
of people employed at all levels in industry will remain static or decline
slightly. However, the services sector will be expanding rapidly, creating strong
job opportunities for operations management majors as business firms in
diverse service sector industries from finance, to real estate, restaurants, lodg-
ing and travel seek to improve operations. The work of production managers
and operations analysts is heavily dependent on the extensive use of databases
and business analytic software. As with general managers, production man-
agers and service managers will be using information systems and technologies
everyday to accomplish their jobs, from desktop productivity tools, to enter-
prise systems, supply management systems, customer relationship manage-
ment systems, and knowledge management systems (all described in greater
detail in following chapters).
Below are the general information systems skills that operations manage-
ment majors should focus on:
• Knowledge of the changing hardware and software platforms that will be
used in production management.This would include an understanding of the
role which databases play in production and services management.
• An in-depth understanding of how enterprise wide information systems for
production management, supplier management, sales force management,
and customer relationship management systems are used to achieve efficient
operations and meet other firm objectives.
8 Career Guidelines Information Systems and Your Career

• An ability to participate in the design and implementation of new manage-

ment systems, work with technical specialists and systems designers to
ensure system meet corporate objectives, and work with software packages
that enable management such as spreadsheets, presentation software, and
document processing.
• Awareness of the ethical and social issues, and the new legal environment,
which impose constraints on management, including the reporting require-
ments of the firm, record retention policies, and customer privacy policies.

INFORMATION SYSTEMS
The explosive growth of business information systems has generated a growing
demand for information systems employees and managers who, working with
other business professionals in accounting, finance, marketing, and general
management, design and develop new hardware and software systems to serve
the needs of business. Of the top 20 fastest growing occupations through 2012,
five are information system occupations. The information systems occupations
can broadly be separated into two groups: technical and managerial although
the distinction can be fluid. Technical information systems specialists focus
primarily on the building of new systems and the maintenance and operations
of existing systems. Managerial information systems specialists focus on the
management of existing systems, planning and implementing new systems,
and coordinating the overall systems effort with the larger business objectives
and other business managers. The managerial specialists focus more on cus-
tomers, suppliers, employees, and other business constituencies and seek to
find applications of information systems which directly impact the revenue and
profit picture of the firm.
In the technical areas, there are about 1 million computer systems analysts,
programmers and programmer analysts, database administrators, Web masters,
Web developers, and computer scientists in the U.S. labor force, and they are
expected to grow at above average rates to produce nearly 400,000 new jobs by
2012, and another 200,000 replacement jobs. This is more than a 36% growth
rate to 2012, making it one of the fastest growing—but not largest in numbers—
occupational groups.
Information systems managers direct the work of systems analysts, com-
puter programmers, support specialists, and other computer-related workers,
and provide the interface between the firm's technology platforms and busi-
ness objectives. Information system managers have a variety of occupational
titles: Chief Technology Officer, Chief Information Officer, Management
Information System Director, Project manager, and Network Managers. These
managers plan and coordinate the maintenance of existing systems, installation
of new hardware and software, development of new programs and information
systems, use of computer networks, and the implementation of Internet and
intranet sites. Information systems managers are at the intersection of business
and technology because they need to both understand business operations and
objectives, and understand how information systems and technologies can be
used to achieve these objectives. Increasingly, as the nation's businesses and
government agencies rely on the Internet for communication and computing
resources, system and network security management titles are growing very
rapidly. There are about 284,000 information system managers in the U.S. with
an estimated growth of 36% through 2012, expanding the number of new jobs
by over 100,000 new positions, with an additional 50,000 new hires required for
replacements.
 Career Guidelines Information Systems and Your Career 9

The information systems field is arguably one of the most fast-changing and
dynamic of all the business professions because it is directly tied to the rapid
evolution of information technologies—from the Internet to client/server com-
puting, to an explosion in telecommunications bandwidth—and because it is
recognized as one of the most important tools available to business firms for
achieving key business objectives like operational efficiency, customer inti-
macy, improved decision making, new products and services, and even sur-
vival of the firm.
Outsourcing. The Internet has created new opportunities for outsourcing
many information systems jobs, along with many other service sector and man-
ufacturing jobs. Off-shore outsourcing to low-wage countries has been contro-
versial as U.S. workers fear it will reduce demand for U.S. IS employment.
However this fear is unwarranted given the huge demand for new IS hires in
the U.S. through 2012. In fact, reducing the cost of providing IS and IT services
to U.S. corporations by off-shoring labor intensive and lower level jobs, may
increase the demand for U.S. based IS workers as firms find the price of invest-
ing in information systems falls relative to other capital investments while its
power to improve top-line revenues and bottom-line profits increases.
There are two kinds of outsourcing: outsourcing to domestic U.S. firms and
off-shore outsourcing to low-wage countries like India and eastern European
countries. However even this distinction becomes problematic as domestic ser-
vice providers like IBM develop global outsourcing centers in India.
Domestic outsourcing is driven primarily by the fact that outsourcing firms
possess skills, resources, and assets which compliment the in-house skills,
resources and assets of the purchasing firm. For instance, to install a new sup-
ply chain management system may require hiring an additional 400 people for
12 months with specific skills in a supply chain management system licensed,
say, from SAP, a large software firm. Rather than hire permanent new employ-
ees, most of whom would need extensive training in the software package, and
then release them after the project is built, its makes more sense, and is often
less expensive, to outsource this work to a providing firm for a 12 month period.
Providing service firms also achieve economies of scale by providing similar
skills and services to multiple firms. Hence, in many cases providing firms
have a cost advantage. In the case of off-shore outsourcing, the decision tends
to be much more cost driven than complimentary skill driven. Off-shore firms
benefit from wage structures which are 25-35% less than in domestic firms
although this wage cost advantage has diminished considerably in the last five
years, and is likely to diminish even further as IT wages in countries like India
advance at about 14% a year.
The impact of domestic outsourcing on the overall demand for IT employ-
ment through 2012 is most likely quite small. Service provider firms like IBM,
Hewlett Packard, and Accenture add domestic IT employees as they expand
their domestic IT services, while domestic IT departments lose some employ-
ees, or do not hire new employees.
The likely impact of off-shore outsourcing on U.S. domestic IT jobs is more
problematic because, ostensibly, jobs that move off-shore decrease demand for
workers in the U.S. First, the most successful off-shore outsourcing projects
involve production programming and legacy system maintenance program-
ming work, along with call-center work related to customer relationship man-
agement systems (Gurbaxani and Jorion, 2005). Hence the largest impact of off-
shore outsourcing will mostly likely be on technical positions in IS, and less on
IS managerial occupations. Second, the expected growth in Indian IT employ-
ment related to outsourcing is unlikely to fulfill the demand for over 600,000
10 Career Guidelines Information Systems and Your Career

new IS/IT hires in the U.S. through 2012 described above. For instance, the
three largest Indian outsourcers—Wipro, InfoSys, and Tata Consultancy—are
currently adding IT workers at the rate of 18% a year (Thibodeau, 2004). Even
if this rate continues through 2012—unlikely because of 14% wage inflation in
India—these three largest outsourcer firms will add at most 200,000 new work-
ers. A considerable but unknown number of these workers will be outsourcing
jobs from Europe and Asia, and the impact on the U.S. market will be reduced,
to perhaps 150, 000 jobs. If more realistic long-term growth factors—say 10%—
are used, the impact of Indian outsourcing on U.S. IS employment through 2012
is considerably reduced, amounting to at most 75,000 to 100,000 jobs which
directly replace U.S. workers.
In either case, off-shore outsourcing will have a small effect on U.S. IS
employment prospects, with a very small effect on managerial positions and
positions which require face-to-face communication with customers, suppliers,
and employees. Moreover, it is also possible that by lowering the costs of pro-
viding IS/IT services to U.S. corporations, reducing the cost of IS/IT assets,
investment in these systems will rise, not fall, as has been the case over the last
decade.
Given all these dynamic factors in the IS/IT labor market, what kinds of
skills should IS majors focus on? Below is a list of general skills we believe will
optimize your employment opportunities:
• An in-depth knowledge of how new and emerging hardware and software
can be used by business firms to make them more efficient and effective,
enhance customer and supplier intimacy, improve decision making, achieve
competitive advantage, and ensure firm survival. This includes an in-depth
understanding of databases, database design, implementation, and manage-
ment.
• An in-depth understanding of how enterprise wide information systems for
production management, supplier management, sales force management,
and customer relationship management systems are used to achieve efficient
operations and meet other firm objectives.
• An ability to lead in the design and implementation of new management sys-
tems, work with other business professionals to ensure systems meet busi-
ness objectives, and work with software packages that enable management
such as spreadsheets, presentation software, and document processing.
• Awareness of the ethical and social issues, and the new legal environment,
which require firms to maintain records, achieve information transparency
with regulators and the public, and achieve required levels of information
security, confidentiality and privacy.

IS AND YOUR CAREER WRAP-UP

Looking back at the IS skills required for specific majors, there are some com-
mon themes that effect all the business majors. Below is a list of these common
requirements for IS skills and knowledge:
• All business students regardless of major need an understanding of how
information systems are used by firms to achieve business objectives like
operational efficiency, new products and services, and customer intimacy.
This theme is found throughout the labor force.
• Perhaps the most dominant theme which pervades this review of necessary
job skills is the central role of databases in a modern firm. Each of the
careers described above rely heavily in practice on databases.
 Career Guidelines Information Systems and Your Career 11

• With the pervasive growth in databases comes inevitably an exponential

growth in digital information, and a resulting challenge to managers trying to
understand all this information. Each of the occupations described above
makes increasing use of business intelligence techniques to improve decision
making. Regardless of major, business students need to develop skills in
analysis of information and help firms understand and make sense out of
their environments.
• All business majors need to be able to work with system designers who build
and implement information systems. This is necessary to ensure that the
systems which are built actually service business purposes and provide the
information and understanding required by managers.
• Each of the business majors will be impacted by changes in the ethical, social
and legal environment of business. Business school students need to under-
stand how information systems can be used to meet business requirements
for reporting to government regulators and the public.

References
Dell, Inc. Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 28, 2005,
www.sec.gov, 2005.
Wal-Mart. Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission for the
fiscal year ended January 31, 2005, www.sec.gov, 2005.
Gurbaxani, Vijay and Phillippe Jorion, “The Value of Information Systems
Outsourcing Arrangements: An Event Study Analysis,” Center for Research on
IT and Organizations, University of California, Irvine, Calif., Draft April 2005.
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