Management: IT Education and The Modern-Day MBA - ' Keeping the Tech Curriculum '

Given the rapid nature of technological change, there is no such thing as a fixed business-technology curriculum. Business programs have to find a balance between preparing students for the basics, without wasting their time on material that might be outdated by the time graduates enter the workforce. "It's a given that what you learn today may not guarantee that you are prepared for what is needed tomorrow," says Illinois' Michael J. Shaw. "We have our students learn various perspectives of technology management, while being mindful of the next wave."

The overall strategy at Illinois, Shaw says, is for graduates to understand "the connection and interplay between technology and management, so as general managers they manage with technology in mind. We want our students to be broadly focused, but to understand technology as a major corporate resource they can't ignore." A general introductory course in technology is required for what Shaw calls "the least interested student." In the second year, they can choose among electives, including some sophisticated studies of data communications and other specific disciplines.

Within this broad context, Illinois has changed its curriculum with the times so as to remain current with employer needs. It has pulled back from courses it used to offer in areas such as Web programming and managing electronic commerce sites. "We consolidated a bit, not just because the bubble burst, but because the whole area became more mature, and we treat it as part of general business knowledge," says Shaw. "Now we look more at using the information-based value chain of a company, and understanding the information assets in the same way we do a physical asset.

Another more recent focus is a program in "Trustworthy Computing" and information security, which is funded in part by a grant from Microsoft Corp. "Risk management and security are high on the list of corporate needs, and companies are still taking a reactive view, seeing it more as operational than strategic," says Shaw. "This is one of those issues that need a multidisciplinary approach—it's not just a technical issue. Managers need to be strategic in dealing with things like Sarbanes-Oxley and customer privacy."

The real benefit of the trustworthy computing course to employers, says Shaw, comes from having the course taken not just by tech-oriented students but by marketing and finance majors as well. "This is a business story with a lot of technology dimensions," he says. "Companies need this kind of training across the spectrum, whether it's technical or project-oriented. We're trying to give our graduates that capability to make them more marketable."

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