This paper provides an overview report of the first joint curriculum development effort for undergraduate programs in information systems. The curriculum recommendations am a collaborative effort of the following organizations: ACM, AIS, DPMA, and ICIS. After a summary of the objectives and rationale for the curriculum, the curriculum model is described. Input and output attributes of graduates are delineated. Resource requirements for effective IS programs are then identified. Lastly, there is a proposal for maintaining currency of the curriculum through electronic media.
The subject of creativity is a neglected area in the literature of the information systems field. Yet, according to a Delphi survey of chief information officers, the field needs to be developing more creative and innovative solutions to its problems. Organizations must first be sure that certain preconditions and organizational components be in place to help individuals and teams become more creative. They can then use numerous creativity improvements techniques that have proved successful in other disciplines. In this article, six case studies show how analytical techniques (progressive abstraction, interrogatories. and force field analysis) and Intuitive techniques (associations/images, wishful thinking, and analogy/metaphor) have been used in several industries to solve a variety of IS-related problems and/or opportunities. All told, some 20 creativity techniques prove especially appropriate for the IS field. Once managers understand when and where to use creativity techniques, they can move forward with implementing formal creativity improvement programs in their organizations.
The recent series of ethics violations in business (e.g., insider trading) has caused a number of firms to begin courses in ethics for employees. Unless professionals improve their ethical practices, legislation will force them to do so. The ACM and DPMA curriculum recommendations include ethics topics. An important issue is the proper education of IS students to deal with on-the-job ethical situations. Unfortunately, ethics education gets lost among the myriad of subjects to be taught in IS courses. But there is an effective pedagogical approach for this material. The approach requires students to determine how they would act in various ethical scenarios. This "personalization" method may be the first step toward proper ethical behavior in the workplace. While not a rigorous scientific treatment of the subject, the classroom experiences reported here may be helpful for IS faculty and IS trainers as they develop improved ethics instruction.