Gender issues in the career development of IT professionals: a global perspective

Each period of technological change carries with it high expectations of societal and organizational restructuring that will favour the disadvantaged. The same is true for the Information and Communication Technologies. The fast expansion of the IT labour market, the need for diverse talents, the shift in the demand from technical to more general management and business skills, and the government's and employer's initiatives to improve women's representation in the IT sector created an image that? IT is one of the best-equal opportunity areas 'that provide wider opportunities for women to enter and succeed in this industry'. Nevertheless, the validity of these claims is yet to be established through empirical analysis.

Information systems and business informatics: an Australian German comparison

At last year's ACIS conference in Melbourne a panel titled 'IS: A discipline in crisis' discussed issues relating to be in disability of IS in Australia. It is not, however, just the Australian IS discipline that must deal with problems such as the need for better organisational structures and greater visibility in universities. This paper presents a comparison between the German Business Informatics discipline and the Australian Information Systems discipline. The objective is to provide another perspective on the IS discipline to raise new ideas and stimulate discussion with reference to the organisational structure of our discipline in universities.

From websites to portals: success factors For business community portals

Many Governments are using funding initiatives to encourage businesses, particularly small businesses to adopt e-commerce technology. One currently popular approach in Australia, has been to fund internet portal developments with a specific community or business focus. The success of such portals however, as with many Web developments has been mixed. This paper reports on the establishment of a B2B portal in Australia. The paper explores issues and expectations from the perspective of the business people involved. A survey was conducted amongst the participants of the portal shortly after it was launched. Then follow-up interviews were conducted with business owners 2 years later just before the portal closed. The researchers sought to understand what the business community expected from the portal and to identify what factors contribute to success. The research found that in addition to the factors identified through the literature that, technological readiness of business owners, understanding the business community, realizing business value and managing participant’s expectations are also factors impacting on success. A model is proposed to describe the success factors.

Web site information design: what small business needs to know

Designing and maintaining websites can be costly for small business, therefore the decision to embark on a Web strategy should not be taken lightly. Critical to the success of a web site is its design. Most small business web sites focus on information provision yet for many it would appear there is a lack of understanding of how to design a web site that delivers information effectively to users. This paper presents research that examined the effectiveness of small business web sites from the perspective of users. Findings indicate that: users found many sites contained too much irrelevant information; users were critical of sites where not enough information was provided; how the text is organised is important; and, the quality and quantity of information provided on the websites and the display and size of the text influenced the ability of users to complete the task and not be frustrated. The paper concludes with recommendations on more effective information design.

Retail internationalisation : drivers, impediments and business strategy

In light of recent changes in the international environment it is important to consider whether the drivers and impediments of retail internationalisation and the business strategy adopted have also changed. The findings from 12 qualitative interviews with UK and US retailers indicate that a variety of factors, ranging from historical precedence and investor pressures to saturation of the domestic market and foreign market attractiveness, drive retail internationalisation. In terms of impediments to foreign expansion, issues such as political and economic instability, previous experience and perceived cultural differences presented obstacles to internationalisation. Interviewees also expressed a desire for increased standardisation, while acknowledging a substantial degree of adaptation in response to cultural differences.

How well are Australian business graduates prepared for the workplace?

The gap between business graduates' skills and competencies, and the graduates' needs in the workplace has been well researched and documented. However, no comprehensive model appears to have been developed on which to base curriculum decisions in this field. The current paper contributes to this area by investigating Australian graduates' skills needs in terms of the importance of nominated skills and satisfaction with the education received for those developed skills as perceived by graduates. Analysis of a survey shows that generic marketing skills are valued at a lower level than general attribute skills. Thus, university marketing programs may need to focus more on general skills and
personal attributes.

Managing FM (support services): business risks in the healthcare sector

This paper presents research findings of 365 NHS Trust executives in the UK and builds on work carried out on risk perceptions and treatment in facilities management operations and business support activities in the NHS Trusts. The research utilises a business approach of viewing healthcare facilities not only as fixed “assets” occupying hospital sites and space, but it also considers them as that “tangible” part of the service chain process underpinning the provision of clinical services to both internal (departments or directorates) and external customers. The research found that customer satisfaction, service delivery certainty, customer involvement, service quality reliability, health and safety are highly rated by the NHS executives. The paper classifies healthcare related risk constructs into seven elements namely: customer care, corporate, legal, commercial finance and economics, business transfer, and facilities transmitted

Faculty collaboration in teaching global business, MBA teaching process

This presentation stems from global business teaching and ongoing research of an interactive group of professors working together in the service delivery of online MBA education at University of Maryland University College . A model for collaborative teaching by delocated professors who literally span the globe – from Australia to Canada, including the United Kingdom, both coasts of the USA, China and Dubai - is offered, underscoring the enormous mobility of knowledge and knowledge workers. Working together as a collaborating team, it was found that the "whole is greater than the sum of the parts". The teachers became more than a teaching team, they became a collaborating operation as they worked together in the sharing and development of materials, insights and knowledge. The model demonstrates how the teaching of global business in an MBA environment is really an exercise in the management of global service operations.