Building the IT Workforce of the Future

The software development process has undergone a considerable amount of change from the early days of spaghetti code to the present state of the art of development using strategic patterns. This has caused not only changes in the toolkits that developers use, but also a change in their mindset—the way that they approach and think about software development. This study uses revealed causal mapping techniques to examine the change in mindset that occurs across the procedural to OO development transition, and lays the foundation for future studies of the OO/ pattern cognitive transition. The results indicate that there is not only increasing complexity in the cognitive maps of the OO developers, but also that there is a need for the developer to shift from routine, assembly line coding to more abstract thought processes.

Revisiting the Impact of Information Technology Investments on Productivity

This article revisits the relationship between IT and productivity, and investigates the impact on information technology (IT) investments. Using the MARS techniques, we show that although IT Stock is the greatest predictor variable for productivity (Value Added), it is only significant as an interaction variable, combined with Non-IT Capital, Non-IT Labor, Industry, or Size.

Hybrid Offshoring

Inspired by round-the-clock manufacturing, the 24-Hour Knowledge Factory endeavors to transform the production of software and other intangibles into a process of continuous development. While the concept of offshore software development is well established, few enterprises are currently able to develop the same code artifacts around the clock. We discuss the benefits of applying the 24-Hour Knowledge Factory to software development. We also present a representative scenario highlighting the problems of asynchronous communication in current offshore software development practices. Further, we introduce the notion of composite persona as a potential collaboration model within the 24-Hour Knowledge Factory and explain its ability to mitigate problems arising from communicating across cultures, languages, and time zones. Finally, we present a suite of new collaboration tools and techniques that are being developed specifically for use by composite personae in the 24-Hour Knowledge Factory.

Perception Gaps about Skills Requirement for Entry-Level IS Professionals between Recruiters and Students

Dramatic changes in the U.S. economic situations and offshore outsourcing trends in the IT (Information Technology) industry have affected the IS (Information Systems) job market and recruiters with regard to IS knowledge/skills that their new hires should possess. Keeping pace with these changes presents a challenge for IS recruiters and students. There is an urgent need for a study that investigates the perception gaps between IS recruiters and students about the knowledge/skill sets required for a new entry-level IS hire. This study reports the findings from a survey of IS recruiters and IS students in the U.S., detailing the differences of their understanding about the knowledge/skills requirement.

Testing for the Applicability of the TAM Model in the Arabic Context

The present study attempts to investigate the applicability of the TAM model in the Arab context and to extend TAM with three moderating/interacting human factors. Using a survey sample collected from 722 knowledge workers using desktop computer applications on a voluntary basis in Saudi Arabia, this study sought empirical support for testing the basic structure of TAM. Toward that, the study was successful as the structure of TAM holds well in the Saudi settings. This study also empirically examined an extended TAM by incorporating gender, age and educational level as moderators of the model’s core relationships. Our findings emphasize that most of the key relationships in the model are moderated. Specifically, age moderates all the influences of computers usefulness and ease of use on attitudes and intention to use. However, gender and educational level only moderate the influence of ease of use on attitudes.Implications for management and practice of these findings are discussed.

The Post-Offshoring IS Organization

In the age in which many traditional IS functions will be taken over by offshore vendors or otherwise outsourced, attention needs to be paid to those functions that will increase in importance and/or need to be developed by IS departments if they are to be effective in this new environment. This article suggests a framework that may be judgmentally applied to IS activities in order to determine if they should be considered for offshoring/outsourcing. The results of applying the framework will be unique to each firm that uses it. However, in using that approach in more than 25 firms, the author has found that most firms will wish to retain a number of functions in-house. Fourteen such activities are discussed in three broad categories: “activities related to external relations,” “activities related to the development, customization, and implementation of systems” and “business and IS strategic activities.”

An Empirical Investigation of Stress Factors in Information Technology Professionals

This study explores whether organizations can employ job design strategies to relieve organizational stress for information technology (IT) professionals. The effect of flexible work schedule, employee support and training, and telecommuting as potential coping resources to relieve stress were studied. Perceived workload, role ambiguity, work facilitation, and decision latitude were drawn from previous studies as potential stressors of IT professionals. Perceived stress was measured by two commonly used measures: work exhaustion and depressed mood. The results suggest that removing role ambiguity and improving work-facilitation ease work-related stress. Allowing employees to have flexible work schedules was also found to ease their perceptions of workload. Employee support and training strategies were found to influence decision latitude and role ambiguity. Telecommuting did not have any effect on the stressors. Results also indicate that the association between work exhaustion and depressed mood was stronger for males than females.

Impact of Age on Information Technology Salaries

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission of the United States of America reported in 2002 that age discrimination was its fastest-growing complaint. This chapter examines the treatment of information technology professionals using the Human Capital Model. The model results suggest that age treatment discrimination exists but varies across industries and job functions. The authors present explorative theories to explain why such variations exist and draw managerial implications based on the results.

An Outsourcing Acceptance Model

The use of outsourcing is expanding rapidly. This study empirically tests a model of application development outsourcing acceptance based on the technology acceptance model (TAM). TAM suggested perceived usefulness and ease of use mediate the effects of other variables on users’ attitudes towards a technology. The model tested in this study suggests perceived usefulness and ease of use of outsourcing mediate the effects of the external environment, prior outsourcing relationships, and risks on decisionmakers’ attitude toward application development outsourcing. One hundred and sixty respondents to a survey sent to 3000 IT decision makers provided data to confirm the applicability of TAM and the influences of these external variables. Support for applying TAM in this alternative context was found. Three sub-dimensions of risk, project management, relationship, and employee risk emerged. Project management and employee risks along with prior relationships were found to significantly influence decision maker perceptions about application development outsourcing.

Evolving Relationship between Law, Offshoring of Professional Services, Intellectual Property, and International Organizations

This article covers four issues. First, it examines evolving international conventions to determine whether countries, especially developed countries, can take any steps to inhibit offshoring with the objective of protecting jobs in their respective countries. Second, it looks at statistics from independent sources to see if outsourcing exceeds insourcing, or vice versa, in the case of the U.S. Third, it looks at trends in outsourcing in the legal arena. Fourth, it looks at the intellectual property aspects of outsourcing and presents a long-term vision on how this ticklish issue is likely to be addressed in the long-term.