Career Paths: Information Systems and Technology

In today’s successful organizations information systems and technology have become indispensable in the way managers define and execute corporate strategy, manage valuable resources, and formulate their organization’s unique value proposition. The IST Portfolio equips IT-capable managers and consultants for a variety of functional areas including Finance, Marketing, Operations, Supply Chain, and Human Resources who are able to leverage IST resources for competitive advantage. The IST Portfolio also develops leaders for the MIS organization who conduct systems and technology planning and analysis, software project management, and technology-based support for business operations and processes.

Some of the typical job descriptions that our IST graduates obtain are:

Consulting:   Consultants work in teams with clients to design and implement a wide assortment of IT and system applications. Enterprise  systems applications, customer relationship management tools, and e-business platforms are some of the projects consultants implement for clients. These positions demand an eclectic set of technical knowledge, cross-functional business understanding, and strong leadership and communications skills. Consultants typically become well versed with vendor-specific platforms and must work to integrate these systems with the client’s existing systems and the business strategy of the firm.

Project Management:   Project management requires coordination of various teams to achieve timely and economical development and procurement of new software solutions, and successful implementation of new systems in organizations. Strong leadership and communication skills, project management skills, an understanding of the functional areas of the business and the industry context for the system, and the ability to evaluate/justify new technologies are all important prerequisites.

Business/Process Analyst:   Initiating and implementing new systems applications requires an understanding of user requirements, the affected business processes in their industry contexts, and logical modeling of the proposed system. Since analysts bridge the gap between application users and developers, they need business and technical expertise, strong analytical modeling capabilities, and effective communication skills. Analysts apply cutting-edge modeling methodologies such as use case scenarios, UML, object-oriented analysis and modeling, and computer-aided systems engineering tools, along with other evaluative approaches from capital budgeting and managerial accounting, and strategic management.

Line Management in Other Functional Area of Business:   By combining IST expertise with knowledge of a functional area of business such as Finance, Marketing, or Operations, future senior managers will be able to recognize and apply new technology solutions to problems in their organization early in their careers. IT-capable product managers, financial analysts, supply chain analysts, and plant managers can become effective in the information economy by utilizing strong analytical skills, understanding technology evolution and adoption, and accurately estimating the costs, benefits and risks associated with new applications.

Skills Desired:

Individuals in the IST career path create strategic and technical solutions to enhance business processes. They recognize emerging technology trends, conceive and design new business applications, and support the development and installation of new technical solutions for business problems—transforming the competitive capabilities of the firm in the process. All managers and consultants in this area must develop strong leadership skills, communicate effectively, possess analytical problem solving skills, be able to build and lead cooperative teams and partnerships, and understand the organizational change process.

* Consultant skills include the ability to define and analyze business, technical and strategic problems. They should also be able to develop and install creative process and technology solutions, lead and work within teams, communicate effectively, perform financial analysis and capital budgeting, and interface with diverse functional areas.

* Project management skills include evaluation of new technology solutions, cost/risk estimation, management of the systems development life cycle, IT outsourcing, systems implementation, and effective project-related communication with senior management.

* Business process and systems analysis skills include modeling user requirements, process modeling, analytical skills, use of CASE tools, and enough of an understanding of programming to be able to do some of the work that others in a software development team actually do full time.

* Line managers in functional areas of business are able to leverage IST resources when they develop skills in the strategic use of IT, decision analysis, databases, systems development, applications integration, and technology architecture.

Job Titles:

Chief Information Officer                                                          
Chief Technology Officer
Strategic Consultant                                                                  
E-Business Consultant
Industry Consultant                                                                  
Applications Project Manager
Enterprise Application Integrator                                           
Information Technology Specialist
Systems Analyst                                                                        
Business Process Analyst
Systems Security Administrator                                              
Technology Management Associate
Information Management Associate                                      
Business Intelligence Specialist
Technology Strategist                                                              
Outsourcing Manager
Vendor/Partner Relationship Manager                                   
Supply Chain Manager
Financial Analyst                                                                       
Product Manager

Resources:

Part-Time MBA Program Portfolio Information Sessions
Graduate Business Career Center: Panels on MBA Career Options

Recruiting:
Companies from a variety of industries recruit graduates with expertise in information systems and technology. Many firms seek students who have knowledge in the areas of operations, marketing, or finance who can combine this knowledge with cutting-edge technology skills. In recent years, on-campus recruiting has focused on business process and IT consulting, with many students finding positions in leading firms in California, New York, Illinois, Massachusetts and New Jersey, as well as with the best firms in Minnesota. Students typically seek employment with Fortune 500 firms where IT and information processing plays a critical role (e.g., financial services, brand management firms, multi-divisional manufacturing), especially in the top consulting companies both nationally and abroad.

Web:

Wet Feet Career Guides : Information Technology, System Administration.

Vault.com – Technology and Science Industry Home
Offers company and industry overviews. Message boards organized by company. Good forum for seeing insiders discussing their concerns.

Vault.com – Operations and IT Consulting (within Consulting Home)
Offers company and industry overviews, articles.

Brint.com
A content and community portal site that has been highly rated by several publication including Business Week, Fortune, the Wall Street Journal, Computerworld, and Information Week.

Knowledge @ Wharton
A bi-weekly online resource that provides articles on current business insights, analysis of current business trends, interviews with industry leaders, and other useful resources.

Other Online Resources:

E-Commerce Times
Business 2.0
Computerworld
CNET.com
InternetWorld

Print:

Consulting Magazine
The leading magazine covering the consulting industry. The primary companies covered are strategy firms (McKinsey, BCG, etc.) and former "Big 5" firms (Accenture, Cap Gemini Ernst & Young).

CIO Magazine
Serves the needs of current and future CIOs and other senior IT experts by providing up-to-date perspectives on IT usage in today’s organization.

Strategy+Business
Thought-leadership magazine/web site for senior executives and other thought leaders in management. S+B provides insights and practical guidance on management, innovation, and strategy. Published by Booz Allen Hamilton.

Other Journals and Publications:

McKinsey Quarterly
MIS Quarterly and MIS Quarterly Executive
Communications of the ACM 
InformationWeek

Career Information Guides
Available in the GBCC

Carlson Affiliations:

Carlson Technology in Business Club (student organization):  Carlson Speaker Series, site visits, social and networking events, and recruiting trips.

Carlson Consulting Club (student organization):  Educational events, networking engagements, and case interviewing practice.

Carlson Operations Management - SCM Club (student organization):  Provides students with a broader understanding of the opportunities, career paths, trends, and current issues in supply chain and operations management, which it does through speakers, plant tours, discussion panels, faculty interactions, and other activities.

Management Information Systems Research Center
This center is home to the internationally-respected academic research journal MIS Quarterly and provides opportunities for the Carlson community and local managers to network and interact with each other through MISRC-sponsored activities such as seminars, discussion groups, recruiting events, and student research projects. A cooperative affiliation with the Information Industry Initiative provides access to events like the annual Electronic Commerce Conference.

University of Minnesota Digital Technology Center
This center is home to several digital technology laboratories and includes approximately 40,000 square feet of assignable space for state-of-the-art presentation and conference rooms, work space for collaborative ventures, and advanced networking and computing laboratories.

University of Minnesota Patents and Technology Marketing
PTM seeks to identify and protect commercializable University technologies, including inventions and copyrightable materials, and transfers these technologies to the private sector through licensing or by participating in starting new companies. Carlson Ventures Enterprise works with PTM to develop business models and find venture funding to commercialize University technologies.

Professional Affiliations:

Society for Information Management
SIM is a network of nearly 3,000 IT leaders including CIOs, senior IT executives, consultants, and others. The SIM Minnesota chapter has been the organization of choice for IT executives in Minnesota for over 20 years.  Membership includes IT executives, consultants, and academics from Minnesota businesses and organizations. Chapter meetings include presentations from both business and technology experts.  Chapter meetings provide excellent opportunities for peer networking and connections to the Minnesota IT community.

Institute of Management Consultants
Minneapolis/St. Paul Chapter, 612-891-1994. A professional association made up of management consultants who have been in practice for a minimum of 10 years. Promotes professionalism and competence in the consulting community.

Project Management Institute
100,000 members in 125 countries who are practicing and studying project management in many different industry areas, including aerospace, automotive, business management, construction, engineering, financial services, IT, pharmaceuticals and telecommunications. Members and project management stakeholders can take advantage of the extensive services offered through PMI.

Customer Relationship Management Association
The CRMA is a member organization that offers networking and educational events related to CRM.  Meetings are held quarterly and feature prominent industry analysts, consultants and experts.

Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) Special Interest Groups (SIG)
Several ACM SIG groups are relevant for information systems and technology, including:

Applied Computing
Electronic Commerce
Groupware
Management Information Systems
Management of Data
Mobility of Systems, Users, Data and Computing
Security, Audit and Control
Software Engineering

Professional Portfolio: Information Systems and Technology
Course Information

Highly Recommended Courses

IDSc 6490              Special Topics:  Business Process Excellence (2 cr)
IDSc 6471              Knowledge Management (2 cr)
IDSc 6423              Enterprise Systems Technologies (2 cr)
IDSc 6442              Electronic Auctions and Exchanges (2 cr)
(formerly: Technologies for B2B E-Commerce)
FINA 6242              Advanced Corporate Finance Analysis and Decisions (4 cr)
MGMT 6050            Management of Innovation and Change (2 cr)

Suggested Courses

IDSc

IDSc 6401              Decision Technologies for E-Business (2 cr)
IDSc 6421              E-Commerce in the Financial Services Industry (2 cr)
IDSc 6461              Data Warehousing (2 cr)
IDSc 6481              Managerial Decision Making (2 cr)
IDSc 6490              Special Topics:  Information Security and Reliability (2 cr)
IDSc 6490              Special Topics:  Business Intelligence (2 cr)
IDSc 6490              Special Topics:  Information-based Goods in the Network Economy (2 cr)

Operations

OMS 6041              Project Management (2 cr)
OMS 6051              Service Management (2 cr)
OMS 6056              Managing Supply Chain Operations (4 cr)
OMS 6059              Quality Management and Six Sigma (4 cr)
OMS 6072              Managing Technologies in the Supply Chain (4 cr)

Marketing

MKTG 6020           Logistics and Supply Chain (2 cr)
MKTG 6060           Distribution and Supply Chain Management (4 cr)
MKTG 6073           Technology Marketing (4 cr)
MKTG 6078           Integrated Marketing Communications (4 cr)
MKTG 6080           Internet Marketing (2 cr)
MKTG/OMS 6065   Strategic Supply Chain Management (2 cr)

Finance

FINA 6241             Corporate Finance Analysis and Decisions (4 cr)
FINA 6622             Financial Risk Management (2 cr)

Strategy

MGMT 6040          Globalization, Technology and International Management (2 cr)
MGMT 6070          Strategies for E-Business (2 cr)

Entrepreneurship

ENTR 6041            New Product Design and Business Development (6 cr, 2 semesters)

Accounting

ACCT 6100            Financial Statement Analysis (4 cr)
ACCT 6160            Accounting for Mergers, Acquisitions & Derivatives (2 cr)

Remember:
Employers want more than functional skills. To differentiate yourself, consult the document Building Your Portfolio. There you will find suggestions for additional classes that can add international exposure, provide a strategic framework and build entrepreneurial skills, among others.