The Educational IIllplications

What will be required of the IS professional for the rest of I-he 1f)()()s? T« address this question, a committee of ucadcmicians and practitioners was organized by the executive hoard of the Boston chapter of the Society for luforrnution Management to examine the key issues concerning the changing needs of the IS profession. The committee conducted a two-year research project that included in-depth focus group discussions as well as a survey involving representatives of the various groups in the field of IS (i.e., IS executives, user 111anagers, IS consultants, university professors, and recent IS graduates). This article describes some of the findings of the study. In addition, the changing needs of the profession in terms of a paradignl shift arc examined and the implications of these changcs in terms of the responsibilities and skills required of IS professionals and IS educators arc discussed.