InformationWeek

March 20, 2000

MBA-IT Cross-Training At The University Level

By Diane Rezendes Khirallah with Chris Murphy

Illustration by Jon Conrad mong the new breed of MBA students, E-commerce is rapidly replacing finance as the concentration of choice. Forward-thinking academic institutions no longer offer mutually exclusive IT and MBA programs, and the amount of overlap is increasing. In fact, some of the nation's top business schools, such as Stanford University, are making IT coursework an MBA requirement.

Whether concentrating in IT or business, the new economy demands three critical areas of study for every student, says Stanford professor Haim Mendelson: Internet skills, how IT can support new business models, and how IT can help create new types of organizations.

Many of Mendelson's full-time students want to start Internet companies. "The knowledge of IT adds a lot of value to the capabilities of a manager," he says. "It positions [students] to take the next step."

Some business schools, including those at Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh, Columbia University in New York, and LaSalle University in Philadelphia, have paired with the computer science and engineering schools to offer full-time, one-year programs designed specifically to cross-train managers in business and IT. Students emerge with an understanding of E-business marketing strategies and the relative merits of various programming languages.

Universities are also developing off-campus partnerships. Virginia Commonwealth University sought corporate help to strengthen cross-training in its MBA program, found willing partners in IBM and Reynolds Metals Co. in 1996, and launched a program in January 1999. Gary LaGarde, a senior technologist at Reynolds, welcomed the call from VCU. "We have to start training students in new types of applications--ERP, E-commerce--especially from a manufacturing standpoint," LaGarde says.

Students work on supply-chain projects running on an AS/400 mainframe system at Reynolds; one such project is for supplying metal parts to Ford Motor Co. Business students don't need to know how to program an AS/400, but they do have to know how the system fits in the business and how it's used, says IBM's Linda Grigoleit, program manager for the AS/400. The program provides students with the opportunity to work with technology in an actual business setting, where success means more than good grades. IBM's participation in the program guarantees the company a generation of future IT and business leaders who have a working familiarity with one of its strategic platforms.

In April, Drexel University in Philadelphia will launch an online, technology-intensive MBA program. Reflecting Drexel's heritage as a strong engineering school, the Techno-MBA will give technology-oriented people a concentration in technology management focusing on enterprise resource planning and E-commerce. It's expected that most students in the 21-month, part-time course of studies will have full-time jobs in IT or business. The course isn't entirely distance learning: Students have three 3-1/2-day residencies at Drexel with their peers for team building and business simulation exercises--one at the outset, one at the midpoint, and one near the end of their studies.

Bentley College in Waltham, Mass., which has been known for its accounting curriculum and, more recently, computer science, is making technology a part of all its business courses--in the teaching environment as well as in content. The school plans to launch a multimillion-dollar technology-powered facility this July. When the facility is running, students in global financial analysis will take their course in a simulated trading room with live stock tickers.

The new education programs sit well with managers looking for young talent, such as John Samuels, VP of interactive marketing at American Airlines Inc. "It's encouraging to see business schools creating curricula that are better-suited for the new jobs," he says. "It's helpful to know that someone has a decent tech background and a good business grounding. It says something tangible about their level of natural curiosity."

Return to the main story, "The ABCs Of E-Business."

Illustration by Jon Conrad

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