The major developments in the operations area dealt with the addition of Web staff and outsourcing. Fifty-four percent of the schools responded that they have allocated staff exclusive to Web development. The remaining schools have given the Web responsibility to others (Section 4.1). Collected for the first time this year, the outsourcing data showed that about half the schools relied exclusively on the central university for telecommunication support and for Internet and Web services. Additionally, about 10% of the schools rely on commercial organizations for all Web development and maintenance (Section 4.3). Training remains an ongoing challenge. Given the rapid technological changes in both hardware and software, the need for users to keep current with these developments is critical. However, the data shows very little change from four years ago in terms of the schools effectiveness of their training efforts. In fact, the overall rating by the schools is that their training efforts are below "adequate for most users" (Section 4.4).
Business school ownership of mini/mainframe computer systems continues to decline with only 18% of the schools supporting their own systems, down from a peak of 37% of the schools in 1989. These systems are primarily used for research support and as network and communication servers (Section 5.1). Business school ownership of combined desktop and laptop microcomputers is averaging 244 systems per school, about the same as it was two years ago. However, desktop microcomputer ownership is averaging 215 units, down 2% from two years ago. On the other hand, laptop microcomputer ownership has surged, up 57% in the same period. Overall, 80% of all microcomputers use a Windows operating system. The remaining 20% are divided between Apple, UNIX, DOS, NT, and OS/2 (Sections 5.2 and 5.3). Ninety-nine percent of the schools reported a sufficient number of microcomputers to meet faculty needs, while 83% and 87% of the schools reported a sufficient number for undergraduate and MBA student needs, respectively (Section 5.4). This confirms observations from previous surveys that except for upgrades and replacements, there is little expectation of further growth in the number of microcomputers at the business schools.
Business schools seem to be moving toward greater student microcomputer ownership with 29% of the undergraduate, 42% of the MBA , and 49% of the EMBA programs recommending or requiring ownership. Yet, student ownership implies expectations for greater use than the schools may be able to achieve (Section 5.4).
Over the past eight years the business schools have consistently allocated about 40% of their microcomputers to a lab setting. Nearly all schools (97%) reported their lab equipment as networked. However, this year for the first time, 21% of the schools reported computer labs with zero computers, that is, computerless labs with just networked ports available for students to plug in their laptops. Some labs have cluster tables where groups of students can share a monitor. Peripheral devices such as CD-ROMs and scanners, which just two years ago were separated out as special multimedia equipment, are now commonplace (Section 5.5).
The schools were asked to estimate whether integration of computer technology into their curriculum was meeting their expectations. The overall rating of 2.8 on a five point scale suggests that technology is not living up to its promises. When asked about the impact on the curriculum, about half of the schools gave scores of 4 or 5 on a five point scale indicating that the impact is perceived as positive. That is, the technology is perceived to be having a positive impact, but more could be done (Section 6.1). About 20% of the undergraduate programs and 30% of the MBA programs have computer entrance requirements. The new Web-related skills have been added to the previous graduation requirements by 12% of the schools (Section 6.2). This year, required computer usage in the core curriculum is at its highest level in the history of the surveys. Overall, 77% or the undergraduate core courses and 72% of the MBA core courses have at least some required computer component (Section 6.3). Two areas of exceptionally high growth are database and e-mail usage. Not only are more on-line databases available, greater numbers of users are accessing them (Section 6.5). For the first time, regular e-mail usage was reported as over 80% for the faculty and staff and over 65% for the students (Section 6.6).
Software resources show the dynamics of the market place impacting the business schools. The schools are supporting a greater number of generic applications with four new categories being added this year (Web browsers, suits, groupware, and network management). However, the numbers of different software packages within these application categories is quite varied. Considerable consolidation was shown in the productivity software (word processing, spreadsheets, and graphics), while many other applications categories experienced growth as new packages were introduced to better meet user needs. As an example, the number of different statistical software packages used in the schools increased from 22 in 1993 to 33 this year. Although the more generic packages, SAS and SPSS, continue to dominate, the packages which are coming on the market are more specialized (Section 7).
Another impressive shift in the data over the past 14 years is networked connectivity. The thrust of schools in 1985 was to acquire microcomputer systems with only 14% of the schools reporting having more than two-thirds of their systems networked. Today, while the average number of microcomputer systems has tripled, networked computers have become the standard (Section 8.1). Because of the Internet, the very old and stable network protocol of TCP/IP has experienced major growth in the past four years, from 54% to 92% utilization.
Eighty-five percent of the business schools indicated they had access to distance learning and teleconferencing equipment. However, even though they have access to this equipment, only 39% of the schools indicated using it regularly for class instruction offered to distant locations (Section 9).
As might be expected, growth in areas of required on-line use has grown substantially, reflecting the power of the World Wide Web. Reminiscent of the early surveys when there would be 25 different word processing packages on the market, each offering something slightly different, the schools identified 108 separate Web tool software packages. Today there are dozens of Web development and management tools representing the enormous energy and excitement associated with this new information technology. The next few years will probably show a significant consolidation to fewer packages (Section 10). A large portion of the innovation this year were Web related (Section 11).
However, a persistent issue over the years has been financial resource concerns. Our schools have made a significant investment in developing information technological infrastructures. This investment includes not only hardware and software, but all the after purchase requirements of support staff, maintenance, space allocations and modifications, the refocusing of time and energy, together with the personal time and efforts on the part of the faculty, staff, students and vendors. A pressure within our environments is "to do more with less" -- increase educational productivity through one teacher reaching more students or individuals students acquiring ideas at a faster pace. In a recent discussion regarding the statement "doing more with less," Gene Ziegler, Director of Advanced Technology Projects at the Johnson School of Management at Cornell University, pointed out that the phrase was coined for large corporate environments for which communication technologies and automation enable the reduction of many staff positions. However, for small organizations, such as our business schools, which struggle for every additional support resource, the more accurate statements are "doing less with less" and "doing more with more." It is unrealistic to think otherwise.
Business schools are adding to the cost of education through computer
related fees as well as increasing assumptions that students will own,
or have available, computers and Internet access outside of the school
setting. The impact on selection of students who can or cannot afford to
participate in our programs thus becomes relevant. In response, given the
ongoing dynamic changes in technological capabilities, there are new venues
for acquiring the knowledge and skills students feel appropriate for their
careers, including the continuing training corporations offer their employees.
A variety of business courses are being offered over the Web and other
non-traditional distance learning technologies. These external alternatives
to education are forcing changes to our more traditional university-based
approaches and our educational offerings. How each school responds will
be a function of how the problems are perceived and the willingness of
the institution to make an investment in change. A major challenge facing
business schools today is educational leadership in understanding the problems,
identifying alternatives, and building on the opportunities these present.