MIS careers—a theoretical perspective

Reviewer: Rudolph E. Hirsch

Ginzberg and Baroudi correctly point out that much of any MIS manager's time is spent dealing with personnel matters, partly because the exciting early era of computer growth and innovation is largely behind us. Keeping qualified MIS development staff motivated in this era of maintenance and consolidation is not easy. The authors have picked a subject of perennial and increasing importance. Career planning is too often nonexistent: each MIS professional is expected to make his or her own, often multi-employer, way. The authors discuss the career options offered by the employing organizations in comparison to each person's career orientation, and emphasize the importance of getting the two to match. The pros and cons of the dual career ladder (providing career growth into management, or growth while remaining in a technical specialty) are discussed. Promising areas of further research are identified. The truly impressive list of references developed in the authors' research should prove valuable. The authors make an interesting point. Most MIS development workers are young and highly educated and therefore have high promotional expectations; so high, in fact, that few organizations can satisfy them. Opportunities in other organizations will therefore seem attractive, leading to the infamous MIS turnover rate. Another interesting concept is the MIS occupational community, which consists of fellow computer professionals in the region. The larger that community is, the greater its influence over the career expectations and orientation of the individual, and the greater the motivation and opportunity to change employers during a career will be. There is an important omission. The authors have not given the MIS professionals' option of career development into non-MIS areas within their own organization its due. They mention briefly that there are fewer career movements out of MIS than into it. That is probably true, but it highlights a disturbing management attitude. Far from all programmers and analysts who do not want to become managers want to continue programming indefinitely. Many burn out and are eager to try something new. Consider a burned-out senior financial applications programmer. He or she knows all about our accounting approach, chart of accounts, the ins and outs of our financial organization, and what MIS can and cannot do for that organization, and we have already paid to put that knowledge there. Why not put that programmer into that assistant controller's slot due to become free__?__ Now there is something for management to consider and academics to research.