The Unholy Separation of the Siamese Twin
Dr. Z. S. Demirdjian
California State University, Long Beach,
CA
ABSTRACT
With the advent of the personal computer, there has been
an explosion in the information technology. Against the backdrop of increasing
demand for literacy in information systems since 1970s, universities began to
offer information systems (IS), also known as management information system
(MIS), courses usually in a separate departments, carrying the same name as IS
or MIS. Almost all of the courses offered in the IS department are designed to
process, store, and retrieve secondary data. In the age of information,
management needs primary data to keep abreast of the constantly changing
competitive environment. Myopically, the IS department does not require a course
in research methodology to prepare the IS student to generate primary data and
be able to appraise data produced by others. On the other hand, marketing
department does offer such a course titled Marketing Research. When a student
majoring in IS graduates, he or she would lack the conceptual knowledge and the
requisite skills in either conducting a systematic and objective research study
to generate information for aid in making business decisions or in evaluating
the accuracy of data produced by someone else. The focus of this paper is to
demonstrate by means of a model that Marketing Research and IS are congenitally
joined together like the Siamese twins whose unholy separation would shortchange
the IS student. Additionally, recommendations are made to correct the
shortsightedness and the deficiency of the IS curriculum in order to prepare
students for the real world, who will be well rounded in dealing with both
secondary and primary data management and usage.
INTRODUCTION
The environment of business is constantly changing to
incorporate new technologies for conducting exchanges more efficiently and
strategically in order to obtain differential advantage. With the advent of the
personal computer in the 1970s, a revolution has taken place in the landscape of
business. As a result, the demand for literacy in the information systems has
experienced a trajectory rise in the last several decades. Virtually, every
university has established an Information Systems (IS), Management Information
Systems (MIS), or Computer Information Systems (CIS) department to fill an ever
expanding demand for graduates with IS orientation. Several dozens of courses
are being offered in the IS department of various universities. These courses
prepare students mainly to process information as a secondary data. When it
comes to generating primary data, IS students lack the requisite knowledge and
skills in research methodology to conduct a systematic and objective study. Even
if the students would not be required to engage in some sort of research, they
would need the same knowledge and skills in research in order to be able to
evaluate the accuracy of the data being processed. In the face of rapidly
changing business environment and information technologies, today's
responsibilities of an IS professional range not only throughout the boundaries
of the company but also throughout the entire interconnected network of
suppliers, customers, competitors, and other entities located around the world..
Stair (1997) maintains that this broad scope offers 1S processionals a new
challenge: how to help the organization survive in a highly interconnected,
highly competitive, international environment? In the information era, they are
fast becoming the stewards of business and industry. Since the IS professional
has begun to play a pivotal role in the ongoing survival of the organization, he
or she should possess skills commensurate to the professions newly acquired
responsibilities. One such critical empowering competency would be in the form
of knowledge of research methods. After a brief introduction to the ever
increasing need for IS educated and trained graduates, the common foundation of
IS in the company is presented to point out a major deficiency in its
components, which curtails its viability as a source of timely and accurate
information for management decision making; then, the role of marketing research
is discussed to show how it is destined to remain together with IS; finally,
some recommendations are made to improve the IS program in the hope of producing
well rounded IS majors to meet the challenges of the dynamism in the information
age.
A MAJOR DEFICIENCY IN IS MODEL
IS majors have to take a core
course in marketing. In Principles of Marketing, these students are exposed only
to one single chapter on marketing research and information systems. For all
practical purposes, they end up with insufficient background in research methods
to either conduct research to produce primary data or to be able to evaluate
data produced by someone else. Upon close examination, it was found that the 1S
department does not offer a course which covers research methodology, while the
marketing department offers several such courses. For example, Principle of
Marketing and Marketing Management each contain a chapter on research. Marketing
department, furthermore, offers an entire course in research titled Marketing
Research on both undergraduate and graduate levels. According to Jessup and
Valacich (2001, p. I-6) "Information Systems are combinations of hardware,
software, and telecommunications networks which people build and use to collect,
create, and distribute useful data [sic], typically in organizational settings."
IS should distribute information and not data for decision making, but that is
not the issue here. The issue is that it clearly states that the IS "create
..data." This signify that IS produces primary data, yet no provision is made in
any discussion of IS with either the mention or incorporation of research
methodology. Somewhat exemplary of almost all the current introductory text
books in IS, O'Brien (2001) presents similar components of an information system
as input of data resources, processing of data into information, and output of
information products as is shown in Figure 1. The model is based on O'Brien's
(2001) representation of the components of an information system as closely as
possible. O'Brien further states that "All information systems use people,
hardware, software, data, and network resources to perform input, processing,
output, storage, and control activities that transform data resources into
information
products."
Figure 1
Components of an Information System
Control of System
Performance
Processing
Input of Data Output
Data Into Of
Resources
Information Information
Products
Storage of Data Resources
O'Brien
further states that Data are typically subjected to processing activities such
as calculating, comparing, sorting, classifying, and summarizing. These
activities organize, analyze, and manipulate data, thus converting them into
information for end users. This clearly indicates that the data handled are
nothing but secondary data. How does one expect to create data without knowing
about research methodology? Obviously, a major component is excluded from the
preceding IS model, namely the activity of research. Such an important omission
would undoubtedly shortchange the IS major; furthermore, it would hamper the
students advancement in the organization for lack of the requisite skills to
handle research oriented tasks.
THE ROLE OF MARKETING RESEARCH
The role of marketing research is
to reduce uncertainty surrounding decisions facing management. Stair and
Reynolds (1999) state that "there is a high degree of uncertainty with most
executive decisions." Zikmund (2000) does not equivocate about stating that "The
task of marketing research is to help specify and supply accurate information to
reduce the uncertainty in decision making." Awad and Gotterer (1992) resonate
the same stance on information playing an important role in decision making: "It
reduces uncertainty and makes decisions easier. As we gain information about a
problem, our certainty about a solution increases accordingly." A reduction in
uncertainty would mean a lowering in the risk of failure. What mitigates
uncertainty is objective information. Objective information could be based on
both secondary or primary data or on a combination of both. Figure 2 shows the
systematic role of marketing research. According to Professor R. Michael Godfrey
"the role of IS can be summed up in the following statement: People make
decisions and IS helps people make better decisions by getting the right
information to the right people at the right time." Professor Godfrey echoes the
same attributes as all the other authors of IS text books are ascribing to IS.
Both marketing research and IS are charged with the same mission of procuring
information for management decision making. For arguments sake, if the two
missions are the same, should we then not train IS students to be proficient in
research methodology as well?
Figure 2 The Role of Marketing Research:
Uncertainty Reduction Through Information
Management: Challenges/
Opportunities
Outcomes (Profits, Mkt.
Share,
Etc.)
Failure
The common denominator of all marketing
research projects are to reduce uncertainty. If objective information reduces
uncertainty, better decisions are made by management because uncertainty will
reduce risk which would produce positive outcomes in the form of greater sales,
profits, market share, etc. Thus, the company will get successful results
because of the synergistic effect of uncertainty reduction through objective
information.
A survey of over a half a dozen of introductory text books have
failed to show any discussion of primary data for decision making (Beckman et
al. 1999; Jessup and Valacich 1999; Laudon and Laudon 2000; O=Brien 2001, Stair
1997; Stair and Reynolds 1999; Turban et al. 2001) This exclusion of primary
data generation is a major weakness of IS=s version of Management Information
Systems; it neglects to address the all important role of research or marketing
research. For example, O'Briens (2001) components of an information system
purports that all information systems use people, hardware, software, data, and
network resources to perform input, processing, output, storage, and control
activities that transform data resources into information products.@ Yet, no
mention is made of generating primary data. Ostensibly, no research activity is
included in the entire model of Information Systems. This constitutes a big gap
in the IS curriculum. Marketing Information System consists of people,
equipment, and procedures to gather, sort, analyze, evaluate and distribute
needed, timely, and accurate information to marketing decision makers. The
components of a marketing information systems consist of internal records
system, marketing intelligence system, marketing research system, and data
analysis system as are shown in Figure 3. Internal Data System involves the
collection of data from sources within the company such as accounting, sales
force, marketing, and manufacturing. Marketing Intelligence involves the
collection and analysis of publicly available information about competitors and
developments in the marketing environment; marketing research is the systematic
and objective process of generating information to aid in making marketing
decisions; and data analysis system which simply takes sample-based data and
analyzes them statistically to extract information ready for use by management
for analysis, planning, execution, and control functions. Because marketing
research is problem oriented, managers use it when they need guidance to solve a
specific problem. Marketing research, for example, has been used to find out
what features consumers want in a new personal computer. Marketing research can
be one of three kinds: descriptive, diagnostic, and predicative. In its
descriptive role includes gathering and presenting factual statements. For
example, what is the historic sales trend in the industry? What are consumers=s
attitudes toward a product and its advertising? Its diagnostic role includes
explaining data. For instance, what was the impact on sales of a change in the
design of the package? Its predictive function is to address what if questions.
For example, how can the researcher use the descriptive and diagnostic research
to predict the results of a planned marketing decision This wealth of
information based on primary data should also be included in the IS
professional=s framework for the entire company.
MARKETING RESEARCH AND IS: THE SYMBIOTIC SIAMESE TWINS
In
surveying the IS discipline, Stair (1997) points out the expanding role of the
IS professional by stating that: Once considered a dedicated specialist, the IS
professional now is often called upon to be an internal consultant to all
functional areas, knowledgeable about their needs and competent in bringing the
power of IS to bear through the organization. The IS professional must exercise
a broad perspective, encompassing the entire organization and often going beyond
it.
Figure 3 The Components of Marketing Information
System
Input
Process Output
Microenvironment: The Company Suppliers
Intermediaries Customers Competitors Public
Internal Records
Svstem
Analysis
Macroenvironment: Demographic Economic
Natural
Technological Political Cultural
Data
Marketing Intelligence
System
Marketing Research System
Data Analysis
System
Info
10
Planning i Execution Co rol
I I
------------------------------_--Feedback-------------------------
In
assessing the future for the IS function, Jessup and Valacich (1999) state that
as information systems becomes used more broadly throughout the company, AIS
personnel often [will] have dual-reporting relationships reporting to both the
central IS group and the business function they serve. Thus, the 1S professional
will have centralized and decentralized functions. This kind of outlook
indicates that IS specialists will also be involved with the marketing function
as is shown in Figure 4. Therefore, a knowledge of research methods would come
in handy as a communication vehicle on matters pertaining to Marketing
Information Systems. Otherwise, the IS personnel would not be able to gain the
confidence of the marketing department, which would cause friction between the
two.
The new model in Figure 4 is self-explanatory. It simply combines
marketing research and information systems. In this rather complete IS model
input data flow into the system from three major sources: microenvironment,
macro environment, and from other functional areas of the firm. The data are
then processed according to their kind. Secondary data processing has always
been carried out by the IS professional. In this new paradigm, however, the IS
professional will also generate and/or process primary data. Both secondary and
primary data have to be subjected to testing through descriptive and inferential
statistics. Thus, statistical analysis will generate information out of the data
ready for decision making. The output information will then be made available to
management for analysis, planning, implementation, and control purposes. The
proposed model meets the exigencies of the ever expanding role of the 1S
professional who has to provide timely, accurate, and objective information for
management to be able to navigate its way through the complex and fast changing
world of globalization of business. Against the backdrop of dynamic business
environment, companies are increasingly developing their marketing information
systems to provide managers with real-time market information. According to
Kotler (2001) companies are expanding from local to national to global
operations, consumers are becoming ever more selective in choices due to gains
in their disposable and discretionary incomes, and sellers are resorting to
non price competition. Companies with state-of-the art marketing information
system (MIS) can only attain differential advantage in the marketplace. To aid
management as the definitions of marketing research and IS indicate, both IS and
Marketing Research are inseparable if IS really means what it says that good
decisions are based on timely, accurate, and objective information. Therefore,
it is imperative that IS majors also be trained in research
methods.
Figure 4 The Components of a Corporate Information System:
Showing the Duality of IS Professional=s Responsibilities Toward IS and Other
Functional Areas
Input Process Output
Microenvironment: Mgmt.
The
Company Processing
Suppliers Of Secondary
Intermediaries Data
Customers
Competitors
Public Analysis
Macro environment:
Demographic
Economic 1
Natural Processing
Technological
Political
--Io,Data~ll Data
Through
Planning
Cultural Info. -
Statistical
Functional Areas: Analysis
I
Marketing
Finance
Production Execution
Accounting
Human
Resources
Processing I
Of
Primary Control
Data
______________________________ Feedback --------------------------
:
RECOMMENDATION TO CLOSE THE GAP
A case was made of the conspicuous
absence of a critical component of the IS model. Without marketing research to
produce primary data, IS would be a pot of stale soup of secondary data.
Strategic planning requires a lot of primary data to enable management to look
into the future of the business world. IS managers cannot claim ignorance for
defense if management decisions were based on biased data. They should be able
to stop the flow of biased data into their system for dissemination, otherwise
it would be biased data in, biased data out just like garbage in, garbage out
situation. For example, the purchasing agent in the company should know about
quality, otherwise material would be bought blindly for the production
department. Likewise, the IS manger should have the competence to evaluate the
accuracy of the data processed for producing information products for management
decision making. Such a quality control mechanism is only made possible through
IS peoples competence in matters of research. Upon graduation, the IS major
should have also a sound, and not just a smattering, knowledge of how to conduct
research objectively and how to evaluate measurements done by others. In other
words, among other things, they should be able to:
* Generate data
systematically and objectively (following scientific methods in observational,
survey, or experimental research)
* Evaluate the reliability of the
measurement (are we obtaining similar results over time?) * Evaluate the
validity of the measurement (are we measuring what we intend to measure?)
*
Determine the sensitivity of the scales used (refers to the ability of an
instrument to accurately measure variability in stimuli or
responses).
*Appraise the overall robustness of the methodology used.
The
Journal of American Academy of Business, Cambridge * September 2003
222
With IS majors enhanced competence, management can now be protected
from making decisions based on biased information. Although the definition of IS
raises the expectations, directly or indirectly, that IS students are being
trained to generate primary data to aid management make better decisions, the
fact of the matter is that IS majors lack conceptual and working knowledge of
research methods. If IS is to provide management with information for decision
making, then by definition it should include marketing research or research
methodology as an additional component in the IS framework. Moreover, IS
department could offer a course in research or require IS students to take a
marketing research course. Segregating research methods from IS courses can rob
students of crucial problem-solving skills. Focusing exclusively on IS
principles would create a barrier between the two disciplines and functional
areas. Marketing research and IS are one special Siamese twins, symbiotic in
nature, born together not to be tampered with in any way. Any attempt at
separation would be cardinally unholy. To remain in the good grace of business
visionaries and to give the organization a differential advantage, we should
keep the two together for better way of reducing the fog of uncertainties
surrounding management decisions.
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