The IS Manager: A Study of Critical Professional Activities and Skills/Knowledge

This paper utilizes the activity competency model (ACM) to investigate the perceived importance of professional activities and skills/knowledge required of three levels of information system (IS) managers from two types of industries. Carrying an activity out involves the use of a number of different skills and knowledge. The critical activities and the required skills/knowledge for each level of IS management are identified. Our findings indicate that the perceived importance of IS professional activities varies significantly for different levels of management but does not vary significantly for different industries. These results have implications for IS professional succession planning, specialty training and development. They also can serve as guidelines for selecting, performance appraising and recruiting the right IS managers.