Making the World Your Oyster: Experiences from Teaching Information Systems Management for Global Operations

The topic of information systems management for global operations is a microcosm of the increasing complexity and rapid change that the 21st century business environment is bringing with it: accelerating globalization, increasing cross-functional dependencies, extensive use of new information technologies, new organizational forms, and complex alliances. Learning to operate effectively in such rapidly changing environments requires a new model of education and learning that involves and leverages all the involved parties - and which takes real-time advantage of developments as they emerge. This article presents a model of education in which university faculty (U), students (S), and companies (C) learn together in a real-time, collaborative and balanced way - and in a global and international context. We show how this USC global balanced learning model emerged through the MBA course on information systems management for global operations management over the last six years. We share our experiences and draw some lessons for management education in general, and information systems management education in particular.