How to manage diversity in digital enterprises

3 July 2007

How to manage diversity in digital enterprises

Leading information systems experts will converge on Auckland this week to present the latest research into the relationships between IT and diversity.

The annual Pacific-Asia Conference on Information Systems (PACIS) has been organised by The University of Auckland Business School for the worldwide Association for Information Systems.

It is the first time it has been held in New Zealand. With more than 200 scholars attending over three days, it is one of the largest information systems research events in the Asia Pacific.

The keynote address on Thursday will be given by David Cunliffe, Minister for Communications, who will comment on New Zealand’s Digital Strategy and his ambitions for world-class broadband provisions within three years.

The conference theme is Managing Diversity in Digital Enterprises. Professor Ananth Srinivasan, from the Business School’s Department of Information Systems and Operations Management (ISOM), says managing diversity is a major issue facing the IT industry.

“Workplaces in the Asia Pacific have a great deal of diversity in terms of company size, public versus private, employee age, race, culture, religion and levels of IT literacy,” Professor Srinivasan says. “This all impacts how technology is used and ultimately affects economic development, so understanding how diversity and IT relate is extremely important.”

Professor Srinivasan is Co-Chairing the conference with Professor Michael Myers, of the ISOM Department at the Business School.

Professor Srinivasan will also chair a panel at the conference exploring the importance of technology driven services as part of an effective economy.

The keynote address on Friday will be given by Professor Carol Saunders, the editor-in-chief of MIS Quarterly and a Professor of MIS at the University of Central Florida. Dr Saunders will speak on increasing the incidence of high-quality research articles.

Information systems is the study of the use, applications and influences of information technology (IT) in the context of a modern organisation.

Mr Cunliffe and Business School Dean Barry Spicer will address the conference between 9am and 10.30am on Thursday, July 5, 2007 at the Langham Hotel in Auckland.

ENDS

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