Exploring Business Student Perception of Information and Technology

The purpose of this research is to explore information and technology perception of business major freshman and sophomore undergraduate students at an AACSB accredited business school. AACSB accredited academic programs emphasize the importance of information and technology skills by setting learning goals and offering courses to achieve these learning goals. While learning goals are known and already set, initial information and technology skills, knowledge and perception of students are not well known. Growing up with technology and instant communication, new generations may be developing a different understanding of information and technology issues than the previous generations. Understanding freshman and sophomore student perception of information and technology as a starting point is essential for an effective course and curriculum design to meet the learning goals of accredited business schools.A qualitative approach was adopted in this study to capture and discover the meaning of information and technology for students. 53 students were asked to express their taught about nineteen statements on information, technology, and global forces. The data was collected through a questionnaire. Students commented on statements by answering three generic questions to discuss individual and organizational impacts of these statements, and personal solutions for these trends. A total of 2,337 comments were analyzed to understand student perception of information and technology.