Technology

Overview

It is evident that in the last two decades, the global economy has been transformed in fundamental ways by information, communication, and other advanced technologies. From complex supply chains that span the globe, to electronic markets where businesses and consumers interact, to enterprise technologies that alter the way in which business processes are executed, the scale and scope of these transformations is extensive. Today’s executives need to understand and cope with the changes wrought by technology. How do they manage, leverage, and harness the power of these technologies for business efficiency and effectiveness? The Smith School responds to this challenge by being thought leaders in a digital world, and by infusing our undergraduate and MBA programs with leading-edge courses that enhance the knowledge, skills and capabilities of the future generations of business executives.

Research and Thought Leadership

Smith School boasts of an information systems group that is ranked in the top-5 in the world. faculty provide thought leadership in managing and exploiting technology-enabled opportunities. Leading edge, rigorous, and interdisciplinary research across traditional management disciplines focuses on important questions such as how do electronic markets create economic value? What are the implementation challenges associated with complex technologies and how can they be addressed? How do pricing, advertising, product bundling and other important marketing decisions change in technology mediated settings? What are the effects of technological capabilities on business models, revenue generation opportunities, and competition? When and how much should firms invest in information technologies? What are the behavioral and social dynamics of technology-mediated virtual teams and how can they be made more effective? What are the implications of open-source software development for the software industry? How do organizations derive knowledge and business intelligence from their extensive data assets? How do managers drive more evidence-based and data-driven decision making throughout the organization? And how can the power of information and decision technologies be leveraged to reduce medical errors and drive cost-efficiencies into the healthcare system?

The insights and business principles generated through faculty research permeate the Smith curriculum, and Smith School students gain the benefit of this world class faculty scholarship. Innovative coursework focuses on topics such as data mining and business intelligence, the outsourcing and offshoring industry, corporate transformation through IT, information systems and strategy, and technology entrepreneurship. The Smith graduate can enter the real world with a firm understanding of how to better guide their organization and navigate the complexity of a business environment where innovation and change driven by technological developments has become an inescapable reality. Through partnerships with leading corporations such as SAP, Reuters, Oracle, and Sprint Nextel, the Smith School also provides students an opportunity to gain hands-on experience with major software applications.

Education

The undergraduate program has a required course that introduces students to the implications of modern information and communications technologies in global business. There are thriving majors that reflect the extensive nature of decision and information technologies: information systems, operations management, and supply chain management. In each case, the students learn in a pedagogical environment that integrates theory, practice, experience and experiment. The MBA program provides the students with a choice of required information systems courses, either an overview of the state-of-art of the technology, or the strategic use of technology. There are courses that highlight the organizational impact of technology, online business models, health case informatics, and data modeling and design.

Infrastructure Technology

Van Munching Hall, home to the Smith School, is a state-of the-art building with sophisticated computing and electronic communication capabilities. The University of Maryland's wireless network is one of the largest in the country with over 2,000 access points providing convenient, safe and secure wireless access in more than 100 buildings on campus.

The Smith School's cutting-edge netcentricity labs - behavioral, e-markets, financial, business simulation, and supply chain - and research centers provide students and faculty with the opportunity to explore both the immediate and long-range challenges facing organizations in partnership with corporate leadership across a wide variety of industries. Several centers focus on different facets of the business opportunities created by technological advances, including the Center on Human Capital, Innovation, and Technology, the Center for E-Services, the Center for Electronic Markets and Enterprises, and the Center for Health Information and Decision Systems.

The Smith community has access to its own information technology support system - the Office of Smith IT - located conveniently inside Van Munching Hall. On-call technology support for students, faculty, staff, alumni, and visitors is available on a walk-in basis, via phone, e-mail, and even real-time, online. The team of more than 20 is constantly evaluating new technology and looking at ways to improve the techniques we use educate and conduct business in the digital and global economy.