Business informatics: Cross-cultural differences between Germany and Australia

Table of Contents

• 1. INTRODUCTION
• 1.1. MOTIVATION
• 1.2. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
• 1.3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY AND DELIMITATIONS
• 1.4. STRUCTURE OF THE THESIS
• 2. BUSINESS INFORMATICS IN AUSTRALIA: A DEFINITION FROM A GERMAN PERSPECTIVE
• 3. INFORMATION SYSTEMS AND RELATED STUDIES AT AUSTRALIAN UNIVERSITIES
• 3.1. IS STRUCTURES AT AUSTRALIAN UNIVERSITIES
• 3.2. STUDYING INFORMATION SYSTEMS AT AUSTRALIAN UNIVERSITIES
• 3.2.1. IS Degrees
• 3.2.2. Requirements for Studying IS
• 3.2.3. Fees for Studying IS
• 3.2.4. Examples of two IS degree description
• 3.3. TEACHING METHODS AND QUALITY ASSURANCE IN THE IS DISCIPLINE
• 3.3.1. Teaching Methods
• 3.3.2. Quality Assurance
• 3.4. VISITED UNIVERSITIES
• 4. STATE-OF-THE-ART OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS AT AUSTRALIAN UNIVERSITIES REFERED TO THE 13TH AUSTRALASIAN CONFERENCE ON INFORMATION SYSTEMS, 2002, MELBOURNE
• 4.1. DISCUSSING THE IS DISCIPLINE
• 4.2. A PROBLEM-BASED LEARNING APPROACH FOR IS
• 4.3. TEACHING ONLINE
• 4.4. CONCLUSION
• 5. FINDINGS
• 5.1. EDUCATIONAL BUSINESS INFORMATICS/IS OFFERS AT UNIVERSITIES
• 5.1.1. Business Informatics/IS Degrees
• 5.1.2. Business Informatics/IS Discipline Curriculum And Single Subjects
• 5.1.3. Business Informatics/IS Teaching Methods And Quality Assurance
• 5.2. ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE OF BUSINESS INFORMATICS/IS IN UNIVERSITIES
• 5.2.1. Location Of Schools/Departments And Chairs Within Faculties
• 5.2.2. Organisational Structure Of Business Informatics/IS Departments/Schools And Chairs
• 5.2.3. The Academic Career Path
• 5.2.4. Financial Aspects And The Contribution Of Study Fees
• 5.3. CULTURAL ASPECTS
• 5.3.1. The Level Of Internationality And Its Influence On Higher Education
• 5.3.2. Women In Business Informatics/IS (Students And Academics)
• 5.3.3. Organisational Culture
• 5.3.4. Alumni tradition
• 5.3.5. The Relationship Between Student And Academic
• 5.3.6. Study Fees
• 5.4. CONCLUSION
• 6. CONCLUSION
• 6.1. RECAPITULATION
• 6.2. OUTLOOK

Objectives and Key Themes

The objective of this study is to provide a comprehensive overview of the Business Informatics discipline in Australia, focusing on its aspects at Australian universities. The study compares this overview to the Business Informatics discipline in German universities, exploring differences and similarities.

• Definitions of Business Informatics and Information Systems (IS)
• Educational Business Informatics/IS offers at universities
• Organisational structure of Business Informatics/IS in universities
• Cultural aspects within the Business Informatics/IS discipline
• Comparison of the Business Informatics/IS discipline in higher education between Germany and Australia

Chapter Summaries

Chapter 2 defines the terms Business Informatics and Information Systems (IS) from a German perspective, providing a foundational framework for understanding the study's focus. Chapter 3 delves into the structure and practices of Information Systems studies at Australian universities. It explores IS degrees, requirements, fees, teaching methods, quality assurance, and provides detailed descriptions of visited universities.

Chapter 4 presents key findings from the 13th Australasian Conference on Information Systems (ACIS), including discussions on the IS discipline, problem-based learning approaches, and online teaching methods.

Chapter 5 analyzes the findings of the study, examining the educational offers of Business Informatics/IS at universities, the organizational structure of the discipline within universities, and cultural aspects related to the discipline. This chapter explores similarities and differences between Germany and Australia, providing a comparative perspective on the field.

Keywords

The main keywords of this study are: Business Informatics, Information Systems, higher education, universities, Germany, Australia, cross-cultural differences, educational offers, organisational structure, cultural aspects, comparison.