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IS professionals can only dream of the days when technical brilliance alone was enough to ensure a successful career. Now business acumen and a strong understanding of customer expectations are vital to long-term career survival. Based on their study of 75 experienced IS professionals, the authors present guidelines for fostering the development of customer-oriented IS professionals.

Values are essential to setting and achieving goals. Once an organization identifies its values, it must determine the priorities of its values. A survey of senior management of Fortune 1000 companies was conducted to ascertain the priority of their corporate value systems. The survey revealed that the executives believed that the most important value systems included, in descending order, trust, excellence, and management skills. These three values were linked with the development, retention, and treatment of employees and are directly related to organizational effectiveness and productivity. Trust is essential to employer-employee relationships. Employees must see that the actions and words of management coincide in order for management to have credibility.

With out mentors, both male and female, breaking through the glass ceiling can be 'paneful.' Mentoring has been heralded in business as one of the key tools for advancement through [...]

A survey of 146 men and 184 women who are part of dual-income couples reveals a smaller-than-anticipated difference in the degree of guilt felt by men and women about work-family conflicts, with males generally feeling less guilt-ridden than females. Percentage spreads of 12 percent or less were reported in male-female differences on various questions such as child care, day care, and attending school functions. It was shown that women still tend to play the traditional 'nursemaid' role when children at home are ill.

Women's increased workplace participation is associated with rising levels of stress both at home and at work. Working women demonstrate increased independence, purchasing power, and assertiveness, which alter domestic power balances and conflict with traditional role expectations. Sex role stereotypes can also constrain women at work. Qualities traditionally associated with women such as a 'people orientation' or a humane perspective can help equip women for certain management jobs. Job stress among female managers can be relieved by support from colleagues, increased hiring of women, assistance from mentors, and inclusion in social activities and networks.