Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/56529
Technology we've been on somewhat of a cru- sade. We're asking universities to start placing their teaching and research in a services context." Are Students Set for Service? A company like IBM might once have been categorized as a manufacturer of computer equipment and acces- sories. But in today's economy, IBM is seeing a greater portion of its revenue come not from selling equipment, but from providing a wide range of services to finance, support, maintain, and maximize efficiency for that equipment after the sale. Graduates who understand how to design and implement stellar ser- vice components are just the ones IBM wants to hire, says Jai Menon, vice president of IBM's Global Uni- versity Programs. "We need people who can help us make our services profitable. But right now, we spend an enormous amount of money 62 BizEd SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2009 training our new hires," Menon says. "We're asking universities to add this kind of training to their curricula. If people will come to us with these skills, we'll have to do less of the training ourselves." That demand is not limited to IBM. Menon estimates that at least 70 percent of the U.S. economy is now based on service-oriented activ- ities, such as financial services, tech- nical support, and after-sale product maintenance—and by next year, six out of ten jobs will be responsible for service-based activities. "Five years ago, business schools were still focused on teaching stu- dents about manufacturing supply chains, rather than services supply chains," says Menon. "Since then, TRAINING "T-SHAPED" LEADERS IBM has launched its Service Sci- ence, Management, and Engineer- ing (SSME) initiative to encourage more schools to adopt service- based curricula that teach students to successfully manage science, technology, business, and people, says Menon. "In the past, universities have graduated students with I-shaped skills—skills deeply based in one field or discipline," he says. "We're looking for people with T-shaped skills, who have skills in one area, but whose knowledge also branches out into other areas." So far, most students come to SSME programs with solid skills in technological fields like computer science and engineering. But the number of business students enroll- ing in these programs is growing. Of the 250 schools now teaching an SSME curriculum, 38 include it in their business programs and 25 in their MIS programs. Mitzi Montoya is the Zelnak Professor of Marketing Innovation and associate dean of research at North Carolina State University's College of Management in Raleigh. As director of NCSU's SSME pro- gram, Montoya believes that there will be no shortage of employers ready to hire graduates with ser- vice-oriented business degrees. "So many industries today have a service component," she says, not- ing that the trend goes far beyond