DHAHRAN: This year, Fundamentals of E-Commerce (MIS 300) and E-Commerce Project (MIS 402) students from King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals (www.kfupm.edu.sa) are playing an active role in the second Google Online Marketing Challenge (GOMC). Developed by educators in collaboration with the search engine giant Google, the Challenge (www.google.com/onlinechallenge) is an opportunity for students to gain practical, real world online marketing experience.
“My e-Commerce students are the only students participating in the GOMC from Saudi Arabia,” said Mustafa Faisal Ahmed, lecturer, Department of Accounting and Management Information Systems (MIS), College of Industrial Management, King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals (KFUPM). “This semester students have been working with clients ranging from Saudi government organizations to multinational hotel chains.”
Companies joining with the students in the Challenge include the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA), the Supreme Commission for Tourism (SCT), Holiday Inn Al-Khobar, Gillani Inc., PreciseTrace, Goody and RedCap Auto. Over the course of the semester, the KFUPM students have been working with their respective clients to develop and implement an e-marketing campaign. Students have also done an analysis of the campaign, with two reports submitted to the client company — one prior to the campaign and then a post campaign analysis.
“The GOMC is a good opportunity for students to learn hands on about e-marketing. The campaign just ended on June 12 and we should know the results in about two weeks,” Ahmed said. “Through GOMC students get the excitement of competing on a global level. Of course there’s a great incentive. The overall winners and their instructor receive a trip to the Googleplex in Mountain View, California.”
Online business is one of the newer focus areas in the Department of Accounting and Management Information Systems (MIS) at KFUPM’s College of Industrial Management. Courses in e-Commerce have been offered by the department since September 2000 with a focus on the business side of e-Commerce rather than the technical side. Students are well-equipped however to handle many of the technical complexities of e-Commerce, as the department has set up a dedicated e-Commerce lab.
“Our e-Commerce courses combine the essential information about international e-Commerce with information about e-Commerce in a Saudi setting,” explained Ahmed. “We do use up-to-date textbooks, but they are primarily US oriented so in certain areas we supplement the textbooks with local information and local expertise. For example, some of the e-payment information in the textbooks is not really applicable to the Saudi market, but it’s essential that students understand the financial mechanisms for e-Commerce in the Kingdom. Additionally, we teach our students about all the organizations that would be involved in e-Commerce in the Saudi setting, such as the Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC) and local hosting companies. We are always trying to find ways to help our students apply their knowledge. Over the last six years KFUPM has participated in four global student competitions and KFUPM’s MIS students have always placed in either the finals or semi-finals.”
Management Information Systems (MIS) refer to a group of the overall internal controls of a business covering the application of people, documents, technologies and procedures by management accountants to solving business problems such as costing a product, service or a business-wide strategy. Management information systems are distinct from regular information systems in that they are used to analyze other information systems applied in operational activities in the organization. Academically, MIS is used to refer to the group of information management methods tied to the automation or support of human decision-making.
“Any information system that allows someone to manage effectively is a management information system,” said Dr. Eid S. Al-Shammari, dean, College of Industrial Management, KFUPM. “It so happens that for information systems to be effective, you need to have fast, accurate, on-time delivery of information. What is better than computers for such functionality? There were management information systems before computers. Paper and pencil can be used as part of a management information system, but now computers are generally at the foundation of MIS. Management Information Systems are developed, implemented and utilized through a combination of the talents of computer engineers, software engineers and MIS specialists. Each plays a role.”
Al-Shammari is pleased with the participation of the MIS students in the Google Online Marketing Challenge because he believes that this shows how KFUPM is once again playing a leading role in preparing young minds to “think outside the box” and compete both in the local and global economy.
“In many areas, KFUPM is more up to date than people imagine. In terms of information technology, KFUPM, even when it was the University of Petroleum and Minerals (UPM), was along with Saudi Aramco, the first information technology center in the country. KFUPM’s Information Technology Center (ITC) is still a leader in the Middle East,” he advised. “The university had computers before any other institute of higher learning in the Kingdom and we were the first to have ‘smart’ classrooms.”
The university’s methods for developing its programs actually forces KFUPM to be current in its offerings. Any department that develops a program must benchmark it and map it against the top ten programs in the United States. If there is a deviation in any aspect of the curriculum, be it infrastructure or content, then that must be justified. All programs at the university are reviewed every five years and the most modern textbooks are used in instruction.
“Another point is that we are AACSB accredited,” Al-Shammari said. “The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) has standards that are in line with what should be an acceptable reputable program and KFUPM adheres to these standards. In addition, we’re fully cognizant about the role of our programs and of our college to the region. We try to make our student projects as useful as possible to the business community.”
In addition to student participation in projects and competitions while at the university, Dr. Mohammed H. Al-Hazmi, chairman of the Department of Accounting & MIS at KFUPM’s College of Industrial Management, discussed the importance of the university’s Co-Op Program. The university has required the Co-Op experience since its programs began in 1963.
“As part of the requirements for graduation, all juniors in our college spend 28 weeks working with local business and industry,” he explained. “Our cooperative programs are highly structured. We endeavor to match the skills of each student to a suitable Co-Op placement. A detailed program is created for each student and he is tracked throughout the semester during his Co-Op experience. Three progress reports are submitted during the 28 weeks and a representative from the university visits the student to determine that everything is going according to plan.”
When students return to the university after their experience, they write a report on what they observed and learned. Many students when they graduate get a chance to work with the company where they performed their Co-Op. KFUPM data shows that about 80 percent of students receive an offer of employment from the organization that sponsored them for their co-operative training.
“Other Saudi universities have now introduced the Co-Op in their programs. It is also true that the number of students has increased and therefore the opportunities and the pressure to have places in the companies is there,” remarked Al-Shammari. “Over the years we have had successful relationships with a great many companies. Our reputation as far as our graduates are concerned is an excellent selling point for the Co-Op.”
KFUPM graduates are well placed at the top of the Saudi business hierarchy. This is an achievement that KFUPM is striving to maintain by educating students who are critical thinkers. Updating its programs and introducing innovative learning experiences into the curriculum are part of the university’s strategy to give its graduates a competitive edge in the business world.
“Our e-Commerce courses are just one means of helping students see the need to strike a balance between knowledge and creative thinking. Education is not about memorization. It is about learning to process knowledge into information and then have no inhibitions to develop new ideas,” said Al-Shammari.
Ahmed added, “Personally, I believe the future for my students will be very bright. The nature of the e-Commerce courses at KFUPM is very entrepreneurial. In my advanced e-commerce class, we covered topics such as creating Facebook applications as a business model. Not many other universities globally are doing this. In the Middle East, e-Commerce is still underdeveloped and there are many opportunities waiting to be explored. For my students this means one great idea successfully commercialized could lead to success. That is very exciting.”