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JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org. Management Information SystemsResearch Center, University of Minnesota is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to MIS Quarterly This content downloaded from 159.178.22.27 on Fri, 24 Jun 2016 17:05:46 UTC All use subject to Abstract This study investigates the characteristics of end users within the context of their environments. End users are defined as those persons who interact with a computer as part of their job but are not programmers or analysts. The Job Diagnostic Survey (JDS) developed by GregOldham and J. Richard Hackman, is applied to 84 end users in 15 companies to discern 1) if there is a need for work redesign in the user environment; and 2) if there are problems specific to any part of the user environment. The results are compared with established norms for various categories of workers and show that end users generally perceive their jobs to be more highly motivating than do most workers. However, managers who utilize computers are not finding their jobs to be much more significant or meaningful than an average manager. Additionally, people utilizing the computer on a regular basis are experiencing boredom from a lack of interpersonal relationships. Solutions must be sought through work redesign.

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Higher education in the United States has recently come under pressure from federal and state legislatures for failing to provide "value for money" because of an alleged lack of accountability and quality [U.S. Department of Education 2006]. This article will argue that, contrary to this view, institutes of higher learning have a rigorous quality assurance and accountability mechanism in place, namely accreditation, and that, moreover, the recent shift in accreditation from an input-based approach to an outcomes-based approach has resulted in improved programs that prepare graduates better than ever before for the workforce and/or further studies. These measures in fact are well applied in the field of information systems. The paper focuses on accreditation and the role of accreditation in ensuring quality in education. The work of agencies that are of most interest to information systems programs, namely the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) and the Computing Accreditation Commission of ABET Inc (ABET CAC) is reviewed. The paper also describes a process to aid those interested in improving educational quality.