Abstract:

Companies tend to promote technical experts to management positions, assuming that success in one predicts success in the other. Being a good Information Systems (IS) manager, leading and dealing with people as well as coordinating activities that contribute to achieve the business goals, requires not only a different set of skills than what is expected from a technical expert, but also a complete different set of attributes and values. This research used a specific competency model that is used for 360° evaluation, known as the Inventory of Management Competencies (IMC). Based on a model of sixteen generic management competencies the IMC provides a structured assessment of a (potential) manager’s performance. The primary objective of this research was to explore and examine how well IS professionals meet the IMC standards for management. Descriptive statistics and tests for relationship showed that IS professionals score lower than Non IS professionals when measured against the IMC model..