December 7, 1999 Let’s face it. Most corporate users hate their IS staff. While a certain amount of mudslinging takes place among all departments in most organizations, the pile at the door of Information Systems is usually pretty high. Why? Some IS managers see user ignorance and downright stubbornness as the source of the conflict. “We get constant calls about problems that we know for a fact we’ve explained to users time and time again,” says Greg Merideth, Director of MIS at Technology and Business Integrators, an IT consulting firm. “Everyone wants to use their computers, but nobody is willing to learn how.” Merideth and his team have decided that after a certain age, users are simply incapable of grasping the basic concepts of computer operations. “Anyone over 46 we forget about,” he says. “We literally won’t even try.” Most users, on the other hand, will tell you that IS workers are slow to respond, insensitive to their deadlines, unable to translate computer-speak into plain English, and most important, unable (or unwilling) to keep their computers from crashing. “Many IS organizations preserve this ‘we’re gods’ attitude,” says Sarah Douglas, professor of computer and information sciences at the University of Oregon. “Born of the hacker culture, IS workers are often resistant to working in teams, and they often don’t give users proper training on the systems they impose on them. They just say, ‘Here, use it.'” The IT staffing shortage, and the exorbitant salaries it has created, Douglas argues, only fuels the fires of IS arrogance and the conflict between the department and its users. But does user stubbornness or IS arrogance tell the whole story? Or is something else behind the near universal antagonism between IS departments and their users? Related content brandpost Sponsored by Freshworks When your AI chatbots mess up AI ‘hallucinations’ present significant business risks, but new types of guardrails can keep them from doing serious damage By Paul Gillin Dec 08, 2023 4 mins Generative AI brandpost Sponsored by Dell New research: How IT leaders drive business benefits by accelerating device refresh strategies Security leaders have particular concerns that older devices are more vulnerable to increasingly sophisticated cyber attacks. By Laura McEwan Dec 08, 2023 3 mins Infrastructure Management case study Toyota transforms IT service desk with gen AI To help promote insourcing and quality control, Toyota Motor North America is leveraging generative AI for HR and IT service desk requests. By Thor Olavsrud Dec 08, 2023 7 mins Employee Experience Generative AI ICT Partners feature CSM certification: Costs, requirements, and all you need to know The Certified ScrumMaster (CSM) certification sets the standard for establishing Scrum theory, developing practical applications and rules, and leading teams and stakeholders through the development process. By Moira Alexander Dec 08, 2023 8 mins Certifications IT Skills Project Management Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe