Information Literacy in Top Schools of Business Evident to the Outside World?

Abstract

Maintaining a competitive advantage in the business world has become an increasingly daunting task. As high-stakes big-business decisions raise equity in sections of the globe not seriously tapped before, companies look to their employees as assets to help make a difference. Those that are tasked with making unique and significant contributions to the bottom line are more often than not leaders who are equipped with a MBA from an accredited university. As much as having this type of credential may help graduates enter a new career, it does not necessarily indicate that they are equipped with the skills necessary to move a company into a higher tax bracket. The skills needed to obtain, decipher, analyze and plan around various pieces of vital information are fundamental aspects of information literacy. Is it safe to assume information literacy is part of the core curriculum of today’s top MBA programs? Is it even safe to assume information literacy is an overall element found in most American Universities? Even if the answers to both these questions were a resounding “yes,” how can we tell? The research conducted in this study examined the “search” functions on both Business and University-level web pages of institutions in U. S. News & World Report’s Top 25 MBA Programs to determine if the presence of information literacy could be confidently acknowledged. Along with examining the state of information literacy in business programs across the country through peer review, we hope to come to a conclusive determination of where present-day programs stand.

DOI: 10.5901/ajis.2013.v2n8p26