Call Centres represent one of the fastest growing industries today. In a competitive business environment the service delivered by Call Centre operators needs to be quantified and this is achieved through Electronic Performance Monitoring (EPM). This study considered the effects of EPM, and related factors such as job control, task complexity, performance, goal-setting and feedback, on the job satisfaction, organisational commitment and work stress, of Call Centre operators. The impact of these factors on staff turnover, which media reports suggest is very high for many Call Centres, was also considered. A total of 388 participants (265 females, 123 males) completed a voluntary self-report questionnaire. All participants were Call Centre operators who were working in one of 27 call centres across Australia in a variety of industries, including Banking & Finance, IT, Employment, Insurance and Telecommunications. All operators were working in an electronically monitored environment. Regression and path analyses revealed age, that is younger employees, and job dissatisfaction to be the only variables that predicted staff turnover. A positive perception of EPM was predicted by a positive perception of both goal-setting and feedback. It was concluded that while staff turnover was high in the current sample, it was not associated with perceptions of EPM, and other factors appeared to be more important.

Electronic performance monitoring (EPM) has long been associated with an array of negative effects, one of which is decreased employee self-efficacy, an essential determinant of human agency and workplace success. The negative discourse of control and discipline dominating the research field fails to account for the role of performance feedback, an integral component of EPM and part of an alternative discourse focusing on employee development. While feedback has been shown to ameliorate the negative impact of EPM, its effect on self-efficacy remains unclear. Therefore, this study investigates how employees subjected to EPM perceive and experience social persuasion – feedback aimed at increasing self-efficacy – using semi-structured interviews (with 10 customer service agents from as many call centers) and theoretical thematic analysis. The findings suggest that social persuasion can mitigate the efficacy-depleting effects of EPM, and that a mixture of positive and negative feedback is particularly conducive to successful persuasion. Moreover, the conflict between management's predilection for quantitative performance criteria and employees' qualitatively oriented conceptions of service quality is found to be a key issue. Based on these findings, it is argued that the heavy emphasis on positive feedback found in extant literature on EPM and self-efficacy is potentially misleading, as is the dominance of the control and discipline discourse. Finally, it is argued that social persuasion may ameliorate the quantitative-qualitative conflict, and that the potential of social persuasion is particularly high in call centers, where low self-efficacy levels are likely to be the norm.

In 2011 the Missionary Department sponsored a development project focused on creating performance support tools for international missionary training centers (IMTCs). The purpose of the project was to determine an area where there was a gap between desired performance and actual performance for IMTC training managers and develop tools to support them in improving performance in the chosen area. The target area supported the IMTC training managers in helping part-time teachers improve their effectiveness. Two products were created to help managers work more effectively with their teachers and a third product is currently under development. The first was a teacher competency print resource that managers could use to guide their feedback and evaluations of teachers. The second was a set of standards and suggestions managers could implement to help teachers improve. The third was an electronic teacher-tracking tool that would allow managers to track the progress and goals of each teacher. The design model used was a combination of a rapid prototyping model, cascade design model, and an electronic performance support design model. It included four major iterations for the products. This paper discusses the various stages of the development process, including adjustments to the planned design model, prototypes, and finalized products.

This study evaluated the usability of two types of performance-support interfaces that were designed using informational and experiential approaches. The experiment sought to determine whether there is a relationship between usability and the informational and experiential approaches. The general population under study was undergraduate education major students from the University of Central Florida. From the general population of three educational technology instructor-led classes, 83 students were solicited to participate in the study by completing a class activity. From the general population, a total of 63 students participated in the study. By participating in the study, the students completed a task and a questionnaire. Students were predominantly English-speaking Caucasian female education majors between the ages of 19 and 20; most of them were sophomores or juniors working part time. They possessed moderately low to high computer skills and most considered themselves to have intermediate or expert Internet skills. An experimental posttest-only comparison group research design was used to test the hypotheses posited for this study. The participants were randomly assigned to either the informational interface group (X1) or the experiential interface group (X2), and the experiment was conducted electronically via a Web-based Content Management System (CMS). The observed data consisted of five outcome measures: efficiency, errors, intuitiveness, satisfaction, and student performance. Two instruments--a checklist and an online usability questionnaire--were used to measure the five dependent variables: efficiency, intuitiveness, errors, satisfaction, and student performance. The CMS was used as the vehicle to distribute and randomize the two interfaces, obtain informed consent, distribute the instructions, distribute the online questionnaire, and collect data. First, a checklist was used to assess the students' performance completing their task, which was a copyright issue request letter. The checklist was designed as a performance criterion tool for the researcher, instructor, and participants to use. The researcher and instructor constructed the checklist to grade copyright request letters and determine students' performance. The participants had the opportunity to use the checklist as a performance criterion to create the task document (copyright request letter). The checklist consisted of ten basic yet critical sections of a successful copyright request letter. Second, an online usability questionnaire was constructed based on the Purdue Usability Testing Questionnaire (PUTQ) questions to measure interface efficiency, intuitiveness, errors, and satisfaction. While these test items have been deemed important for testing the usability of a particular system, for purposes of this study, test items were modified, deleted, and added to ensure content validity. The new survey, University of Central Florida Usability Questionnaire (UCFUQ), consisting of 20 items, was implemented in a pilot study to ensure reliability and content validity. Changes to the PUTQ were modified to fulfill a blueprint. A pilot study of the instrument yielded a reliability coefficient of .9450, and the final online usability instrument yielded a reliability coefficient of .9321. This study tested two approaches to user interface design for the Electronic Performance Support (EPS) using two HTML interface templates and the information from an existing training module. There were two interventions consisting of two interface types: informational and experiential. The SPSS Graduate Pack 10.0 for Windows was used for data analysis and statistical reporting in this study. A t test was conducted to determine if a difference existed between the two interface means. ANOVA was conducted to determine if there was an interaction between the interface group means and the demographic data factored among the five dependent variables. Results of this study indicated that students at the University of Central Florida reported no differences between the two interface types. It was postulated that the informational interface would yield a higher mean score because of its implementation of HCI guidelines, conventions, and standards. However, it was concluded that the informational interface may not be a more usable interface. Users may be as inclined to use the experiential interface as the informational interface.

This study explored the design and development of an electronic performance enhancement tool that can assist a person with limited programming skills to create a variety of simple customized information management websites. In particular, this study was modeled after needs within an Instruction Technology department in which individuals were able to create pre-functional web pages with various elements such as textboxes and dropdown menus but lacked the programming skills necessary to add functionality to these web forms. Skilled programmers could add functionality to these pre-functioning web forms or create customized information management websites from scratch. However, programmers are not always available when needed. At the time of this study, there was no readily available way for persons to create customized information management websites without the services of a programmer or without needing to learn programming skills themselves. This study sought to determine what functionalities, characteristics and capabilities could be included in an electronic performance enhancement tool to assist non-programmers to create simple customized information management websites and how a tool with such functionalities, characteristics and capabilities could be designed and developed. A prototype version of such tool (named the Form And DataBase Interaction Tool or "FADBIT") was designed and developed in this study. This tool asks users who have created simple pre-functional web forms to answer a series of questions related to those webforms. Given the user's responses to these questions, this tool is able to form a metalanguage representation of the user's intentions for the web form and can translate this representation into useful programming code to add the desired functionality. The tool was successfully designed and developed using a generalized modular framework, and a Create-Adapt-Generalize model, with each module addressing one or more patterns common to web programming. The prototype tool successfully allowed non-programmers to create functional information websites for two structured evaluation projects, and achieved some level of success and encountered some difficulties with an unstructured project. Proposed modifications and extensions to the tool to address the difficulties encountered are presented. / Ph. D.

In light of the global shift to remote work that was prompted by the Covid-19 pandemic - the relevance and use of Electronic Performance Monitoring (EPM) significantly escalated across all sectors. However, the most recent comprehensive literature review on the topic by Ravid et al. (2020) pointed out significant gaps in how EPM is perceived by knowledge-based employees. In line with those defined gaps, we raised two research questions, regarding what the perceptions of knowledge-based workers are towards the implementation and dissemination of EPM techniques, and whether the workplace context (home/office) has an effect on knowledge-based worker’s perceptions towards it. In this paper, we take a critical approach relying on a theory-based typology of EPM characteristics and build on the organizational control theory by elaborating on the technology-mediated control concept. We follow the constructivist grounded theory approach developed by Charmaz (2008) and the data was collected via 20 semi-structured interviews. The key findings of this research showed similarities as well as differences in how knowledge-based employees perceive EPM in contrast to other types of workforce. While overall the perceptions on EPM are negative, they can to some extent be alleviated by introducing a justifiable purpose, being transparent, allowing control over monitoring, and setting clear limits. Moreover, we provided insights into the perceptions of knowledge-based workers in response to EPM within the context of working from home. In such a context, knowledge-based workers show more resistance to EPM techniques and higher expectations of privacy, transparency, and appropriate data handling. Lastly, the authors provided avenues for further research including cross-cultural perspective, access to data, and ethicality and legality of EPM.

M. Tech. (Engineering, Electrical, Department Electronic Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Technology), Vaal University of Technology / In order to facilitate sustainable development, it is necessary to further improve and increase the energy efficiency and use of renewable energy and its related technologies. The main limiting factors to the extensive use of photovoltaic (PV) modules include the high initial investment cost and the relatively low conversion efficiency. However, other factors, such as an increase in ambient temperature, exert a considerable negative influence on PV modules, with cell efficiencies decreasing as the cell’s operating temperature increases. Higher PV module surface temperatures mean lower output voltages and subsequent lower output power. Therefore, this dissertation focuses on optimizing the available output power from a PV module by investigating and controlling the effect that the PV module’s surface temperature exerts on the amount of electrical energy produced. A pilot study was conducted by using a PV module set to three different tilt angles with an orientation angle and temperature sensors placed at different points. This was done to determine temperature distribution on the PV module surfaces as well as identify which tilt angle produces the highest PV module surface temperature. The main study was designed to investigate the electrical performance of a PV module with different cooling systems (water and forced air) as against a referenced measurement (no cooling). The cooling systems will be switched on and off at specific time intervals with the help of an electronic timer circuit incorporating a PIC microcontroller. The pilot study was conducted for a 50 week period where the results indicated a direct correlation between temperature rise and voltage decrease. The PV module’s temperature is highest at a tilt angle of 16° during the day and lowest at night time. It further reveals that the PV module’s front and back surface temperature can be distinctly different, with the highest recorded values occurring at the back of the PV module. The main study was conducted for a period of 15 weeks with results indicating that the water cooling system resulted in an average higher output power of 49.6% when compared to the reference system (no cooling system). Recommendations are made that sufficient space should be included between the module frames and mounting structure to reduce high operating temperatures owing to poor air circulation.

Thesis (Ph.D. (Industrial Psychology) )--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007.

The purpose of this study is to design, develop and evaluate an electronic performance support system (EPSS) for the crime scene investigation unit (CSI). For this purpose, a sequential explanatory strategy as a procedure of the mixed method design was used in analysis and evaluation of the EPSS. The research was composed of three main phases: analysis / design, development and implementation, and evaluation of the EPSS. In first phase composed of performance and cause analyses, the CSI Unit&rsquo / s existing information, and contributing causal performance factors based on Gilbert&rsquo / Behavior Engineering Model were explored. In performance analysis phase, official documentation of the CSI Unit was reviewed. As for cause analysis, the survey and focus group interviews were conducted to 1176 and 22 CSI officers, respectively. These data were analyzed using with both quantitative and qualitative methods to facilitate the selection of the most appropriate intervention and its components. Analyses results revealed that 14 basic influences grouped under the workplace and competency on human behavior impacted performance of the officers. Based on these results, an EPSS composed of intrinsic, extrinsic and external levels, and support components was designed and developed in the second phase. Having been implemented, the evaluation of the EPSS based on the Kirkpatrick&rsquo / Four Levels of Evaluation Model was conducted v to determine the overall impact, perceived benefits, and effectiveness of the intervention in third phase. In this phase, a survey, interviews, computer logs and a checklist were used so as to assess the accomplishment of the EPSS. While the survey and the checklist were administered to the 191 officers and 2 experts from the field, the interviews were conducted with 12 officers. Evaluation results admitted that the CSI officers&rsquo / reactions were very positive to the EPSS. While, an intrinsic support made a major contribution to their productivity, establishing standardization would be perceived as the major impact of the EPSS. Lastly, increasing identity and simplifying criminal justice system were the two main impact factors on the society that the system would influence positively.

Internationally, as well as locally, the trend is for companies to use call centres as their preferred method of service delivery. The increase in the use of call centres as a service delivery mechanism thus provides many more employment opportunities. Within call centres, service is primarily delivered by frontline employees referred to as customer service representatives (CSRs). While nothing seems to stop the growth of call centres and the increase of employment opportunities within them, working in call centres is not necessarily experienced as pleasant. Working in a call centre is frequently seen as stressful and the work in such a centre can foster burnout. Burnout is considered to be a pathogenic construct. The first purpose of this study was to describe and investigate the contribution of six central characteristics (antecedents) of call centre work environments and their influence on burnout, affective commitment and turnover intentions. These characteristics were work overload; electronic performance monitoring; lack of career and promotion opportunities, lack of skill variety and emotional labour. An incidental sample of customer service representatives (N=146) was obtained from the inbound service call centre of a large financial company. AU six independent variables were found to be significantly related to the experience of burnout, affective commitment and turnover intentions. Multiple regression analysis made it possible to establish that work overload, lack of career and promotion opportunities and skill variety, and emotional labour were the most important predictors of burnout, whereas lack of career and promotion opportunities was the most significant predictors of both affective commitment and turnover intentions. Burnout had a direct effect on turnover intentions and was not mediated by affective commitment. One antecedent that is often associated with the development of burnout is daily hassles, but daily hassles as an antecedent of burnout in call centres has not been studied before. The second purpose of this study was to develop a short Call Centre Daily Hassle Diagnostic Questionnaire that could be used to identify the most common daily hassles that call centre agents experience in their working lives, both within the work environment and within their day-to-day personal lives, and to determine the relationship between it and burnout. A cross-sectional survey research design was used with an accidental sample (N=394) taken from a service and sales call centre. An exploratory factor analysis of the data resulted in a six-factor model of daily hassles within call centres that significantly predicted exhaustion. The factors were daily demands, continuous change, co-worker hassles, demotivating work environment, transportation hassles and inner concerns. In the third part of this research thesis there is a shift away from the pathogenic paradigm towards a more salutogenic/fortigenic paradigm. Very little previous research has been done on adult resilience. The purpose of the third study was to explore the concept of adult resilience and to identify and describe the protective and vulnerability factors that play a role in adult resilience. Through the use of an exploratory factor analysis, eight factors were identified that played a role in adult resilience. They were Confidence and Optimism, Positive Reinterpretation, Facing Adversity, Support, Determination, Negative Rumination, Religion and Helplessness. Based on the findings of this research, some practical recommendations were made for the management of call centres to reduce the development of burnout and turnover intentions, on how to utilise the Hassle-based Diagnostic Scale and on how to apply the Adult Resilience Indicator in the training and development of resilience. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Industrial Psychology) )--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007.