This research study had three aims. The first aim was to identify if any
changes in job characteristics and the motivating potential of jobs occurred
when workers were provided with their own personal desktop computers for
accessing automated integrated information management systems,
wordprocessing and spreadsheeting facilities. The second aim of the study
was to determine if any changes in job satisfaction occurred as a result of
such changes in job characteristics and the motivating potential of jobs. The
third aim of the study was to determine whether changes in job satisfaction
that resulted from changes in job characteristics and changes in the
motivating potential of jobs were moderated by the following factors:
workers' perceptions of the impact of the new technology on their work
practices, workers' prior knowledge of computing, and workers' age, gender
and job category.
A survey questionnaire was used to collect information for this research
study. The complete version of the Job Diagnostic Survey formed the major
portion of this questionnaire. The additional portions of the questionnaire
were designed to collect information relating to workers' perceptions of the
impact of the new technology, their prior computing knowledge and their
age, gender and job category.
A quasi-experimental multiple time-series research design was used to
fulfill the aims of this study. The experimental group comprised 19 workers
who had been using the new technology for no longer than five months. In
order to maximise discrimination between effects that resulted from the
introduction of the new technology and effects that resulted from other
organisational factors, two control groups were used in this research study.
The "established users" group comprised 10 workers who had been using the
new technology in their jobs for at least six months, and the "non-users"
group comprised 22 workers who had not used the new techno�logy in their
jobs and would not do so for the duration of the study. A period of 18
months elapsed between the pretest and the posttest. In total, 51
respondents completed both the pretest and posttest questionnaires. These
respondents' results were analysed using Statview 512+ and JMP
(version 2).
The participants of this research study were all employees of the National
Library of Australia (NLA). Although computer technology has been in use
at the NLA since the 1980s, the new technology that has been the focus of
this research study differs from previous technology because it provides
staff of the NLA with instant access to an information system that is both
fully automated and fully integrated. This has been achieved in two ways.
Firstly, the development of a local area network, the installation of a Dynix
Integrated Library Management System, and the provision of Epsom
personal computers equipped with Word for Windows and Excel for
Windows have collectively made it possible for staff of the NLA now to
access all the NLA's existing and new automated systems from a single
personal computer instead of having to use different equipment for different
automated tasks as has previously been the case. Secondly, rather than
having to share equipment with other staff, each staff member has been
supplied with their own PC.
The study found that the introduction of the new technology did not have
any significant effects on job characteristics and the motivating potential of
jobs. However, there was a significant decrease in job satisfaction after the
introduction of the new technology. It was found that workers had very
positive perceptions of the effects of the technology on their jobs, and very
high levels of prior computing knowledge, and therefore it was concluded
that these factors did not have any moderating effects on the relationship
between the introduction of the new technology and job satisfaction. No
relationships were found between the decrease in job satisfaction and
workers' age, gender and job category. Results of further analysis, however,
reveal that there was a relationship between the decrease in job satisfaction
after the introduction of the new technology and two other factors. These
were a reduction in workers' perceptions of the value of the skills required
to complete their work tasks and a decrease in their social satisfaction.
Further research is suggested in order to determine the general
applicability of these results to other organisations and other occupational
groups.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/219262 |
| Date | January 1994 |
| Creators | Porch, Celina, n/a |
| Publisher | University of Canberra. Information, Language & Culture |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | ), Copyright Celina Porch |
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