Evaluating the motivating environment in Finland compared to the United States—a survey

A comparison was made of perceptions of IS personnel—especially of analysts, programmers and managers—on factors relating to motivation and goal setting in Finland and the United States. The JDS/DP, a modification of the job diagnostic survey instrument, was used to collect data in these locations. The survey covered a statistically unbiased and representative sample in both countries. The results indicated significant similarities between the two populations. Not only were individual characteristics of growth-need and social-need similar, but their perception of job-related variables were also quite similar. The only differences found were in the job satisfaction of technical experts and in the feed-back on goals in most job-categories, both of which were lower in the Finnish population. In addition, the growth-need perceptions in both populations are among the highest of all jobs measured by JDS. Therefore, computer personnel tend to be more like each other, regardless of their country and origin, than their own cultural counterparts. With this information, IS managers in both countries can use proven techniques, such as job characteristic theory, to improve the motivation of IS personnel.     

New Challenges in Motivating MIS Personnel

Abstract

Because of changes in the work environment, motivating MIS personnel has become more challenging to both MIS managers and CIOs. Although studies show that most of these employees (with the exception of maintenance personnel) enjoy their work, MIS managers still need to improve elements of their staffs' jobs (e.g., salary and opportunity for advancement) to maintain the quality of their staffs' work. To show how the task of motivating MIS personnel has changed, the author presents some results from his research on motivation factors of MIS professionals.     

New Challenges in Motivating MIS Personnel

Because of changes in the work environment, motivating MIS personnel has become more challenging to both MIS managers and CIOs. Although studies show that most of these employees (with the exception of maintenance personnel) enjoy their work, MIS managers still need to improve elements of their staffs' jobs (e.g., salary and opportunity for advancement) to maintain the quality of their staffs' work. To show how the task of motivating MIS personnel has changed, the author presents some results from his research on motivation factors of MIS professionals.     

Workers' intrinsic work motivation when job demands are high: The role of need for autonomy and perceived opportunity for blended working

Work overload or work pressure may undermine workers' intrinsic motivation. In the present research, we tested the conditions under which this may (not) occur, including the perceived opportunity to blend on-site and off-site working through the effective use of computers and modern information and communication technology. Our sample consisted of 657 workers (51% female) representing a variety of industries. As hypothesized, it is not high job demands per se, but high demands in combination with a high need for autonomy and a lack of perceived opportunities for blended working that undermines intrinsic work motivation. When workers high in need for autonomy perceived opportunities for blended working, their intrinsic work motivation was not negatively affected by increasing job demands. This main finding suggests that, particularly for workers high in need for autonomy, the perceived opportunity for blended working is an effective, contemporary resource to cope with the increasing job demands typically observed in today's workplace. Theoretically, these findings contribute to the refinement and extension of influential demands-resource models and Person-Job Fit theory. Practically, our findings may show managers how to effectively keep workers intrinsically motivated and productive in their jobs when job demands are high.     

Open classroom: enhancing student achievement on artificial intelligence through an international online competition

Limitations of formal learning (e.g., one‐way communication, rigid methodology, results‐oriented approach) can significantly influence the motivation and expectation of students, thus resulting in an academic progress reduction. In order to make learning processes more playful and motivating, this paper presents a new educational experience developed by two groups of Computer Science students at the University of Huelva (Spain). As a result, an authentic real experience was incorporated into the classical teaching of Artificial Intelligence courses where classroom sessions were changed during some days for an international online competition. A comprehensive study considering the competition ranking, the students' opinion and their academic progress was analysed to assess the followed methodology. We found out that the educational experience improved the students' motivation, thereby enhancing their academic performance and personal skills as a result of learning through play. Moreover, additional teaching goals (e.g., learning new programming languages or increasing exam attendance) were obtained because of the positive motivation experienced by the competition. As a conclusion, this paradigm of real‐life experience – not otherwise provided by traditional practical lessons – allowed us to ascertain that the process is more important than the outcome, which could be adapted to different teaching scenarios within an institution.     

Corporate Motivation to Risk Prevention: Applied Exploratory Analysis in Construction Sector in Catalonia

In this article, we have undertaken an exploratory analysis of the extrinsic and intrinsic factors affecting an employer's safety motivation in the construction industry, and their correlation with firm size, management level, and perceived risk. We have employed a model based on previous research by Michael Wright for the Health and Safety Executive (UK). Methods: A sample of managers from 198 construction firms in Catalonia (Spain) were interviewed collecting relevant data. The exploratory factor analysis of this data detected two factors: extrinsic (prosecution, inspection, external pressure) and intrinsic (legal, responsibility, internal involvement). Confirmatory factor analysis did not rule out the presence of extrinsic and intrinsic factors (Wright), and the analysis with covariates (MIMIC model) showed significant positive relationships between extrinsic factors, management level, and perceived risk. It also showed a significant positive relationship between intrinsic factors and firm size. Conclusion: The aim of this study was to make a preliminary diagnostic of an employer's safety motivation. Our findings indicate that it is possible to develop external motivators (advice from inspection bodies, union activities, publicity of prosecution records, etc.) that are addressed to top managers and to firms more exposed to risk. We have also found that it is possible to develop internal motivators by introducing experience modification ratings, social accounting, advertising in the mass media, and promotion campaigns, particularly among bigger firms. Our findings will be useful to government agencies, company managers, and consultants and may be adapted for use in motivating midlevel staff to adopt participatory intervention programs.© 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Career transition antecedents in the information technology area

The more organizations invest in information technology (IT), the more the concern with IT personnel management has increased, namely the hiring, training and retaining of IT professionals needed to deal with such investments. In this context, two issues related to these professionals have often been observed, namely ‘turnover’ – in which the IT professional changes job but still remains in the IT area – and ‘turnaway’ – in which the IT professional abandons the IT area and assumes a job in another area in the same organization or another, usually rising to a managerial position. This work addresses the turnaway of IT professionals in Brazil. The relevance of this research is supported by the shortage of adequately trained IT professionals to work in the productive sector in this country. Therefore, by using and adapting the extant scientific literature, research hypotheses associated with the IT professional turnaway phenomenon are developed and tested via structural equation modelling. It was then concluded that exhaustion with work in the IT area, job dissatisfaction, the need to acquire further experience to remain attractive in the job market, the need for professional growth and prior and conscious managerial capacity development for career transition are the main antecedents of the career transition of IT professionals to other functional areas.     

Understanding commitment and apathy in is security extra-role behavior from a person-organization fit perspective

This study presents an empirical investigation of employees’ extra-role behaviour in the information security context based on person – organisation fit theory. The perspective of fit evaluates the differences and similarities between information security policy makers and practitioners to provide employees with an approach to decide whether and how to participate in the implementation of extra security actions. We developed a research model and then conducted a survey and PLS-SEM analysis to test the corresponding hypothesis. The results illustrate that perceived demand – ability fit, perceived need – supply fit, and perceived value fit are effective in motivating security commitment. The empirical evidence shows that security commitment is a partial mediator between complementary fits (demand-ability fit and need-supply fit) and participation intention and is a full mediator between supplementary fit (value fit) and participation intention. In addition, apathy reduces motivation to engage in extra-role behaviour, while value fit and security commitment eliminate such apathy.     

行为导向教学法在职校计算机课程教学中的实践

传统的教学方法己被证明越来越不适应社会、企业发展的要求,特别是难以培养岗位需求的技术技能型人才。改革教学方法是提高教学质量的重要途径。提高学生的创新能力、创造能力、职业活动能力,是职业技术教育工作需要积极探索的一个重要课题,本文对行为导向教学法在职业学校计算机教学中的应用进行了探讨。     

Job satisfaction among information system (IS) personnel

This study examines relationships between achievement motivation and job characteristics on job satisfaction among IS personnel. The analytical results reveal that the dimensions of the achievement motivation of IS personnel are perseverance, competition and difficulty control. Regarding job characteristics, the job characteristics of IS personnel are task identity, professionalism, feedback, autonomy and significance. Moreover, the dimensions of the job satisfaction of IS personnel are social, job-related and self-actualization satisfaction. Job characteristics affect the job satisfaction of IS personnel and job characteristics and job satisfaction are positively related. Regardless of whether IS worker achievement motivation is high or low, IS workers engaged in jobs with high job characteristics have higher job satisfaction. Jobs with the features of feedback, professionalism and autonomy can most easily increase the job satisfaction of IS personnel.     

Attitudes toward telecommuting: Implications for work-at-home programs

Telecommuting, or working at home through use of telecommunications systems, is receiving increasing attention in the popular literature. MIS managers interested in improving the productivity and job satisfaction of their technical personnel are beginning to consider work alternatives made possible by declining costs of data communications and the influx of microcomputers into homes and offices. Though interest is high, there is little material available which can serve to guide organizations when implementing remote work programs. The research discussed here examines the attitudes of 51 managers and 129 programmers toward working at home. Survey data were collected from 3 divisions in 2 locations of a computer services firm which had experimented with work at home. Results suggest more interest in telecommuting among programmers than project managers; surprisingly, the two groups tend to identify the same benefits and problems. In general, programmers express support for any alternative which would add variability and autonomy to their work, whether it is a change in work location or simply a change in scheduling. The implications of these findings are discussed.     

The effects of an intrinsically motivating instructional environment on software learning and acceptance

Abstract The most important goal of computer software training and interface design has been to help users learn and use software effectively. While research has provided useful information about how to achieve this outcome, it appears to have overlooked the contribution that ‘fun’ and ‘motivation’ can add to learning. This study develops and tests a model of the relationship between intrinsically motivating software instruction and two outcome variables — learning performance and perceived ease of software use. The researchers manipulated two design variables to create learning environments that were either high or low in intrinsic motivation. One variable, the computer interface, consisted of either a direct manipulation interface (the Macintosh Finder), defined as being high in intrinsic motivation, or a command-based interface (disk operating system — DOS), which was less motivating. The second design variable, training method, also consisted of two categories — exploration training (more motivating) and instruction-based training (less motivating). Additionally, the study evaluated the motivational impact of one individual characteristic — cognitive spontaneity. Results of a laboratory experiment indicated that subjects using the direct manipulation interface found the learning experience more intrinsically motivating and performed better in hands-on computer tasks than in command-based subjects. Also, subjects who were high in cognitive spontaneity were more likely to report the learning experience as intrinsically motivating. Learners who reported high levels of intrinsic motivation performed better in hands-on tasks than those who did not, and perceived the software as easier to use. Exploration training, however, failed to exhibit a positive relationship to intrinsic motivation. These results suggest that an intrinsically motivating instructional environment can lead to improved software learning and performance. This is explained in terms of four key dimensions spanning multiple theories of intrinsic motivation: challenge, curiosity, control and fantasy.     

The roles of psychological climate,information management capabilities,and IT support on knowledge-sharing: an MOA perspective

Leveraging the motivation-opportunity-ability (MOA) theoretical framework and past research on psychological climate, this study analyzes three antecedent factors driving an individual’s knowledge-sharing (KS) within organizations: knowledge-sharing psychological climate as motivation, information management capability as ability, and organizational information technology support as opportunity. An empirical examination reveals that a motivating psychological climate has a primary impact on KS behavior, and the impact of perceived information management capability on sharing is mediated by the psychological climate. Perceived organizational use of information technology to support knowledge work bears strong influence on information management capabilities but not on sharing, suggesting that investment in IT does have indirect payoffs. The study is the first to position the opportunity→ability→motivation causal network in an individual’s KS behavior. The findings suggest that managers need to consider the pre-requisite roles of IT-enabled opportunities and workers’ information management abilities when building an all-important motivating climate to share.     

The role of system-use practices for sustaining motivation in crowdsourcing: A technology-in-practice perspective

The success of crowdsourcing (CS) systems depends on sustained participation, which is an ongoing challenge for the majority of CS providers. Unfortunately, participants are frequently demotivated by technical difficulties and the incorrect use of CS systems, which can result in CS failure. Although the literature generally assumes that sustained participation in CS is determined by a shift between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, the role of system-use practices in facilitating such a shift remains unknown. We explore how CS system-use practices influence participants' sustained motivation, evolving from initiation to progression to sustention. Using the notion of technology-in-practice as a lens, we develop and examine a process model using an in-depth case study of a large-scale ongoing CS project, the Australian Newspaper Digitisation Program. The findings suggest that CS participants' motivation is shaped by an evolving combination of three basic components (i.e., contextual condition, outcome and action intensity) and mediated by two types of system-use practice (i.e., passive and active). Passive-use practices facilitate sustaining motivation from initiation to progression, whereas active-use practices have a key role in sustention. Our study contributes to the emerging literature on the substantial role of system-use practices in sustaining motivation, resulting in sustained participation. The findings also offer actionable insights into improving the viability of CS systems in retaining and motivating continuous and increased contributions from participants.     

Job characteristic perceptions of manual drafting and CADD: A field study of the effects of computerization on drafting & design personnel

The introduction of CADD equipment into an engineering department provided the opportunity to identify job characteristic perceptions of drafters and designers. Drafters and designers responded to a job characteristic questionnaire which asked them to describe their job twice, first when using manual drafting and second when using CADD. Because the CADD equipment was phased in over time, the questionnaire sampled personnel with varying experience levels. The job perceptions are compared between job technologies and across experience levels. Information on changes in job characteristic perceptions may be useful in designing systems which improve employee motivation, performance and satisfaction.     

以就业为导向的计算机维护维修技能教学

本文通过调查数据分析了计算机维护维修业务从业人员和就业市场现状,指出计算机应用技术专业的人才培养与就业市场存在的矛盾。通过与汽车维修、家电维修行业的对比分析,借鉴以就业为导向的人才培养模式,提出了深化课程教学改革、强化维护维修技能培养的建议,并提出了具体的指导思想、课程群开设原则和实施方案。     

Motivating agents in software tutorials

Pedagogical agents can provide important support for the user in human–computer interaction systems. This paper examines whether a supplementary, motivating agent in a print tutorial can enhance student motivation and learning in software training. The agent served the role of motivator, attending the students to issues of task relevance and self-efficacy. The agent was presented in the tutorial by means of images and written messages. An experiment compared the agent condition with a no-agent (control) condition. Participants were 49 students (mean age 11.3 years) from the upper grades of elementary school. Data on motivation and learning were gathered before, during and after training. The findings revealed that students in the agent condition did significantly better on skills measures during and after training (i.e., performance indicators, posttest, and retention test). In addition, marginally significant differences favoring these students were found for flow experience during training and for motivational gains on task relevance and self-efficacy after training. The design strategies of the motivating agent are considered relevant for the creation of Animated Pedagogical Agents.