Study the factors affecting the intention to use the training management software at Vinh Phuc colleges in Vinh Phuc Province, Viet Nam

MM Shu-Te University College of Informatics Graduate School of Information ManagementMaster Study the factors affecting the intention to use the training management software at Vinh Phuc

MM Shu-Te University College of Informatics Graduate School of Information Management

Master Study the factors affecting the intention to use the training

management software at Vinh Phuc colleges in

Vinh Phuc Province, Viet Nam

Student: Nguyen Thi Thom Adviser: Dr Tsu-I Peng

Dr Nguyen Huu Chau March, 2013

Study the factors affecting the intention to use the training management software at Vinh Phuc colleges in Vinh Phuc Province, Viet Nam

Student: Nguyen Thi ThomAdviser: Dr Tsu-I Peng, Dr Nguyen Huu Chau

A ThesisSubmitted to theGraduate School of Information Management

College of InformaticsShu-Te University

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements

For the Degree ofMaster of Science inInformation Management

March, 2013

樹德科技大學碩士班研究生 Graduate Student of Shu-Te University

指導教授推薦書 Recommendation Letter from Thesis Adviser 本校資訊管理研究所　 　 　 君 所提之論文係由本人指導撰述，同意提付審查。

This Student, Nguyen Thi Thom, whose thesis entitled

“Study the factors affecting the intention to use the training management software at Vinh Phuc colleges in Vinh Phuc Province, Viet Nam”, is under my advisory and agree to submit forexamination

Qualification Form of Master Degree

100 學年度第 2 學期 _ 研究所　 　 　 君所提之論文 題目： _

經本學位考試委員會審議，認為符合碩士資格標準。

Student Name：Nguyen Thi Thom

Thesis Title ： Study the factors affecting the intention to use the “ training management software at Vinh Phuc colleges in Vinh Phuc Province, Viet Nam”

This is to certify that the thesis submitted by the student named above in March, 2013 It is qualified and approved by the Thesis ExaminationCommittee

Director of Department ：　 　 　 　

Department of Information Management, Shu-Te University

Study the factors affecting the intention to use the training management software at Vinh Phuc colleges in Vinh Phuc

Province, Viet Nam

Student: Nguyen Thi Thom

Adviser: Dr Tsu-I Peng

Co-adviser: Dr Nguyen Huu Chau

ABSTRACTThe research has been implemented with the following aims: Findingsolutions to encourage senior executives and employees to improve theirknowledge of information technology, using application of informationtechnology in their work actively and promoting the effective application ofinformation technology in the school and contribute to improving the quality oftraining in Vinh Phuc province

EduMan software could be applied for training management for secondaryprofessional, colleges, universities, vocational colleges, primary vocational bothformal and informal Besides, this software allows training management forshort-term classes with comprehensive management functions in training area.EduMan has been built based on current regulations on training management ofMinistry of Training and Education and Ministry of Social and Labor

This study has used technology acceptance model TAM to measurevariables User training, Perceived ease of use, Perceived usefulness that haveinfluence on the intention of use of training management software Eduman

Based on 200 qualified questionnaires, study result shows that 5 hypothesis inthis study are accepted by respondents at an average level Therefore, it isrecommended that software should be innovated, user training quality should beenhanced regarding to the intention of use of training management softwareEduman at 5 colleges in Vinh Phuc province.

Keywords: Technology Acceptance Model, Eduman software, Vinh Phuc College

AcknowledgmentsAny attempt at any level cannot be satisfactorily completed without thesupport and guidance of learned people I would like to express my immensegratitude to Dr Loc Thi My Nguyen, Dr Pi-Yun Chen, Dr Tsu-I Peng and Mr.Chau Huu Nguyen for their constant support and motivation that has encouraged

me to come up with this project

I am also thankful to all other members of the following universities: VinhPhuc teacher training college, Viet Duc college; Economics college; Industrialcollege, Transportation technology university for having rendered their wholehearted support at all times for the successful completion of this project

Table of Contents

ABSTRACT vii

Acknowledgments ix

Table of Contents x

List of Table xii

List of Figures xiii

Abbreviations xiv

Chapter 1: Introduction 1

1.1 Research background 1

1.1.1 General informations 1

1.2.1 Introduction of Vinh Phuc College 3

1.2 Research Motive 4

1.3 Research Purpose 4

1.4 Research questions 5

1.5 Research Procedure 5

Chapter 2: Literature review 6

2.1 Eduman software introduction 6

2.1.1 Overview 6

2.1.2 Main functions of Eduman software 7

2.2 TAM model 14

Chapter 3: Research Method 20

3.1 Research Model 20

3.2 The factors of model 20

3.3 Research Hypothesis 25

3.4 Sampling methods 26

3.5 Questionaire design 27

3.6 Measurement of Variables 27

3.7 Data collection 28

Chapter 4: Data Analysis 30

4.1 Sample characteristic 30

4.2 Desctiptive statistics 31

4.3 Factor Analysis 32

4.4 Assess the reliability of the scale 35

4.4.1 Reliability of EU 36

4.4.2 Reliability of PU 36

4.4.3 Reliability of IU Items 37

4.4.4 Assess reliability of the scale 37

4.5 Correlation coefficient among factors 38

4.6 Hypothesis Test 39

4.7 Regression 41

Chapter 5: Conclusion 47

5.1 Findings and Contributions 47

5.2 Suggestions 48

5.3 Limitations 49

Reference 51

Appendix: Questionnnaire 54

List of Table

Table 1: Revised 6 items sacle for PU worded towards Chart-Master 15

Table 2: Revised 6 items sacle for PEOU worded towards Chart-Master 15

Table 3: Sample characteristic 23

Table 4: Descriptive Statistics 24

Table 5: KMO and Bartlett's Test 25

Table 6: Total Variance Explained 26

Table 7: Rotated Component Matrixa 27

Table 8: Reliability of TR, EU, PU and IU 30

Table 9: Correlations 31

Table 10: regression analysis result 36

Table 11: The summary table of testing results 38

List of Figures

Figure 1: New relationship formulation in TAM 16Figure 2: Final version of TAM 17Figure 3: Research model 19

Abbreviations

TAM Technology acceptance model

TR User training

PU Perceived usefulness

PEOU Perceived ease of use

of that technology have become part of daily life, quickly taking people from theindustrial society to the information society, from the industrial economy to theknowledge economy in which competitiveness mainly depends on creativity and thecapacity to collect and process information.

Vietnam is in the stage of integrating with the countries in the region and in theworld, facing globalization in the world economy It’s essential to promote thedevelopment of information technology with the aim of building a firm foundation for

an advanced information infrastructure In recent years, the Vietnamese Party andGovernment have paid much attention to the application of information technology inmanagement and have issued many related documents

In the changing information revolution, the Vietnamese Communist Party andVietnamese Government have realized that information technology is one of the mostimportant forces of development Instruction 58/CT-TW October 17th (2000) by thePolitburo show that “Application and Development of Information Technology are priortasks in economic and social development, also are main facilities to meet the demands

of implementing the successful industrialization and modernization” [1]

On February 17th, 2002 the Prime Minister signed Decision No TTg approving the master plan on the application of Information Technology inVietnam by 2005 with the main task: “Application of information technology in theactivities of the Party, State, social and political organizations and spearhead economicsectors plays the leading role in the national economy of the center, Ho Chi Minh city,Hanoi city to reach the advanced level in the region.” [2]

95/2002/QD-On September 30th 2008, The Ministry of Education and Training issued theInstructive No 55/2008-BGDDT-CNTT on enhancing teaching, training and applying ofinformation technology in education sector from 2008 to 2010 “Information technology

is a powerful tool helping to reform teaching methods and education management toimprove the efficiency and teaching quality Developing Human Resource inInformation Technology and applying Information Technology in education are majortasks in Education and Training” [3]

In the instructive, the Minister requires all levels of authorities, and educationestablishments to:

- Raise the awareness of importance and role of information technology andpromote information technology application in education and training during the schoolyear 2008-2009 which is called “the school year of promoting information technologyapplication”, and to create breakthrough in information technology application andpremise of development of information technology in the next years;

- Set up a system of organizations responsible for information technology ineducation;

- Develop services of education information on the internet;

- Improve information technology application in order to innovate teaching andlearning methods at every level of education;

- Enhance information technology applications in leading and managingeducation;

- Improve teaching and training and research in information technology;

- Promote international co-operations and socialization

As for Vinh Phuc School of Arts and Culture, the tasks of the school is to trainsenior executives and staff with good quality and professional skills to provide a well-trained labor force for the sector Therefore the school has to complete its tasks well.One of the most important factors which helps the school to fulfill its tasks successfully

is to improve information technology application in education management For the lastfew years, the school has invested in infrastructure and computer systems The number

of computer users is increasing However, the current applications are simple such as:

searching information, processing words Applications to improve the managementfunctions, and the training quality are limited and not up to the potential and ability ofhumans.

From the above reasons, in my thesis, I choose the topic: Study the factorsaffecting the intention to use the training management software at Vinh Phuc colleges inVinh Phuc Province, Viet Nam

1.2.1 Introduction of Vinh Phuc College

Being established in 1964 and after nearly 50 years of development, Vinh PhucCollege already trained 47 courses of student and had more than 10,000 graduatedstudents Derived from the actual needs of the society and province from 2005 to now,the training system of the school has been changed continuously

With nearly 50 years of tradition in building and developing, Vinh Phuc Collegeaims to train and improve staff specialized in the field of Culture, Arts and Tourism,Management and Organizations, joint training with other universities, colleges in field

of Music, Arts, cultural and library management to meet the needs of learners andsociety

With the reputation of reliable and experienced education and training,especially in some key sectors such as the field of Music, Art, Dance, CulturalManagement, Library, and Tourisim the school has a team of young, dynamic,enthusiastic, responsible, qualified staff to meet the increasing requirements of theschool Moreover, current intermediate training program of the school meetsprofessional standards and the quality of school education in the recent yearsexperienced a significant positive change, especially the percentage of studentsemployed after graduation has increased There have been many students graduatedfrom the school and have important positions in many different industries in and outsidethe province

Along with the expansion of training system is diversifying the types of training,the school has recently affiliated with many other universities in the country In addition

to formal training, the school also opened in-service training courses, regular training

courses, and short-term training courses The number of admissions is based on localneeds and targets of Vinh Phuc province.

ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE

- Managing board: 1 headmaster, 2 deputy heads

- Practical Center – Art Performance

- Staff organization department

- Administrative department

- Finance department

- Training and Scientific Research department

- Student cooperation department

The research has been implemented for following objectives:

- Find solutions to encourage senior executives and employees to improve theirknowledge of information technology, use application of information technology intheir work actively

- Promote the effective application of information technology in the school andcontribute to improving the quality of training.

Chapter 2: Literature review

2.1.1 Overview

Eduman software can be applied for Training Management for IntermediateProfessional schools, Colleges, Universities, Vocational Colleges, VocationalIntermediate schools, vocational training including formal and non-formal one Besides,the software is also used in management training for short-term special classes

Eduman uses Unicode code table which has user-friendly interface, reports withnice-display which are automatically designed, and ease to convert data to otherenvironments such as Acrobat Reader (* Pdf), MS Excel (* xls), MS Access (* mdb),Web page (* html), Picture files (* tif) and vice versa

Eduman was designed based on the current training management regulations ofthe Ministry of Education & Training and the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids andSocial Affairs

Eduman uses centralized databased management system, allowing users toaccess to many levels such as: staff in Training department, in student managementdepartment, in Finance department, in training bureau, and leaders In particular, eachsubject teacher is also allowed to use it to enter scores of subjects

Data is processed through the following functions: Filtering data (similar to theAuto Filter function in Microsoft Excel), sorting data with multiple sorting criteria,printing the report forms from data obtained, Searching data

2.1.2 Main functions of Eduman software

Recruitment, admission, classification

Admission is based on the total points of all subjects plus priority points forareas and special subjects plus bonus points

After admission, this software will allow classification based on the principle ofuniformity on gender, test results, name, and place of birth… between the classes.Besides, it also allows doing admission and classification in many courses

Enrollment data can be imported from the Admissions software of the Ministry

of Education and Training or make a copy and paste directly from Microsoft Excel

Student management

Storing documents of students includes information such as full name, date ofbirth, place of birth, ethnic group, date of joining the Communist Young Union, Date ofjoining Party, educational level, phone number, address, etc In addition, this softwarealso stores the learning process, family relationships, and images of students.

Allowing management of the whole process that students temporarily resideduring the school time including: date of registration, form of temporary residence(residence, at home, house renting), address, phone number, host name, reward, anddiscipline,

Allows filtering (filter) data on the profile of students as required in order tofacilitate the search, statistics and reports

Searching and doing statistics on information in a variety of different conditions,printing resumes, printing the student registration book

Managing ethics score (conduct) and training scores of each student in everysemester, every school year, and the entire course

Rewarding and disciplining management of students monthly in order to easily

do the statistics when necessary

Managing the position of students in class

Managing Training program

Managing the frame of training program for each field of study.

Practical training program can be built for each class based on the frame oftraining program of the appropriate field of study

Managing timetable and teaching progress

Updating weekly timetable on the basis of a warning of identical teaching hours

of teachers and classrooms, viewing and printing timetable for classes and teachers

Managing teaching schedule for each subject in the class like the total number ofclasses being taught per week and the rest… Teaching progress is based on the weeklyschedule of classes

On the basis of the schedule has been set, the system allows checkingattendances every week, according to each subject and the corresponding class

Training management

Training management is based on the classification of courses, majors andclasses.

Allowing holding semester exam, graduation exam by dividing test rooms,making order number on the name list of candidates, printing test list and entering markaccording to test room

Printing student ID, study certificate, temporary graduate certificate and suchkinds of list as test list, scoring list, list view, Specifically it allowed to print the list

of classes by setting filter conditions, adjusting the order of the displaying columns,

Considering eligibility for doing exam to finish the subject, to pass the courseafter every school year, to do the graduation exam, to graduate, and then printing the list

of eligibility, ineligibility, reserved list

Processing reserving documents and learning outcomes, study abandonment,class transfer, dividing student into many classes

Assigning teaching for teachers, allowing teachers to enter scores of the coursesthat they undertake

Printing registration book for students including curriculum vitae, academicperformance each year, the results of the graduation exam, graduation results; Enteringthe information and printing the graduation diploma

Making statistic of classes of teaching theory and practice according to everytraining system of each semester every year

Score management

Allowing entering scores according to many coefficient columns including:Entering scores according to the coefficient columns 1, 2, (the number ofcoefficient columns for each subject coefficients of each student in the class may vary)

Entering scores according to in the free coefficient which is defined by user Putting heading for each subject (or each test room), entering scores according tothe heading

Printing many types of transcript such as transcript for each subject, for eachsemester, for each school year, transcript for assessing scholarship for a semester or aschool year, the transcript for the whole course, and the graduation transcript

Specifically, it allowed printing individual transcript according to each semester, eachschool year, the whole course and graduation transcripts.

Allowing filtering data of learning outcomes of students as required by eachsubject, semester, school year, whole course, which is convenient for statistical report

Enter the graduation scores according to test room and students’ order number

Managing tuition fee

Managing compulsory fees for each semester of each class

The system allows students to pay school fees many times every semester.Allowing printing receipts in the form of C38-BB of the Ministry of Finance andsample of VAT invoices when collecting tuition fees

Printing the lists of students paying tuition fees (per class, per person, according

to time, and number of receipts); list of students have and haven’t paid fees

Making statistics for tuition fees or re-enrollment fees.

Managing other fees beside tuition fees

Managing issuing graduation certificate

Entering the information about the graduation certificate as: number, date ofsigning, the signer; decision recognized graduation; person signed the decision, the date

Using decentralization

US Edelman allows using decentralization according to the following levels:Staff in Training department: Admission, classification, scores input, printingmany kinds of list, transcripts; considering the conditions to pass the class, to graduate

Staff in Student Management department: Entering the students’ profile, filteringstudents’ information, printing transcript for scholarship assessment, entering trainingscores…

Staff in Finance department: Entering tuition fees, printing tables for the lists ofstudents who already pay tuition fees…

Staff in training bureau: all functions are applied for those classes beingcontrolled by department.

Teachers: Each subject teacher is allowed to enter scores of teaching subjects inschool or at home by using a software module Data which is input at home can beeasily imported into database of school software

The Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) is defined as an informationsystems theory which models how users come to accept and use a technology.According to this model, when users are introduced with a new technology, there are anumber of factors influencing their decision on how and when they will use it such as:Perceived usefulness (PU): according to Fred Davis, it means "the degree to which aperson believes that using a particular system would enhance his or her jobperformance”; Perceived ease-of-use (PEOU) is "the degree to which a person believesthat using a particular system would be free from effort" (Davis 1989)

To test users’ attitude toward above two systems, Davis (1989) conducted astudy on 112 employees working in IBM in Toronto, Canada by using the scaledeveloped by Ajzen and Fishbein (1980) Besides, participants are also asked how oftenthey use these two systems by choosing any label from six position categorical scale:Don’t use at all, Use less than once each week, Use about once each week , Use severaltimes a week, Use about once each day and Use several times each day

According to the results obtained, there is a significant relationship between reported usage and both PU and PEOU for two systems in use in IBM However, to be

self-more practical in real world situations, Davis (1989) continue to develop two shorter sixitem scales (Table 1 and 2)

Table 1: Revised 6 items sacle for PU worded towards Chart-Master

Table 2: Revised 6 items sacle for PEOU worded towards Chart-Master

To conduct the study, Davis (1989) asked 40 participants to rate their PU andPEOU for both systems And then he measured the participants’ attitude towards thetwo systems by using the measurement scales by Fishbein and Ajzen (1975) Afteranalyzing the results obtained from his study, Davis (1985) found a positive relationshipexisting between scales and self-predicted future usage as well as in his TAM model.Besides, he also found out other relationships that are significant as shown in Figure 1

Figure 1: New relationship formulation in TAM

However, later behavioral intention was added in TAM formulation as a newvariable that would be affected by PU of a system And Davis, Bagozzi and Warshaw(1989) used that model to conduct a study on 107 users to measure their intention ofusing a system which was introduced one hour ago, and again 14 weeks later As theresults obtained, they found out there was a strong correlation between reportedintention and self-reported system usage with PU for the greatest influence on people’sintention Although the effect of PEOU on behavioral intention was small, it was stillsignificant However, the main finding was both PU and PEOU affected directly onbehavioral intention, and the need for attitude toward using was eliminated Therefore,the final version of TAM being created is shown in Figure 2

Figure 2: Final version of TAM

With the final version of TAM, it is easier to explain the results obtained for thedirect influence of PU on actual system use Besides, it also eliminated any unexplaineddirect influence from the system characteristics to the attitude variable This changebrought about the consideration of other factors including external variables influencingthe beliefs of a person towards a system such as: system characteristics, user training,user participation in design, and the nature of the implementation process

The final version of TAM led to further research involving in: Replicating TAMand testing its propositions and possible limitations; Comparing TAM with othermodels (Theory of Reasoned Action TRA and the Theory of Planned Behavior TPB);Adapting TAM for various settings (mandatory scenarios, different applications, andculture); Extending the model to include other variables (subjective norm SN, extrinsicmotivations, playfulness…)

Replicating TAM and testing its propositions and possible limitations

The very first replication was implemented in 1992 by Adams, Nelson and Todd

by carrying out both field and laboratory studies on MBA students to test TAM’svariables, PEOU and PU so that they could check their validity and reliability in five

applications including: voicemail, email, word perfect, Lotus 123 and Harvard graphic.And the result proved that TAM maintained its consistency in predicting and explainingsystem adoption.

One year later, another study was carried out on 123 undergraduate students byMassey and Cronan to further test the reliability of the scale items used to measure PUand PEOU And they also found a positive result of its reliability In 1994, Subramanianalso tested TAM with voicemail and customer dialup systems in a study on 179knowledge workers and found out the same result as in the previous study

However, in 1996, by verifying whether grouping of the scale items introducederrors in predicting usage, Davis and Venkatesh confirmed the reliability and validity of

PU and PEOU They found out that the difference between reliability and validity of thescales was not significant when they change the grouping of their statements Therefore,they recommended using the initial measurement scales for TAM which was shown inTable 1 and 2

Actual System Use

One of the most famous models to examine factors influencing the technologyacceptance and actual system use is TAM (Davis, 1989; Davis et al., 1989), in whichthe customer adaptation behavior is determined by the intention of using a particularsystem, then the perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use of the system.However, there are other factors affecting the adaptation of a new informationtechnology such as the technology, target users, and context (Moon & Kim, 2001).According to Sohail and Shanmugham (2003), customer adaptation is described as

beliefs about having necessary resources and opportunities for an individual’s intention

to perform, which relates to the availability of resources, i.e the technological resourcesand infrastructure needed to engage in the adaptation (Triandis, 1979)