Factors affecting extent of computer use at agribank binh thuan

RESEARCH PROJECT BMBR5103 FACTORS AFFECTING EXTENT OF COMPUTER USE AT AGRIBANK BINH THUAN ADVISOR’S NAME & TITLE : NGUYEN THE KHAI DBA August 2015... Basic purpose of this project is

RESEARCH PROJECT

(BMBR5103)

FACTORS AFFECTING EXTENT OF COMPUTER USE

AT AGRIBANK BINH THUAN

ADVISOR’S NAME & TITLE : NGUYEN THE KHAI (DBA)

August 2015

ADVISOR’S SIGNATURE

NGUYEN THE KHAI (DBA)

ADVISOR’S ASSESSMENT

I am grateful to everyone who helped me on the way to expand knowledge When the country Vietnam wants to get along with friends on around the world I really appreciate the constant support and encouragement I received from many people throughout the process

I would like to first thank my advisor, Dr.NGUYEN THE KHAI, for

he tremendous help and support I do not think that I would have been able to complete this thesis without her belief in me, and he enormous support My gratitude is extended to my colleagues and coworkers at Agribank Bình Thuận, who helped me with the collection of data for the research I am also very grateful for the time and information shared with me by all the employers involved in the survey

I very much appreciate the encouragement and support provided by all the teacher and staff at the Open University Malaysia and Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology I also truly value the friendship and assistance by the classmates of BMAOUM0514-K14C Discussions and exchanges with them have really helped improve my scientific thinking and research methodology Last but not the least, I would like to thank my family and friends who always believed in me, and have been there for me throughout this process

Once again, I thank very much to all

Student : Nguyen Van Vuong

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

CONTENTS

LIST OF TABLE 7

ABSTRACT 8

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 10

I.INTRODUCTION OF AGRIBANK 10

I.1 Over view of the Agribank 10

I.2 Services and brand name 12

I.3 Vission 13

I.3.1 Objective 13

I.3.2 Market plan 13

I.3.3 Customer orientation 13

I.3.4 Product orientation 13

I.3.5 Capacity plan 14

I.4 Mission 14

I.5 The extent of computer use Agribank staff 14

I.5.1 Agribank warranties that 15

I.6 Human resource manager system 17

II RESEARCH INTRODUCTION 18

II.1 Problem statement 18

II.2 Main construct 19

II.3 Research objective 20

II.4 Significance of research 20

II.5 Research questions 20

CHARPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 22

2.1 Extent of Computer Use 22

2.2Job Demands and Decision Latitude 24

2.3Job Control, Cognitive Demand, and Production Responsibility 25

2.4 Control and Complexity 27

2.5Distributive and Procedural Justice 32

CHARPTER 3: RESEARCH MODEL AND HYPOTHESES 33

3.1 Research model 33

3.1.1 Dependent Variables 34

3.1.2 Independent Variables 34

3.2 Constructs 34

3.3 Job Characteristics 34

3.4 Organization justice 37

3.5 Research Hypotheses 39

3.5.1 Instruments 41

3.5.2 Research Participants 43

3.6 Procedure for Data Collection and Analyze 43

3.7 Data analysis 45

CHARPTER 4: RESULTS 46

4.1 Reliability statistic 46

4.2 Descriptive statistic 47

4.3 Correlation statistic 48

4.4 Hypothesis Testing Result 50

4.4.1 Hypothesis 1 Testing Result 50

4.4.2Hypothesis 2 Testing Result 51

4.4.3 Hypothesis 3 Testing Result 52

4.4.4 Hypothesis 4 Testing Result 53

CHARPTER 5: DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS 54

5.1 Discussion 54

5.2 Limitations of Research 56

5.3 Conclusions 57

REFERENCE 58

APPENDIX Appendix 1: Survey 61

Appendix 2: Presentation 71

LIST OF TABLE AND FIGURE

*TABLE

Table 1: Results of the survey 44

Table 2: Cronbach’s Alpha - Internal Consistency 46

Table 3: Reliability statistics 47

Table 4: Descriptive statistics 48

Table 5: Correlations 49

Table 6: Model Summary (H1) 50

Table 7: Coefficient a (H1) 50

Table 8: Model Summary (H2) 51

Table 9: Coefficient a (H2) 51

Table 10: Model Summary (H3) 52

Table 11: Coefficient a (H3) 52

Table 12: Model Summary (H4) 53

Table 13: Coefficient a (H4) 53

*FIGURE Figue 1: Hypothesis Statistic 11

Figue 2: Organizational Chart of Agribank Bình Thuận 17

Figue 3: Hypothesized Research Model 33

ABSTRACT

lmost every home, office, or school has a computer of some kind these

days It may seems at first that having a computer brings only benefits,

but further consideration shows that it also has disadvantages

Currently Agribank identify goals and orientation towards financial group -

strong banks, prestigious modern in the country, to exercise great influence

financial markets and world region Agribank has therefore decided to deploy

Corebanking system, modernize the trading system and all 40,000 employees; 2,300

branches and transaction offices to perform work on the computer system

The benefits and harms to the extent of using computers is not reasonable at

Agribank

Benefits:

Computers can perform the payment transaction, calculate faster than

humans

Computers can be used to perform the accounting of the transactions in a

way ensuring the accuracy of data put on is correct

Computers can store a large amount of information After the information is

saved, it can be retrieved when needed

May order the computer to automatically perform complex tasks

Computers reduce the volume of paperwork and labor, thereby reducing

costs

A

Harms:

When Agribank successfully program implemented modernization payments

system (Core Banking), the staff, tellers always working on computer work This is

tool indispensable employee However, the work for hours sitting side by a desktop

or laptop can lead to serious harm to health, but little who know coming

Experts advise you not to sit too long in the computer one day, otherwise it could lead to common diseases of civil office such as sitting computer too long in one day makes you more susceptible to illnesses such as fatigue fatigue, headache, eye pain, dizziness, back pain, shoulder, neck, hips, and legs are numb

The staring into bright screen too long will affect the health of the eyes It

creates tension, fatigue and even cause dry eyes

That is why I have given project named Extent uses of Computer Basic

purpose of this project is to explain extent uses of computer and to answer of some

question like on working typical working day how many hours do you spend seated

at and using computer and how many hours do you spend at work and what

percentage of your work time do you spend seated at and using the computer and

how you describe the degree to which you use the computer to carry out your job

functions? Project have to must fulfill these requirements and explain extent uses

and with its type of use

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

affecting it in Vietnam Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development

Viet Nam in terms of fund resources, assets, number of staff, operating network and

customer base

I INTRODUCTION OF AGRIBANK

I.1 Over view of the Bank

Vietnam Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development

Agribank was awarded many prizes: Top 10 largest firms Vietnam - VNR

500; Typical businesses ASEAN; brand ASEAN famous

Agribank’s Logo:

Agribank is Vietnam's largest bank in terms of capital, assets, personnel

staff, network operations and customer numbers As of 31/12/2014, the leading

position of Agribank has been confirmed with in many ways:

- Total assets: 762 869 billion

- Total capital: 690 191 billion

- Capital: 29 605 billion

- Total outstanding: over 605 324 billion

- Network performance: nearly 2,300 branches and transaction offices

nationwide, Branch Cambodia

- Staff: nearly 40,000 officers and staff

Currently, Agribank are millions of customers are producers, tens of

thousands of enterprise customers

Branches and transaction offices Head Office

Agribank's headquarters is located in Hanoi with 10-storey building With

2300 branches and transaction offices in 63 provinces and cities across the country,

1 branch in Cambodia

Headquartered Agribank has many sections and the parts to operate and support

all business activities of Agribank include: Board Member, Executive Board,

Supervisory Board and the Judicial Committee, the organizers of labor and wages,the

general planning, Finance and Accounting, the corporate clients, the clients individual,

the product development, marketing and propaganda, property management Center,

Center for prevention and treatment of risk, remittance service center, information

- Correspondent banking services;

- Funding services (savings,

deposits, bonds, debentures);

Agribank is the largest bank, led in

Vietnam's banking system capital, assets,

number of clients Until 31/12/2014,

Agribank had total assets of 762 869

billion; 29 605 billion VND charter capital;

total liabilities 690 191 billion; 605 324

billion of total loans; staff of almost 40,000

employees; nearly 2,300 branches and

transaction offices, branches Cambodia;

- Loan services (short, medium

and long term);

agency relationships with 1,000 banks in

100 countries and territories

Agribank is also the leading bank in

Vietnam to receive and deploy foreign

projects, especially projects of the World

Bank (WB), Asian Development Bank

(ADB), the Agency for International

Development France (AFD), European

Investment Bank (EIB) Agribank assume

the role of Chairman of the Association of

Rural and Agricultural Credit Asia- Pacific

(APRACA) tenure from 2008 to 2010

I.3 Vision: Typical businesses ASEAN; Brand ASEAN famous

As a modern bank in Vietnam, develop safety - efficiency - sustainable,

competitive and international economic integration

I.3.1 Objective: As a modern bank in Vietnam, develop safety - efficiency - sustainable, competitive and international economic integration

I.3.2 Market plan: Investment priorities for the agriculture sectors, the

small and medium-sized enterprises with outstanding loans to this sector was over

70% / total loans and 30% other

I.3.3 Customer orientation: Brands & Chain product and services I.3.4 Product orientation: Loan, Mobilizing, Card and Services

I.3.5 Capacity plan: To continue to maintain its position as the leading

bank provides products and services to utilities, modern high quality to meet the

needs of many customers, and increase revenues outside of Credit, Agribank

constantly episode Mid innovation thrives banking technology to modernization

direction

Agribank determined perseverance and goal orientation towards Financial

Group - Banks strong, reputable modern in the country, to exercise great influence

financial markets and world region

I.4 Mission: “Agribank bring prospering to customers”

Largest commercial banks, plays a key role, the pillars for the country's

economy, particularly for agriculture, farmers and rural areas; important mission to

lead the market; take the lead in strictly abide by and implement the monetary

policy, capital investment in the economy, contributing to economic development -

Vietnam society

I.5 The extent of computer use Agribank staff

According to scientific research institutes California (USA), on the computer

more than 5 hours / day makes sense, resistance to disease, and cardiovascular

activity have been reduced at least 10%

According to the actual testing of the California Institute of scientific

research on 100 people working on the computer shows that even if they had eat

nourishing food in the fresh food supplements and most healthy food, the skin of

these people still have signs of raw black, shriveled, lifeless than that of other

people

With the results of scientific research on Department of Labour Invalids and

Social Affairs of Binh Thuan and Agribank have regulations encouraging the use of

computers in the work and payment transaction at bank as follows:

When working on a computer from two hours / day, you stand up and go

back to the muscle, joint mobilization, resting the eyes toward the space with cool

blue (look at the trees are best) will help the eyes more comfortable

Design workbench so that your eyes shall look down slightly (about 10 degrees) while using computers (monitors set below eye level)

Extent of computer use of employees Agribank Binh Thuan from 8 hour to

10 hour in 1 days work

periods

I.5.1 Agribank warranties that

Malicious support costs while using a computer

Allow compensatory leave and allow for travel

Equipped with LCD screen

Health and safety at work

Working hours,

Remuneration

In addition, Agribank encourage its employees in the spirit of learning

research and development expertise, operations and control the use of computers

reasonable to ensure health This is to ensure that everyone has a safe working

environment and an equal to professional training so that each employee can

maintain and develop their skills

I.6 Human resource manager system

Figure 2: Organizational Chart of Agribank Bình Thuận(Source:

http://www.agribankbinhthuan.com.vn/.)

II RESEARCH INTRODUCTION

II.1 Problem statement

The use of multiple computers at work has contributed to promote productive

activities in many fields, especially office administrative work But until the 1990s,

studies worldwide show that the use of computers is related to some health

problems like syndrome Musculoskeletal Disorders (RLCXK), vision disorders,

skin and affect the fetus

With ever growing society as at present, the smart technology products are

no longer strangers to young children, especially computers Yet there are many

who do not understand the harm of computers for small children when they are use

excessive the parental control It can cause health affects so many, so invite you to

refer to the article below for the harm to the child using the computer too much like

(increased risk of obesity, injury to eye, restricted the development of thinking,

which reduces their ability to communicate with the society, etc.)

According to the conclusions of scientists at the University of Chiba (Japan)

launched after conducting monitoring 25,000 office workers within three years

They were asked to list the physical and mental illness were suffering such as

headaches, back pain, depression, anxiety and sleeplessness Compare answers with

time in front of the participant's screen test, the authors found that: - There is a

significant relationship between the duration of computer use and physical

ailments - The incidence of mental illness and sleep disorders was also higher in

those who sit in computer front over 5 hours This does not depend on the type of

computer, screen size and ambient conditions Research published in the Journal of

the American Medical Technology latest issue

On the basis of what has been stated above is the reason for the author to

choose research topics: "Measuring the extent of using computers at Agribank Binh

Thuan" Research project to find out the factors that influence the health situation of

employee Agribank Binh Thuan in phase modernize the banking sector to make too

many transactions on the computer Thereby, help the leaders of Agribank grasp the

reality of the health situation and the workload of staff at his bank is managing, and

especially to measure the extent of using computers of employees in the business

operations of Agribank From then easily build strategies and policies for salaries,

bonuses, allowances correspondence between the leaders and the trade union

organizations concerned, support, encourage staff together to build a strong

Agribank Binh Thuan during integration

II.2 Main construct

With the overall goal mentioned above, thesis toward the following specific

objectives:

1 Identify the components affect the extent of using computers too much

2 Construct components measured to use computers

3 Propose research model to measure how computer use affects the health of

staff and the operations of the bank

4 Hypothesis testing studies on the relationship between the level of

computer use and its affect on employee health and operational status of the bank

5 Based on results of analysis, offering suggestions and solutions necessary

for the leaders and the development of Agribank Binh Thuan

II.3 Research objective

Study subjects are current staffs at Agribank Binh Thuan This study will be

officially implemented at Agribank branch in Binh Thuan, address 02-04 Trung

trac - Phan Thiet - Binh Thuan Duration of the study is conducted from 6/2015 to

8/2015 month

II.4 Significance of research

This research will help Directors, managers staff understand and are more

aware of the importance of extent of computer use of employee at Agribank Binh

Thuan That is the most important factor to show attention and care to physical

life, the spirit of officers and employees of agribank

From then build strategies and policies for salaries, bonuses, allowances

correspondence between the leaders and the trade union organizations concerned,

support, encourage staff together to build Agribank Binh Thuan increasingly

stronger in the future

II.5 Research questions

Thesis will focus on the content of replies, the following research questions:

1 What are the components that make up the extent of use at Agribank

computer Binh Thuan? And What are the most important components affecting the

health and operational status of the Bank?

2 To examine the research model which is adjusted from SERVQUAL can

be proposed for the application at Agribank Binh Thuan,? What measures in the

research model should be deleted ? What measures need to be changed to adapt to

Agribank Binh Thuan?

3 The relationship between the level of computer use and its affect on

employee health and the operations of the bank

CHARPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter presents the body of organizational literature containing the

base theory and relevant other theories used in this study This chapter includes the

following:

2.1 Extent of Computer Use

The repetitious nature of computerized work serves to enhance attitude-

behavior (or behavior-attitude) consistency, much as the consistency (Festinger,

1957: Heider, 1958: Kelly, 1955), attribution (Kelly, 1971) and self-perception

theories (Bern, 1970) have implied Employees may first use a word processor

because their co-workers are using one In reflecting on their usage, they begin to

see that the software increases their control over their work (Buchanan & Boddy,

1982; Rafaeli & Sutton, 1985), develop a positive attitude toward word processing

(Rafaeli, 1986), and in turn increase their motivation to work (Lawler & Hall,

1970) As their computer usage increases, the consistency between their beliefs,

attitudes and behavior is also likely to increase

In the work; context research concern has essentially been about the different

experiences of men and women in computerized offices (Gutek and Bikson 1985)

and the role of gender relations in new technology (Proben 1992) Studies have

indicated that information technology is associated with more advantages for men

than women: "Women occupy less important positions than men; and their

computer use is strikingly consistent with their subordinate role However, Cutek

and Bikson (1985) reported womens' computer attitudes to be more favourable than

their office position would suggest Some researchers (Applebaum 1992; Proben

1992) have expressed concern about the likelihood of women being discriminaicd

against in the implementation of new information technologies which offer new

opportunities to people Often, job segregation by sex excludes women from new

workplace technologies like computers Sometimes women arc reported to be

themselves contributing to such segregation by choosing to stay away from

opportunities like computer appreciation courses and computer-proficiency

opportunities

Rafaeli (1986) presented a theoretical analysis and empirical observations

about the correlates of employees' Attitudes toward working with computers The

study was conducted with a sample of 284 white-collar employees from three

manufacturirng organizations and it was found that employees who used a computer

to support their work hold more positive attitudes than employees who reported

very limited use of the computer Employees who were flighty involved in their

jobs, or committed to their organization typically reported lesser concerned about

working with computers than employees at a low level of job involvement

2.2 Job Demands and Decision Latitude

Job demands and decision latitude are constructs that can vary independently

in a work environment (Fortunato, Jex, & Heinish, 1999; Xie, 1996)

The “Job Demands” indicator was constructed to measure the aggregate of

psychological (not physical) stressors affecting work Although it does not

distinguish specific demands, task pressures are probably the primary source of

stress Buck observed that task is most often cited as the source of stress, even when

a wide variety of potential sources were reviewed (Buck VE: Working under

Pressure New York: Crane, Russek, 1972.)

Job “Decision Latitude” is defined as the working individual's potential

control over job-related decision making Component measures of “Decision

Latitude” should differentiate control over use of skill, time allocation, and

organizational decisions The areas available for analysis in the data base include

“Personal Schedule Freedom” and “Intellectual Discretion.” These measures cover,

respectively, whether the individual has control over his time schedule of

participation in the work process and, then, whether he can use judgment and assert

control over his use of skill within the process itseif While influence over

organizational decisions could not be assessed, Intellectual Discretion is highly

correlated to broad decision-making authority, in other national data bases.(

Karasek RA: Job demands, job decision latitude, and mental strain: implications for

Produktionsteknik och Arbetsgladje Stockholm, Sweden: Personaladministrativa

Radet; Mantel K, Haenszel W: Statistical aspects of the analysis of data from

retrospective studies of disease J of Natl Cane Inst 1959; 22:719-748)

The aim of the present study was to examine the predictive power of job

demands, job decision latitude, job support, and social network factors with

reference to total mortality

The job decision latitude index was constructed on the basis of the 1961

questionnaire It was defined according to Karasek as “the discretion permitted the

worker in deciding how to meet the demands (Karasek RA Job demands, job

decision latitude and mental strain, implications for job redesign Administrative

Science Quarterly 1979;24:285-308.)

2.3 Job Control, Cognitive Demand, and Production Responsibility

Probably above all other job features, control has been shown to facilitate

positive work experiences, intrinsic motivation, and activated states of

psycho-physical well-being (e.g., De Lange, Taris, Kompier, Houtman, & Bongers, 2003;

Fried & Ferris, 1987; Parker, Turner, & Griffin, 2003; Sauter, Hurrel, & Cooper,

1989; Saavedra & Kwun, 2000; van der Doef & Maes, 1999) Although job control

is traditionally regarded as a working condition that employees are subjected to,

recent studies have stressed the active role that individuals themselves can play in

shaping their jobs and expanding their level of discretion at work In addition to the

engagement literature, new research in work design and proactivity supports this

line of thought (e.g., Grant & Parker, 2009; Parker, 1998) Frese, Garst, and Fay

(2007) have reported longitudinal results implying that proactive workers create

more challenging and autonomous tasks for themselves Over the course of several

years, complexity and control at work enhanced personal initiative, which, in turn,

had a positive reverse effect on these work characteristics

A study of computer users by Yang (1994) showed that cognitive demands

were influenced by a range of work system factors and were a source of stress for

Computer users A questionnaire designed by Swanson (1992) was used to measure

seven dimensions of cognitive demands perceived bv Computer users: (1) divided

attention and decision making, (2) information load, (3) sensory memory, (4)

long-term memory, (5) focused attention, (6) short-ccrm memory, and (7) concentration

A range of work system factors were shown to influcncc perceptions of cognitive;

demands For instance, when computer users experienced frequent computer-related

problems (e.g., slowdown), they reported high cognitive demands, in particular

divided attention, sensory memory, and focuscd attention Availability of Computer

training and support was related to low cognitive demands on sensory memory;

therefore, resources and support provided by the organization (i.e., Computer

training and support) allowed workers CO cxpericncc reduced demands with regard

to sensory memory High cognitive demands in terms of divided attention and

decision making, sensorv memory, focused actention, and concentration were

related to increased worker stress as measured by multiple survey scales

The first of these problems concerns the measurement of job demands

Following Karasek’s (1979) lead, job demands typically have been conceptualized

and operationalized at a general level using self-report measures which incorporate

affective judgements

conceptualization and measurement of decision latitude A feature of the theoretical

development surrounding the demands—decision latitude hypothesis is the way that

the latter construct increasingly has been equated with job control

A skilled operator of computer controlled equipment, for example, is as

likely to have CO respond when circumstances dictate, and to have as restricted a

choice of response, as an unskilled employee doing more mundane support tasks

Indeed, in a recent study, it was found that, whereas skilled jobs were

distinguishable from less skilled ones in having higher levels of production

responsibility, monitoring demand and problem-solving demand, they showed no

difference with regard to job control (Wall, Jackson & Mullarkey, 1995)

2.4 Control and Complexity

Control at work implies having an influence on sequence, time frame, and

content of one’s work goals, on one’s work strategies, feedback, and on working

conditions (Frese, 1989) Complexity has been defined by the number of elements

that need to be considered (Wood, 1986) – a large number of elements implies that

the work provides many options for decision making Control and complexity at

work are often combined into one factor (e.g., Karasek & Theorell, 1990), because

conceptually, both characteristics refer to decision possibilities Control is trivial if

exerted in a job with little complexity because decisions then refer to unimportant

issues only Empirical correlations between control and complexity are high (for

example, in one study r=.42 (measured on the level of job incumbents) and 70

(observers’ ratings), Semmer, 1982) The notion that control and complexity are

important work characteristics follows from occupational socialization theory1

(Frese, 1982; Kohn & Schooler, 1978) and is empirically supported (Spector, 1986)

Control and complexity have been shown to be related to ill-health (Karasek &

Theorell, 1990), intellectual flexibility (Kohn & Schooler, 1978), and work

motivation (Hackman & Oldham, 1976) They are also empirically central to the job

characteristics model of Hackman and Oldham as demonstrated by their strongest

relationship with the overall job motivation potential (Hackman & Oldham, 1975;

Wall, Clegg, & Jackson, 1978)

Control at work may be applied on an individual or on a collective level For

example, if a team of two persons are able to use a certain software system but each

individual alone could not have done it, they have collective control

Experiencing control means to have an impact on the conditions and on

one’s activities in correspondence with some higher order goal (Frese, 1978) This

impact may be potential or it may directly influence the conditions Potential control

was studied by Glass & Singer (1972) In their experiments the subjects had a

button that could turn off a loud noise (the stressor) The subjects were, however,

asked not to use this button (and all of them complied) This condition produced

less stress than not having such a control button Direct control in stress situations

was the issue in Seligman’s (1975) experiments When there was no control,

helplessness developed

Control at work may be applied on an individual or on a collective level For

example, if a team of two persons are able to use a certain software system but each

individual alone could not have done it, they have collective control

Complexity defined in this way is neither a characteristic of the environment

nor of the person alone It is a characteristic of the interaction of the person with the

environment For example, the novice still has to make decisions that are

remembered facts for the expert

In summary, complexity is determined by the sheer number of decisions that

have to be made and by the relationships of these decisions Thus, there is decision

necessity

Experienced control is similarly related to decisions, but it implies a

reference to the individual’s goals Thus, there is decision freedom One implication

of this is that a person may be forced to do a complex task that he or she does not

want to do then control is low but complexity is high

*The effects of control and complexity:

Control has been shown to be related to stress-effects directly and as a

moderator In one group of studies, people who had little control at work showed

more signs of psychological and psychosomatic dysfunctioning, e.g depression,

psychosomatic complaints, irritation/strain, exhaustion, anxiety, consumption of

pills, sick days, and low self esteem (Caplan et al., 1975, Dunckel, 1985, Frese,

Saupe & Semmer, 1981, Gardell, 1971, Karasek, 1979, Kohn & Schooler, 1982,

Kornhauser, 1965) This also holds for studies of office workers with computerized

office equipment (Cakir, 1981, Smith et al., 1981, Schardt & Knepel, 1981, Turner

& Karasek, 1984) A second group of studies showed that control had a moderator

effect: stress had a higher impact on psychosomatic complaints (Frese, 1984,

Semmer, 1982) and on death from heart attack (Karasek et al., 1981) when control

was low and a low impact when control was high

Control also affects performance If one is repeatedly in situations of

non-control, passivity increases and an active, planful and goal-oriented approach is

reduced Non-control implies that one does not have to develop one’s own goals

and plans of action There are two explanations why this afffects performance: A

cognitive and a motivational account The notion of action style (Frese, Stewart &

Hannover, 1987) might give a cognitive account, why non-control leads to passivity

and reduced performance Two action styles have been studied in particular:

planfulness and goal-orientation (Frese et al., 1987) These action styles function

similarly to meta-cognitions (Brown, in press, Gleitman, 1985) When work does

not allow long-term decisions, one gets used to not plan ahead This may become

generalized and then general planlessness ensues

Complexity leads to boredom and has similar stress-effects as control A

certain amount of complexity has to exist, to be able to use creative solutions that

require intellectual capacities If jobs provide only little complexity, this leads to a

reduction of the use of intellectual resources and eventually to a sort of cognitive

atrophy in which one looses one’s intellectual abilities to solve problems (Kohn &

Schooler, 1982) On the other hand, complexity that is too high is too difficult to

deal with ( and produces qualitative overload (Kahn, 1974)

Complexity that is too high stifles performance, too low complexity does the

same thing It is known from the achievement motivation literature (Heckhausen,

1980) that people like to solve moderately complex problems and that achievement

is lower with very low and very high aspiration levels Thus, emotional and

performance effects are most positive under conditions of optimal complexity

With the advent of computers in the work place, many tasks are becoming

computer related Here, the main tasks can only be solved well, when one is using

the computer well This point is driven home when newly introduced computers

have to be augmented and fitted or worked around (Gasser, 1986) The tools

(computer) and the main tasks are mixed more and more

Computers are different from other tools, because they are multipurpose

machines (DiSessa, 1986) Since they allow flexibility and adaptability, people

develop the aspiration level of realizing these potentials Thus, taking away

artificially the whole complexity of the machine, will only lead to a less functional

use of it

Complex tools may be thoroughly enjoyable as in the example of some video

games (again the main task is to work on the tool) Complicatedness does have a

meaning here, namely it refers to that part of the video game that cannot be

influenced by increasing skills (of course, video games try to be complex but not

complicated)

2.5 Distributive and Procedural Justice

Distributive justice is not, however, the only basis upon which evaluations

regarding the fairness of a social exchange can be made As several authors have

recently noted (e.g., Deutsch, 1975; Leventhal, 1976), individuals also exhibit

concern for procedural justice (Thibaut & Walker, 1975)

While it is clear that procedural details may affect judgments about the

fairness of an exchange relationship, it is not clear what their conceptual status

should be vis-à-vis distributive justice On the one hand, judgments of procedure

and distribution are independent to the extent that it can be demonstrated people

will say an unjust procedure has generated a just outcome or vice versa On the

other hand, procedural and distributive determinants of justice judgments are not

independent, by definition, to the extent that they influence each other Mutual

influence or codetermination occurs, for example, when some aspect of the

pro-cedure affects the perception of the outcome distribution

A means of exploring the relationship between the procedural and

distributive aspects of exchange is to identify a procedural element that can be

manipulated independently of received outcomes and yet, at the same time, might

be expected to influence the perception of the outcome distribution The following

presentation suggests one such element, termed “voice” (cf Hirschman, 1970), and

provides the rationale for its incorporation into an experimental design also

involv-ing different pay sequences and different outcome totals

CHARPTER 3: RESEARCH MODEL AND HYPOTHESES

3.1 RESEARCH MODEL

From theories and previous research results, we propose the relationship

between independent constructs (Job Demands and Decision Latitude; Job Control,

Cognitive Demand, and Production Responsibility; Control and Complexity and

Distributive and Procedural Justice) and dependent construct (Extent of Computer

Use) as per Hypothesized Research Model as below:

Figure 3 : Hypothesized Research Model

In the following section, we articulate how Extent of Computer Use is

impacted by Job Demands and Decision Latitude; Job Control, Cognitive Demand,

and Production Responsibility; Control and Complexity and Distributive and

Procedural Justice

3.1.1 Dependent Variables:

3.1.2 Independent Variables:

3.2 Constructs

- Key construct: Extent of Computer Use (EC)

- Other constructs:

3.3 Job Characteristics

Job characteristics refer to the demand for valid measures of job

characteristics is driven by continuing efforts in organizations to determine the

features of jobs that induce employees to work harder and perform better One of

Willingness to consistently perform better is the job characteristics model (JCM)

developed by Hackman and Oldham (1980) This model predicts that if a job is well

designed, it leads to higher levels of three critical Psychological states These are

experienced meaningfulness of the work, such as results from the job that are

meaningful within the employee’s system of values; experienced responsibility for

the outcomes of the work, or belief that the employee has personal accountability

for the outcomes; and knowledge of the results of the work activities, including

judgments of others about the quality or quantity of the work performed (Hackman

& Oldham, 1980)

The JCM predicts that jobs that are well designed have live key

characteristics:

1 Skill variety, which is the extent to which a job requires the use of

different skills and talents,

2 Task identity, which describes the extent to which a job involves

completing a whole identifiable outcome,

3 Task significance, which is the degree to which a job has impact on the

lives of people in an organization or society in general,

4 Autonomy, which describes the extent to which a job provides the

employee with discretion to choose how the work is done and to set the schedule for

completing the work activities,

5 Job feedback, which indicates the extent to which carrying out the work

activities provides the employee with clear information about his or her

performance

Psychological states, which in turn leads to higher levels of internal work

motivation (Hackman & Oldham, 1980) Research on the JCM has generally found

that employees in jobs that etc may affect the relationship between job dimensions,

the psychological states, and internal motivation (Spector, Jex, & Chen, 1995)

The JCM has provided the framework from which to view the effects that job

characteristics have on employee outcomes such as satisfaction, organizational

commitment, and intention to remain with an organization (Hochwarter, Zellars, et

al , 1999) Other approaches to describing and assessing job characteristics have

been developed that provide an expanded view of jobs including engineering and

biological perspectives (Campion, 1988) Many studies have attempted to isolate

particular aspects of jobs, such as control, interdependence, and complexity that

may have significant effects on workers (Dean & Snell, 1991; Karasek, 1979) An

increasing amount of attention has been paid to the role that contextual variables

play in the perceptions that employees form about their jobs For example,

perceptions of the extent to which employees believe they are empowered in their

jobs and the extent to which employees believe the organization appreciates their

efforts may affect the way that employees view I he identity, significance, variety,

autonomy, and feedback in their jobs (Eisenberger, Huntington, Hutchinson, &

Sowa, 1986; Gagne Senecal, & Koestner, 1997; Spreitzer.1995)

Hypothesis 1: The relationship between Job Demands and Decision Latitude and

Extent of Computer Use

Hypothesis 2: The relationship between Job Control, Cognitive Demand, and

Production Responsibility and Extent of Computer Use

Hypothesis 3: The relationship between Control and Complexity Extent of

Computer Use

3.4 Organization justice

Organizational justice research starts from the premise that employees focus

on the fairness in organizational systems in determining their commitment,

satisfaction, and intent to turn over One view is that employees determine their

perception of fairness in the workplace by comparing the equity of the ratio of their

inputs to their outcomes in comparison to those of their co-workers This results in a

judgment about distributive justice It is a summary judgment about the fairness of

managerial decisions concerning the distribution of outcomes such as pay and

promotions (Dailey & Kirk, 1992) Another aspect of organizational fairness is

procedural justice that focuses on how such decisions are made The process for

making organizational decisions may be just as-important to the employees as their

perception of outcome fairness These two types of justice have different effects on

the perception of organizational fairness For example, Folger and Konovsky (1989)

found that distributive justice has a much greater impact on pay satisfaction than