Information Systems Professionals Research Articles

An Examination of the Correlates of Burnout in Information Systems Professionals

The study examines the correlates of burnout in systems (IS) professionals. While there has been little previous research in the area of burnout among IS professionals, anecdotal evidence shows that burnout causes a negative impact on the peiformance of IS employees. These negative impacts can take the form of cynicism, dissatisfaction, and turnover (McGee, 1996). In this study we empirically examine the correlations of burnout with several work attributes that are considered to be either antecedents or consequences of burnout. Two role stressors are examined in this study - role ambiguity and role conflict. These variables are theorized to be antecedents of burnout. In addition, two dimensions of organizational commitment-affective and continuance commitment-are examined as possible consequences of burnout. The emotional exhaustion subscale of the Maslach Burnout Inventory is used to measure burnout in 312 IS professionals. Both role stressors were found to co "elate positively with burnout. In addition, affective commitment was found to be negatively correlated and continuance commitment positively correlated with burnout.Request access from your librarian to read this article's full text.

Information system project-selection criteria variations within strategic classes

Effective information system (IS) project selection is critical to the success of organizations. Researchers have proposed that selection of projects varies by strategic orientation, but none have looked at how criteria vary within strategic classes. A survey of IS professionals, with a final respondent pool of 88, is directed at exploring these differences. Paired t-tests indicate that organizations with current strategic systems rate internal factors higher than external and project-related criteria. Organizations with an expectation of future strategic information systems rate internal concerns the highest, but they also place more emphasis on external conditions than on project-related issues. The results allow an organizational comparison to common practice for the purpose of modifying project-selection techniques or benchmarking to similar organizations.

Business - Information Systems Professional Differences

Group differences have often been cited between information system professionals and junctional-business professionals. Now perspectives of what constitutes business rules must be added to the list of group differences. In many organizations,junctional business professionals and information systems professionals disagree as to what constitutes a business rule. Functional personnel express business rules in terms of how business processes are defined and constrained. Alternatively, information system professionals view business rules in terms of the constraints that the rules place on manipulating the organization's data resources. Each of these perspectives is essentialfor the effective management ofafirm' s resources, but each perspective-independent of the otherfails to acknowledge the interreliance of business processes and the information systems that support them. This research develops a theoretical basis for this gap based on structural learning theory's definition of directive rule types: problem definition rules and solution rules. Structural learning theory is used to illustrate how these perspectives can be bridged. Based on the resulting model, the paper discusses the knowledge, skills and abilities that information systems professionals must have to enable bridging the gap.

Global Information Systems and Human Resource Management

A socio-technical approach to information systems requires recognition of the inextricable link between information technologies and humans as designers and users. This essay explores five areas in which information technology and human computer designers/users interact within the context of global organizations. These five areas are: using information technology to support the human resource strategy of global organizations, using information technology to support the generation and distribution of organizational learning, using human resource management techniques and programs to support the work of information systems professionals, using human resource management techniques and programs to support the work of global “end-users†or knowledge workers, and, finally, national and regional policies to support technical and human resource infrastructures.

Self-directed teams in IS: correlates for improved systems development work outcomes

Abstract Self-directed work teams (SDWTs) often result from reengineering and process innovation efforts as well as recent movements to `downsize', or `flatten' organizations. Information systems (IS) departments have not been insulated from these trends. In spite of the rising interest in these teams, little is known about them in knowledge work settings like IS. Past research in blue-collar contexts suggests that teams result in performance improvements, while anecdotal evidence in the IS industry suggests that such improvements may never materialize. This paper reports on research conducted on 231 IS professionals from 28 systems development SDWTs across 13 organizations. Results indicate that while the autonomy inherent in SDWTs may lead to increased levels of satisfaction, motivation, and performance, the level of cooperative learning that takes place on the teams may be more important to achieving improved work outcomes. The paper concludes with a discussion of implications for both theory and managerial practice.

Anytime, Anyplace Learning in an Online Graduate Professional Degree Program

This paper describes experiences at Drexel University with use of an Asynchronous Learning Network to provide an online graduate degree for information systems professionals. Students in this program never gather for face-to-face classes but students and faculty engage in an active learning experience online. This paper provides an overview of the project's fundamental strategies, presents some evaluation data relevant to these strategies, and concludes with some observations based on the project experience.

An empirical analysis of the organizational commitment of information systems executives

Information systems (IS), in recent times, have moved away from their traditional role as back office support to a new role in which they are recognized as key organizational resources. This new role, and the introduction of new technologies, have led to new ways for organizations to restructure and manage their IS function. These changes have considerably altered the IS executive's work environment, creating the potential to significantly impact on the executive's commitment to, and motivation to stay with, the organization. IS professionals have historically displayed a very high rate of turnover. While prior research has established a theoretical, causal link between individual/job/organizational characteristics, commitment and personnel turnover, empirical studies in the IS area have focused only on individual and job characteristics as antecedents of organizational commitment. The present study extends this line of research to explore the significance of organizational variables as antecedents to commitment. Discriminant analysis is used to analyze the empirical data from a questionnaire survey of IS executives. Implications of the results for organizations are discussed.

Information Systems Education in Thailand

This paper reports on a study conducted with information systems (IS) academics and professionals in Thailand. The respondents were asked to indicate the importance of a range of IS topics typically taught in tertiary institutions offering IS education. Results indicated that while academics place high priority on technical subjects, the professionals in addition also emphasise on enterprise issues and business subjects. The results of the present study were also compared with earlier studies conducted in Australia, Malaysia and The People’s Republic of China.

Information systems careers: the role of assessment centers

A major dilemma facing an organization today is the successful migration to new computing technologies. Inherent in this problem is how to develop or acquire information systems (IS) workers to implement the transition. Although prevalent in other fields, the information systems profession has not utilized assessment centers to address this issue. This article articulates the problem from the organization’s point of view and suggests strategies for developing the careers of IS employees. Assessment centers can be used to identify skills needed for the career development of IS employees. In addition, the organization obtains the knowledge resources necessary to compete for scarce IS workers. The use of assessment centers results in a win‐win situation for both employees and employers in the information systems industry.

The Effect of Interpersonal Environments on is Personnel

During the past two decades, information system (IS) organizations have experienced a rapid growth in almost every organization due to the intense competition in the industry. This growth has led to more complex and specialized jobs for IS professionals. These jobs often require IS professionals to interact with individuals outside the IS department. Individuals in other departments may have orientations and expectations that are very different from those of the IS professionals. The outcome of these interpersonal contacts may result in the change of IS professionals' work-related attitudes. The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of interpersonal environments on IS professionals' psychological outcomes. The results show that interpersonal contact and role stressors have significant impacts on IS professionals' level of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment.

Comparison of Gender Differences among Information Systems Professionals: A Cultural Perspective

Human resource management is an important issue in the Information Systems (IS) discipline because of several factors -the rapidly changing technologies, the fact that end users tend to look to the IS staff to provide the tools and techniques necessary to effectively compete in today's economic and business environment. Demographic changes in the labor force have also been projected for the years beyond 2000. The Bureau of Labor Statistics forecasts that women and non-Whites would form the majority of the productive population The IS profession is projected to grow at the astonishing rate of 120% annually. Consequently, it is important to examine the expected work goals of female versus male IS professionals. This study uses Hofstede's (4) typology of culture to examine the work goals of female IS professionals versus those of male IS professionals. Gender differences in work goals have been attributed to the upbringing and cultural background of individuals. The results indicate that male and female IS professionals generally have similar work goals. Males perceived advancement, variety and high earnings as more important factors

Testing an Ethical Decision-Making Theory: The Case of Softlifting

:There is a lack of both theoretical and empirical research on the process of ethical decision making in the domain of information systems (IS). As a step in this direction, we describe and test a general ethical decision-making theory developed in the marketing discipline. We conducted a study on the ethical decision-making process of 243 entry-level IS professionals with regard to softlifting—that is, illegal copying of software for personal use. The results show support for the applicability of the tested ethical decision-making theory to the domain of IS, specifically in the context of softlifting. Entry-level IS professionals were found to use both deontological and teleological evaluations to arrive at an ethical judgment of a moral issue. Subsequently, moral intention to pursue softlifting behavior is primarily determined by the ethical judgment. These findings have implications for both research and practice.

Different approaches to the tasks of educating and training information systems professionals, within the National Health Service (UK)

In 1994, La Sainte Union College of Higher Education (LSU) 1 Note that, in September 1998, LSU College of Higher Education was assimilated into the University of Southampton and together with the Department of Adult and Continuing Education, has been renamed ‘New College'. 1 developed an MSc in Health Informatics course, in conjunction with Southampton University NHS Trust (SUHT). The original part-time, 1 day per week mode of delivery has since been broadened to include a distance leaning route and recently a block release mode, by which students combine usage of the distance learning materials with attendance in College for an intensive 2-day taught element. Because the course was designed in close co-operation with a major teaching hospital, it has always been ‘market led’ to meet the needs both of the individual students and of the organisations that they work for. At the same time, students acquire a quality-assured qualification from a premier UK university, a qualification that holds credence outside the National Health Service (NHS). At the same time as LSU and SUHT were developing the MSc in Health Informatics, the UK NHS Training Division (NHSTD) started to promote a professional qualification for health service professionals, the so-called ‘Statement of Recognition’ (SoR). In contrast to the academic format of an MSc, the SoR was not a formal course, but a combination of modules designed to help candidates demonstrate their competence and achievement at work by portfolio evidence. This approach has national standing throughout the UK in a set of qualifications known as NVQs (National Vocational Qualifications). The NHSTD, through its successor, the Institute of Health Care Development (IHCD), has further refined this competency based model, culminating in the launch in 1996 of the Diploma and Advanced Diploma in Information and Technology (Health). Professionals within the area of Information Management and Technology (IM&T) in the NHS now have the alternatives of an academic or a competency route to achieve their goals. This paper traces the development of and the relationship between, these two approaches to the educational and training of healthcare professionals. It will illustrate the shift from Information Technology (IT) to Information Management skills, which is a pre-requisite to satisfy the changing needs of information users. It will also consider how a single Master's course can lead to a range of courses which meet the needs of professionals at various levels. Finally, it makes some recommendations for future developments of the programmes, suggestions which may have some relevance outside of the UK.

Promoting business policies in object-oriented methods

Business policies have been proposed to bridge the gap between business and information system professionals, and at the same time, for easing system evolution. So far, however, most approaches to business policies have been biased towards providing a structural perspective. Here, we argue that there is much to be gained from moving the business-policy idea to a behavioral setting such as the one used in most object-oriented methods. This paper proposes a division of behavioral domain features into two orthogonal dimensions depending on the stability of these features: the event dimension which mainly corresponds to state-transition diagrams that are rarely changed, and the policy dimension which describes restrictions and dependencies among elements on the event dimension that routinely evolve with time. This explicit and separate description of business policies allows the changing of these policies without impacting unnecessarily on the underlying domain, thus easing requirement modifications and finally, enhancing software evolution. The paper addresses policy identification, description and implementation.

A comparative investigation of ethical decision making

As information technology evolves, it continues to raise new ethical challenges. In recognition of this, the business and academic communities have focused increased attention on ethics. Professional codes of ethics have been enacted by the ACM, AITP, and other computing organizations to provide guidance to information systems (IS) professionals in resolving ethical dilemmas. In addition, the IS'95 model curriculum and the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) guidelines for business education both recognize the importance of ethics in business educational programs.This paper explores an important question that has been neglected by previous research: do IS professionals differ significantly from students in terms of their perceptions about ethical issues? Two studies were conducted and they revealed a number of ethical decision-making differences between professionals and students. This result, along with an additional finding that participants showed little consensus about most ethical scenarios, suggests that ethical decision making is often difficult and that both students and professionals can benefit from ethical training and education. The findings also have important implications for IS research.

Group Support Systems: Barriers to Adoption in a Cross-Cultural Setting

This paper develops a model to explain how Group Support Systems (GSS) may be received in different cultural settings - national and organisational. The model is supported by the views of Information Systems professionals regarding the suitability of GSS in those different cultural settings. A detailed investigation into the suitability of adopting GSS in organisations in Hong Kong is undertaken with three cases presented here. We argue for greater sensitivity when attempts are made to transfer technology from one culture to another, as well as the need to develop indigenous solutions that do fit with cultural norms. We also believe that studies documenting the organisational use of GSS - successful and unsuccessful - are essential.

Perspectives on computer personnel research

Research appearing in Computer Personnel has focused on a number of topics between April 1994 and January 1998, the most consistent topic concerned the careers of information systems professionals. In preparation of articles, researchers have used a variety of references for their work. A surprising number of texts have been cited; the number of text citations is about 30% of the number of journal citations.The time period studied represents the first four years of Computer Personnel being a blind, peer reviewed journal. This article will review citations during this four year period and will make comparisons of the citations to recent journal rankings in Communications of the ACM.

The Impact of Socialization on the Role Adjustment of Information Systems Professionals

:The study of socialization and its practices has only recently been applied to organizations to investigate the manner in which new employees adjust to corporate culture. Past studies have examined the nature of human-resource development from an individual perspective. Research in socialization practices represents an organizational approach toward understanding the manner in which new employees adjust to their roles. This study examines the impact of socialization practices on the nature of this role adjustment with respect to information systems professionals. One hundred and sixty newly hired IS personnel in five different cities were surveyed to examine the relationship between organizational socialization tactics and adjustment variables such as role orientation, role ambiguity, and role clarity. Results suggest that socialization practices affect professional role adjustment. Specifically, institutionalized socialization tactics lead to a custodial role orientation and individualized socialization tactics produce an innovative role orientation. In addition, institutionalized tactics are shown to reduce role ambiguity and role conflict in new employees. Implications for human-resource management of IS personnel and future research in this area are discussed.

The moderating effect of organizational commitment on burnout in information systems professionals

The moderating effect of organizational commitment on burnout in information systems professionals

IS team projects: IS professionals rate six criteria for assessing effectiveness

In order to capitalize on the various technical and behavioural skills needed for a project, system development activities frequently are performed by teams. By surveying 239 information systems (IS) professionals, reports how IS managers, project leaders, and system analysts evaluate the importance of six criteria for determining the effectiveness of an IS team project. Results show that there is a significant difference among the IS professionals. IS managers give more weight to the amount of work a team produced, adherence to schedule, and adherence to budget than do project leaders and system analysts. Results indicate that all IS professionals report that they regard the quality of work produced by the team as the most critical criterion.