Information Technology Personnel Research Articles

The Internal Audit Function in Information Technology Governance: A Holistic Perspective

ABSTRACTThe internal audit function's (IAF) role has evolved from traditional (accounting and financial control) to more strategic (governance). The business environment has changed as well, and nowadays relies considerably on information technology (IT). Only a few studies have investigated IT governance from a holistic perspective. Further, no study has closely examined IAF involvement in IT governance as a whole. This study uses a holistic approach to describe IAF involvement in IT governance and to explore the influence of IAF characteristics on this involvement. Survey results indicate that IAF involvement in IT governance structures, processes, and relational capabilities has not fully expanded. Also, IAF resources and IT audit experience, IT personnel and IT training/certification, and interaction between the IAF and board of directors committees influence IAF involvement in overall IT governance. These IAF characteristics influence each dimension of IAF involvement in IT governance differently. The overall results should be useful to internal auditors, senior executives, and board members seeking to enhance, assess, or make changes to their organization's IT governance.

Combining Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory with Analytic Network Process to Perform an Investigation of Information Technology Auditing and Risk Control in an Enterprise Resource Planning Environment

The research examined different types of risk through interviews with experts. The risks studied include business interruption risk, process interdependency risk and system security risk. The decision making trial and evaluation laboratory is used to find the relationship among risks and combined with the analytic network process to select the optimal measures for reducing risks. The results indicate that information technology (IT) consultants prefer the Disaster Recovery Plan (DRP). They usually use the remote replication or High Availability (HA) to protect data. IT personnel believe that all of the IT risk controls are important. Auditors indicate that data access control is very important because users have to execute data access every day. Users of IT express a preference towards data input/output control as the most important control. The results achieved from all experts indicate that the most important controls overall are data input/output control, data access control and so on. Managers need to consider these risks to avoid any potential problems. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The Grass is Always Greener on The Other Side: A Test of Present and Alternative Job Utility on IT Professionals’ Turnover

The costs associated with the turnover of information technology (IT) professionals continue to draw the attention of IT managers and researchers. Although a weak labor market has limited the quantity of turnover, organizations' most skilled IT personnel are still coveted and valuable resources. These IT professionals are also those most equipped to leave their firm and find new work. In order to reduce costs, retain key employees, and manage turnover, managers need to understand the factors that drive quitting behavior. The research model suggests that the utility of present and alternative IT work are key cognitive influences on an IT professional's decision to search for new employment, intention to quit, and, ultimately, turnover. We test the research model using longitudinal data that include actual turnover behavior. The research model explains 44% of the variance in intention to quit and 13% of the variance in actual turnover. After establishing the influence of utility on the quitting process, we conduct additional analyses to identify the elements of present and alternative job utility that are the most salient for IT professionals' quitting processes. From the additional analyses, we derive specific guidance to practice on the management of IT professionals.

Career Abandonment Intentions among Software Workers

AbstractWithin the software development industry, human resources have been recognized as one of the most decisive and scarce resources. Today, the retention of skilled IT (information technology) personnel is a major issue for employers and recruiters as well, since IT career abandonment is a common practice and means not only the loss of personnel, knowledge, and skills, but also the loss of business opportunities. This article seeks to discover the main motivations young practitioners abandon the software career. To achieve this objective, two studies were conducted. The first study was qualitative (performed through semistructured interviews) and intended to discover the main variables affecting software career abandonment. The second study was quantitative, consisting of a Web‐based survey developed from the output of the first study and administered to a sample of 148 IT practitioners. Results show that work‐related, psychological, and emotional variable are the most relevant group of variables explaining IT career abandonment. More specifically, the three most important variables that motivate employees to abandon the career are effort–reward imbalance, perceived workload, and emotional exhaustion. In contrast, variables such as politics and infighting, uncool work, and insufficient resources influence to a lesser extent the decision to leave the career. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Occupational Stress Level among Information TechnologyProfessionals in Iran

The current research investigated occupational stress among information technology (IT) professionals aiming to measure the level of occupational stress and studying the relationship between occupational stress level of IT professionals and a) gender, b) age, c) work experience and d) stress management courses. The research was conducted among 236 IT professionals. The results suggest that stress reduction programs and strategies are inevitable due to high occupational stress levels. The relationship between stress level and gender, work experience, and stress management courses were approved through path analysis. Finally, implications of the study are discussed in terms of discussion and further research. Index Terms—Information technology professionals, IT personnel, occupational stress.

Techno stress in Gender perspective: An Empirical Investigation

One of the greatest challenges facing information technology (IT) managers is adapting to change. IT managers must cope with frequent changes while implementing new applications within their organizations. There are many indicators that this constant change is a challenge for IT professionals and managers. This paper reveals the gender differences in occupational stress among information technology (IT) personnel in India. Data was collected via a combination of mail surveys and semi-structured interviews. Results of the survey using analysis of variance show that ,female IT personnel reported significantly higher scores on sources of stress originating from internal factors to the job, managerial role, relationships within office, career and achievement, and organizational environment, where as no significant gender difference was found for stress originating from work-home conflict. The information inputted by this study will help and assist employees, especially female IT personnel, in their professional development and achievement and will help to root up the key issues which are generating stress to female personnel so as to strive higher satisfaction level and enhanced profitability.

Engaging Students with Clickers in a Distributed Environment — Lessons Learned

This study explored the effectiveness of using clickers in remote locations and investigated the impact of using clickers on the teaching and learning techniques that must be employed within a distributed multi-classroom setting. Participants (N=24) synchronously participated in a clicker incorporated seminar either face-to-face, remotely in a group or in remote individual offices. Post-seminar surveys, interviews, and focus groups were conducted to examine student, instructor, and information technology (IT) perspectives. Students perceived clickers to be easy to use and reported that clickers helped them feel more engaged. The instructor reported that preparation time was increased due to the use of clickers, and that her awareness of remote students increased delivery time. IT personnel indicated that using clickers was feasible and estimated that it would take more time initially, but having dedicated technical support would decrease the ongoing time involved. Clickers can serve as a tool for engaging students in remote sites. Although clickers are easy to use by students, the effective use of this technology in remote educational settings is more complex and time-consuming. It is vital to remember that the technology utilized is only a tool, and that learning that occurs and learners should be in the forefront.

Use of Technology to Enhance Simulation and Learning

Conducting effective simulations involves a combination of medical professionals and information technology personnel. Each discipline significantly contributes to the learning process. The Center for Clinical Excellence at South Plains College utilizes one simulation technician and two nurses, plus additional nursing faculty to meet the needs of students.

Cloudy with a Chance of Open Source: Open Source Integrated Library Systems and Cloud Computing in Academic Law Libraries

Integrated library systems (ILSs) have been fundamental to library workflow in both technical services and public services for decades. However, many of the proprietary ILSs currently on the market do not provide law libraries with the flexibility and adaptability necessary to keep pace with advances in technology. Some law libraries are considering abandoning proprietary ILSs and implementing one of the nascent open source ILSs that have sprung up in the last few years. As the lines blur between hardware and software, many organizations are trading in-house information technology infrastructure and personnel for full-service cloud hosting. This article examines these trends for those contemplating a move to an open source ILS and/or cloud computing.

Experiences in Personal Lecture Video Capture

The ability of lecture videos to capture the different modalities of a class interaction make them a good review tool. Multimedia capable devices are ubiquitous among contemporary students. Many lecturers are leveraging this popularity by distributing videos of lectures. They depend on the university to provide the video capture infrastructure. Some universities use trained videographers. Though they produce excellent videos, these efforts are expensive. Several research projects automate the video capture. However, these research prototypes are not readily deployable because of organizational constraints. Rather than waiting for the university to provide the necessary infrastructure, we show that instructors can personally capture the lecture videos using off-the-shelf components. Consumer grade high definition cameras and powerful personal computers allow instructor captured lecture videos to be as effective as the ones captured by the university. However, instructors will need to spend their own time on the various steps of the video capture workflow. They are also untrained in media capture; the capture mechanisms must be simple. Based on our experience in capturing lecture videos over three and a half years, we describe the technical challenges encountered in this endeavor. For instructors who accept the educational value of distributing lecture videos, we show that the effort required to capture and process the videos was modest. However, most existing campus storage and distribution options are unsuitable for the resource demands imposed by video distribution. We describe the strengths of several viable distribution alternatives. The instructors should work with the campus information technology personnel and design a distribution mechanism that considers the network location of the students.

Information Security and Sarbanes-Oxley Compliance: An Exploratory Study

ABSTRACT: The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX) created a resurgence of organizational focus on internal controls. In this study, we examine the extent to which the information technology (IT) controls suggested by the ISO 17799 security framework have been integrated into organizations’ internal control environments. We collected survey data from 636 members of the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) on the current usage of IT controls in their organizations. In addition to identifying the most and least commonly implemented IT controls, the survey results indicate that control implementation differences exist based on a company’s status as public or private, the size of the company, and the industry in which the company operates. Training of internal auditors and/or IT personnel is also associated with significant differences in implemented controls. We discuss the implications of our research and offer suggestions for future research.

Women Working in the IT Industry: Challenges for the New Millennium

Despite increased female participation in the workforce, including some non traditional areas such as law and medicine, female participation in the Information Technology (IT) industry is declining. A longitudinal study (WinIT) commenced in 1995 has explored Australian students and working womens perceptions and experiences, and the factors which have influenced them to enter and persist in the IT field. This paper reviews recent research and describes the latest results from the authors' study of professional women in the Australian IT industry, focusing on the contradictions in the way that women represent their experiences. These contradictions indicate that polarised views of gender in the IT workforce are being undermined, but also that IT personnel have difficulty reconciling their personal and work lives and coping with the rapid rate of change in the industry. The implications for human resources management in the volatile IT industry as well as some possible solutions to the problem are also discussed.

Excellence in IT Consulting: Integrating Multiple Stakeholders’ Perceptions of Top Performers

Information technology (IT) consulting is a job where performance is multidimensional and difficult to measure objectively, and where organizational cultures are often “up or out.” Thus, a consultant will typically be judged by (implicit) comparison to an observer's mental picture of a “top performer.” Three linked studies conducted at a large IT consulting firm examine the nature and implications of this process. In the first, we address what it means to be a “top performer” as an IT consultant, both at the entry level and in more senior roles. The second study demonstrates incongruity among various stakeholders in their perceptions of which attributes are of primary and lesser importance as determinants of excellent performance. The third study examines the effects of this incongruence on consultants' attitudes and performance. This research presents a novel operationalization of incongruity that is particularly relevant for understanding IT personnel, and one that has practical implications for their socialization and management.

Innovation Managed and IT Infrastructure Capability

Appropriate information technology (IT) infrastructure capability is critically needed for organizations when seeking effective adaptation to a dynamic market. This adaptation can be treated as a type of management of innovation in terms of Miles and Snow’s typology. Although many studies have explored IT infrastructure capability, it is still unclear how that capability can be diverse among innovation types managed. We use Miles and Snow typology as a surrogate to measure various innovation types and examine how IT infrastructure capability can be differentiated accordingly. Our results show that not all types of IT infrastructure capability are important for facilitating innovation managed and different types of innovation managed have their own IT infrastructure capability emphasized. For example, IT personnel’s technical skills (e.g., computer or systems) are not relatively important for any certain innovation type, but business skills (e.g., performance skill, business knowledge, and organizational skill) are key differentiators. Companies may foster their required IT infrastructure capability according to innovation managed. Implications are discussed.

Antecedents to IT personnel's intentions to leave: A systematic literature review

This paper undertakes a systematic review to gain insight into existing studies on the turnover of information technology (IT) personnel. Our systematic review of 72 studies from 1980 to 2008 examines the background and trend of research into IT personnel's intentions to leave their workplaces, in addition to providing a taxonomy of the determinants of their intentions to quit as captured in IT literature. We note a huge growth in the number of academic papers on the topic since 1998. Moreover, most of the research on IT turnover has been undertaken in North America, followed by Asia. Based on the 72 extracted studies, we found a total of 70 conceptually distinct IT turnover drivers. We classified them into the 5 broad categories of individual, organisational, job-related, psychological, and environmental, each containing three to four sub-categories. Finally, this paper presents insightful recommendations for IT practitioners as well as for the research community.

Online learning in dentistry: an overview of the future direction for dental education

This paper provides an overview of the diversity of tools available for online learning and identifies the drivers of online learning and directives for future research relating to online learning in dentistry. After an introduction and definitions of online learning, this paper considers the democracy of knowledge and tools and systems that have democratized knowledge. It identifies assessment systems and the challenges of online learning. This paper also identifies the drivers for online learning, including those for instructors, administrators and leaders, technology innovators, information and communications technology personnel, global dental associations and government. A consideration of the attitudes of the stakeholders and how they might work together follows, using the example of the unique achievement of the successful collaboration between the Universities of Adelaide, Australia and Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. The importance of the interaction of educational principles and research on online learning is discussed. The paper ends with final reflections and conclusions, advocating readers to move forward in adopting online learning as a solution to the increasing worldwide shortage of clinical academics to teach dental clinicians of the future.

An applied research study on information technology talent management and knowledge management innovations for Generation Y information technology professionals in the nuclear power industry

Nuclear power plants rely on computerised Instrumentation and Control (I&C) systems in monitoring, control and protection at nuclear facilities. I&C systems serve a critical role in monitoring and control functions in nuclear power plants (National Research Council, 1997). To support the use of I&C systems, nuclear power organisations have expanded the intellectual capital of their workforces from scientists and engineers to an abundance of information technology professionals. When it comes to professional Information Technology (IT) organisations in the nuclear power industry, there is a fierce war for their knowledge, experience and talent. As more nuclear power plants are built with digital gauges and sophisticated computerised systems, organisations looking for a quick fix with their IT personnel shortage often employ the strategy of hiring employees from their competitors. The challenge to this strategy is that these employees may commit more to the paycheque than they will to the building and transference of knowledge in nuclear power organisations.

IT capabilities, interfirm performance, and the state of economic development

PurposePrior studies have found that productivity gains associated with information technology (IT) adoption, measured at either the firm‐ or aggregate‐economy levels, differ between developed and developing countries. The purpose of this paper is to extend prior cross‐country research to the interfirm IT capabilities and relationship‐level.Design/methodology/approachA two‐country comparative study is conducted: the USA, a developed country; and Thailand, a developing country. The measurement constructs for the interfirm IT capabilities and performance are derived from the existing literature. Data are collected from IT managers who oversee interfirm relationships as follows: 68 from the US firms; 107 from Thai firms. Several statistical tools are used to test the developed hypotheses, including correlation, regression, and t‐test analysis.FindingsThe important results of the paper indicate the following: IT technical capabilities are positively associated with interfirm performance across two countries. However, IT personnel IT capabilities had a positive relationship with interfirm performance only in Thai firms. Also, Thai firms realize higher innovation performance as a result of IT adoption than the US firms.Research limitations/implicationsThis is an exploratory study as it is based on data from only two countries. Thus, a new causal theory about interfirm relationship‐level performance is not sought. The future research needs include data collection from more countries and longitudinal analyses of trends based on advances in IT capabilities in different countries.Originality/valueIn today's networked global economy, many organizations have value chains that involve interfirm relationships. This paper is the first attempt to explore productivity gains associated with IT adoption, measured at interfirm relationship‐level, based on cross‐country comparative analysis.

Medication errors resulting from computer entry by nonprescribers

The characteristics of medication errors associated with the use of computer order-entry systems by nonprescribers are discussed. A retrospective analysis of records submitted to MEDMARX was conducted for the period from July 1, 2001, to December 31, 2005, to identify all computer-related medication errors made by nonprescribers. Quantitative analysis of the records included the severity of each error, the origin within the medication-use process, the type of error, principal causes, the location within the facility where the error was made, and the therapeutic drug classes frequently involved. Similar data from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) were also analyzed and compared with the national data set. During the 4.5 years, 693 unique facilities submitted 90,001 medication error records that were the result of computer entry by nonprescribers. The national data set and the UPMC data had similar findings for error severity, error origin, and type of error but showed some differences in the rank ordering of error causes, location where the error occurred, and drug classes frequently associated with such errors. The percentage of harm associated with computer-entry errors was small for both the national data set and UPMC data (0.99% and 0.80%, respectively). Both data sets cited performance deficit as the leading cause of computer-entry errors, but large percentage differences were seen with other causes, including inaccurate or omitted transcription (30% versus 12.6%, respectively), documentation (19.5% versus 10.6%, respectively), and procedure or protocol not followed (21.7% versus 30.3%, respectively). Both data sets implicated the inpatient pharmacy department as the location where most computer-entry errors occurred (49.3% versus 69.0%, respectively). Analysis of the characteristics of medication errors associated with the use of computer-entry systems by non-prescribers from both MEDMARX and an individual health system database demonstrated that computer systems create new opportunities for errors to occur. Working closely with information technology personnel dedicated to assisting pharmacy departments and vendors, adequate training of pharmacy staff, and development of national standards for drug information displays in computer order-entry systems may help minimize such errors.

The Effect of Information Technology Infrastructure Flexibility on Intranet Effectiveness

When intranet was first conceived a decade ago, its adoption was only affordable by large business enterprise or organizations. However, at present, intranet adoption has become so prevalent that almost every organizations, irrespective of sizes and business nature has diffused intranet into their business operations and activities. While studies addressing the effectiveness of the intranet have been greatly reported in the literature, very few have really explored or focused on the antecedents or determinants to intranet effectiveness. Specifically, none has ever attempted to examine the effect of information technology (IT) infrastructure capabilities on intranet effectiveness. Against this concern, this study is an attempt to explore the relationship between IT infrastructure flexibility and intranet effectiveness. In addition, it also seeks to investigate the perceived level of IT infrastructure flexibility and intranet effectiveness in the context of public organizations in Malaysia. Based on the results of the analysis, this study has empirically showed that IT infrastructure flexibility comprising of connectivity and IT personnel are influential in determining intranet effectiveness measured in terms of operation, culture and facilitation.