IT Labor Research Articles

About Our Authors

About Our Authors

Autonomic HTML Interface Generator for Web Applications

Recent advances in computing systems have led to a new digital era in which every area of life is nearly interrelated with information technology. However, with the trend towards large-scale IT systems, a new challenge has emerged. The complexity of IT systems is becoming an obstacle that hampers the manageability, operability, and maintainability of modern computing infrastructures. Autonomic computing popped up to provide an answer to these ever-growing pitfalls. Fundamentally, autonomic systems are self-configuring, self-healing, self-optimizing, and self-protecting; hence, they can automate all complex IT processes without human intervention. This paper proposes an autonomic HTML web-interface generator based on XML Schema and Style Sheet specifications for self-configuring graphical user interfaces of web applications. The goal of this autonomic generator is to automate the process of customizing GUI web-interfaces according to the ever-changing business rules, policies, and operating environment with the least IT labor involvement. The conducted experiments showed a successful automation of web interfaces customization that dynamically self-adapts to keep with the always-changing business requirements. Future research can improve upon the proposed solution so that it supports the selfconfiguring of not only web applications but also desktop applications.

IT 근로자의 부가가치 창출에 대한 기여도 분석

As the IT labor captures an increasing proportion of the total labor, it is important to analyze the contribution of IT labor to national economy. Although there has been abundant research about the effect of IT investments, it is difficult to find a research about IT labor's economic contribution. Most prior studies on the effect of IT investment have focused on the effect of IT capital investment. This paper empirically explores whether and how IT labor makes contribution to Korean economy. And also this paper examines the economic contribution of IT experts and semi-experts in Korean industries over the 2000 to 2007 period, using production function framework and panel data set for 24 industries constructed from 'Input-Output table' and 'Research on Wage Structure Survey'. Based on the full sample of 120 observations, this study finds that a 1% increase in IT labor wage is associated with 0.042190% increase in added value. In the case of non-manufacturing industries on the sample of 50 observations, this study finds that a 1% increase in IT labor wage is associated with 0.074908% increase in added value. And in the case of IT experts (separated from IT semi-experts), this study finds that a 1% increase in IT expert's labor wage is associated with 0.013957% increase in added value of all industry. This study provides implication for policy makers and managers. The results suggests that non-manufacturing industries can capture further benefits by increasing investment in IT labor. Building on this study, future research should examine the impact of IT labor at a more detailed industry level and the firm level.

Heterogeneity of IT employees

The retention of existing IT employees is crucial due to the expected shortage of the IT labor force in the U.S., Canada, and European countries. While much of the extant IT turnover literature implicitly assumes that IT employees are homogeneous, we contend that they are a diverse group and that exploring the group in depth would reveal further insights into why employees turnover. We examined a sample of employees by IT job type in a turnover model of the antecedents and impacts of perceived organizational support (POS), which is another infrequently studied concept in the literature but is a potentially important predictor of turnover. A survey of 302 IT employees at a large U.S.-based company showed that these employees are in fact diverse. The relationships between role ambiguity and POS and work schedule flexibility and POS were found to be significant for managerial employees, but not for technically-oriented employees. The relationship between career accommodations and POS, however, was found to be significant for technically-oriented employees, but not managerial employees. As a whole, this study suggests that by combining all IT employees together in our analyses, we may forego some of the unique insights about these employees that we can otherwise cultivate to strengthen the bond between the organization and its employees and to enhance our existing IT turnover literature. The results of this study provide implications for organizations on how they can better balance the tactics they use to retain their valued IT employees. IT managers can be in a better position to focus on building relationships with their employees based on what is generally important to those employees.

From boot camp to bu‐bu? IT surveillance, patriarchal familism, and labor control: a South Korean case study

Information technology capable of real‐time evaluation has changed the nature of labor control by completely monitoring a system. This homeostasis of real‐time control eliminating the space barrier has increased workers' stress and anxiety and weakened the workers' solidarity. An IT surveillance system, frequently called an electronic panopticon, has been viewed as the sophisticated form of the Talyor principle of scientific management. However, IT surveillance has operated in the way of combined form with the cultural values of a certain society. In this paper, I show how cultural values influence labor control through IT surveillance using a case study from the tire industry. H tire company has introduced the DAS (Data Acquisition System) for increasing productivity through a new control system. Real‐time evaluation, an instant report of each workers' merit on the monitor, and compensation have made workers feel constantly under surveillance and under stress due to competition with other workers. This IT surveillance has more deeply influenced labor control when combined with patriarchal familism – composed of features such as group‐oriented attitudes, hierarchical relations between the old and young, subordination to one's seniors, etc, which have come to be viewed as some of the typical cultural values prevalent in South Korea. Although the basic principle of technology may be the same in all societies, the effects of applied information technology depend on specific socio‐historical contexts: not only culture, habits, and politics, but also the power relations between managers and workers. I will tentatively designate this as a ‘hybrid form’ of labor control, in the sense that cultural value is added or intermingled with the principle of IT surveillance.

Boosting Japan's IT Labour Force — From Shortages to Skill Standards

This paper examines alleged shortages and institutional weaknesses in the education, training and employment of Japan's IT labour force at the beginning of the 21st century. In particular, the paper focusses on recent initiatives taken by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) to develop IT skill standards (ITSS) in order to promote external labour markets for IT professionals. Drawing on official sources, surveys and interviews with officials in Japan and the UK, the authors argue that similarities between skill standards in Japan and the UK are more apparent than real. The authors argue that the development, design and application of skill standards must be understood in their respective national institutional contexts.

Research Note—Comparing IT Workers’ Compensation Across Country Contexts: Demographic, Human Capital, and Institutional Factors

As the IT workforce becomes global, it is increasingly important to understand the factors affecting IT workers’ compensation in labor markets distributed across the globe. Ang et al. (2002) published the first in-depth analysis of compensation for IT professionals juxtaposing human capital endowment (education and experience) and institutional determinants (firm’s size, industry, and sector) of compensation in the Singaporean economy. In this paper, we explore the influence of particular national economies on IT workers’ compensation. We draw on research into the roots of wage differentials in labor economics and build on the Ang et al. research to present a multilevel analysis of IT workers’ compensation in the United States, analyzing the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Current Population Survey (CPS) data for 1997, 2001, and 2003. We find that, while institutional differences in Singapore mattered only in conjunction with individual factors, in the U.S. institutional differences had a direct effect on IT workers’ wages. As tightness of IT labor supply decreased in the United States in the early 2000s, the influence of a firm’s size on wages became more pronounced. Also, female IT workers and workers without a college degree fared worse than their male and college-educated counterparts as the IT job market slowed down. We suggest that factors such as presence of job search friction, diversity in the educational system, geographical differences in cost of living, labor mobility, and shortages in IT labor supply vis-à-vis demand help explain the differences among countries. We conclude by outlining the implications of these findings for IT workers, firms, and policy makers.

Economic Impact of Internet in China

This paper examines the current status of Internet development in China; analyzes its contributions to Chinese economy from the perspective of economic structural changes, IT industry development, E-commerce, productivity growth, foreign investment, and labor market, etc.; suggests its direction in terms of government policy orientations; and proposes strategies toward greater success of Internet in China. To promote economic growth, it is important for Chinese government to establish sturdy e-environments to enable its industries to compete in the global economy and to bring about a greater cohesion within its societies.

Networks to Nerdistan: The Role of Labor Market Intermediaries in the Entry‐level IT Labor Market

AbstractAlthough networks have long governed economic relations, they assume even more importance in a knowledge‐based economy. Yet, some argue that because of the lack of social networks and human capital, some groups are permanently ‘switched off’ the networks of the global economy. Evidence presented in this article suggests that instead there is latent potential for access to the network, due to the rise of networked community‐based organizations and the increasing accessibility of technology. Based on surveys and in‐depth interviews with almost 700 workers and training providers, I show how the switched off are entering jobs in information technology through network ties and the acquisition of soft skills, or communication and interaction skills. Although community‐based training providers are best positioned to help disadvantaged jobseekers enter the network society, changes in the US workforce development system are reinforcing network exclusivity, rather than facilitating this upward mobility.

Meeting The Challenges Of Today's IT Labor Demands By Building A Better Prepared Student Thru Targeting Curricula Enhancements

Meeting The Challenges Of Today's IT Labor Demands By Building A Better Prepared Student Thru Targeting Curricula Enhancements

Critical empirical research in IS: an example of gender and the IT workforce

PurposeThis article aims to add to the growing number of critical empirical studies and to reflect on the process of conducting this type of research, thereby addressing the lack of exemplars for those engaged with critical empirical information systems research.Design/methodology/approachApplies the critical lens to a multi‐year examination of variation in the career narratives of women in the American IT labor force. While an interpretive epistemology was initially chosen for this research project, over time, analysis of interview data took on an increasingly critical orientation. This, in turn, influenced subsequent fieldwork to become critical in nature.FindingsOne theoretical contribution is highlighting the role of power dynamics in understanding what sits beneath the surface of observations about these women's experiences in the IT workforce. The second theoretical contribution is helping to shift the focus away from predominantly essentialist theories that dichotomize men and women and toward a recognition of the diversity among women in the IT field.Research limitations/implicationsFuture research should include additional critical empirical studies of women in the IT field in other countries.Practical implicationsThis research project can serve as a useful example for other critical IS researchers about to embark on empirical fieldwork.Originality/valueThis paper provides a concrete illustration of the way in which empirical research is altered as the epistemological lens shifts from interpretivist to critical.

Information Technology, Productivity and Profitability in Asia-Pacific Banks

Past analyses of the relationship between IT, productivity and bank profitability in the U.S., Europe and Australia have shown both positive and negative linkages. This study considers the IT impact on productivity in two groups of Asia-Pacific banks based on reported profitability during the Asian financial crisis. In general, the banks perceive increased productivity, and both strategic and operational benefits from IT. The high costs of IT permit only suboptimal investments, in both IT capital and IT labor. Better management of IT resources enhances competitiveness through higher quality service at lower costs, delivered faster through a variety of channels more convenient to customers. IT investments and their proper implementation are more relevant when the banks are not performing well. Since increased productivity may not be adequately reflected in profits, profitability measures should not be used alone to measure the impact of IT on productivity.

News 2.0

These days it’s difficult to pick up a newspaper, turn on the TV, or even, say, open a copy of Queue, without encountering the “O” word: outsourcing. Gartner recently predicted nontrivial cutbacks in the domestic IT labor force over the next five years, mostly as a result of outsourcing IT services, claiming that 60 percent of IT departments will cut their workforces in half by 2008.

The productivity pay‐off from effective allocation of IT and non‐IT labour

International Labour ReviewVolume 143, Issue 3 p. 235-247 The productivity pay-off from effective allocation of IT and non-IT labour Stephan KUDYBA, Stephan KUDYBA *Assistant Professor, Department of Management, New Jersey Institute of Technology; email: Skudyba@nullsigma.comSearch for more papers by this author Stephan KUDYBA, Stephan KUDYBA *Assistant Professor, Department of Management, New Jersey Institute of Technology; email: Skudyba@nullsigma.comSearch for more papers by this author First published: 22 September 2008 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1564-913X.2004.tb00270.xCitations: 1 AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Citing Literature Volume143, Issue3September 2004Pages 235-247 RelatedInformation

Ethics and Law on the Electronic Frontier

The new electronic relations have brought as much benefits as duties. The society uses more often computers in every day life than ever. Unfortunately, cyberspace bounds are huge and its regulation is very complicated. In many cases the users are responsible for his security. That is why Electronic Law knowledge is useful and important for the new society. The most powerful computer and net users are those who are educated in Computer Science. Various authorities in the field of Computer Science education are urging the necessity of topics on legal regulation of the electronic society. Several universities in Latvia starting from the 2002/2003 study year have implemented a new course on IT Industry Standards, Legislation, Labour Protection and Ergonomics. The topic is extended considering the students being programmers, computer users and hired workers. This paper describes the demand for teaching the legal regulation of electronic processes to Computer Science students, gives and overview of the course preparation, teaching and findings received from the first year experience.

Producing hi-tech: globalization, the state and migrant subjects

This paper examines the role of the state in the context of globalization. Taking up the specific case of Indian software engineers and their migration to the USA, the authors show the involvement of the Indian state and the US at different levels. The growth of the IT labour sector was based on changes in the higher education policy of the Indian state while the large-scale migration of IT workers from India required changes in the immigration policies of the US. The authors argue that these policy changes reflect how nation-states alter their national policies to meet the demands of the global economy. Equally important, the authors show that the policy changes are indicative of the unique political context and culture of each country. In the case of India, the education policy changes relate to caste politics while the immigration policy of the USA shares the legacy of US race politics.

Employment and IT capital in Japan

The purpose of this article is to investigate the relation of employment and IT capital. In particular, it examines whether employment increases or decreases as IT capital increases. The elasticity of substitution between IT capital and labour has drastically increased in the latter part of the measuring period. An increase in capital and IT capital was associated with a reduction of labour. Recently, the impact of IT capital on labour demand has increased.

Information Technology as an Engine of Broad-Based Growth in India

In this paper, we survey some of the developments in India’s IT sector, and prospects for broad-based growth led by this sector. We examine the IT sector, discussing the role of software versus hardware, the growth pattern of the software industry and software exports, and the potential problems in IT labor supply to support future growth. We focus on a current bottleneck for the IT sector, namely the telecommunications infrastructure. Issues considered include the basic driver of technological convergence across voice and data communications, problems with current infrastructure, innovations that have the potential to dramatically alter the economics of access to telecoms, and the evolving structure of the telecoms industry. We also examine the policy environment more closely, arguing that government policy is better focused on removing labor market distortions and infrastructure constraints, rather than providing output or export subsidies to the software industry. We discuss the appropriateness of specific policy goals such as universal access, as well as issues of implementation of more general objectives of broader telecoms access. Finally, we map out the possibilities for broad-based IT-led growth, including increasing value-added, using better telecom links to capture more benefits domestically through offshore development for industrial country firms, greater spillovers to the local economy, broadening the IT industry with production of telecom access devices, improving the functioning of the economy through a more extensive and denser communications network, and improving governance.

The H-1B visa: Free market solutions for business and labor

The H-1B visa program opened the US information technology labor market to temporary, skilled immigrant labor. But the immigrant worker was bound to a specific employer for the duration of the visa. The non-portability of the H-1B visa has benefitted the employer at the expense of immigrant and domestic workers. Much of the political debate surrounding the H-1B program has focused on raising the annual visa cap based on inconclusive evidence of a domestic IT labor shortage. The labor shortage question has obscured the more importantissue of reforming the H-1B program to level the playing field between business and labor.

Attracting and Keeping it Talent

In these times of a tight IT labor market, talented IT workers enjoy a mobility previously not experienced. Better offers constantly come their way, and often they accept these offers and leave behind frustrated and betrayed IS managers. the reasons that IT professionals choose to work for an organization or leave it for another vary as much as these professionals' skills and personalities and organizations' cultures and IT functions. Trying to establish a match between an organization's goals and functions and an IT professional's goals and needs will help IT managers hire and keep the IT talent they need.