Mark E. McMurtrey

Career anchors of information systems personnel

Abstract:Career research in the information systems (IS) field has primarily focused on external motivators associated with organizational factors and material incentives. IS empirical research investigating the internalized career orientations of practitioners is necessary to match individual expectations with corporate human resource planning.This study identifies several career anchors or orientations maintained by IS personnel. By administering the Career Orientations Inventory to 321 IS personnel, Managerial and Technical Competence, Identity, Service, Organizational Stability, and Variety career orientations are distinguished. These internal anchors significantly influence how IS and human resource management should (1) plan corporate IS career paths, (2) nurture IS employees during their careers, and (3) encourage appropriate communication about career advancement.

Job Satisfaction of Information Technology Workers: The Impact of Career Orientation and Task Automation in a CASE Environment

This study investigates the job satisfaction of information technology (IT) professionals in an environment where computer aided software engineering (CASE) tools are used. Although the recent downturn in the economy might have temporarily eased the IT labor shortage, issues of recruitment and retention of qualified personnel are key to the success of IS development projects. This study presents a model of the combination of CASE tool usage and job satisfaction as related to internal career orientation. Two hypotheses based on this model were tested using empirical evidence collected through a survey method. The first examines whether the career orientation of IS personnel influences their job satisfaction. The second incorporates the impact of CASE tool usage on this relationship. The results indicate that in a CASE tool environment, personnel with a predominant technical career orientation have more job satisfaction than those with a predominant managerial tation. However, there is a significant and positive synergy between the sophistication of the CASE tool used and managerial competence orientation leading to higher job satisfaction. These findings indicate that combating the IT personnel shortage through task automation may also increase worker satisfaction, thereby decreasing turnover. Careful selection of the CASE tool for use may result in this win-win situation.

Introducing task-based general computer self-efficacy: An empirical comparison of three general self-efficacy instruments

Computer self-efficacy (CSE) operates at multiple levels, including general and specific, although many studies operationalize it at the general level. GCSE, or a judgment of ability across all computing domains, is particularly useful because it can be generalized to all computing environments and it matches the level of specificity for general constructs. However, there have been problems with current instruments, among them the inability to capture the entire computing domain and using levels of assistance instead of task-based items. This study introduces and tests a new method of measuring general CSE, one that is task-based and calculated from specific CSEs, called summated GCSE (SGCSE). This instrument is empirically compared to two other GCSE instruments in their relationship with three common self-efficacy outcomes. Results demonstrate that SGCSE significantly related to all outcomes and that task-based GCSE is the preferred instrument to use for some, but not all outcomes. Implications are discussed.

Current utilization of CASE technology: lessons from the field

Since its inception, CASE (computer‐aided software engineering) tools have been hailed as the “silver bullet” of applications development. Although these tools have failed to live up to such an advance billing (as do most “fix‐all” solutions), these products remain a viable option for practitioners of modern applications development. This study comments on the use of CASE in modern IS installations, using the results of an in‐depth survey completed by 226 IS professionals from over 30 Fortune 500‐type companies. First, the study identifies the most popular features possessed by respondents’ CASE toolsets. Next, we comment on the “gap” perceived to exist between CASE features actually possessed, and those features needed by these professionals in the performance of their job duties. Finally, implications for practice and research are presented.

Motivations and obstacles to smartphone use by the elderly: developing a research framework

Smartphones are becoming the computing device of choice for many people. However, this change is not occurring evenly across the population. It appears to us that older people have just as much to gain from this technology, and possibly more, compared to younger people. We identified many potential motivations for smartphone use by the elderly, and also many obstacles. From this work we created a research framework which is the primary topic of this paper. A number of possible moderating variables were extrapolated as well. If seniors are going to benefit from mobile devices like the rest of the population, and if they are to become participants in the evolving world of m-commerce, mobile phones and services must pull seniors toward their use instead of driving them away. Only then will we be able to diminish the digital divide that exists between the young and the old, especially regarding smartphones.