Saroj Parasuraman

A motivational model of microcomputer usage

Survey data gathered from 471 professionals and managers in 62 companies in North America were used to test a motivational model of microcomputer usage. The model synthesized prior research findings and proposed that perceived usefulness, perceived fun/enjoyment, and social pressure would motivate increased use of microcomputers by professionals and managers. Results provided substantial support for the proposition that perceived usefulness (rather than perceived fun or social pressure) is the principal motivator. The findings also demonstrated that perceived complexity is a key intervening variable linking the antecedent variables (skills, organizational support, and organizational usage) with the three motivational variables. The results also suggested that skills play a critical role in affecting microcomputer usage. Skills directly promote microcomputer usage and influence usage through their effects on perceived usefulness, perceived enjoyment, and social pressure. The findings of the study contribute to an expanded understanding of the factors that promote microcomputer usage and also have important implications for the management of information systems.

Toward reducing some critical gaps in work–family research

Social science researchers have devoted considerable attention to examining the interrelationships between work and family. The growing diversity of family structures represented in the workforce—including dual-earner couples, single parents, blended families, and employees with responsibility for elder care—has heightened the relevance of balancing work and family roles for a substantial segment of employed men and women (Googins, 1997; Greenhaus & Parasuraman, 1986, 1994; Parasuraman & Greenhaus, 1997). These developments have greatly increased the complexities of the interface between work and family. Against the backdrop of these changes and the projected growth in the diversity of the work force in the new millennium (Johnston & Packer, 1987), it is appropriate to assess the gaps in our knowledge of work–family relationships. Greenhaus and Parasuraman (1999) recently observed that although the literature provides abundant evidence that work and family are interconnected in many ways, the links between the two arenas are more complex than was envisaged initially. In her presentation to the Conference Board on the status of work–family research, MacDermid (1998) concluded that there are many more unanswered questions than those for which we have ‘‘firm footholds.’’ According to Barling & Sorensen (1997), changes in the nature of jobs and organizations, as well as social changes in family structure, have rendered much of the research-based knowledge of the interdependence of work and family outdated. In our view, the empirical research to date has been useful in explaining many of the relationships between work and family domains. The different perspectives from which

Career orientations of MIS employees: an empirical analysis

The career orientations of employees can have important implications for their job satisfaction, commitment, and retention within organizations. However, there is little empirical research on the correlates of career orientations held by managers and professionals in the MIS field. This study sought to address this gap in the literature and assessed the career orientations of 464 MIS employees, as well as their relationship with selected demographic characteristics, job type, and career outcomes. The most prevalent career orientations of MIS employees were found to be technical and managerial. Autonomy and lifestyle orientations were also found to be moderately represented in the sample. Women were more lifestyle oriented and less technically oriented than men. In addition, systems programmers, applications programmers, and software engineers tended to be technically oriented, whereas systems analysts, project leaders, and computer managers tended to be managerially oriented. The most significant finding was that employees whose career orientations were compatible with their job setting reported high job satisfaction, high career satisfaction, strong commitment to their organization, and low intentions to leave their organization. Firms need to recognize the diversity of career orientations so that appropriate reward systems and career paths can be developed. Research on this topic should continue to examine characteristics unique to MIS employees, as well as how these interrelationships change over time at different career stages.

Career involvement and family involvement as moderators of relationships between work-family conflict and withdrawal from a profession.

This study extended prior analyses by J. H. Greenhaus, K. M. Collins, R. Singh, and S. Parasuraman (1997) by examining relationships between 2 directions of work-family conflict (work-to-family conflict and family-to-work conflict) and withdrawal from public accounting. The sample consisted of 199 members of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (135 men and 64 women) who were married or in a long-term relationship and who had 1 or more children. It was found that work-to-family conflict (but not family-to-work conflict) was positively related to withdrawal intentions. In addition, relationships of work-to-family conflict with withdrawal intentions and withdrawal behavior were stronger for individuals who were relatively uninvolved in their careers than for those who were highly involved in their careers. The implications of the findings for future research are discussed.

Work experiences, job involvement, and quality of work life among information systems personnel

This study assesses the job involvement of 464 professionals and managers in the information systems (IS) field and investigates the role of involvement in influencing the quality of work life. Results show significant variation in the level of job involvement displayed by IS employees and differential patterns of relationships among the work variables for IS personnel with low, moderate, and high levels of job involvement. The findings indicate that involvement serves as a complex moderator role in the pattern of relationships of work experiences, and job characteristics with career expectations and career outcomes. It has both linear and non-linear relationships with sevearl of the study variables. While in some cases, high levels of job involvement tend to enhance the beneficial effects of work experiences on the quality of work life, in others such involvement tends to heighten the negative effects of role stressors. Implications of the findings and directions for future research are discussed.

An examination of gender differences in the determinants of computer anxiety and attitudes toward microcomputers among managers

Abstract The study examined the determinants of computer anxiety and attitudes toward microcomputers among 166 managers employed in a variety of organizations. Results indicated that men and women in managerial positions do not differ in the level of computer anxiety reported, and are very similar in their attitudes toward microcomputers. However, gender differences were found in the pattern of relationships of demographic and personality variables with computer anxiety and microcomputer attitudes. For men, education and intuition-sensing were negatively related to computer anxiety, while age, external locus of control, and math anxiety were associated with heightened computer anxiety. In contrast, demographic and personality variables were unrelated to computer anxiety among women. Computer anxiety was the strongest predictor of attitudes toward microcomputers among both men and women. Among women, however, the feeling-thinking dimension of cognitive style, and math anxiety were additional determinants of microcomputer attitudes.

Coping behaviors and managers' affective reactions to role stressors

Abstract This study assessed the role of adaptive versus maladaptive coping behaviors and personal characteristics in influencing the affective reactions of managers to four role stressors. Maladaptive coping was found to moderate the relationships of several role stressors with felt stress and job satisfaction. Maladaptive coping and trait anxiety also demonstrated independent additive effects on felt stress and job satisfaction over and above that of all four stressors.

Status Report on Women and Men in the IT Workplace

A profile of women and men in the IT field along personal, family, job, and career-related variables has broad implications for the placement, development, promotion, and retention of women IT professionals. Among the studys major findings is that impressive gains in employment have not increased the numbers of women holding managerial positions nor resolved the work/life conflicts, lower salaries, and incompatibility between career orientation and job tasks experienced by women in the IT field.

Vocational and Organizational Behavior, 1985: A Review.

Abstract This article examined the research in vocational and organizational behavior published during 1985. The review was organized around research themes in vocational behavior (person-environment fit, gender influences, cultural groups, career planning and decision making, and job search and recruitment) as well as behavioral issues in organizational settings (staffing techniques, individual behavior and performance, leadership, reactions to organizational life, career transitions, and work and the quality of life). The review was followed by a global assessment of the literature and several suggestions regarding future research.

A Proposed Model of Support Provided by Two-Earner Couples

Predictors of providing support among two-earner couples have rarely been examined. This paper reviews existing literature on work family dynamics and proposes that providing support is a consequence of factors in the support environment, the providers resources, and the providers willingness to provide support based on perceptions of equity, appropriateness, and rewards.