Organization Support as a Moderator in Coping with the Threat of Professional Obsolescence

This study examines how IT professionals cope with the threat of professional obsolescence and how organizations may playa role in helping IT professionals cope with this threat. In answering these questions, this study draws on theories ofoccupational stress, specifically the theory of conservation of resources (Hobfoll 2002; Hobfoll et al. 1993), to relate thethreat of professional obsolescence with IT professionals’ coping behaviors. This study extends the theory of conservation ofresources by proposing organizational updating climate as a proximal contextual moderating factor in how IT professionalscope with the threat of professional obsolescence. The results obtained from a large sample of IT professionals show that ITprofessionals are more likely to cope by directly rather than indirectly updating their IT competencies in relation to the threatof professional obsolescence. Organization updating climate supports IT professionals’ coping by providing a supportiveenvironment to undertake both direct as well as indirect updating. By contrast, direct updating is preferred over indirectupdating in organizations where there is lower updating support. We conclude this study with a discussion of the results andtheir implications for research and practice

SUSTAINABLE IT-SPECIFIC HUMAN CAPITAL: COPING WITH THE THREAT OF PROFESSIONAL OBSOLESCENCE

This study contributes to research examining how IT professionals cope with the threat of professional obsolescence. In answering this question, this study draws on theories of occupational stress, specifically the theory of conservation of resources (Hobfoll 2002; Hobfoll and Freedy 1993), to relate the threat of professional obsolescence with IT professionals’ coping behaviors. This study extends the theory of conservation of resources in several directions such as theorizing and testing the job mobility intentions of turnover and turnaway as consequences; and by proposing organizational updating climate as a proximal contextual moderating factor. The results obtained from a large sample of IT professionals are both consistent with and contrary to theorized relationships. We also uncover several new findings pertaining to the role played by organization updating climate and its potential limit in supporting updating activities of IT professionals. We conclude this study with a discussion of the results and propose future research directions

Industry 4.0 and Business Policy Development: Strategic Imperatives for SME Performance

Industry 4.0 presents companies with new prospects to renovate industrial manufacturing processes and increase value creation, has promised several optimizing strategies for improved business performance. The purpose of this research is to examine the relationship between innovation capability and employee capability on organizational performance among Small and Medium Scale industries entrepreneurs. Following a positivist research philosophy with a quantitative, cross-sectional descriptive study design, the study addressed three direct and two indirect relationships in the model. The research followed the expectation Resource-Based View Theory to test the theoretical model. Following stratified random sampling, this research using 384 SME entrepreneurs from the Selangor state of Malaysia. The study applied Smart PLS-SEM to analyze the data. The results show that SME firms' innovation capability and employee capability positively correlate with business performance. The study also shows the partial mediation effect of technology change on innovation capability and business performance and employee capability and business performance. Research extends practical and theoretical implications to the stakeholders of SMEs and businesses.JEL Classification: L25, L26, L29How to Cite:Govindarajo, N. S., Kumar M, D., Shaikh, E., Kumar, M., & Kumar, P. (2021). Industry 4.0 and Business Policy Development: Strategic Imperatives for SME Performance. Etikonomi, 20(2), 213 – xx. https://doi.org/10.15408/etk.v20i2.20143

Kesan latihan ke atas hubungan kualiti kehidupan bekerja dengan prestasi kerja

Employees’ wellbeing in the workplace is closely related to quality working life (QWL) in an organization. A good QWL indicates that employees’ wellbeing in the workplace is in a good condition. Previous literature review has found QWL as independent variable to some dependent variables such as job satisfaction, stress, commitment and job performance through cause and effect relationship research. The results demonstrate that QWL as a predictor to that variables. However, previous results showed inconsistent findings which indicate on the existence of a third variable in the relationship. Therefore, this study looks at the extent of the role of training awareness as the moderating variable in the relationship between QWL and performance as the dependent variable. This study also identifies the level of QWL, training awareness and work performance as well as QWL differences based on demographic factors namely gender, age, service tenure, status, race and education level. Besides that, the effect of QWL and QWL dominant dimension that affect work performance are also examined. 300 information technology officers at Telekom Malaysia were respondents of this study who were selected using volunteering sampling. This study is a quantitative study which used questionnaire to obtain its data. The level of QWL is identified by using QWL questionnaires developed by previous researchers while training awareness is based on questionnaires developed by the researcher. Work performance is based on questionnaires items from previous researchers which was modified to suit the objective of the study. Descriptive statistic which are mean, percentage and standard deviation were used to identify respondents’ demography distributions and research variables. Furthermore, inferential statistic such as t-test, one way analysis of variance, multiple regression and hierarchical multiple regression were used to test research objective and hypothesis. Results show that level of QWL, training awareness and work performance are high. From the aspects of QWL differences, the study found that only factors of age and race show significant differences. QWL as a whole can affect work performance and two dominant dimensions of QWL that influence work performance are constitutionalism in the work organization and the social relevance of work life. This study also discovered that training awareness acts as a moderator in the relationship between several dimensions of QWL and work performance. This study contributes in the aspect of theoretical and practical. Research implication towards organization development is also discussed. This study provides input towards the effective policy formation in an organization

Older workers as a source of wisdom capital: broadening perspectives

AbstractPurpose – The purpose of this paper is to pinpoint some key variables that help shape the notion of olderworkers as a source of organizational wisdom capital. Design/methodology/approach – Toward that end, the paper reviews a selective bibliography in order tosupport its arguments. Findings – The evidence garnered throughout this paper – fundamentally through different lens ofanalysis – suggests that older workers may be considered as valuable assets. Furthermore, a sizeablenumber of members of this cohort continue, even in the latter stages of their careers, to be willing,well-equipped, and able to enhance, if properly utilized, companies to achieve other patterns ofperformance. Accordingly, it is advocated here that their knowledge and expertise constitutes an authenticsource of organizational wisdom capital that deserves careful attention from organizations to maintain bymeans of suitable incentives and training. Research limitations/implications – This paper highlights other aspects that should not be disdained byorganizations such as career-ending, work characteristics, and mastery-avoidance goals. Thus, companiesthat are interested in keeping older talents must be attuned to their wishes and aspirations, as well as beingproactive by offering tailor-made job-products to them. Social implications – Given the trend of aging workforce, it is likely that organizations will be increasinglyimpacted by societal demands and public policies toward benefiting and respecting older talents. Originality/value – This paper advocates that older workers are usually living memories of organizationallife. Rather, they tend to keep in their minds those failures and successful ideas, projects, initiatives,and leaderships, which added or not value throughout their trajectories, as well as things that worked out or not.Fundamentally, they are able to provide answers to vital questions. Keywords Creativity, Older workers, Engagement, Motivation, Emotion regulation, Job performanc

IT Staff Turnover Intentions, Job Modification, and the Effects of Work Recognition at Large Public Higher Education Institutions

Information Technology (IT) leaders in public higher education are under increased pressures to leverage innovations in technology to address their institution’s strategic imperatives. CIOs modify jobs by increasing responsibilities or changing the tasks that IT workers perform. IT staff who experience job modification are susceptible to lower job satisfaction and increased turnover intentions. IT leaders in other industries have successfully used work recognition to improve job satisfaction but there is limited research pertaining to these conditions among higher education institutions. This study sought to determine the perceptions and effects of work recognition and job modification on the turnover intentions of IT workers employed at 71 large, publicly controlled, higher education institutions. The researcher conducted a quantitative study using structured equation modeling to measure the potential moderating effects of recognition on job satisfaction, affective commitment, and perceived organizational support as predictors of turnover intention. The researcher found that work recognition was effective at moderating the effects of responsibility increase and task replacement on job satisfaction for IT workers with respect to their preferences of work recognition types. IT workers perceptions of the relative strength and duration of various work recognitions was also determined. The findings contribute to the study of turnover antecedents by providing new information on the relationship between extrinsic and intrinsic motivations and turnover intentions of IT workers at the institutions studied. The conclusions have implications for practice among CIOs in large public institutions regarding the importance and characteristics of work recognition as a tool for retaining IT staff

Individuality Matters: A World View of Individual Issues of IT Professionals

Individuality matters. While information technology (IT) is important, more critical for the success of IS functions in an organization are its people, their values, attitudes, norms, and behavior. There are differences among IT professionals, not only at the organizational level, but also at the global level. Using data collected from more than 10,000 IT employees in 37 countries under the World IT Project, this study examines some fundamental issues of IT workers from a global perspective. While there are differences, we find that almost universally, nine individual issues are important across many countries, and they are interrelated in a similar manner. IT employees in some countries maintain stronger social bonds among themselves than those in others, which provide them with the necessary social capital to utilize in times of high work exhaustion, environmental dynamism and insecurity, as well as their efforts to change jobs. In difficult situations, the professional self-efficacy of the workers secures them. A significant number of IT employees feel that excessive work overload upsets the balance between their lives at home and workplace demands. Nevertheless, an intellectually stimulating and well-balanced work environment ensures job satisfaction for a significant number of IT employees in many countries