Object-oriented technology has been around for over thirty years and offers some significant improvements over structured techniques and procedural languages. It has seen very slow growth in business applications, but is expected to grow at such a rate as to nearly replace those systems now being used at some point in the near future. It represents a paradigm shift that is difficult to master for both novice and experienced IS personnel. Radical changes, such as OO, force changes in the thought and work processes of workers and generally wreaks havoc in the workplace. Using the organizational psychology theory of Person-Environment fit, this study proposes a model to explain the behavioral performance and the amount of stress felt by a person in their workplace when undergoing a paradigm shift. The shift to OO is used as the test case for the model

Chilton, Michael

Hardgrave, Bill

English

AIS Electronic Library (AISeL)

Association for Information SystemsAIS Electronic Library (AISeL)AMCIS 1999 Proceedings Americas Conference on Information Systems(AMCIS)December 1999Understanding the Effects of a Paradigm Shift: TheCase of Object-Oriented TechnologyMichael ChiltonSouthwest Missouri State UniversityBill HardgraveUniversity of ArkansasFollow this and additional works at: http://aisel.aisnet.org/amcis1999This material is brought to you by the Americas Conference on Information Systems (AMCIS) at AIS Electronic Library (AISeL). It has been acceptedfor inclusion in AMCIS 1999 Proceedings by an authorized administrator of AIS Electronic Library (AISeL). For more information, please contactelibrary@aisnet.org.Recommended CitationChilton, Michael and Hardgrave, Bill, "Understanding the Effects of a Paradigm Shift: The Case of Object-Oriented Technology"(1999). AMCIS 1999 Proceedings. 210.http://aisel.aisnet.org/amcis1999/210606Understanding the Effects of a Paradigm Shift:The Case of Object-Oriented TechnologyMichael A. Chilton, Southwest Missouri State University, mchilton@acm.orgBill C. Hardgrave, University of Arkansas, whardgra@comp.uark.eduABSTRACTObject-oriented technology has been around forover thirty years and offers some significantimprovements over structured techniques and procedurallanguages.  It has seen very slow growth in businessapplications, but is expected to grow at such a rate as tonearly replace those systems now being used at somepoint in the near future.  It represents a paradigm shift thatis difficult to master for both novice and experienced ISpersonnel. Radical changes, such as OO, force changes inthe thought and work processes of workers and generallywreaks havoc in the workplace.  Using the organizationalpsychology theory of Person-Environment fit, this studyproposes a model to explain the behavioral performanceand the amount of stress felt by a person in theirworkplace when undergoing a paradigm shift.  The shiftto OO is used as the test case for the model.INTRODUCTIONAs the demand for larger and more complexcomputer systems grows, IS professionals haverecognized that the need exists for better tools andtechniques to shorten development time and improvesoftware quality (Weinberg, Guimaraes and Heath, 1990).Although many of the traditional structured techniqueshave helped to improve the ability of developers to meetdemand, there is still a major shortfall of output whichsome have called the software crisis (Pressman, 1997).  Itis believed that object-oriented (OO) technology canprovide solutions to these problems (Smith and McKeen,1996).  Specifically, OO technology can allow for greaterflexibility and ease of modification, support increasinglycomplex systems, provide a user-friendly interface, andimprove productivity.  Yet with all these advantages, OOtechnology has been slow to be fully accepted in thebusiness environment.  The reasons for this slowacceptance are problematic and the subject of thisresearch.  The purpose here is to investigate therelationships of workers and their environment in themidst of radical changes (paradigm shift) in order to builda general model of performance.  The study uses thetransition to OO technology as the application to buildthis model because it represents a paradigm shift withinthe information technology discipline and because it hasbeen slow to be accepted.THE RESEARCHObject-oriented technology represents aparadigm shift—a major departure in systemsdevelopment and implementation from the way thingswere done previously (Fayad, et al., 1996).  One way tospeed the transition to this new technology is to identifythose individuals who can more easily adjust to that shift.The characteristics of people who might do this arerelated both to their own cognitive and personal traits andto their perceptions of the environment in which theywork.  Once a firm has made the decision to make thistransition, the identification of such people would providea valuable tool in the transition.  It would enhance theirmanagement of the transition by providing some directionas to how to go about it.  That is—identify the rightperson or team to lead you through the transition andsucceed, or conversely, fail to find those who can makethis paradigm shift and lead others to understand it, andthe company risks failure.The purpose of this research is to build atheoretical model that explains the performance ofindividuals who must make a radical transition (i.e.,paradigm shift) in the execution of tasks associated withtheir jobs.  The model includes elements of individualtraits and environmental characteristics.  The researchquestion posed by this study is: how can we identify theright people to make the most successful transition whena paradigm shift is required?  The model is based ontheories found in social and organizational psychology.To help build this model, this study uses thespecific area of object-oriented programming.  This areais considered representative and a good test bed for thismodel for the following reasons:1) Most systems today are written inprocedural languages.  Fully 80% ofbusiness systems in use today arewritten in COBOL (Doke andHardgrave, 1998).  Because of this,most business system programmerslearn procedural techniques first andmust transition to OO at a later time.2) The transition to OO is a difficult onethat requires a paradigm shift (Vander Salm, 1998).3) Domain knowledge during thetransition does not help until thetechnical knowledge is mastered andmay better be provided by domainexperts who have little technicalknowledge (Fayad et al, 1996, van607der Salm, 1998).  Domain knowledgerefers to what is known about aspecific business situation.  Althoughstudies have linked domainknowledge to certain behaviors thatenhance a designer’s ability to formadequate abstract mental models andtherefore improve system design(Adelson and Soloway, 1988), muchof this is based on previousexperience with both the domain andthe development methodologies(Vessey and Conger, 1995).  Whenunfamiliar with the ways in which toapply a methodology, Vessey andConger (1995) found that novicesystems analysts have difficulty informing a mental model of thesystem.  It seems logical to extendthis finding to programmers and tosay that forming a mental model,especially one based on pastexperience, is crucial in successfulsystem development, regardless ofthe phase within the life cycle (i.e.,analysis, design or implementation).4) Those who attempt the transition firstbecome novices themselves and maytake an extended period of time tocomplete the transition, and worse,about 25% of those who attempt thetransition will not succeed (Jones,1995).This study requires a paradigm shift in theworkplace.  Once this change has taken place, the modelthen measures certain characteristics of the individual andthe components of this required change so as to accuratelygauge the degree of success expected as a person attemptsto make this transition.The model is based on theories that seem toconverge in certain areas.  The theory of work adjustment(Dawis and Lofquist, 1984), social cognitive theory(Bandura, 1982), the cost/benefit paradigm (Beach andMitchell, 1978), the theory of reasoned action (Ajzen andFishbein, 1980), adaption-innovation theory (Kirton,1976) and job characteristics theory (Kulik, et al., 1982)all tend to overlap.  Some have been used as the basis forperson-environment fit models (cf. Puccio, et al., 1993)Person-environment fit takes into account bothindividual traits and characteristics of the environmentthat directly affect the person involved in a changingparadigm.  This research uses person-environment fit andextends it by investigating certain relationships notpreviously thought of to be significant.  It alsoinvestigates the relationship of stress to performance as amediating variable.  Most person-environment fit modelsaddress only the stress that results from a poor fit betweenperson and environment.  Those that have includedperformance as an outcome variable have not investigatedthe mediating relationship between fit, stress andperformance (cf. Livingstone, et al., 1997).  This modelthen builds on previous models by investigating theserelationships and by applying the model to the specificarea of people and organizations attempting to deal withradical change.Person-environment fit models can be measuredalong two dimensions (Edwards and Harrison, 1993).The first dimension addresses the needs of the individualand the commensurate supplies available for him in thework environment.  In this case, the person is theconsumer and the environment is the supplier.  Thisprovides the first measure of fit.  The second dimensionreverses these roles by looking at the demands placed onthe individual by the work environment and thecommensurate abilities that a person has to meet thosedemands.  This then provides the second measure of fit.Adaption-innovation theory (Kirton, 1976) hasbeen applied as the basis for models of person-environment fit (cf. Puccio, et al., 1994).  This theoryposits that people can be found on a bipolar continuumranging from purely adaptive to purely innovative orsomewhere in the middle.  Each of the two personalitytypes has certain traits that are opposite of each other.Adaptors prefer to work in structured environments, whileinnovators find structure to be an encumbrance to theirproblem solving or creative abilities (Kirton, 1994).Adaptors prefer to work within a single paradigm, whileinnovators prefer to work across paradigms (Kirton,1994).  These characteristics do not suggest that onegroup's ability in problem solving is better than another.In fact these cognitive styles are independent of cognitivecapacity, success, cognitive techniques and copingbehavior (Kirton, 1994).  The degree of innovativenesscan be used as an assessment for person-environment fit(cf. Livingstone, et al., 1997, Puccio, et al., 1993)The ultimate use of the organizational behaviortheories cited in this research is to explain, predict andsometimes alter behavior.  The dependent variable in thismodel is performance.  It is considered to be behaviorreflected in individual action (Campbell, 1990).  It isdistinguished from effectiveness because effectivenessrepresents an outcome from a particular behavior, not thebehavior itself.  It is also distinguished from productivityas this is merely the ratio of input to output.  Theperformance of the individual worker must also berelevant for the goals of the organization (Campbell,1990).Performance is a function of both individualcharacteristics and environmental conditions.  These twosets of antecedents are found in the models of person-environment fit.  This research seeks to measure the twodimensions of person-environment fit and use thegoodness-of-fit indicators to explain the performance of608people involved in the transition to a new paradigm.  Inthis case the application used to build the model is thetransition to object-oriented technology. The proposedmodel is shown in Figure 1.The propositions are developed from the modeland describe the relationships among the variablescontained within it.  They are 1) the greater the goodnessof fit between the needs-supplies form of person-environment fit, the less the stress and the greater theperformance of the individual involved in a paradigmshift; 2) the greater the goodness of fit between the needs-supplies form of person-environment fit, the greater theperformance of the individual involved in a paradigmshift; 3) the greater the goodness of fit between thedemand-abilities form of person-environment fit, the lessthe stress and the greater the performance of theindividual involved in a paradigm shift; and 4) the greaterthe goodness of fit between the demand-abilities form ofperson-environment fit, the greater the performance of theindividual involved in a paradigm shift.  Thesepropositions have been stated in such a way as to reflectboth the direct effects of fit on performance as well as themediating effect of stress on performance.SUMMARY AND CURRENT STATUS OFTHE PROJECTThe purpose of this in-progress study is toinvestigate the relationships of workers and theirenvironment in the midst of radical changes (paradigmshift) in order to build a general model of performance.The study uses the transition to OO technology as theapplication to build this model.  Person-environment fit isused as the basis for the model with extensions from othertheories and prior empirical research.The research methodology employed allows for thebuilding and testing of theory and will be conducted infour phases:  (1) build the theoretical model andassociated instrument; (2) validate the instrument; and (3)test the model.  Currently, phase 1 is well underway.  Theremaining phases should be complete before the AISconference in August.  Results can be presented at thattime.References available upon request fromMichael A. ChiltonFigure 1: A Model of Person-Environment Fit, Stress and PerformanceFIT(1)(Needs-supplies)FIT(2)(Demand-abilities)StressPerformancePersonEnvironment

Understanding the Effects of a Paradigm Shift: The Case of Object-Oriented Technology

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Understanding the Effects of a Paradigm Shift: The Case of Object-Oriented Technology

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