THE EFFECTS OF AN EXPERIMENTAL COMPUTER TRAINING PROGRAM ON AFFECTIVE JOB RESPONSES FOR EMPLOYEES CONVERTING TO AN AUTOMATED OPERATION (ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR, ATTITUDE, OPERATIONS RESEARCH

This study was designed to determine the effect of an interactive non-job specific computer training program on the affective reactions of individuals to their jobs. Two experiments were conducted in three work centers of a large utility company. The first experiment compared experimental and control groups in different locations and consisted of 26 employees and 18 employees in each group respectively. The second experiment compared randomly assigned groups of 15 experimental and 15 control subjects within the same corporate location. All employees taking part in this study were being prepared for implementation of the same large automated system.;The data were collected between September, 1984 and August, 1985. Two instruments were utilized to collect these data. Hackman and Oldham's (1974) Job Diagnostic Survey (JDS) was used to test employees' affective reactions to the job. Specific variables measured were General Satisfaction, Internal Work Motivation, and Job Security Satisfaction. Demographic and other background information was collected using the Biographical Background questionnaire which is an attachment to the JDS. Treatment for the experimental groups in both experiments consisted of an interactive computer orientation training program.;For both experiments, data were analyzed using various descriptive statistical techniques including frequency distributions and cross tabulations. These procedures provided basic summaries of the data and revealed significant relationships between variables. Strengths of these relationships were evaluated using appropriate statistical tests (correlation coefficients).;The major conclusion which may be drawn from this study is that the treatment significantly increased JDS scores in Experiment Two. Results indicated that the special interactive training package had a significant effect on all three dependent variables: General Satisfaction, Internal Work Motivation, and Job Security Satisfaction as measured by Hackman and Oldham's Job Diagnostic Survey.;A major implication of this study is that an interactive non-job specific computer training program which allows employees to make errors and to work at their own pace will affect their satisfaction with their jobs, their sense of security, and their motivation to work as measured by the JDS.