摘要:

Substantial developments in new office technologies over the past two decades have dramatically transformed today's white‐collar workplace. One of these developments, computer‐based work monitoring, has enabled employers to continually or intermittently monitor employees in real time or on a delayed basis, with or without their knowledge or permission, at levels and in a manner previously unattainable. This introductory article to this special issue outlines the current status of computer monitoring in the U. S., delineates its major advantages and disadvantages, and provides examples of early research on the topic by the author and others. Factors likely to moderate the acceptance and effectiveness of computer monitoring systems are discussed and implications for work and social relationships in the workplace are considered. An overview of the four special issue articles reporting the results of experiments assessing the effects of computer monitoring on the performance of workers and supervisors is then provi

ISSN:0021-9029    

DOI:10.1111/j.1559-1816.1993.tb01100.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1993

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

The effects of automated computer monitoring under different conditions of performance standards and reward were examined in two studies conducted in a simulated organization. In the first study, 37 computer operators were divided into six groups who worked for a 2‐week period under different levels of performance standards. Individual keystrokes per hour and productive time was monitored by the computers for all of the groups (one group was a control group which was monitored but was unaware of the monitoring). Four of the six groups were assigned work standards, and performance against standards was also monitored for these four groups. Feedback reports on the monitored performance were available on demand at the individual consoles for those groups which were informed of the monitoring. The results showed that computer monitoring and feedback led to increased key rate compared to the control group which was not aware of monitoring. There was little effect of monitoring on work quality, satisfaction, and stress. In the second study, 24 operators worked for a 9‐week period under various performance standards and rewards. Individual keystrokes per hour, productive time, and performance against standards were monitored by the computers for all workers. Feedback reports on performance against standards and rewards earned were available on demand at the individual consoles. The results revealed that the feedback from different combinations of standards and rewards had varying effects on performance, satisfaction, and stress. These effects, and the results from the first study, are discussed in terms of goal setting and expectancy the

ISSN:0021-9029    

DOI:10.1111/j.1559-1816.1993.tb01101.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1993

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

This study demonstrated the utility of employing a social facilitation framework to the study of computer monitoring of work performance. The physical presence of an observer watching a subject work on a complex task (as a supervisor might “look over an employee's shoulder“) was contrasted with four conditions involving the electronic presence of computer‐based work monitoring (as a supervisor might monitor an employee's work remotely via computer) and a control condition of subjects working alone without any monitoring of their work. Task performance was severely impaired for participants who were monitored electronically as well as for those who were monitored “in person.” Two interventions, providing participants with a sense of control over their work conditions and monitoring participants as a group rather than as individuals, each reduced the negative impact of monitoring on task performance by almost 40%. Results also indicated that individuals with an external locus of control (who believe reinforcements received are primarily determined by factors outside of themselves, e. g., other people) experience greater anxiety than those with an internal locus of control under monitoring conditions. Implications of these findings for social facilitation and the rapidly expanding use of computer‐based work monitoring ar

ISSN:0021-9029    

DOI:10.1111/j.1559-1816.1993.tb01102.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1993

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

This research addresses how computer monitoring affects the way individual workers perform on their jobs. The study tests the effects of a supervisor's physical versus electronic presence on individual worker performance. Forty‐two women were hired to perform a simple data entry task. The women worked in one of three conditions: (a) alone, (b) in the physical presence of the supervisor who monitored their work, or (c) computer‐monitored (electronic presence) by the data entry system without the physical presence of the supervisor. It was hypothesized that social facilitation effects would result from either the physical or electronic presence conditions. Electronic presence does seem to result in social facilitation, though the mean differences are not statistically significant. The results for physical presence are mixed. Profile analysis indicates that there are significant differences in the patterns of performance. When subjects work alone or with electronic presence, performance follows a steady pattern. When subjects work with physical presence, performance is somewhat lower than in the alone condition,exceptwhen the supervisor is actively monitoring, then individual performance is significantly increased. There are no satisfaction differences between the three conditions. The results of this research suggest that “Big Brother” isnotlurking inside every computer‐monitori

ISSN:0021-9029    

DOI:10.1111/j.1559-1816.1993.tb01103.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1993

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

Despite claims that computerized performance monitoring (CPM) systems provide objective performance data and thus foster accurate employee evaluations, few research studies have examined the impact of CPM data on the performance appraisal process. A laboratory experiment was conducted to assess the impact of prior performance level on requests for computerized performance information, and the influence of both prior performance level and requested information on performance evaluation. Forty‐four male and female undergraduates electronically monitored four simulated employees whose prior performance was either high or low and whose performance during the monitoring period was either high or low. Results indicated that prior performance level and employee performance during the monitoring period independently influenced both current and future performance ratings. Further, when the simulated employee performed at a level incongruent with her prior performance, subjects requested more data about the employee's performance, were less certain about their ratings of the employee's current and future performance, and rated the employee's current performance as more variable than when the employee performed at a level congruent with prior performance. These results indicate that use of CPM systems that allow on‐line access to employee performance and that record requested information may increase performance evaluation accuracy by facilitating the implementation of search strategies best suited to specific appraisal tasks and minimizing memory‐related biases. However, such systems may not eliminate the effects of attention/encoding b

ISSN:0021-9029    

DOI:10.1111/j.1559-1816.1993.tb01104.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1993

数据来源: WILEY