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TECHNOLOGY ADOPTION AND EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE: A CASE OF DIRECTORATE OF PETROLESUM, MINISTRY OF ENERGY AND MINERAL DEVELOPMENT-UGANDA

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1Introduction

The study aims at establishing the effect technology adoption and employee performance. In this study, Technology adoption is the independent variable and Employee performance is the dependent variable. The key dimensions for Technology adoption are were; Information systems software, information systems infrastructure and user knowledge and skills. While employee performance will be measured inform of , Customer satisfaction, Time management, Efficiency  and Quality of service.

Government across the world are adopting Technology to enable better organizational performance, employee productivity, customer satisfaction and growth of government organizations (Asongu, & Le Roux, 2017). However, no researcher has investigated the effect of technology adoption and employee performance at Ministry of Energy and mineral development.

This chapter presents background of the study, the problem statement, purpose, objectives of the study, research questions, study scope, justification of the study, significance, Hypotheses, conceptual framework, as well as operational definition of key terms and concepts.

1.2 Background of the study

The section presents, historical background, theoretical, contextual background, conceptual background.

1.2.1 Historical Background

The evolution of Technology   has a long history however can be specifically traced from the invention of

1.2.2 Theoretical background

This study will adopt two theories in  an attempt to fully understand the influence of Technological adoption on Employee performance.

1. Diffusion innovation theory

Diffusion of Innovation theory will guide the study to examine technology adoption and employee performance in Uganda. According to Haung nd Kapur, (2007) the diffusion of innovation theory states that diffusion is governed by four elements, the innovation itself, communication channels, time and social systems. The four elements, explain the process of change as determined by employees and the whole organization.

Diffusion assumes that the propensity to adopt an innovation is primarily a function of the availability of information. It also assumes that in the dissemination of information particularly at the local scale, personal contacts are of much greater significance than the mass media (Deligiannaki & Ali, 2011).

Diffusion of innovations theory is often simplified to concentrate solely on a product or innovation. Little attention has been paid on the complex cultural, economic, technology and other factors that determine organizational performance (

The study will also use;

1. b) MacGregor’s (1906-1964),

The study will also be guided by MacGregor’s (1906-1964), two alternative views of management towards employees. He termed these two sets of views as “Theory X” and “Theory Y” a dichotomy dealing with possible assumptions that managers make about workers.

Key elements of Theory X are that the average man is inherently lazy and would want to avoid work whenever possible. The theory further states that an ordinary man lacks ambition and must be led to ensure that he get results done.

According to the theory, employees are resistant to change. Therefore an employee should be Coerced and close controls are required. On the other hand, Theory Y assumes that; to an average man work is as natural as rest or play; he enjoys physical and mental effort. Motivation, potential for development, imagination and ingenuity are present in all people given proper conditions. Coercion and close control are not required. Finally Given proper conditions people will accept and seek responsibility and leadership rather than the security of being led.

McGregor believed that managers who hold theory X assumptions are likely to treat workers accordingly. On the other hand, managers who hold theory Y assumptions treat their workers as committed and responsible persons and give them more latitude in performing their tasks. These findings and conclusions should help managers to understand and appreciate people’s behaviors in organizations and make superiors sensitive to subordinate needs, in relation to this study this study assumes that previously the employees of ministry of Energy aand Mineral development where lazy and not perform g their tasks in line with the targets set by the ministry. The study further assumes that adoption of Technology by ministry of Eneregy and mineral development has hard an influence on the working culture and ethics of employees

Its gainst this Background that this study has adopted this theory in understading the influence of Technology adoption on employee performance.

1.2.3 Conceptual background

Technology

.

Technology adoption can also be defined as the organizational adoption of the use of complementary networks of hardware and software that people and organizations use to collect, filter, process, create, and distribute data. Information systems are combinations of hardware, software, and telecommunications networks that people build and use to collect, create, and distribute useful data, typically in organizational settings.

According to Kumar et. al., (2019) technology consists of two primary components: a physical component which comprises of items such as products, tooling, equipment’s, blueprints, techniques, and processes; and the informational component which consists of know-how in management, marketing, production, quality control, reliability, skilled labor and functional areas while according to Sahal  (2018)  views  technology  as ‘configuration’,  observing  that  the  transfer  object  (the technology) relies on a subjectively determined but specifiable set of processes and products. The Components of Information Systems include; Technology; this can be thought of as the application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes. From the invention of the wheel to the harnessing of electricity for artificial lighting, technology is a part of our lives in so many ways that we tend to take it for granted. The components of technology systems include;  hardware, software, and data all fall under the category of technology. Hardware; Information systems hardware is the part of an information system which involves physical components of the technology. Computers, keyboards, disk drives, iPads, and flash drives are all examples of information systems hardware.

Software; Software is a set of instructions that tells the hardware what to do. Software is not tangible it cannot be touched. When programmers create software programs, what they are really doing is simply typing out lists of instructions that tell the hardware what to do. There are several categories of software, with the two main categories being operating-system software, which makes the hardware usable, and application software, which does something useful. Examples of operating systems include Microsoft Windows on a personal computer and Google’s Android on a mobile phone. Takieddine & Sun, (2015) indicates that computer software, or simply software, is a collection of data or computer instructions that tell the computer how to work, in contrast to the physical hardware from which the system is built, that actually performs the work. Computer software includes computer programs, libraries and related non-executable data, such as online documentation or digital media. Computer hardware and software require each other and neither can be realistically used on its own.

An information system Infrastructure is the foundation or framework that supports a system or organization. Gilmour et al., (2015) indicates that in computing, information technology infrastructure is composed of physical and virtual resources that support the flow, storage, processing and analysis of data. Infrastructure may be centralized within a data centre, or it may be decentralized and spread across several data centres that are either controlled by the organization or by a third party, such as a collocation facility or cloud provider.

According to Kroenke & Boyle (2015) the data centre hardware infrastructure usually involves servers; storage subsystems; networking devices, like switches, routers and physical cabling; and dedicated network appliances, such as network firewalls.

Systems Infrastructure includes; software, hardware, firmware, networks and Websites that is used by an organization to facilitate communication (Ajuwon, 2015). In this study systems infrastructure is taken to mean all the necessary systems facilities like the computers, internet, software, hardware, websites and networks (intra and extra connection) that are used by an organization to facilitate better performance.

User knowledge and skills is defined as the ability of an individual to have the required knowledge to operate the computer systems (Brabham & Guth, 2017). In this study user knowledge and skills mean the ability of the organizational employees and the clients to interact using computers, internet and all other online services, this will specifically be measured in terms of Computer literacy, User competence and Education level.

Competencies have been identified as motives, knowledge, skills, traits, and one’s self-image or self-concept (spencer, 1993).user competency in information systems have been found to be lacking in most organization, since different organizations across the globe have workers who have not been fully trained in Information systems hard ware like use of computer key board and they also lack the required knowledge in software.

According to Kaplan (2012) performance is a way an organization measures its achievement in line to its strategy and objectives. In this study, performance means the ability of an organization to achieve its targets. In this study, performance is a dependent variable and it has been interpreted to represent financial performance, customer satisfaction and growth.

Performance of the organization is measured in different dynamics mainly through the ability of the organization to achieve its strategic goals and visions Kaplan, (2015) further states that the balanced Scorecard is set to align business activities to the vision and strategy of the business, improve internal and external communications, and monitor business performance against strategic goals.

1.2.4 Contextual Background

The rapid growth and development of Technologies has greatly influenced how businesses are operated and managed in the 21st century. Today’s businesses are faced with evolvement and rapid changes as a result of the wide diffusion of technologies within organizations. The adoption and usage of Technology brings along competitiveness and thus leads to economic growth for economies that are able to exploit such opportunities (Steinfield, LaRose, Chew, & Tong, 2012).

Uganda  confirmed  commercial  petroleum  resources  in 2006. Efforts to find oil in Uganda started as far back as the 1920s. These  efforts  led  to  the  identification of  surface seepages of oil and drilling of shallow wells around these seepages before 1945. One deep exploration well (Waki-1) was also drilled near Butiaba, in Buliisa district during 1938. These initial efforts were not successful in establishing commercial deposits of petroleum in the country. Renewed and consistent exploration efforts commenced in the 1980s which culminated into confirmation of commercial petroleum resources in Uganda during 2006.

The estimate resources in the country have increased from 300 million barrels in 2006 to 2 billion and 3.5 billion barrels in 2010 and 2012 respectively. As at June 2016, the discovered  resources  in  the  country  were  estimated  at  6.5  billion  barrels  of  oil equivalent in place with about 1.4 to 1.7 billion barrels of these resources recoverable (1 barrel is equivalent to 159 litres). The area explored presently represents less than 40% of the total area with the potential for petroleum production in the Albertine Graben. There is therefore potential for additional petroleum resources to be discovered in the country when additional exploration is undertaken.

1.3 Problem statement

The acceleration of technology exchange during the past decades has rendered technological evolution more complex, resulting on a constant combination of radical and incremental innovations, where a radical innovation, in the form of a new product or process, opens up a new avenue of development. Depending on the type of technology, the process can take a few months or several decades, until a new discontinuity starts a new cycle. These innovations consist in the introduction of new production processes or the considerable improvement of the existing ones by integrating different technologies.

1.4 Purpose of the study

The study seeks  to establish the influence of tehnology adoption on Employee performance at the directorate of petrolesum, Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development-Uganda

1.5Objectives of the study

1. To assess the effect of information systems software on Employee performance at Ministry of Energy and Mineral development.
2. To establish the effect of systems infrastructure on Employeee performance at Ministry of Energy and Mineral development.

• To examine the influence of user knowledge and skills on Employee performance at Ministry of Energy and Mineral development.

1.6Research questions

1. What is the effect of information systems software on Employee performance at Ministry of Energy and Mineral development?
2. What is the effect of systems infrastructure on Employee performance at Ministry of Energy and Mineral development?

• What is the influence of user knowledge and skills on Employee performance at Ministry of Energy and Mineral development?

1.7 Hypotheses

H₁ Information systems software affects Employee performance.

H₂There is a positive effect of system infrastructure on Employee performance.

H₃User knowledge and skills does not affect Employee performance.

1.8 Conceptual framework

Adoption of Technology has become the centre of all developments in any economy. It has thus become inevitable to embrace computer use in any work. The government of Uganda designed a strategy aiming at changing the operational design and culture of the public sector to better improve on performance of its agencies.

Techno logical adoption;  The implementation of any Technology system requires advance technology infrastructure like for web based application that requires dedicated server and user friendly web interface. Below presented is the conceptual framework showing how Technology adoption relates to Employee performance.

Independent Variable                                                  Dependent Variable

Technology    Adoption                                                           Employee Performance    

Figure 1: conceptual framework

According to the figure illustration above, Technology adoption the independent variable influencing Employee performance. Techn ology adoption  is determine d by the following g key dimensions;  systems software, the infrastructure used, and User knowledge and skills which mainly related to the competence of the employees in an organization to improve on performance.

Kaplan (2012) in the industrial age, enterprises used to evaluate their performance on financial scores only. However, in the modern error with adoption of Technology  performance now is measured in terms of  Time service,  customer satisfaction and quality of service.

1.9 Significance of the study

Future scholars may get information regarding the effect of Technological adoption on Employee performance.

The study may also provide more literature to academicians about the effect of technology on Employee performance in other  government agencies in Uganda, like ministry of agriculture, justice , URA, national water and sewerage cooperation.

The study might also enable policy makers to have information on how to finance Information system to enable better performance.

The findings of the study may also enable the policy makers to have information on how to train the employees to enable them provide better performance of government agencies.

The study would also enable the policy makers to understand the different ways of enhancing better performance of government agencies.

1.10     Justification of the study

The study will be carried out because of the following reasons. In spite of the benefits of Techn ology like; improved communication, increased transparency, and access to information for citizens, digital diffusion of information is often achieved at high cost by government agencies. Ugandan government also adopted tech nological practices with the view of enhancing better organizational performance in its key departments; however, the government agencies in Uganda have experienced numerous challenges of poor performance.

This therefore has prompted the researcher to investigate into the effect of Technology adoption  on Employee performance.

1.11 Scope of the study

This section includes the content, geographical, time scope.

1.11.1 Content scope

The study will concentrate on two variables; Technological adoption -independent variable, and Employee performance-Dependent variable. It will further expound on the effect of Systems Software, Systems infrastructure and user knowledge and skills. The Employeee performance has the dimensions of; Customer satisfaction, Time management, Efficiency and Quality of service

1.11.2 The geographical scope

The study will be carried at Ministry of Energy and Mineral development

1.11.3 Time scope

The period of data to be considered from Ministry of Energy an Mineral development will be from 2015 to 2022, while the study will be carried out from January 2022 to Novemeber 2022

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1. What is your DV and IV?
2. Define each variable and the conceptual dimensions of each.

• Establish a scholarly discussion on how the variables are related. This will enable you to develop a conceptual framework.

Example

• 1. Definition of DV – advance a scholarly understanding of the variable to establish whether there is an agreed position in the meaning of the variable. How then do you define the variable in this study? See my example in test

For example

Wanume (2018) defines technology adoption as …..… Tumusiime (2013) defines it as . . . According to Fredricks (2014) technology adoption is . ….. . These definitions agree that technology adoption is . . ………. (describe the unity among them). However, they ignore . . . (mention the weaknesses) ……… which are considered useful ingredients of technology adoption. According to Okumbe (2015), it can be regarded as. . . [proceed to provide such descriptions highlighting their implications on the study]. In view of the discrepancies noted in the definitions above, the definition of technology adoption adopted for this study is derived from Kets (2015), Wilkens (2017) and David and David (2016). Technology adoption is . . . (provide a working definition). This definition is considered appropriate because . . . (provide a justification for your definition).

• 2. Identify based on scholarly discourse, the dimensions of the DV
• 3. Definition of IV – advance a scholarly understanding of the variable to establish whether there is an agreed position in the meaning of the variable. How then do you define the variable in this study? See above example
• 4. Identify based scholarly discussion, the dimensions of the IV.
• 5. Discuss the relationships between the IV and DV.

Guidance:

Introduce a debate on how your variables and constructs relate to each other before you can conclude in your conceptualization in the current study.

NOTE : The problem in any research study is the Dependent Variable (DV).

1. What is the ideal state of affairs/situation/condition for any organization regarding your overall DV? Advance a conceptual argument on the state of the debate with regard to the relationship between technology adoption and employee performance. Argue perhaps the unresolved issues in this relationship since your study is looking at binary tests between your IV and DV.
2. Advance a contextual argument – What is the situation at Ministry of energy/Directorate of Petroleum regarding the DV and in terms of its sub-factors as appears in your conceptual framework? = Provide evidence of this.
3. This means that there is a gap to address.
4. What interventions has Directorate/Ministry put in place to bridge the gap between the ideal DV situation and what is happening, including the IV and its sub-factors as appears in your conceptual framework? Provide evidence of this.
5. Despite these interventions, the problem (gap between the ideal DV (employee performance) situation and what obtains at Minisrty still persists.
6. However, there may be other factors that are not the IV (for example = list the intervening or moderating variables as they appear in your conceptual framework) that affect the attainment of the ideal DV situation (list these in the problem statement if your study involves them as one of the objectives of your study).
7. What are the consequences of not addressing this gap?
8. So, your study comes in to explore the possibility of the IV being the cause of this gap, and therefore undertaking it will assist Directorate better understand and address this problem and hence enable it to achieve its goals.

*** You can move from Step 5 to Step 7 if your study does not involve examining intervening or moderating variables as one of its objectives.

NOTE

1. There must be concrete evidence from the organisation under study that there exists a problem. Other sources are supplementary.
2. The factors of the IV and the DV MUST feature in the problem statement.
3. The problem statement should not exceed one (1) page.