ERIC Number: ED270691
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1986-Jul
Pages: 33
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Cross-Cultural Issues of Office Technology Management: Comparing Canada and the United States.
Gattiker, Urs E.; And Others
Although the internationalization of business makes cross-cultural research on workers' attitudes toward computer-based technology valuable to management, cross-cultural studies are rare. A study was conducted to determine whether employees in the United States differ from Canadian employees in their evaluation of computer-based technology due to the type of equipment used, hierarchical level in the organization, and the employee's sex. Twenty-eight Canadian and 15 United States employers from large firms, medium-sized firms, educational institutions, and government agencies selected equal numbers (3-6) of successful managers and support personnel from various departments. A total of 196 Canadian computer users and 95 U.S. computer users selected in this manner completed an anonymous questionnaire assessing their attitudes toward computer-based technology, how it supports individuals at work, whether they liked using their computers, and if such use made them more effective. Preliminary analyses provide some support for the hypothesis that employees working with intelligent workstations may perceive their computers differenly from peers working with main-frame terminals. In addition, the study investigated if men and women would differ in how they perceived computers at their workplace. Women in both countries differed from men in their attitudes toward computers. Moreover, the results obtained showed that women in the United States had different concerns relating to computer-mediated work than did their Canadian peers. A five-page list of references concludes the document. (NB)
Publication Type: Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Lethbridge Univ. (Alberta).
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Canada; United States
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A