New Technologies

I responded to Vaughn Bradley  http://vaughnswalden.blogspot.com/

Some people have positive attitudes toward experimenting with new technologies in the workplace, and some people have low self-efficacy in experimenting with new technologies. Keller’s ARCS model suggest that knowing and identifying the elements of human motivation will help you introduce new technology into one’s workplace with maximum buy-in or participation. 

I recall being part of a management team on a job related assignment documenting the system process for provisioning and maintenance of business customers’ internet protocol connectivity in one of our field operation centers.  Little information was shared with the field team technicians as to why headquarters selected their work center.  Upon our arrival at the job site, we briefed the work center technicians on the task that we would be performing, primarily that several team members would be assigned to shadow and record the different processes entailed.  On our second day, we were met with a union-led work stoppage order.

Management's efforts to upgrade new technology in the work center were met with resistance and disappointing results.   Management and the Union had to negotiate through a situation that perhaps had management included some of Keller’s ARCS motivational process could have been avoided.

Keller’s ARCS motivational design process suggested that knowing and identifying the elements of human motivation, and then identifying characteristics of processes that could have stimulated a different outcome would have been more effective.  It appeared that had our team taken the initiative to inform the workers of the upcoming changes; identify how the upgrade in system technology would enhance their job performance, and what the process to upgrade the system would entail would have had a different outcome.