In this contribution a method for evaluating web-based systems is introduced, whereby the e-learning portal INTE-GRAL II will be used as an exemplification. The proposed approach is based on system monitoring of user interaction by data capture in a server-log-file, and it additionally integrates external data. As such it is a user-based approach, which typically applies to prototyping or early stages of the product life-cycle. Due to its non-reactive character, the hypothesized biasing effects are supposed to be minimal. Especially server log-files are means of gathering objective, quantitative data which can not be derived by other means. Additionally the procedure is not very complex, that is, it is easy to conduct and does not take too much time to collect data. Log-files are records that are generated by the system automatically and incorporate information about access to and quitting the system, location of the user, time spent with the system and actions within the system. As illustrated in this contribution, these data can be analyzed and interpreted in seven steps. The analysis reveals specific results for the INTEGRAL II system as well as more abstract suggestions for usability testing in general. Log-file analyses in combination with other measures are powerful means of evaluating a web-based system. What information is provided by log-files? What technical framework must be considered for the interpretation? How can these implicit data be used to evaluate web-based systems? These questions are considered in detail in this contribution. The results of the particular work-steps are exemplified in parallel to the introduction of the method by a practical application. The e-learning portal INTEGRAL II, which has been implemented by 15 universities in Germany in order to share e learning contents related to industrial engineering and ergonomics, is used as an example for a web based system. Local course offers are supposed to be networked by implementing a platform to which every partner contributes e-learning modules and from which every partner can retrieve contributions from other universities. This platform currently provides 20 modules, which can not only be accessed by the project partners, but also by anyone who may be interested (http://www.integral2.iaw.rwth aachen.de). Besides these modules there are communication features like chat, e-mail, forum discussions and video conferencing. These features can also be used by everyone (students, lecturers, and tutors) in order to communicate regardless of the particular location. Industrial science is supposed to be supported within diffe-rent study programs, mainly in engineering, economics and humanities, but also in areas like design, architecture and computer science. The didactical use incorporates multi-me dial support for classical forms of education (on-line lecture) as well as self-regulated study activities. To operate the system, a web-server has been installed at the Institute of Industrial Engineering and Ergonomics at RWTH Aachen University, which provides the contents and communication facilities of the e-learning platform. A detailed overview of the platform’s features as well as of the particular e learning modules is given in Luczak & Schmidt (2005). In this study, INTEGRAL II users were more successful in a written exam (better performance) than non-users. Altogether, 173 students participated in the exam and a mean of 23.7 of 60 scores has been reached. 76 subjects used INTEGRAL II which commensurated with 44% of all possible users. The sample has been split into users and non users. Both groups were normally distributed (Kolmogorov-Smirnov test). The T-Test revealed a significant difference between the means of both groups (p = 0.004). The users of the e-learning system achieved 26.1 scores on the average whereas non-users obtained only 21.8 points (difference app. 20%). The relationship between usage of IN-TEGRAL II and success is apparent in the light of the fact, that 4 of the 5 of the best results in the exams were performed by INTEGRAL II users, whereby 4 of the 5 of the worst exams were achieved by non-users. The correlation between usage time and scores on the exam was r = 0.244 (p < 0.01). Thus, there was a tendency to derive better scores if exposed to the system for a longer time. The total visiting time was approximately 41 minutes per visitor. Five persons used the system longer than 1.5 h and 3 persons even used it longer than 2 h. These prolonged usage times did not reflect a better performance on the exam, but seem to reflect a reduced capability of information processing, because users are either too slow or need to read the information several times. A quadratic regression revealed an optimal usage time of 73 minutes (60 minutes for test-exam and 13 minutes for orientation and evaluation). Thus, a usage time longer than 73 minutes correlated positively with lower score (r = 0.313; p < 0.001). On the average people were busy with each page view for 25 seconds. 7 persons needed longer than 40 seconds, whereby 3 subjects even took longer than one minute. This also correlated with worse performance (r = -0.305; p < 0.01). Thus, there is a negative correlation between view time and performance.

Practical Relevance

Log files of Web-based systems can be used as a non-reactive observational tool, that requires only little time and effort to gather data on user interactions with prototypes and software products. Potentials and limitations of this evaluation method are illustrated in this contribution on the basis of an e-Learning-platform in the field of industrial engineering and ergonomics as sample application. However, they are transfe-rable to other fields of application (e.g. e-Commerce).

Innovation – a survey on employees (Vol. 1 – 2006)

Authors: Bärbel Bergmann,Doreen Eisfeldt,Claudia Prescher and Christian Seeringer

Keywords: · Job design · innovation · innovation activity · learning in the job

Summary

The subject of this article is innovation in the work place. One of the many shifts in the world of work, in recent years, has been the shift from classical price competition to competition based on innovative products and services. There is a growing and perceptable pressure to be innovative at work (Staudt, 2002, Staudt & Kottmann, 2000) and the ability of organizations and employees to innovate is being emphasized as a prerequisite for the capability to compete on the market. Knowledge is necessary when wanting to innovate. Knowledge can be cited, along with the classical production factors grounds, work and capital, as a fourth production factor. Business promotion strategies for innovation activity should encourage employees to see themselves as producers and keepers of knowledge. Thus it is expected that employees contribute innovatively and make their work methods more effective. The aim of this article is to assess employees’ ability to innovate and to analyse the relationship between job design and innovation. The assumption that such a relationship exists is based on two reasons:

♦ Job specificities may be able to help predict the development of employee motivation. As was the result of the job characteristics model by Hackmann and Oldham (1976).

♦ Activities with decision latitude/diverse decision making opportunities and a variety of tasks make it possible to learn at work and optimize work methods.

Two studies were presented. The first being a reanalysis of data collected in a study of 34343 German employees carried out by the „Bundesinstitut für Berufsbildung“ and the „Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung“. The results of the study entitled „Acquisition and Utilization of Professional Qualifications“ showed that about 50% of those questioned mentioned product and/or process innovation in the workplace. It is evident that there is a relationship between job design and the ability to innovate. Employees experiencing innovation in the working environment were less likely to mention workrelated stress. In the second study, a field study, information from a group of 260 employees from 12 organizations was used. The innovation activity of employees was recorded with a precise methodology: the numbers of innovations employees instigated or participated in over the previous year were noted. The results demonstrated that 15% of employees with a qualification in form of vocational training and 39,4% of employees with the university degree are innovators. It became clear that in the employee group with a qualification of vocational training there was a significant positive relationship between the learning content of working tasks and innovation activity. Simultaneously, there was a significant negative relationship, in this group, between work intensity and innovation activity. The manager’s responsibility to promote innovation is discussion worthy. The hypothesis is that job design may be an instrument for promoting innovation.

Practical Relevance

One of the many shifts in the world of work, in recent years, has been the shift from classical price competition to competition based on innovative products and services. A survey about employee innovation in organizations show more learning demands in tasks of innovators than in tasks of noninnovators and a lower work intensity by innovators. The hypothesis is founded that job design may be a way of promoting innovation. It is necessary to qualify managers to develop employee motivation and self organized learning.

Improvement of innovations:Are questions-answering-techniques to evaluate design solutions also helpful for professional engineering designers? (Vol. 1 – 2006)

Authors: Constance Winkelmann and Winfried Hacker

Keywords: · Designing · Design Problem Solving · Question-Answering-Technique · Reflection

Summary

In a series of experimental studies, the influence of questionbased reflection on the quality of solutions in design problem solving was investigated. The initial aim of these two studies was to examine if the effects of product specific-interrogationquestions – found in earlier investigations – are also valid for the use of non-product-specific questions. The last mentioned type of questions offers the advantage of the transfer regarding different design problems. The enhancement of the solution quality by non product-specific questions had so far been shown only in one experimental group and only for one specific answering form, i.e. in writing down the answers. Therefore, we investigated if the results can be replicated with another and larger sample of students without any training in engineering design as well as the validity of different types of answering (without speaking for oneself and with speaking for a questioner). In a second step, we asked for the effects of the technique used from professional designers with a different expertise degree (students of mechanical engineering: N = 42; experts: N = 33). The participants of both studies were asked to design a grill that should meet certain requirements. Moreover, they had to answer product-specific or non-product specific questions concerning their finished solutions with different types of answering. During and after these interventions, the participants were asked to modify or revise their solutions. The procedure requires an explanation, a justification and an evaluation of the solutions. The participants of the control group were instructed to reconsider their solution but without handing out any questions. The results show significant enhancements of the solutions ranging from small to medium-sized effects in all groups with questionbased interventions, but not in a control group without the presentation of the questions. Thus, we could show that also non-product specific questions may help to improve the solution. Corresponding to the results with product-specific questions (Winkelmann et al. 2003), significant differences between the different types of answering could not be proven, i.e. the enhancements of the solutions are not determined by the type of answering. The results also show significant enhancements of solution quality for professional engineering designers. Of crucial importance is that job beginners with a professional experience of 1.5 years maximum could improve their solutions significantly, much more than professionals with longer work experience. On the other hand, differences in the enhancement of the solution between students of engineering design and professional engineering designers could be shown only for one case: the questions were more useful for the students when the questions had to be answered aloud to a questioner. This type of answering ensures that the questions are answered completely and systematically. The small to medium-sized effects and the circumstance that only 30 - 50% of the participants improved their solutions by using the question answering technique illustrate the limits of the question-answering-technique. Answering the questions aloud to a naïve questioner does not mean a discourse of experts where knowledge gaps are filled or solutions are doubted. In addition, questions per se do not bring knowledge into the problem solving process. Therefore, we assumed larger improvements for experts with more practical experience and knowledge. This hypothesis has not yet been verified, though. The experience and knowledge do not seem to have any influence on the differences in the solution improvements, but probably other psychological mechanisms. The increase of the quality of solution by the question-answering technique is of high importance: firstly, the non-product specific questions allow their application for different design problems. Secondly, the independence of improvements from the kind of answering offers the possibility to apply the technique without a questioner; even the answering of questions for oneself is helpful, too. Thirdly, the question technique also improves the solutions of professional engineering designers, especially of job beginners. Since the question-answering-technique applied so far neither includes an informative discourse nor offers other sources improving the knowledge base of the designers, we suggest that the solution improvements will result from procedural improvements of the evaluation phase of design problem solving (Smith & Brown 1993) in terms of a systematic and complete self-assessment of own solutions. Higher effects could be expected if additionally expert knowledge were brought into the design problem solving process, e. g. by technical literature or the organisation of the questioning and answering as a discourse.

Practical Relevance

The improvements of solutions in engineering design by the application of a question-answering technique are of high practical relevance: firstly, the non-product specific questions allow their application for different design problems. Secondly, the independence of improvements from the kind of answering offers the possibility to apply the technique without a questioner; the answering of questions for oneself is helpful, too. Thirdly, the question technique also improves the solutions of professional engineering designers, especially of job beginners. The question-answering-technique is a useful tool for the systematic analysis and improvement of design solutions as well as for the optimization of design processes. We recommend utilising this technique in the training of engineering designers and architects.

Main and moderating effects of self-control demands and control deficits on indicators of job strain (Vol. 1 – 2006)

Authors: Klaus-Helmut Schmidt and Barbara Neubach

Keywords: · Control processes · vulnerability factors · moderator effects · burnout

Summary

Due to changing work demands, self-control at the workplace is of increasing importance. Employees are expected to behave in accordance with certain organizational rules or goals and at the same time to override or inhibit automatic, habitual or spontaneous behavior, urges, or emotions that would otherwise interfere with the expected patterns of behavior. Without self-control, a person would, for example, give in to temptations, quit when frustrated or engage in immediate, short-term focused actions. Although self-control is related to success in many aspects of life, results of basic research have demonstrated that the exertion of self-control is also associated with costs which become evident at the level of behavior and experience as well as at the physiological level. For instance, trying to regulate one’s emotional expression or resisting temptations are followed by a decrement in persistence or performance at various tasks which also require self-control efforts. Additionally, research has shown that acts of self-control lead to physiological arousal, such as increased blood pressure and decreased skin conductance. For explaining all those findings, a model has been proposed according to which various acts of self-control draw on a common resource or strength (self-control strength) that is limited and consumed in the process of exerting self-control. In contrast to these developments in basic research, little is known about the correlates and consequences of job-related self-control. The few studies that have addressed this question mainly focused on aspects of emotion control resulting from the experience of emotional dissonance (the requirement of the job to express certain emotions which are not genuinely felt). The results of these studies revealed that emotional dissonance is related to some indicators of job strain, especially to the burnout-dimensions of emotional exhaustion and depersonalization. Furthermore, a recent study has shown that burnout is associated with difficulties in the voluntary control over attention and cognitive control deficits as assessed by the self-reported frequency of daily cognitive failures. Some authors have assumed that this measure of cognitive control deficits is a vulnerability factor that increases the effects of job stressors, rather than itself resulting from stress. As far as we know, there is no study having examined this assumption. In the present study cognitive control deficits were analysed in combination with a new measure of job-related self-control demands that mainly covers the suppression of spontaneous, impulsive reaction tendencies for maintaining a restrained and disciplined behavior impression. As criterion variables, the burnout-dimensions of emotional exhaustion and depersonalization and a measure of job satisfaction were considered. 630 employees of a municipal administration participated in the study. The results of hierarchical moderated regression analyses revealed significant main effects of selfcontrol demands and control deficits on all indicators of job strain, with positive signs for exhaustion and depersonalization and a negative sign for job satisfaction. In the burnoutdimensions, both main effects were more pronounced than in the satisfaction measure. In addition, the results provided clear evidence for the vulnerability hypothesis. The effects of high self control demands on exhaustion and depersonalization were strengthened with increasing control deficits. For job satisfaction, this type of moderator effect failed to reach significance.

Practical Relevance

The results of the study suggest to pay more attention to the strain effects of self-control demands at work. As with the analysis of those demands a novel stressor in the field of work is tapped, first of all classical measures of strain prevention may be applied that aim at strengthening job-related resources like, for example, increased action/decision latitude or networks of social support.

Information Supply via Networks for Prevention-Oriented Procurement Processes (Vol. 1 – 2006)

Authors: Björn Krämer and Bernhard Zimolong

Keywords: · Safety · health · environmental protection · networks · information needs · small and medium enterprises

Summary

Prevention-oriented procurement has great potentials for improving health, safety and environmental protection (HSE). However, many companies lack the knowledge needed for appropriate procurement decisions. In particular small and medium enterprises (SME) with their limited resources depend on support to build up a profound information basis for a prevention-oriented procurement. The basic assumption of this paper is that co-operation with other organizations in networks offers the chance to reduce these information deficits. This hypothesis can be deduced from transaction cost economics, in which networks as a solution for information problems are compared to other co-ordination forms (Manninen 1996; Powell 1990; Williamson 1981). This comparison suggests that networks may be a cost-effective way to get efficient and reliable information. A questionnaire survey in SME of the metalworking industry was conducted. Respondents were 70 employees of different enterprises who were involved in machine purchase – nine of these respondents had to be excluded from the analysis due to restrictions of company size and four due to quality deficits (response sets). The developed questionnaire is based on the results of pre-interviews and a literature review. The respondents assessed the significance of 20 network partners for providing information on topics of the HSE in procurement and selection processes. Additionally, scales measured the information level on economic, legal and preventive advantages of prevention-oriented procurement as well as on the choice of hazardous substances. Analyses of variance and pair wise comparisons show that suppliers of hazardous substances, disposal companies and employer’s liability insurance associations provide most information for SME (Table 1). Stepwise regression analyses were used to examine which network partners contribute significantly to the information levels on prevention-oriented procurement. Suppliers of hazardous substances and external safety and health services are most important sources for information on advantages of prevention-oriented procurement (Table 2). For the procurement of hazardous substances both suppliers and professional associations are of great importance for the information basis (Table 3). Altogether the high variance explanation of 28% and 29% in the regression models indicates that partners of prevention networks provide a significant amount of information on prevention-oriented procurement. A cluster analysis results in a solution of five well interpretable and distinguishable groups of network partners: institutional partners, independent consultants, suppliers, regulatory authorities and market partners (Figure 1). Results support the hypothesis derived from transaction cost approach that prevention networks play an important role in HSE issues for the information supply of SME. In prevention networks employer’s liability insurance associations, external safety and health services and professional associations are important partners. However, particularly suppliers of hazardous substances provide much information and contribute to the information level on prevention-oriented procurement in the companies. Additionally, the suppliers form a separate group of actors in prevention networks of the SME. An expansion of co-operation between SME and its suppliers seems to be a promising approach for supplying these companies with necessary information for prevention-oriented procurement processes.

Practical Relevance

Concerning SMEs primarily employer’s liability insurance associations and suppliers provided information on different procurement topics. The results show that suppliers of hazardous substances as well as external safety and health services improved particularly the information level on advantages of prevention-oriented procurement. Further suppliers of hazardous substances and professional associations enhanced the information basis for procurement of hazardous substances. SME with an interest in upgrading their prevention-oriented procurement should take advantage of those network partners.

Basel II – Ergonomic aspects in credit rating (Vol. 1 – 2006)

Author: Christiane Spieker

Keywords: · „The New Basel Capital Accord“ (Basel II) · credit rating · soft facts · Uncertain human factors · systems engineering · small and medium-sized businesses

Summary

The framework of „The New Basel Capital Accord“ (Basel II) includes especially the reorganisation of the own capital backing on the part of commercial credit institutions. Basel II plans to bring the capital requirements of commercial banks even more strictly into agreement with the risk of market, credit loss, liquidity and operational risks in the future. In order to strengthen the stability of the national and the international banking system the framework of Basel II – starting from 2007 – is based upon three columns:

♦ Minimum Capital Requirements

♦ Supervisory Review Process and

♦ Market Discipline.

Basel II does not primarily address itself to banks. The new banking rules cover all enterprises for whom the bank loan is kept as the most important source of finance. The agreement provides a risk dependent security of credit business by commercial banks with regards to business customers. This entails a consistent adjustment of the requirements to the capital backing according to the creditworthiness of the debtor. To this effect the banking customer pays a credit price which corresponds to his creditworthiness! A creditworthiness quality-oriented quotation precedes the credit rating. The enterprise, applying for a credit, is evaluated by the bank comprehensively and on future oriented factors of risk and success. Due to the credit rating process all information about the enterprise and future prospects are to be handed out to the bank. Apart from a financial statement analysis this covers also qualitative statements of the personnel development, the safety and occupational health programme or information regarding the motivation of staff. The result reflects itself in an appropriate „credit rating score“ – a basis for further credit negotiations. Due to the new banking rules of Basel II the interplay of human resource factors and economic parameters attains a new dimension. There is a demand for controlling and timing of „personnel risk factors“. Nevertheless the integration of ergonomic knowledge in „Basel II-scenarios“ seems to be quite challenging for the majority of small and medium-sized enterprises. The idea of linking aspects of working conditions with productivity and investing in the quality of a good working environment is not necessarily standard practice. In addition comprehensive methods for a Cost-Benefit-Analysis are still missing. In this case ergonomic factors have still not been linked with core corporate strategies up to now. The main idea of analysing „ergonomic effects“ in an „economic sense“ is to ensure a better understanding of positive effects of a good working environment at the enterprise level. This means a new understanding of the human factor as a particular „risk“ (and chance), which entails „personnel risk management“ among other risk factors. Therefore it is less important to show which costs are caused by investment in good working environments. More important is to indicate to what extent good working conditions can make a contribution to the achievement of corporate objectives. Human factors become a trigger to corporate success. Referring to Basel II this awareness leads directly to a positive rating score and thus to decreased credit costs. Above all it is essential to provide new perspectives in the discussion on corporate governance. Systems ergonomics is able to make a contribution as two of their central topics are addressed: human engineering („what is to be done?“ and „how to do it?“) and evaluation of human work (achievement of a good rating score).

Practical Relevance

Due to the new banking rules of Basel II the interplay of human resource factors and economic parameters attains a new dimension. The preparatory arrangement of credit rating due to Basel II opens numerous possibilities to use ergonomic knowledge for practice meaningfully and to achieve an increase in value on the strength of a result-oriented and sustainable managerial policy.

Vol. 2 - 2006

Individualisation and its challenge for the ergonomic analysis, evaluation and design of working conditions (Vol. 2 – 2006)

Author: Sonia Hornberger

Keywords: · Individualisation · health · stress · strain · self-organisation

Summary

In order to cope with the trends of the economic globalisation and internalisation, not only innovative products and services but especially dynamic business processes and flexible structures are necessary for the companies. Business organizations are increasingly falling back on individualised work-organization designs, which aim at achieving operational flexibility by using nonstandard solutions and delegating decision making and responsibility to the individuals. Employees are asked to make full use of the scope of design and decision making available to them while, however, giving absolute priority to the flexibility needs of their respective business organization. This modern process of individualisation with its both enabling and forcing character changes working conditions in several central aspects. First of all both the evaluation and design of the working conditions become a part of work tasks of the individuals. New work loads and needs for additional competences are the consequence. By the same token, individuals are expected to assume self-responsibility for protecting and promoting their own physical, mental, and social health whereas ‚objective‘ evaluation standards necessarily make way for more subjective or subject-related criteria. Furthermore, the work-nonwork interactions come more to the fore. Some aspects of private life become a part of individual decision criteria; on the other hand the working life can find a more direct way into the private spheres. And last but not least, social structures of the organisation play a more direct and more important role for the functioning of the work systems. These new aspects of working conditions due to increasing individualisation require new research concepts concerning the ergonomic analysis, evaluation and design, which would be adequate to the complexity of the employees’ coping with the individualised working conditions. In the paper a draft of a new research conception will be given. It consists of altogether three models. Regarding the ergonomic analysis an integrative stress-and-strain concept for individualised working conditions is presented. It is based on the salutogenic understanding of health processes, indicates the active role of the individual and integrates worknonwork interactions. The ergonomic evaluation can be supported by the new system for assessment of health promotion of individualised working conditions indicating the evaluation and design as a process and defining new evaluation criteria such as that of “individual suitability“. In the third model a systematic overview of the action fields for the design of the individualised working conditions is given, identifying the organisation and the individual as both subjects and objects of the designing activities.

Practical Relevance

The concepts introduced in the paper integrate assessments of organisational psychology, ergonomics, organisational sociology and health research. Their offer a framework for a systematic analysis, evaluation and design of individualised working conditions as well as for an integration and interpretation of the still rather heterogeneous, in an isolated way considered research results.

The work situation of self-employed: A descriptive study on work loads, individual competences in dealing with them and the experience of work (Vol. 2 – 2006)

Authors: Thomas Bissels, Sonja Sackmann and Sandra Bissels

Keywords: · self-employed work · work load · strain · self-management · time management · coping with stress

Summary

In contrast to the increasing importance of self-employment in society, psychological research is still in its infancy. While there are various studies on motives and personality characteristics (e.g. assertiveness), comparatively little is known about the specific competencies of the successful selfemployed. Is self-employment more demanding in terms of planning skills or self-discipline than forms of employment? Do self-employed work harder than employees or managers? Only few studies have focused on the self-employed regarding specific work demands, work loads and levels of strain, let alone useful skills and necessary competencies in dealing with work demands. The present study is exploratory in nature and investigates specific demands, work loads and individual competencies in dealing with them (stress management, time and selfmanagement) as well as levels of strain and satisfaction. The study makes use of some concepts in stress research: Loads are defined as external factors affecting humans at work (e.g. noise, heat), while strain represents the subjective consequences of such work loads. Apart from work loads (quantitative/qualitative work loads, work-leisure conflicts) daily work activities contain both specific demands i.e. day planning and latitudes at work, for instance, working without fixed time schedule (time sovereignty). Taken together, these three variables (loads, demands and time sovereignty) are called conditions of work. We set out to explore, what selfemployed do, in order to master work loads and demands. In particular, we look at individual stress processing strategies as investigated in cognitive stress research and time/self management practices based on the volitional framework in motivation research. 51 respondents reported that their average weekly work load exceeds the one of employees. They have little spare time and 30 percent of them reported work-leisure conflicts. Although the self-employed agreed that the organization of the daily working time is essentially determined by job demands, they experienced time sovereignty, as most respondents followed an individually chosen daily schedule selected daily rhythm. The self-employed reported high work loads with regard to the amount of work, the diversity of demands, required selfdiscipline as well as the frequent necessity of reacting quickly to unforeseen situations. The corresponding correlations with measures of psychological/physical strain were strong, as expected. However, correlations between individual competencies (time and self-management) on the one hand, and measures of psychological/ physical strain and satisfaction on the other hand differed in magnitude. Contrary to the popular management literature, time management seems to play less important role for self-employed people in dealing with work demands in a satisfying way. Self-management turned out to be the more important competency in this study, that is, the effective regulation of emotions and behaviour in case of obstructions or problems. Self management was correlated both with lower levels of physical strain and with a higher level of satisfaction. In summary, the results suggest that self-management competencies can make an important contribution to a satisfying and less strainful working life for self employed. The study reflects a shifting interest in research, moving away from self employed’s motives, typical personality characteristics or socio-economic variables towards the processes of self-management.

Practical Relevance

Studying the work situation of self-employed and their competencies necessary in dealing with the specific demands of that type of work will lead to the development of more tools (e.g. trainings, questionnaires and guidelines for self-reflection) for the growing number of self employed.

Head-Up Guidance Systems and Human-Machine Interaction (Vol. 2 – 2006)

Author: Daniel Bandow

Keywords: · Head-Up Guidance Systems · Autopilot-Systems · Workload, stress and strain · Situational awareness · Eye movement analysis

Summary

Based on Rohmert’s integrated stress-strain concept this thesis analyzes how the semi automatic flight guidance display system “Head-Up Guidance System“ (HGS) Model 2100 affects the human-machine interaction and in particular the stress, strain, situational awareness and the pilot’s attention compared to the autolandsystem of the Bombardier CRJ200 during the approach in different flight situations. Based on a systems analysis these indicators were determined within a cognitive task analysis and by an eye movement analysis following a polygraphic measuring concept. For HGS approaches, the differences and increases of the stress levels seem to be lower shortly before touchdown, during the occurrence of a system error and while initiating a go-around. The strain and the increasing pilots’ qualification correlate during autoland approaches only. Only for pilots with an intermediate level of qualifications does the level of strain during autoland approaches adapt to the level of strain during HGS approaches. According to the pilots’ rating, the use of the HGS improves the situational awareness. Based on these results the design of the HGS was optimized by integrating system status information and improved energy state awareness. The semi-automatic flight guidance display system “Head-Up Guidance System“ (HGS) Model 2100 was developed to minimize the „ironies of automation“ and to enhance flight safety, especially during the critical final approach. Systems like this were designed to keep pilots „in the loop“ through a lower level of automation and to improve situational awareness through the “head-up“-flight guidance. In this thesis, written at the Institute of Ergonomics of the Darmstadt University of Technology, both flight guidance systems of the Bombardier Canadair Regional Jet CRJ200 are evaluated under normal, abnormal and go-around flight situations. Based on Rohmert’s integrated stress-strain concept, the humanmachine interaction and in particular the stress, strain, situational awareness and pilot’s attention are analyzed. The system model, developed from a systems analysis, is used as the basis of the following measuring concept: within a cognitive task analysis seven measured quantities of stress (task elements, fligth path, design, illumination, complexity, levels of control of human actions and the change between the levels) and the environment are determined. The behavioral data is gathered by a systematic observation in a simulator environment. The flight data is collected with the simulator’s data system. Two physical measured quantities of strain are simultaneously gathered by physiological (heart rate and eye blink rate) and subjective methods of measurements (interview, NASA-TLX). Through questionnaires and interviews physical (height, weight, gender, age, eyesight, circadian rhythm) and psychical (motivation and qualification through numbers of hours flown, years of duty and rank) influences of strain are collected. The complexity of the flight deck displays is calculated by an analysis of interdependence. The situational awareness is determined through interviews and by SART, whereas the pilot’s attention is measured by an eye movement analysis. In a fullflight- simulator environment of the Lufthansa CityLine Canadair Simulator und Training GmbH, 141 approaches of 60 Lufthansa CityLine crews were recorded during their recurrent training for the stress-strain analysis. For the eye movement analysis, 18 approaches of three flight crews were done during experimental sessions. With deployment of the Head-Up Guidance System a tendency to stress reduction can be observed particularly during abnormal flight situations and the final approach. For Head-Up Guidance System approaches the differences and slopes of the stress level are lower shortly before touchdown, at the abnormals’ occurrence, and while initiating the go-around-maneuver. During autoland approaches a combination of these events increases the stress even further. Moreover the strain and the stress correlate. During Head-Up Guidance System approaches the heart rate’s slope decreases mainly for normal and abnormal flight situations and the eye blink rate decreases for go-around scenarios. Also the strain of inexperienced pilots seems to be lower during Head-Up Guidance System approaches compared to autoland approaches. The strain and the increasing pilots’ qualification correlate during autoland approaches only. Only for pilots with an intermediate level of qualifications does the level of strain during autoland approaches adapt to the level of strain during Head-Up Guidance System approaches. Furthermore - according to the pilots’ SART rating - the Head-Up Guidance System improves the situational awareness. Based on these results the design of the Head-Up Guidance System is optimized by integrating system status information (thrust reverser, gear and flaps) and through improved energy state awareness.

Practical Relevance

“Head-Up Guidance Systems“, semi-automatic flight guidance display systems with a lower level of automation and a permanent view out of the cockpit, expand the systems capabilities of Autoland systems during all flight phases. Among an operational enhancement and an improvement in flight guidance it will be discussed in this report, how these systems can minimize the problems of automation and ultimately enhance flight safety through optimisation of the humanmachine interaction especially during the final approach and low visibility procedures.

On the equivalence of the online and paper-pencil version of the IsoMetrics Questionnaire for software evaluation (Vol. 2 – 2006)

Authors: Kai-Christoph Hamborg, Brigitte Vehse and Frank Ollermann

Keywords: · Software evaluation · usability · questionnaire research · online research

Summary

Usability evaluation aims at identifying strengths and weaknesses of software applications and gives hints for improving their usability. There is a multitude of methods for the purpose of software evaluation (Gediga, Hamborg & Düntsch 2002). Usability questionnaires are economic evaluation techniques which can be applied to numerous users at the same time with comparatively little financial effort. Therefore, questionnaires are well suited for the evaluation of software applications, especially in large organizations. Along with several other questionnaires (c.f. SUMI, ISONORM, QUIS) the IsoMetrics inventory (Gediga, Hamborg & Düntsch 1999) has become an established method in the field of usability evaluation. IsoMetrics provides a user-oriented approach to measure the ergonomic quality of interactive software with respect to the seven design principles of the international standard ISO 9241, Part 10. The current version of IsoMetrics (2.04 German/2.01 English) comprises seven scales with a total of 75 items operationalizing the design principles of the standard. There are two versions of IsoMetrics, both based on the same items: IsoMetricsS (short) supports summative evaluation, whereas IsoMetricsL (long) is best suited for formative evaluation purposes. The questionnaire has been evaluated and validated in several studies and can be administered by either paper and pencil or an online (inter /intranet) version. This study is concerned with the equivalence and economic aspects of the paper-pencil and the online format of the IsoMetricsS questionnaire. Both questionnaire formats were applied to assess the usability of a Hospital Information System. Before the study started, a preliminary enquiry was conducted to collect data about the computer experience, area of work, used functions of the software as well as age and gender of the potential participants (nurses, doctors, secretaries and other staff of the department). 182 participants completed the preliminary inquiry and were willing to take part in the subsequent evaluation study. Six “usertypes“ of the software were discriminated by means of a cluster analysis according to the used functions. To analyze the equivalence of both questionnaire formats, two matched groups with N = 29 subjects each were established with regard to the user type, computer experience, age and gender. The equivalence was assessed with respect to the scale mean values, the empirical distributions and reliabilities of the seven subscales of IsoMetricsS. Concerning scale mean values, it was checked within the scope of statistical power analysis whether the sensitivity of the procedure was good enough to detect substantial mean differences. Regarding earlier studies (Slaughter et al. 1994) in the field of software evaluation a mean difference of 0.5 on a five point rating scale between the online and the paper-pencil format was taken as a critical value to assess the equivalence of the paper-pencil and the online format. Data analysis revealed that the comparisons for each of the seven IsoMetricsS subscales would have been able to detect a ≈ 0,43 point difference between the scale mean scores of the two questionnaire formats. Because the empirical data didn’t show any difference larger than the critical value, and mean differences between the online and the paper-pencil format were not significant different, the mean values were therefore considered as equal. Moreover, the reliabilities (Cronbach’s α) of the IsoMetricsS subscales were checked and proved to be at least satisfactory (min. value α = .70, max. value α = .96). In addition to the scale means, the reliabilities of the IsoMetrics version are not different except for the subscale “suitability for individualization“. Finally, the empirical distributions of the ratings of the online and the paper-pencil version were compared for each of the seven IsoMetricsS scales. The statistical tests show no significant differences between the distributions. Regarding the comparison of the scale mean values, its reliabilities and its distributions, we conclude that the paper-pencil and the online version of the IsoMetricsS questionnaire can be considererd equal from a psychometric point of view. Thus the online and the paper-pencil version of the questionnaire may be used alternatively. With respect to economic aspects the study revealed that the online version of the questionnaire has some advantages compared to the paper pencil version. Using the online version, copying questionnaires is not necessary, distribution and return of questionnaires happens more or less automatically and do not require additional efforts like postal charges. A separate data entry step is not necessary because the data are written automatically into a file. Additionally, this automatic data input is less error-prone than manual data entry. All in all, effort and time will be saved applying the online version instead of the paper-pencil version. Evaluation studies in large and distributed organizations will especially benefit from this advantage. However, some limits of the application of questionnaires for summative evaluation have to be considered: they provide general hints to the problem areas of a given software product, but they are not able to detect concrete weaknesses nor do they reveal the causes why users attribute a lack of usability to the software product in question. For this purpose, a deeper analysis of problem areas identified by means of a summative questionnaire should be conducted with the help of evaluation techniques like user tests, walkthroughs or IsoMetricsL. Thus, an incremental strategy of usability evaluation seems to be adequate: first carry out a screening with a summative questionnaire and identify general problematic usability aspects. After that conduct a more thorough formative evaluation for the identified and most critical usability aspects to reveal the causes for the lack of usability and derive a remedial plan for action.

Practical Relevance

The equivalence of the paper-pencil format is precondition for the practical application of the online format in the field. Applying this format instead of the paper-pencil format will save effort and time for software evaluation especially in large and distributed organizations.

Vol. 3 - 2006

Simulation-supported prognosis of the effects of an aging workforce on the productivity of manufacturing systems (Vol. 3 – 2006)

Authors: Gert Zülch and Marcel Becker

Keywords: · Ageing workforce · Human/industrial performance · Simulation of manufacturing systems · Personnel-oriented simulation

Summary

Production enterprises follow the objective of retiring older workers in order to reduce the personnel workforce or to replace them by younger ones. Due to demographical developments older individuals will be involved in working processes longer. Even in the near future it will therefore be important to examine the effects of an aging workforce on the productivity of manufacturing systems and to react with suitable measures. These repercussions will have a larger effect on small and medium-sized enterprises than on by global players. The evident, current lack of qualified workers (non-conditional upon age) has already created a deficit which cannot be replenished by young potentials alone. Thus, it is becoming more and more important to recognize the consequences of an aging workforce, human efficiency as well as their effects on manufacturing systems. Suitable measurement methods as well as a prospective design and (re-)organization of personnel structures are essential for overcoming these obstacles in an adequate manner. The objective of configuring age-differentiated manufacturing systems is the early recognition of the effects of changing performance levels of an aging workforce on the productivity of the manufacturing system. Based on these insights, appropriate working conditions for the various age groups can be defined. This may mean the use of different machine equipment for elderly workers. Now, the question arises, to what degree the differences in individual efficiency has an impact on the total output of a manufacturing system. For this, the individual human efficiency, which changes during the course of occupation life, as well as the interplay of the group work must be analysed. Furthermore, it must be discussed how these influences affect their mutual output performance. As a result of missing quantitative models, this publication focuses on the output effects of individual or group-related efficiency. The efficiency rate thereby defines the relationship between given standard times to times obtained by actual humans. Standard times are derived from evaluated data from past periods covering one or more work persons, a department or an entire enterprise. Regarding the performance level as well as their variance, performance within the workforce can be analyzed by comparing person- and/or group-related time degrees. Therefore, without going into further detail about specific characteristics, the efficiency rate is affected by all kinds of influences to human performance (abilities, environment, workplace conditions, etc.). Qualitative correlations of (changing) abilities to key figures of industrial performance are only given in a few research activities – quantitative models are still missing. Personnel-oriented simulation tools are favoured for the modelling and simulation of person or group characteristics. Individual changes to workers’ constitution can be modelled and promptly evaluated by simulation. Furthermore, personnel bottlenecks resulting from performance variations can be identified. Using these kinds of performance measurements, compensation strategies as well as adequate working conditions for elderly workers can be applied and evaluated from an organizational point of view. Consequently, personnel-oriented simulation tools are necessary in order to solve these problems in an adequate manner. The contribution of the ifab-institute within the programme „Age-differentiated Working Systems“ of the German Research Council is a further development of the existing personnel-oriented simulation tool ESPE. The aim of the project is hereby to create a prototype for the targeted adjustment of age-differentiated manufacturing systems.

Practical Relevance

Small and medium-size enterprises will be affected by demographic challenges. The employment and handling of an aging workforce will be essential for successful business. In such cases, personnel-oriented simulation supports the comparison of prospective planning solutions.

Adaptive learning support for the elderly using interactive systems (Vol. 3 – 2006)

Authors: Doreen Struve, Michael Sengpiel and Hartmut Wandke

Keywords: · Adaptivity · observational learning · computer literacy · SOC-model of successful aging · older adults

Summary

This article provides an overview about the content and ideas of the research project ALISA (Adaptive learning support for the elderly using interactive systems) and its current state. Referring to the theoretical models of SOC (Baltes & Baltes 1989) and observational learning (Bandura 1977, 1986), ALISA is investigating ways to train older people how to use interactive technology. The project focuses on cohort-specific effects, but will also take into account age-related effects. The primary objective of ALISA is to merge the approaches of pragmatically oriented age differentiated design and cognitive aging research in a specific case: the development and analysis of basic support measures for the elderly in using interactive systems. ALISA is based on two central approaches: the reduction of reluctance towards technical products and their avoidance (motivation) and knowledge transfer of basic concepts and structures for using interactive systems (learning). These approaches are founded on two theoretical models that will be further described. Successful aging is characterized by everyday use of strategies to compensate for the deficiencies of aging, three of which have been identified as main strategies by Baltes & Baltes (1989) named Selection, Optimization and Compensation. The project ALISA wants to apply these strategies in an external manner on learning and assistive systems to facilitate the seniors’ use of interactive technology. As research object, a simulated ticket vending machine (TVM) will be used. The strategies will be applied as follows: a) Selection: The interface of the TVM will be simplified to a minimum of functionality and interaction. This will allow the user to concentrate on its essential features. Upon successful interaction providing positive reinforcement and motivation, the interface will be adaptively enriched with further features, depending on the actual knowledge of the user, until the complexity of the original TVM is reached. b) Optimization: To optimize the interaction with complex technology, the senior user will be supported in developing a proper mental model. Therefore the aim of the adaptive learning environment is to provide not only procedural but also structural knowledge by teaching essential concepts of human- TVM interaction. Additionally, the computer literacy of elderly users will be increased. c) Compensation: In a contrary point of view the amount of necessary computer literacy and a proper mental model of the system will be reduced by using a wizard technique to break down the interaction into many simple steps, e.g. yes/noquestions. Knowledge about the interactive system is not necessary anymore, but therefore the interaction will last longer, as the wizard will guide the user step by step through the system to reach its target. Based on the concept of observational learning (Bandura 1977, 1986) ALISA integrates also instructional videos into its learning support system to train the older adults how to use a TVM. Besides the instructional aim of the video application, it capitalizes on the reduction of dislike and reluctance towards technological systems. It is expected to motivate users to learn by identification with the video model used to show operations with the TVM. Moreover, it is assumed that after the observation of video instruction and practicing with the TVM simulation, the expectancy of self efficacy increases for older adults. The impact of video model characteristics such as age, gender an perceived competency as well as effects of different instructional methods will be investigated. ALISA is still in its beginning. Current work concentrates on further analysis and modeling of the TVM and the consequent development of the TVM simulation. Therefore a study is developed to prove the anticipated learning levels for different adaptive settings applied in the learning environment. Next steps include producing the video-tutorials and conducting further preliminary studies.

Practical Relevance

Research results will be generalised and can be used for tutorial system for older adults that will be available via the World Wide Web. Knowledge transfer from the use of ticket vending machines to other interactive systems and an increase in self efficacy expectations regarding their use are expected. Ultimately, the research project ALISA hopes to contribute to make interactive technology more useable for seniors and to enable them to lead an independent lifestyle up to very old age.

Age-differentiated Adaptation of the Human-Computer-Interface (Vol. 3 – 2006)

Authors: Nicole Schneider, Sabine Stöcker, Morten Grandt and Christopher Schlick

Keywords: · Demographic change · Adaptive human-computer interface · Individualization of software

Summary

The demographic change of the population and the thereby accompanying changes in the gainful employment in Germany and other European countries will make it increasingly important in the future to maintain and promote employable aging workforces. In terms of meeting these demands, however, there are hardly any currently available and suitable concepts and applicable tools that bring the individual strengths of the aging employed to the foreground. In particular, communicative, coordinative and creative activities that call upon the existing know-how possessed by older employees should be pushed to the forefront instead of physical activities. The use of computers often poses a notable barrier for older workers since they lack experience and have a generally more reserved attitude towards technology. To counteract the demographic change during the development of concepts and tools, and to keep older workers in the company longer, the ability and learning aptitude of older people is often evaluated solely according to the „deficit model“. The existing potential and abilities of older people are not pushed to the foreground, nor are they specifically promoted. Work and work tools should be specially designed to allow for ability and its high variability among older workers especially, thus securing employability. Therefore, the computer, one of the most important work tools of today, provides an important link for the support and advancement of older workers in their activities. Current software interfaces are not flexible though, and they are not able to compensate for the various operation methods or to specifically qualify them. For example, older users do not receive adequate support. In this case, individual adaptation to the characteristics, preferences and abilities of each individual user would be worthwhile. In the adaptation of software to the individual user one can differentiate between adaptable, user-initiated changes and adaptive, independently computer-executed adjustments of user interfaces. Most of today’s software systems possess a configurable user interface in which the appearance, menu structure, etc. can be ustomized according to individual needs. However, the user does not normally have sufficient knowledge of the application and about his/her own needs, meaning this type of individualization is usually not used. A continuing approach is given by so-called adaptive user interfaces in which the system makes adjustments to itself based on user behavior. These „intelligent“ interfaces attempt to anticipate the goals and needs of the user and adjust accordingly through use of artificial intelligence (AI). Adaptive user interfaces provide ergonomic support of inter-individual experience and performance profiles. Aging workers in particular benefit from the utilization of such computer workplaces because their specific abilities are consistently used and their weaknesses specifically supported. Such a targeted combination of different adaptation dimensions in relation to the physiological and cognitive abilities of aging people is not known, yet it is to be achieved with the model of age differentiated adaptation described here. The approach of age-differentiated adaptation of the humancomputer interface aims at the support of older people while they do work with the computer. The individual age-based customization is exemplarily conducted in a project management software application. The compensation of individual age-related deficiencies and the „optimal“ ergonomic individualization are at the center of the approach.

Practical Relevance

The model of age-differentiated adaptation of the humancomputer interface presented here provides an approach to ergonomic support of inter-individual experience and performance profiles, specifically of older workers. In the course of demographic change, these constitute a large portion of the total personnel and thereby represent an important resource for the business.

Author: Christian Roßnagel and Guido Hertel

Keywords: · work motivation · job satisfaction · older employees

Summary

Research on age-related differences between workers has to date focused on physical and cognitive abilities, whilst motivational aspects of behaviour have been given little research attention. There are, however, two main reasons why an adequate account of age-related changes in work behaviour will hardly be possible without taking motivation into consideration. For one thing, the importance of general agerelated decline in cognitive abilities tends to be overestimated. Correlations between biological age and job performance vary from -.44 und +.66 with an average correlation around zero. An explanation of age related changes will therefore have to include additional predictors, some of which are likely to be of a motivational nature. Secondly, cognitive und motivational influences on age-related changes might interact in producing age-related changes. The theory of Selective Optimisation with Compensation (SOC; e.g., Baltes & Baltes, 1990), for instance, assumes that decreasing cognitive resources might lead to motivational selectivity (cf. Riediger & Freund, 2006) individuals may, in light of decreasing cognitive resources, reduce the number of goals they pursue (restricting) and concentrate on the most important and related goals (focusing)modify their set of goals. Such strategies of motivational selectivity are like to pertain to work-related goals, but no empirical study has yet explored motivational selectivity in work contexts. The cognitive processes that underlie work motivation and satisfaction of older employees are a second important topic of our research. Previous studies of core motivational processes (goal setting, self-regulation) have mostly been conducted with undergraduate samples. It is as yet unclear if and how results may be generalised to older workers. Recent evidence (for an overview see Park & Schwarz, 2000) shows that central processes may change with age. For instance, older individuals judgements are more strongly influenced by recall errors than those of younger individuals (Schwarz & Knäuper, 2000). In a similar vein, we expect age-related differences in work motivation and satisfaction if the recall of specific work episodes or comparisons with memorised standards are required. On the background of these assumptions, the objectives of the research project presented can be outlined as the empirical study of age-related differences a) in the contents (goals, motives, interests, needs) and b) in the development of work motivation and satisfaction. We conceptualise work satisfaction as a result of work motivation, i.e. the extent to which work-related goals, interests and needs are met. Motive, Interessen und Bedürfnisse. In a first survey, participants (18-65 yrs) were given a set of 18 work-related motives and were asked to rank those motives according to their subjective importance. By using a threestep ranking procedure we avoided ceiling effects and collected interval-scale data allowing for more complex analyses. Exploratory factor analyseis yielded a six-factor solution for the age groups of 36-50 yrs and 51-65 yrs. In the younger group, professional status, influence und appreciation load onto the first factor, whilst generativity, social contacts und helping are most important in the older group. In the youngest group (18-35 yrs), we obtained a seve-factor solution with helping, interesting tasks und sociae contacts on the first factor. The qualitative differences between the middle-aged and the older group are in line with theoretical expectations. Middleaged workers are mostly concerned with attaining and securing their desired professional position. Accordingly they attach importance to influence and status. Older workers, in contrast, usually have reached their top position, and may thus focus more on relaying their professional expertise and experiences. This is also a way of establishing and maintaining social contacts, a goal that becomes more important for older workers. The importance of interesting tasks in the young group also is in line with expectations. We take the relatively high importance of social contacts and helping behaviours as „anticipatory reciprocity“ meant to secure the availability of social orientation and help from colleagues. The findings outlined above will help to extend current processoriented theories of age-related changes in work motivation. Results from our currently ongoing studies will be important in differentiating the construct of work motivation. Contrasting global and specific, experience-based measures of work satisfaction will allow for a more detailed analysis of the antecedents of work motivation, which is of more than just theoretical interest, as it might help to plan intervention strategies for work motivation problems.

Practical Relevance

Results will be integrated into a life-span model of work-related motivation and satisfaction. The model will take crucial moderators (education, personality etc.) into account. It will provide a basis of actionable internventions and guide lines for the age-specific motivating of employees, e.g., in the form of adequate incentive systems, leadership strategies or traininc concepts.

Correlations between age and performance, job-related motivation and health depending on characteristics of work situations
(Vol. 3 – 2006)

Author: Falk Richter

Keywords: · Demographic development · Age and performance · Older employees · Job-related competence · Motivation · Intelligence

Summary

The demographic development makes it necessary to exclude older people no more as hitherto from working life but to better integrate them into a changing job world. Whereas in many enterprises older people are expected to show less performance and lower learning aptitude, meta-analyses on average refer to zero-correlations between age and job-related performance (Waldman & Avolio 1986; McEvoy & Cascio 1989). Though there is also a great variability between the single studies. The last indicates that correlations are influenced by moderator variables. But analyses of moderator variables within the metaanalyses do not direct to consistent findings. Maybe this is caused by a posteriori approach not considering possible moderator variables during the planning of primary studies. Another point is that studies only looking at performance as a outcome variable do not consider possible relations in the development of performance. Performance may be influenced by different characteristics of working persons, e.g. cognitive skills and motivational characteristics. Different jobs require different skills. Some cognitive skills are known as negatively related to age, others not (Baltes et al. 1995). Hence it is assumed that in some jobs age is negatively related with performance, in others not. Warr (1996) suggests a concept of four types of job tasks associated with different correlations between age und job-related performance (table 1). Characteristics of work situations also influence the maintainence and development of cognitive skills as well as job-related motivation and health. According to Hackman and Oldham (1976) situational characteristics such as task identity, task significance, skill variety, autonomy and feedback are strongly related to intrinsic motivation, a high quality of performance etc. Results from an own study (Richter 2005) suggest that learn-promotional characteristics of job task and organisation have positive effects on the development of knowledge and skills mediated by job-related motivation. Karasek and Theorell’s (1990) model not only considers control but also demands as possible source of strain. Accordingly job tasks are especially badly designed if a low level of control is combined with a high level of demands. Negative correlations between age and performance (motivation, health etc.) are expected regarding such „high strain jobs“ Current paper introduces a design to analyse the effects of moderator variables such as type of job task, level of learnpromotional job design (control) and intensity of labour (demands) on different characteristics of working persons: job-related motivation, job-related knowledge and skills, intelligence and health. Results concerning a first sample of sales people from a pharma enterprise are reported. The job of these employees is classified into type 3 according Warr (1996): Job-related experience and qualification is important to do this job. Thereby the sales people have to work under time pressure because of performance-related objectives. There is a high level of learn-promotional job characteristics. Thus zerocorrelations between age and job-related performance were expected. Actually non significant correlations dominate within the results (table 4). Exceptions are: On the one hand job-related developmental objectives are negatively related to age. This is a result often to be seen in various analyses (e.g. Bergmann et al. 2004). Aspects of fluid intelligence are also negatively related to age. But this was also expected because of developmental-psychological findings (Baltes et al. 1995). On the other hand job involvement is partially positively related to age as well as crystallized intelligence. Hence it may be infered that the design of work situation of the sales people maintains job-related motivation and intellectual functionning. However interpretations of the results are limited by a crosssectional design of the study. Current study is only a first step in examining different work situations to investigate the effects of moderator variables such as job type and level of learn-promotional job characteristics. An acquisition of more samples from other jobs, especially from different job types, is intended. Though acquisition is mostly successful in case of jobs that are designed quite well in terms of learn-promotional job characteristics. By contrast samples with jobs with low control but high demands are hardly to acquire. Because of staff reduction combined with increased time pressure for the „survivors“ there is no time für „additional“ projects such as taking part in scientific studies. But this also indicates work conditions that enhance premature aging.

Practical Relevance

It is necessary to investigate correlations between age and job-related performance considering concret job demands. It is assumed that correlations between age and performance are considerably moderated by characteristics of work situations. An important role in maintaining job-related performance and motivation over the span of working life is attributed to a learn-promotional design of work situations – job tasks with a high amount of control, a great variety of job demands, with medium intensity of labour, and organizational characteristics such as time for learning and acknowledgment of autonomous acting.

Age diversity in teaching staff: Cooperation and conflict between different age groups in schools (Vol. 3 – 2006)

Authors: Andreas Krause, Anja Philipp and Heinz Schüpbach

Keywords: · Diversity · Teacher · Demographic change · School development

Summary

In contrast to the situation in other countries and organisations the age distribution of teachers at German schools reflects a pronounced demographic change. Due to the employment policy in the seventies, when a great number of young teachers were hired, and the poor employment rates of young teachers in the following decades, a majority of teachers today is older than 50 years. Compared to 1995, when every 7th teacher was over 55 years of age, in 2000 already every 5th teacher in German schools was older than 55 years. There is no empirical evidence to which extend this age distribution of German teaching staff influences the performance at schools and the quality of cooperation between the different age groups. 340 teachers participated in this study, which investigates the quality of cooperation between different age groups at primary and secondary schools in a district of Baden-Württemberg, focussing on the potential benefits of a wide age diversity in teaching staff. Furthermore, this article investigates if schools are prepared for the upcoming imminent change in teacher generations. In a few years a great number of teachers (momentarily between 50-59 years old) will retire and a significant loss in experience can be expected. The results indicate that teachers perceive the imminent change not yet as relevant, but in their view it will become increasingly important within the next years. It seems, however, that the need for looking into the subject and for taking measures to be prepared for the upcoming change is generally underestimated. The cooperation and the climate between teachers of different age groups are considered to be positive. This is especially true when teachers report that there is a common understanding in their school as to which pedagogic principles are to be pursued. If the teaching staff of a school does not agree on common pedagogic principles, conflicts between teachers of different age groups are more likely. However, some schools report intensive conflicts due to age differences of their teaching staff. This stresses the importance of school development measures to enhance a collective idea concerning pedagogic principles in schools. The respondents of this study were asked to describe actions taken at the moment and to make suggestions how they would strengthen the cooperation between different groups in their school in future. Merely 35 percent of the respondents reported how they make use of the age diversity at present, most interactions are characterised as personal exchanges of experiences and material between older and younger teachers. This is also the main pathway of interaction the respondents envisage between generations in the future. In summary, this study highlights the need for the implementation of school development measures to make optimal use of the existing age diversity and the experience presently still available in an age diverse teaching staff.

Practical Relevance

This study points out the importance for schools to take advantage of age diversity as a resource. In particular, the integration of school development measures to enhance cooperation between the different groups, helping schools to prepare for the upcoming generational change and the expected loss in valuable experience, are stressed.

Vol. 4 - 2006

Age-based job design in the automotive industry – managing the demographic challenge (Vol. 4 – 2006)

Authors: Ekkehart Frieling, Markus Buch und Julia Wieselhuber

Keywords: · Automotive industry · Job design · Demographic change

Summary

Our population is getting progressively older and this shift will have a massive impact at all levels of society. That demographic change is characterized by various factors especially by lower birth rates and higher life expectancies Considering the world of work both younger and older workers will be focused on: while there is a lack of young professionals the supply of older employees is increasing. In the following article correlates and effects of age in the context of the project „Age-based job design in the automotive industry“ and with respect to the demographic change in the automotive industry are being reviewed. Projects and activities which were taken to support age-based work systems are presented to formulate future guidelines. In accordance with the existing literature about differences between younger and older employees we summarise the strengths and weaknesses of an aging work force. Especially an increasing variability within skills, behaviour or physical attributes should be taken into account when creating sustainable work-systems for an aging work force. Nyhuis et al. (2004) conducted a project with the aim of an age-based qualification system for employees working on an assembly line. Their recommendation is to replace physically exhausting tasks with planning activities like controlling or quality management. Other researchers like Kruse and Schmitt (2004) or Spieker (2004) emphasise the importance of job rotation to cope with future strains. In recent years many companies have made use of old-age part time employment to cope with the rising numbers of aging employees. After 2009 this opportunity won’t exist any longer, therefore companies must find other ways. With higher age the proportion of changes in performance increase and the percentage of older employees who are not able to execute certain tasks like carrying heavy weights rises also. There is an obvious need to find new strategies of creating sustainable work systems for older employees. Looking at successful practice for age-based job design in the companies their interventions are oriented towards ergonomic criteria that make for reducing musculoskeletal strains which are particularly stressful for older employees. A holistic health management strategy is used to give prospective and individual guidelines to the companies. However, there is still a lack of systematic research in the field of industrial science and related disciplines – only a few approaches provide meaningful arguments and evaluations for the design of age-based systems. Examples of practical experience are presented by Kadefors et al. (1996), Sundin et al. (2004) or by the IAD-Toolbox from the Institute of Ergonomics at the Technische Universität Darmstadt which analyses working postures among others. In the context of the project „Good work“ founded by IG Metall and in Adenauer (2002b) useful guidelines for age based work systems are provided. They recommend e.g. age-differentiated work-time models or mixed working groups. While there are examples of workable solutions in practice there is still a lack of empirical evidence. The project „Agebased job design in the automotive industry“ tries to fill this gap. By means of the propagated holistic approach different methods (objective, subjective) are combined in this project. The project is conducted with two automotive original equipment manufacturers evaluating the assembly of wire harnesses and the half-automated assembly of gearboxes. The aim of the first phase of the project whose first results are presented here is to identify differences between age groups which could be relevant for the job design of the analysed assembly lines. Some important results of the questionnaires from one of the pilot samples are presented here. The peak of the age distribution (n=249) is between 30 and 49 years of age which is representative for the actual state of many automotive industries. Examining the work ability of the respondents we found that more than half of them has a bad or moderate work ability, however looking at different age groups the work ability drops with increasing age (r= .31). Also a drop with increasing age was found for the scales „Inner balance“ and „Offensive problem-solving“. The next step in the project will be the combination of data from the questionnaires with objective, biographical and medical data to explain or validate the results of the subjective data and especially for deducing age-based interventions for the conducted areas.

Practical Relevance

The demographic change has a massive impact on the work force; companies need workable strategies to cope with the rising numbers of older employees. In the conducted automotive industry there are work places with high physical demands which are particularly stressful for older employees.

Movements with indirect vision in younger and higher working-age (Vol. 4 – 2006)

Authors: Herbert Heuer und Mathias Hegele

Keywords: · Aging workforce · Aimed movements · Indirect vision · Visuomotor transformations

Summary

The most general age-related change of human performance is cognitive and motor slowing, which starts in early adult age and proceeds with increasing interindividual variability. Slowing of aimed movements is stronger for long-amplitude movements than for short ones, that is, the slope of Fitts’ law increases with age. Age-related slowing is accompanied by an age-related reduction of amplitudes of open-loop movements or of initial acceleration-deceleration phases of closed-loop movements. In terms of muscle activity, the level of cocontractions tends to increase at higher age. Modern technology is associated with partly increasing demands on motor skills. In particular there is an increasing frequency of transformed movements with indirect vision, as in controlling the position of a cursor on a computer monitor by means of a mouse. To operate devices like this, humans have to learn to deal with visuomotor transformations. Effective motor control requires that those movements can be determined which result in a desired output of the transformation, e. g. a particular path of the cursor. Learning to operate devices which involve visuomotor transformations can involve different processes:

♦ optimization of closed-loop control

♦ acquisition of an internal model of the transformation to be

used in open-loop control

♦ strategic adjustments based on explicit knowledge of the

transformation.

Explicit knowledge of the transformation can deviate from the internal model as indexed by open-loop performance. For example, age-related differences in open-loop amplitudes have no counterpart in explicit knowledge about the amplitudes of the movements needed for a cursor to reach a visual target. Findings from applied research suggest that there may be particular problems to produce transformed movements with indirect vision at higher working age. Basic research findings on age-related changes of adapting to novel visuomotor transformation are only few and inconsistent. The inconsistency suggests that there is no generalized impairment of plasticity as far as visuomotor transformation are concerned, but that there are boundary conditions for age-related changes. We conjecture four of them: (1) Age-related changes are different for different processes; they are particularly pronounced for strategic adjustments. This conjecture is based on rather consistent results of three studies. Age-related changes should thus be present when strategic adjustments are involved in adaptation to novel visuomotor transformations, but absent otherwise. (2) Age-related changes are different for different visuomotor transformations; they are particularly pronounced for nonnatural transformations. This conjecture is based on an analogy with findings on natural and nonnatural kinds of bimanual coordination. Natural transformations are easy to adapt to, they tend to be spontaneously chosen, and internal models of nonnatural transformations should fall back into linear models under unfavourable conditions (e.g. extended periods without visual feedback). (3) Age-related changes depend on the conditions of learning. This conjecture is closely related to the first one in that different conditions of learning are likely to be associated with different combinations of the processes of adaptation. For example, by way of choosing certain conditions, the role of strategic adjustments can be minimized, or the importance of acquiring an internal model can be maximized. (4) Adaptation to a novel visuomotor transformation is associated with increasing „cognitive costs“ with increasing age. This conjecture is based on various findings which indicate that motor processes become more extensively integrated with cognitive processes in the course of adult aging. Direct evidence, however, is still quite limited.

Practical Relevance

Age-related changes of motor performance vary across tasks with different characteristics. To the extent that there are degrees of freedom in task design, task-related age variations imply some guidance for the age-related design of e.g. humancomputer interfaces.

An evaluation method for age-related bottlenecks regarding musculoskeletal workload (Vol. 4 – 2006)

Authors: Holger Rademacher, Andrea Sinn-Behrendt, Karlheinz Schaub und Kurt Landau

Keywords: · Musculoskeletal workload · ergonomic risk analysis · profile comparison of demands and abilities · tool for ergonomic analysis · age differentiated design of work systems · aging workforce

Summary

The consequences of the demographic change are well-known: Aging workforce has to compete with comparatively younger colleagues – often from low-wage countries. To cope with this challenge is possible only when competitiveness of the (automotive) industry is maintained or even strengthened by an age differentiated design of work. Contributing to this is the goal of the DFG-funded project „Assistance System for Age Differentiated Work Design and Employee Assignment“. The first phase of the project is ongoing and has its focus on a cross-sectional study about design improvements to be done for insuring an adequate assignment (i.e. regarding both performance and strain) of the employees. For this purpose tools for ergonomic analysis are developed for macro-/meso-modelling (profile analysis and design) of both workplace demands and employee abilities and also for micro-modelling (workplace design based on single operations). These tools are used in the automotive industry. The purpose of the analyses using the first tool for ergonomic analysis (ET I) is the identification of age-related bottlenecks which are regarded as discrepancies between workplace demands and corresponding employee abilities. The results will be used for developing the second tool for ergonomic analysis (ET II) for age differentiated design of work systems and processes. The application of ET I enables on the one hand to document and evaluate critical work situations (module „workplace stress“), and on the other hand to re-evaluate these work situations with respect to a limited capacity of the employee (module „employee abilities“). So ET I aims at ergonomic risk analysis for improving both existing and planned workplaces as well as work operations or work cycles under the aspect of a performance- and agebased employee assignment. During the development of the module „workplace stress“ of the ET I attention was paid to make sure that all types of physical stress (in particular affecting the musculoskeletal system) which occur very often in the manufacturing areas of automotive industry can be recorded and evaluated by the ET I. To keep the time expenditure for collecting the stress-data in acceptable limits the module „workplace stresses“ had to be worked out as a ‘screeningmethod’. This allows a rapid assessment of the workplace concerning the risk for the occurrence of musculoskeletal disorders. For this reason only the most important risk factors for musculoskeletal disorders corresponding to the several types of stress had to be considered. At the same time attention had to be paid to make sure the „age-critical“ workload-/stress-items are considered by the method in order to be able to detect potential age related bottlenecks at all. To achieve this target about 850 scientific publications, dealing with the „Elder Employees“ – topic were analyzed. It has been noticed that there are numerous findings concerning for example the age dependency of certain physiological basic functions (maximal muscle strength, maximal oxygen uptake etc.) or age-related changes to the musculoskeletal system (flexibility and strength of the spine etc.). To what extent these changes of (maximal) physical capacity of the employee are really critical in practice when talking about coping on long-term with certain musculoskeletal stress factors at the workplace is barely and not in-depth discussed in the literature and empirical studies to this question are not known. Some publications contain (mostly qualitative) statements in terms of age-critical items of work, whereas these are normally inadequate or empirically not at all well-founded. The process of aging seems to have no relevant influence on work capacity – as long as the worker stays healthy (at least into the sixth decade of life). In contrast to this, chronic diseases (in particular musculoskeletal and cardiovascular), which affect more often the elderly population than the young people and emerge quietly over years, can cause serious limitations of work capacity. The age effect however is superposed by occupational stress factors whose impacts – in case of excessive strains – cumulate with ageing. The type of the superposition (additive, multiplicative,…) has been scarcely discussed so far Not to neglect are influences due to individual lifestyles (nutrition, sports, cultural or social activities etc.), which can be only partially considered when developing the questionnaires in the present study. In fact with the design of the module „workplace stress“ the goal of a sufficiently differentiated detection and evaluation of the most important stress factors characterising workplaces in manufacturing areas of the automotive industry and causing musculoskeletal disorders is achieved.

Practical Relevance

The progressive ageing of populations in most of the industrial nations poses questions concerning its impact on future companies’ competitiveness having employees of inevitably increasing age, too. Production systems have to be designed ageing-based, whereas the control and lowering of physical stresses still has to be a fundamental goal. This paper presents a tool for integrated documentation and evaluation of both critical work situations and existing employee abilities in order to determine age-related bottlenecks in manufacturing areas of the automotive industry.

The importance of work design for innovative and adaptive performance in older employees (Vol. 4 – 2006)

Authors: Ralf Stegmaier, Katrin Noefer, Beate Molter und Karlheinz Sonntag

Keywords: · Innovation · Adaptation · Job complexity · Autonomy · Time pressure · Feedback from supervisor · Possibility to transfer knowledge

Summary

Workplaces are undergoing major changes in organization and technology. Also, in many industrial countries the workforce is aging rapidly. Organizations are therefore interested to know: (1) Are older employees able to cope with these changing work environments. (2) Can older employees contribute to organizational performance by generating and implementing innovative ideas. While meta-analytic research findings have demonstrated that there is no age performance relationship, only little is known about age-related changes in adaptive and innovative work behaviors. The purpose of the present study therefore was to investigate the relationship between work design and older employees adaptive and innovative performance. We focused on two dimensions of adaptive behavior: (1) Learning new technologies and procedures following changes in the workplace, and (2) dealing with uncertain work situations. For innovative behavior we distinguished in line with current research idea generation and idea implementation. With respect to work design we were interested in the effects of job autonomy, job complexity, time pressure, supervisor feedback as well as opportunity to apply new knowledge at work. Self-report questionnaire date were gathered from 74 older employees, ranging from 40 to 65 years of age. Participants assessed their work environments as well as individual adaptive and innovative work behavior. We conducted multiple regression analysis to test our hypotheses. Job autonomy and supervisor feedback were positively related to older employees idea generation. Also, higher job autonomy and greater opportunities to apply new knowledge at work were associated with more idea implementation. Turning to adaptive performance, our results demonstrated that job autonomy and supervisor feedback positively predicted older employees success in dealing with uncertain work situations. Finally, more supervisor feedback was associated with more intensive learning of new technologies and procedures. Based on our findings implications can be drawn, how organizations can use work design to support older employees’ innovative and adaptive performance at work. Organizations should consider giving employees autonomy, adequate feedback from supervisors concerning their performance, and providing the opportunity to utilize newly developed skills or acquired knowledge for the job. This is particularly valid since a non-controlling feedback style encourages employees to use their autonomy and take stronger responsibility for their work. Organizations can readily foster conditions that enhance feedback from supervisors. This can be achieved by 1) anchoring feedback into the organizational culture and leadership policies, 2) training supervisors to provide adequate feedback and 3) considering objective measures evaluating supervisors success in developing their subordinates.

Practical Relevance

This study demonstrated how work conditions have to be designed to help older employees adapt to new work situations. Autonomy, feedback from supervisors and the possibility to transfer knowledge into the workplace seem to be key factors for innovation. Results for the accomplishment of new work situations and learning new technologies and procedures point to autonomy and feedback from supervisors as important factors that should be fostered to enable older workers adapting to changes in their work environment.

Lifelong Working-time Models: Opportunities and Risks for Enterprises and Employees (Vol. 4 – 2006)

Authors: Dorothee Karl, Peter Knauth, Kathrin Elmerich, Matthias Rott und Christine Watrinet

Keywords: · Lifelong working time · Demographic change · Part-time work · Shiftwork

Summary

The present situation: On the international scale, Germany’s natural resources are few, so that its human capital naturally emerges as the most important economic factor. This being so, demographic change confronts Germany with an unusual challenge. In the future, we may expect not only a gradually ageing workforce but also increasing diversity among the employees. To maintain and promote the work ability and, consequently, the competitiveness of different groups of persons including those of higher age, Germany’s enterprises will be constrained to design the content and organisation of work to suit the diversity of their workforces. As it will be more difficult to acquire skilled employees on the labour market because of their scarcity, designing attractive jobs and framework conditions will grow more and more important. Combining life working-time models and measures such as management sensitisation, job design, personnel development, and health promotion is one of the keys to solving the problems mentioned above. Why? Because such a combination permits allowing for the individual needs and resources of each age and employment group, increasing their productivity and job satisfaction in conformance with corporate policies. Project objectives: This being so, the project primarily aims at studying different working-time models and their effect on older company employees. Short-term as well as long-term effects are studied at both the individual and the plant level. Comparative studies in different industries will be used to evaluate the success of the results as well as their relevance in prognostication. Derived from the results of the project, action strategies for working-time design will provide employees as well as managers with orientation about how to formulate a meaningful, forward-looking, and demographic overall strategy. The following core proposition motivated the choice of a multimethod, multistage approach for the project: Age-differentiated working-time models positively influence health, work ability, and job satisfaction as well as corporate performance. This positive impact is enhanced by a) giving employees more opportunities to influence the design of their working time in the different phases of their lives, b) incorporating ergonomic recommendations on working-time design as early as possible, and c) introducing more favourable framework conditions (e.g. management attitudes towards older employees, ergonomic workplace design, corporate culture, health promotion measures, adequate strategies for launching new working-time models). Methods: The method chosen is a four-phase concept that permits developing and implementing new models as well as analysing and evaluating existing models comprehensively.To ensure the soundness of any insights gained into the complex issues involved, a combination of qualitative and quantitative tools was chosen because this multimethod approach yields a more profound, holistic view. The following issues were studied using both quantitative and qualitative methods: Working-time design, Part-time work, Degree of autonomy, Work-related stress, Work and the family, Health, Sleep, Individual value systems, Demographic data. The questionnaire developed to study the issues named above contained some standardised scales, such as the condensed Work Ability Index (WAI, Illmarinen et al., 2004) and the Standard Shiftwork Index (SSI, Barton et al., 1995) as well as new scales developed for the purpose. Depending on ompany-specific objectives e.g. the introduction of short breaks n shiftwork), the following tools may be used in addition: igilance test (Walter Reed palm-held psychomotor vigilance est, cf. Thorne et al., 2005), Visual analogue scale for subjective drowsiness scaling (cf. Kiesswetter, 1988), Scale to identify physical complaints (cf. Corlett & Bishop, 1976), Sleep questionnaire (in-house development). Initial results: The evaluations that were conducted so far focussed on shift-change times, break scheduling, and part-time work. The overall conclusion from these evaluations, which dealt with assessments of working-time design from the point of view of an ageing workforce, was that considering nothing more than the calendar age of a person cannot do justice to the complex problem of ageing-appropriate working-time design. On evaluation, neither the vigilance test nor the subjective analogue test yielded any significant differences that might have indicated longer reaction times or more pronounced drowsiness among older employees. Initial evaluations of the entire KRONOS questionnaire together with the sleep questionnaire revealed significant differences between age groups. Compared to older employees, all younger employees stated that the quality of their sleep was better and that it took them less time to fall asleep. In addition, younger employees rated the degree of autonomy given to them in designing their working time more positively compared to the older ones. As only very few differences were found between age groups overall, it will be important in the further course of the study to give more emphasis to framework conditions and individual differences between employees. Differences in the assessment of the degree of autonomy in working-time design might be interpreted as indicating that older employees in particular find it more important to have greater influence on their working time and/or its flexibility.

Practical Relevance

Not by focussing on older employees, but only by adopting a holistic view of the process of growing old on the job and its consequences for working-time design can a company develop action options to ensure the preservation and promotion of an individual’s ability to work. This being so, the KRONOS project explores the specific effects of working-time models adapted to ageing and investigates other relevant parameters besides age. Whether or not results can be realised will be checked in crossindustry activities.

Age heterogeneity as determinant of performance in work groups in the public administration (Vol. 4 – 2006)

Authors: Carla Roth, Jürgen Wegge, Klaus-Helmut Schmidt und Barbara Neubach

Keywords: · Age heterogeneity · Work groups · Performance · Task complexity · Group size · Organisational commitment

Summary

According to the theory of social identity (Tajfel & Turner, 1986) individuals strive for positive social identity they receive through categorization (i.e. age, gender, attitude) and win part of their social identity through the belonging to a specific group. Consequently, members of the own group (in-group) are evaluated more positive and homogeneous compared to members of other groups (out-groups). According to this theory, increased age heterogeneity will have negative effects due to differentiations between in- and out-group (old versus young) and hence, raise emotional conflicts, which are hindering group performance. In the same vein, the similarityattraction- theory of Byrne (1971) predicts that age diversity has a negative impact on motivation and well being as people tend to affiliate with groups whose members are similar to them (i.e. age, gender). However, the information processing approach predicts the opposite. According to this approach, increased age heterogeneity will promote creative problem solving and innovation as the presence of different personalities increases the variety of perspectives, critical discussions and the amount of overall available knowledge. In other words age heterogeneity within groups will advance the use of knowledge and the availability of different information and thus, enhance performance. On the basis of results of recent large scales studies supporting more those theories predicting negative effects due to age diversity, such as worse group climate, less communication within the group, higher fluctuation, sometimes low performance, we expect that negative effects of age diversity are also prominent in administration. The goal of this study is to analyze which indicators of age composition in teams (maximum, average, variance) are most important and how task complexity and groups size moderate these relationships. Finally, to explore potential underlying mechanisms, we measured organizational commitment as a mediator variable. Based on data from 4597 employees in 111 tax-offices in North Rhine-Westphalia, it was analyzed on department-level how age heterogeneity relates to objective performance. Due to the implementation of a controlling system, objective performance was measured by running time. Running time is defined as the average processing time from the transmittal of the tax computation to the sending of the tax assessment to the tax payer. The measurement basis are days. Each tax office is separated into two groups. The VST2000 group works on tax computations with an average assessment volume. The VST5000 group, however, works on tax computations which besides to regular incomes also includes other income forms. In general it can be argued that the VST2000 group works on routine tasks whereas the VST5000 group rather works on more complex tasks. Due to anonymity reasons age could only be measured in age groups (1 ≤ 30 years, 2 = 31-40; 3 = 41-50, 4 = 51-60, 5 ≥ 60). Age heterogeneity as dissimilarity of age within groups has been measured over the following four factors, separated for the VST2000 and the VST5000 group: age average (mean of age groups), age variance, age minimum and age maximum. To control for the potential effect of group size, the sample was separated via a median split and correlations for small and large groups were computed. To measure commitment to the office, the affective commitment scale from Allen und Meyer (1990) was applied. In respect to the four measurements for age heterogeneity, only age variance and age average were significantly correlated with performance within the VST5000 groups (variance: r = -.23*; age average: r =-.19*). As anticipated, ageheterogeneity only correlates negatively with group-efficiency in groups working on complex tasks (r = -.23, p < .01), but not with groups doing routine tasks (r = .01, ns; the difference is significant with Z = 1.79, p < .001). For group size no significant effect was found. However, commitment to the office mediated the relationship between age heterogeneity and performance for groups working on complex tasks. The results confirm that age-heterogeneity only plays a positive role within a group if complex tasks are being worked on. In this case, performance increases with high ageheterogeneity within the group. The size of the group did not moderate this relationship suggesting that the impact of age heterogeneity on performance is irrelevant to the size of the group. Finally, commitment to the office has to be considered as an important mediator of the effect of age heterogeneity on performance. Based on these findings, the ADIGU project seeks to analyze several further potential moderator and mediator variables in two longitudinal studies that will be conducted in the administrative sector.

Practical Relevance

The age composition of groups represents an important aspect and hence, deserves increased attention in work organizations. The results of the present study suggest advantages of increased age heterogeneity for groups dealing with complex processing tasks.

Why are they so unloved? On the competence of older employees in comparison to their younger colleagues (Vol. 4 – 2006)

Authors: Simone Kauffeld

Keywords: · Competence · elderly employees

Summary

Due to demographic change, the proportion of older employees in Germany and other European countries is continuously increasing. This group of employees is often associated with a threat to companies’ innovation and growth potential. The present study examined to what extent older employees’ competencies actually differ from those of their younger colleagues. A company’s competitive capacity depends on its ability to develop and deploy employees’ competencies (Donovan, Hannigan & Crowe 2001). Human resources have become the ‘first value’ of a company in an economy based on service and knowledge (Rohs 2002). Competencies which are considered important, such as performance capability, creativity, and open-mindedness about change, are mostly attributed to younger employees. Older employees presumably suffer from a reduced performance and learning ability and readiness, even though they are appreciated for their routine, loyalty, and reliability (Bellmann et al. 2003). Those positive characteristics are primarily seen in companies’ own older employees, whereas prejudice prevails concerning elderly applicants. As a result, persons beyond 40 rarely find new employment (Vogelskamp & Günter 2005). Gerontological research has been opposing to the prejudiced idea of a general loss of efficiency for a long time (see Aronsson & Kilbom 2001). The present research centered on the question if there are differences in competence facets between older and younger employees. In addition to self-reports of competence, objective competence data were collected. Job-related competence can be pragmatically subdivided into four areas (see Heyse & Erpenbeck 1997; Sonntag & Schaper 1992): professional competence (organizational/process knowledge, problem perception, and solution development), methodological competence (flexible use of cognitive skills, e.g. task assignment or decision making), social competence (communicative and cooperative self-organization for the successful development/ realization of goals in social interactions), and personal competence (participation, assuming responsibility/initiative, interest in change, and self management). In the present study, competence was assessed via self-reports as well as in the context of optimization tasks, in keeping with the idea that competencies should be tested in the actual job situation (see Kauffeld 2000; 2006a). Concerning self-report, employees’ self-concepts of their competence were assessed with a standardized questionnaire by Sonntag and Schäfer- Rauser (1993). Furthermore, the Cassel Competence Grid (CCG; Kauffeld 2000; 2006a) was applied. The CCG measures groups’ work-related professional-, methodological-, social-, and selfcompetence aspects when completing a real, group-relevant optimization task. Verbal statements are videotaped, then transcribed and divided into units (see Bales 1950) and assigned to one of forty-four observation categories. The sample comprised 557 employees (92 industrial groups) of 20 medium-sized companies. Representativeness of the groups was ensured by contact persons as well as employee surveys. The ‘older’ partial sample contained 65 employees aged 51 and above. Data were collected at the beginning of one-day training workshops. The results show that older employees hardly differ in competence from their younger colleagues. Few differences with small effect sizes, were found for professional and methodological competence, and were mostly in favor of older employees. ’50-plus’ employees accredit themselves more skills (professional competence) and creativity (methodological competence). In the accomplishment of optimization tasks, they showed better problem identification and analysis than their younger colleagues. A weakness of older employees was identified concerning negative methodological competence in optimization tasks: they were more likely to get side-tracked and lose the train of thought in details and examples. Sequence analyses indicate that active structuring remarks, such as suggestions or references to the goal of the discussion, can counter this weakness (Kauffeld 2006a, in press). Importantly, older employees showed neither deficits in solution-oriented aspects nor in personal competence (participation). In addition to problem analysis, which was better among older employees, these aspects are essential for success measures, such as the quality of solutions developed productivity of a work group, or even for successful company development. Limitations of the present study are discussed.

Practical Relevance

The results of the present study can help to promote a more positive attitude toward older employees in companies. In sum, age does not prove to be a sensible indicator of employee competence. Higher age should not be interpreted as a risk to innovative ability. Instead, the present results give reason to hope that future challenges will be equally mastered with an ageing workforce. Society as well as individual companies should strive to keep older employees and benefit from their competence rather than accelerate their retirement.