ETHICS: The Past, Present and Future of Socio-Technical Systems Design - History of Computing: Learning from the Past - page 191

Fig. 1. Conceptual model describing the benefits of technology
The original systems that were being evaluated using this approach were office
computer systems and the impact that their introduction would have on office clerks
(Mumford and Banks, 1967). Much of this earlier research was based upon trying to
determine the impact of these newer technologies, such as micro-computers upon
organisations. By the late 1970's the use of technology within organisations was more
common and were becoming formalised and we started to see models being devel-
oped (Legge and Mumford, 1978) to describe complex issues. This research went
beyond the simple analysis of impact on an organisation and began to considering the
effects that the use of computers would have on the individuals within the organisa-
tion, including changes to job roles, individuals' perceptions, behaviour and needs,
expectations and job satisfaction. An example of one of Mumford's earlier models
relating to the benefits of technology is shown by Figure 1 (above).
A key area in her earlier research is the concept of job satisfaction; Mumford and
Weir (1979) define job satisfaction as:
the attainment of a good "fit" between what the employee is seeking from his
work - his job needs, expectations and aspirations - and what he is required
to do in his job - the organisational job requirements which mould his experi-
ence.
This definition draws upon earlier work looking at the job satisfaction of computer spe-
cialists (Mumford, 1972). A continuation of the research by Mumford saw continued
development in the key area of participation and how different forms of participation