The current study investigated the relationship between technology readiness (TR; Parasuraman, 2000) and job satisfaction. Participants were recruited via MTurk and assessed on their TR and job satisfaction. The final sample consisted of 93 participants. Findings indicated that overall TR, as well as combined TR drivers, were positively correlated with overall job satisfaction. The TR driver optimism was positively correlated to ability utilization, as well as independence. The TR driver innovativeness was positively correlated with creativity. Combined TR inhibitors were not significantly related to overall job satisfaction, nor were the individual TR inhibitor facets significantly related to the chosen job satisfaction facets. These findings suggest that TR may play a significant role in employee job satisfaction in the modern workplace, and that TR driver facets may hold a more significant role in this relationship.

This thesis was developed to look at leadership styles in higher education administration. The first portion of the study was to look at previous research in the field of leadership and communication, as it pertains to the industry of higher education administration. The next step was to summarize data from the Campus Climate/Great Colleges to Work For Survey administered by a regional research university, followed by individual interviews with campus leaders to formulate themes. Finally, this thesis looked at the results and determined if campus leaders have changes methods of leadership in correspondence to the results found by the Office of Assessment. Limitations and direction of future research were determined.

Productivity growth drives long-term economic growth and rising living standards in a modern economy. Information and communications technology (ICT) has been a key driver of both total factor productivity (TFP) and labor productivity growth since the 1990s. Japan, which has consistently had the lowest labor productivity in the G7, has not seen significant levels of ICT-driven productivity growth in its non-manufacturing sectors despite investing heavily in ICT hardware. This paper explores the reasons for Japan’s failure to reap productivity gains from its ICT investments. I claim Japanese firms have failed to invest in organizational capital and new business practices to maximize the potential of ICT. A preponderance of very small firms with elderly managers have left large swaths of the economy with minimal ICT investment. Part of the failure to update business practices stems from labor market rigidity which reduces the labor input savings from ICT systems and inefficient capital markets which protect inefficient incumbent firms. Furthermore, the low rate of firm entry and exit, coupled with a lack of foreign direct investment, hinders the adoption of new ideas and the reallocation of capital and labor.