The Demographic Characteristics Affecting the Information Needs of Employees In Relation to Job Performance, Decision-Making, & Organizational Viability

Abstract

An organization functions as a container within which communication takes place. A well functioning communication system 1s important in every organization since the organizations survival depends on its members' abilities Lo coordinate and exchange information that is timely and accurate. Members of an organization have different information needs. They may vary in terms of the types of information they need, as well as the amount of those types of information. Consequently, it is important for organizations to know what information and how much of that information is important to its members or employees. It is also important for organizations to know the factors associated with those information needs. Since the communication system in an organization is directly affected by the organizational contingencies and one of those organizational contingencies is the employees' demographic characteristics, it could be said that one way of determining the information needs of employees, is to consider their demographic characteristics. This study then aims to determine the demographic characteristics affecting the information needs of employees in relation to job performance, decision-making, and organizational viability. The demographic characteristics of age, sex, position, type of employment, and level of education were investigated by comparing the amount or information needed between the junior and senior employees, the male and female employees, the supervisors, and the rank-and-file employees. the regular and non-regular employees, and the college graduate and undergraduate employees. A one-shot survey using the 30-item scale questionnaire, in which some of the items were adapted from the Receiving Information from Others portion of the ICA (International Communication Association) Communication Audit Questionnaire was employed to determine the demographic information of the employees and to measure the amount of information received and the ideal amount or information needed to be received by the employees. /\ total or

83 respondents. which is J1.5% or the total population for the study, were selected through convenience sampling. They are from the largest division or an established BPO company in Novaliches. which is the Call Center X. Findings imply that the demographic category or position is somehow affecting the information needs of the respondents in relation to job performance and organizational viability. Results of the t-test showed that the supervisors and the rank-and file employees have significantly different average scores in the amount of information needed in topic areas (I) "how my job relates to the total operation of the organization", and (2) "promotion and advancement opportunities in my organization", (3) "'important new service or program development in my organization", and (4) "specific problems management faces in my organization". The first two topic areas are information in relation to job performance. and the latter two are information in relation to organizational viability.