Positive and Negative effects of using smartphones on employee’s performance: A UAE Case Study

Literature review

Global trends in the smartphone usage among employees

As per the estimates of a research company, Forrester, there will be more than 350 million employees who own a smartphone by the year 2016. Out of these 350 million employees, 200 million employees may bring their Smartphones to work (Chen, 2012). Majority of the employees who make use of smartphones are in the age group of 18 to 24. In 2011, only 49% of the employees used smartphones whereas in 2012, the above figure raised to 67% (Smith, 2012). The new generation workforce is the major employee community who makes use of smartphones in the workplace (Pitichat, 2013).

There are many companies that completely disallow employees from using their own Smartphones in the work places. The major reason behind this is the security concerns. At the same time, these companies do not have problems in allowing the employees to use smartphones that are provided by the company. For example, Wells Fargo Company, ‘an American multinational banking and financial services holding company’, disallows employees from using their own smartphones in the workplace, but the company has no problems in allowing the employees to use company provided smartphones at their workplaces (Brodkin, 2011).

Usage of mobile phone or mobile devices in the world

Around 7.2 billion gadgets were operational in the world as per the 2014 statistics. Moreover, the number of gadgets is multiplying five times faster than the rate of growth of human in this world (Boren, 2014). As per the statistics collected by Pew Research Center, (2015) 64% of American adults had a smartphone and 90% of Americans had cell phones as of October 2014 (Pew Research Center, 2015)

 

According to eMarketer (2014), the number of Smartphone users in the world has already crossed the 1.75 billion mark. Moreover, the number of ordinary mobile phones users was around 4.55 billion in 2014. Asia pacific, Africa and Middle East were the most developing regions in terms of mobile phone usages in recent times. It is expected that the mobile penetration between 2013 and 2017, will rise from 61.1% to 69.4% of the global population, (eMarketer, 2014).

Smartphone usage in the Middle East and UAE

Asia-Pacific has the largest number of mobile phone users at present. It should be noted that Asia-Pacific is the most heavily populated region in the world and hence increased rate of mobile phone penetration in this region is not a surprising fact. The surprising fact is that the Middle East is the number 2 region in terms of mobile phone penetration even though the population size in this region is less than that in many other regions. As per the latest statistics available, more than 40 percent of the Middle Eastern population has access to smartphones. Majority of these smartphone users in the Middle East have internet connection and they watch videos, download applications and play games online, using their smartphones. In fact, smartphone use in the region is almost doubling every year (Skreech, 2014)

Middle East is one region in which smartphone usage is extremely high. Smartphones play a central part in the life of consumers, employees and ordinary people in the UAE. The arrival of digital consumerism and the development of virtual world business or ecommerce have helped the wide spread usage of smartphones all over the world, including UAE. In fact almost 100% of the UAE population has access to mobile phones. Above all, it is estimated that more than 78% of the UAE population has access to smartphones. In the Middle Eastern region, UAE has one of the highest smartphone usage rates. Because of the rapid advancements in mobile phone technologies in the UAE, yesterday’s mobile devices were replaced by advanced mobile devices today. As shown in figure 1, 81% of the UAE mobile owners aged 16-34 have smartphones instead of ordinary mobile phones (Nielsen, 2014). The following illustration provides a rough idea about the smartphone penetration in the UAE

Fig.1 Mobile usage in UAE (Nielsen, 2014)

According to Haider (2015), around 61% of the total handsets registered in the UAE telephone networks belong to smartphone category in fourth quarter of 2014. According to UAE’s Telecommunication Regulatory Authority (TRA), smartphone usage in the UAE is increasing rapidly every year (Haider, 2015). In short, the passion for smartphones is growing in the UAE at present. Instead of ordinary mobile phones, majority of the UAE population like to have expensive smartphones. Because of the luxurious life styles and the strong economic growth in the UAE, purchasing of an expensive smartphone is not a problem for many of the residents.

Smartphone usage in the workplaces of the UAE

According to the findings of a survey conducted by Froot, the number of people in the UAE who make use of smartphones at workplaces is second only to the number of people who use smartphones at home (Nabbout, 2013). In other words, smartphone use at workplaces is quite popular in the UAE. In fact employers of the UAE are encouraging their employees to use smartphones for professional purposes. Many of the employees in the UAE use their smartphones multiple times during their stay in the workplace (Haider, 2015). It should be noted that majority of the emirates in the UAE are extremely popular for business activities. In fact, Dubai is labelled as the business hub of Middle East. Moreover, business is taking place at a rapid pace in the UAE. Under the above circumstances, usage of modern technologies such as smartphones is inevitable in the workplaces of the UAE.

The concept of Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) workplace is getting popularity in the UAE nowadays as in the case of countries such as America and European countries. According to Morad (2013), around 75 per cent of companies all over the world encourage employees to bring their personally owned devices to the workplaces and use it for professional purposes. As per the views of Phifer (2015), enterprise BYOD adoption rates in different parts of the world at present are in between 40% to 75%. Personally owned devices such as smartphones and tablets are welcomed in the workplaces as part of the BYOD concept (Phifer, 2015). The major objective behind the BYOD concept is that employees are more comfortable in using their own devices than using office or workplace devices. When the comfort of using electronic devices increases the productivity and efficiency of the workers will also be increased (Phifer, 2015). Ford Motor Co. has already proved the worth of BYOD concept. They have introduced the BYOD concept in around 20 countries since 2009 and in all countries this concept brought dividends to the company (Torode, 2011). As part of BYOD concept, iPhones and Android phones are welcomed in the workplaces of UAE. Saleem (2012) mentioned that smartphone penetration in the workplaces of the UAE is around 47% which more than that in America (40%). In his opinion, employee productivity can be increased drastically while introducing BYOD concept in the UAE workplaces.

This contradicts trends of the past, when companies issued their own devices, namely the BlackBerry, with the implication that it would be used solely for workplace communications.

Today, about 75 per cent of companies allow personally owned devices to be used in the workplace for corporate communications. This number is expected to rise, given that only 24 per cent of companies currently have formal compliances in place for BYOD programmes.

As the number of compliance programmes grows, so will the number of companies shifting to BYOD.

The rapid expansion of BYOD has boosted smartphone sales in the consumer market. Globally, the number of the devices sold year over year is expected to grow by nearly 30 per cent this year, according to Juniper Research.

Downloadable apps are also an important part of the equation when determining which smartphones consumers prefer.

Juniper Research forecasts that in 2016, more than 160 billion apps will be downloaded globally on to consumer handsets and tablets. This sharp increase, from an estimated 80 billion this year, is a result of many consumers in developing markets upgrading from feature phones to smartphones, and a growing number of apps downloaded at no upfront cost.

Positive effects of using smartphones on employee’s performance in the UAE

Although organizations as well as employers are keen to have their employees to use mobile technology (namely cell phones), there are several positive and negative effect on employees’ work performance. In the next section, an overview of the impact of the cell phone will be conducted covering recent literature that covered such topic. It should be noted that very few studies were conducted on the positive and negative sides of cellphone usage due to the novelty of smart phones namely the ones that are touch based especially in UAE.

Sarwar and Soomro (2013) conducted a study in the Middle Eastern context in order to investigate the impact of Smartphone’s on the society in general and the employees in particular. The study collected data from business, education, and health sectors and concluded that the use of Smartphones in the workplaces will bring benefits as well as drawbacks to employers and employees (Sarwar and Soomro, 2013)Today’s bring your own device (BYOD) workplace has welcomed the use of smartphones like the iPhone and Droid that target consumers who desire intuitive touchscreens and entertaining apps into the corporate world.“In the BYOD world, companies are giving employees US$200 to subsidise their preferred smartphone and are then implementing company resources to monitor their data and workplace usage on those phones,” says Ronald Gruia, director at the consulting firm Frost & Sullivan.

From an employee’s perspective, the most important advantage of using smartphones in the workplace is the enhanced communication. An employee can contact his superiors, clients and other relevant people in the organization anytime while using smartphones. For example, imagine a case in which an employee stuck in traffic on his way to work. He can call his superior immediately and inform him about the possibility of delay and the superior can take remedial actions (Gomes, 2011)

Beurer-Zuellig and Meckel (2008) conducted a study involving 16 German firms to produce the impact of mobile email through smartphones on communication and work processes. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of smartphones and the integrated mobile email functionalities on employee’s performance and ultimately, firm performance. The experiential findings demonstrated that mobile email has a positive effect on performance at work while attitude towards technology had significant impact on real performance gains. In addition, the findings demonstrated the potential of smartphones in enhancing and accelerating work processes by providing information promptly, enhancing reachability, and simplifying coordination processes (Beurer-Zuellig & Meckel, 2008).

Crowe and Middleton (2012) conducted research to investigate the ways in which a selected sample comprising professional women used smartphones in managing their work responsibilities and personal activities. The study discovered several specific yet mindful practices used to enable and take accessibility, responsiveness, and professionalism among clients and colleagues while concurrently demonstrating the role of smartphones in shaping and maintaining professional identities. The findings helped establish that mobile technologies and especially smartphones offer support for highly intensive work patterns and facilitate communication beyond office boundaries. In the end, this enables the parallel shift and the reinforcement of existing practices (Crowe & Middleton, 2012).

Another advantage of employees using smartphones in the workplace is the increased ability of the employees in using two spaces at once: their actual location and the space at the other end of the phone (Hislop, 2008). It should be noted that smartphones help employees to convey the information from their place to another place and collect information from a distant place. Thus they can use two spaces simultaneously so that the employer will be benefitted more. Management of physical space and virtual space would help the employee to manage two identities at the same time (Hislop, 2008).

It is believed that while allowing employees to use their personal devices such as smartphones at workplaces, an organization can cultivate job satisfaction in the minds of the employees. Phifer (2015) argued that employees usually use latest hardware and software in their personal devices compared to the software and hardware available in their offices. Moreover, employees are well accustomed with their personal devices than with the office devices. It is a fact that employees may have restricted freedom and privileges while using office equipment. As a result of that, employees will be more comfortable while using personal devices compared to their comfort level while using office devices (Phifer, 2015).

Another important benefit of using smartphones in the workplace is the ability of smartphones in promoting autonomy among employees. When employees get more autonomy in their work, they will be more satisfied. Employees who use smartphones at work found to be having greater levels of flexibility and autonomy in completing their works (Hislop, 2008). Zielinski (2012) mentioned that employees tend to have their own Smartphones at their workplaces and these smartphones are usually better than the ones provided by the company. It should be noted that companies usually provide cheaper phones to their employees in order to reduce the expenditure. While allowing employees to use their own smartphones in the workplace, companies cultivate a feeling of autonomy in the minds of the employees. Scholars such as Gagne and Deci (2005) and Zielinski (2012) argued that higher autonomy would increase the motivation among the employees. As per their views business leaders should show more flexibility in their approaches and management styles towards the employees in order to boost the motivation level among the employees. In short, smartphones provide autonomy and autonomy provides greater job satisfaction and motivation among the employees.

 

Information exchange is vital for the success of an employee in his organization. No other equipment may help an employee to exchange information instantly just like the smartphone does. While using smartphones, employees are able to relocate their work from one environment to another (Hislop, 2008). In other words, information received through smartphones would help the employees to decide whether they need to make any changes in their regular works or not.

Work at home concept is getting huge popularity among the employees now. The core of this concept is to allow employees to manage their office duties and responsibilities while staying at their home. The major advantage of this concept is greater flexibility in work, greater job satisfaction and increased work life balancing. Smartphones play a vital role in spreading work at home concepts. The practice of working anywhere is possible with the help of smartphones. Smartphones allow a whole network of employees or offices to communicate with each other and to take quick decisions when critical problems occur (Hislop, 2008).

There are many scholars who argue that smartphone use in the workplace may increase productivity. For example, the studies conducted by Hislop (2008), George (2014), and Jackson et al (2003), clearly underline the importance of smartphones in improving productivity in the workplaces. Hislop (20008) has mentioned many positive effects associated with the usage of smartphones in the workplaces. In his opinion, mobile phone creates opportunities to make time through temporal freedoms. For example, even while driving, an employee can return work related calls and thereby increase his productivity and efficiency so that he may receive incentives from the employer. The use of travelling time for productive works will benefit both the employee and the employer (Hislop, 2008). George (2014) mentioned about the findings of a new research conducted in different countries including the United مساعدة التعيين – خدمة كتابة المقالات من قبل كبار الكتاب العرب, Arab Emirates (UAE). This research has investigated the Smartphone use among 72 full-time employees and concluded that regular micro-breaks of two to three minutes for using smartphones would help employees to greatly improve their productivity (George, 2014). According to Jackson et al (2003), the right use of smartphones would increase the productivity and efficiency of employees. They have pointed out that almost the entire modern companies encourage smartphone use in the workplace as a measure to increase productivity.

Miller-Merrell (2012) pointed out that smartphones are capable of using modern applications such as microblogging platforms, internal social networks, wikis, and internal instant-message services and thereby help the employees to perform better in their job functions. He has mentioned that these internal tools help employees to communicate effectively with various people instantly and complete their job functions well before the schedule. No other devices are capable of using all these applications all the time. It should be noted that even while travelling employees can use their smartphones for professional works (Miller-Merrell, 2012).

Work life balancing is an important concept in the modern business world. In a rapidly moving business world, employees usually struggle to find enough time for communicating with their friends and family members. Miller-Merrell (2012) mentioned that smartphones can help employees in achieving work life balancing up to certain extent. It should be noted that modern smartphones are capable of audio as well as video calls. Therefore, employees can communicate with their beloved ones whenever they get free time in their workplaces. Thus they can accomplish personal needs even while working and thereby improve their job satisfaction. That is why Carayannis & Clark (2011) argued that smartphones are capable of ensuring smooth work flow in the workplaces. As per the views of Bakker (2011), job satisfaction is one among the many important factors that determine work efficiency. He has pointed out that highly satisfied employees will be more productive than dissatisfied employees. As per his views, job satisfaction is a positive work-related state that is characterized by vigor, dedication, and absorption. There are two ways of achieving job satisfaction: job resources and personal resources. While personal resources such as resources such as optimism, self-efficacy, resilience, and self esteem help an employee to satisfy his personal needs job resources such as social support and feedback from colleagues and supervisors, autonomy, work competence, resourceful work environment would help the employee to complete his works smoothly (Bakker, 2011). Smartphones are capable of enhancing both job resources and personal resources and thereby improve the job satisfaction. Moreover, they are capable of improving the relationships with peers and between the employees and their superiors. In other words, smartphones are capable of getting people together in a common platform such as the internet (Bozeman, 2011).

Knowledge sharing is another area in which smartphones can help employees. Information exchange is vital for the success of any companies. Since knowledge is bursting from every corner virtually in every second, it is difficult for the employees to collect all the information in time. Smartphones help employees to share the knowledge they received with their peers. Miller-Merrell (2012) mentioned that the integration of smartphones with social networks would help employees and managers to share the information instantly. Anderson, (2010) pointed out that tools like cloud computing helps employees immensely in knowledge sharing. He has pointed out that General Electric (GE) has been using internal social network as a knowledge sharing tool for the last few years. The GE system has more than 100,000 internal experts who answer questions from their stakeholders staying at different parts of the world (Naslund, 2010).

Many studies have proved that the employee engagement will be greatly improved if they were allowed to use smartphones in their workplaces. For example, the study conducted by Bakker & Demerouti (2008) proved that engaged employees experience more positive emotions such as happiness, joy, enthusiasm and better health Moreover, they will create their own job and personal resources and help the organization transferring their engagement to other employees as well (Bakker & Demerouti, 2008)

An article appeared on Khaleej Times (July 3, 2015) pointed out that the smartphone penetration in the workplaces of UAE is growing day by day. It says that the mobile technology is revolutionizing the Middle East workforce in general and the UAE workforce in particular (Khaleej Times, Jul 3, 2015). The passion for flexible working hours is growing among the UAE employees. As per the findings of a recently conducted survey by  Aruba Networks revealed around 50 per cent of the UAE employees like to have flexible hours over salary increase. This new employee generation, in the UAE are strong believers in the concept of mobile working: working in any location, at any time (Khaleej Times, Jul 3, 2015).

Negative effects of using smartphones on employee’s performance in the UAE

One of the major negative effects of using smartphones at workplace from an employer’s perspective is the personal calls. According to Hislop (2008), personal calls on smartphones will be beneficial to the employees, but not to the employers. It should be noted that personal calls will prevent employees from concentrating fully on their works. Sometimes, the messages conveyed through personal calls may be irritating, disturbing or unpleasant. On such occasions, employees may spend a lot of time bothering about the message content and concentrate less on their works.

Smartphones are capable of interrupting important business meetings. In countries such as the UAE, employees usually carry their smartphones with them while attending business meetings. They will not switch off their phones even at the time of meeting. As a result of that, they may receive calls and messages even at a time when important matters are being discussed in the meeting. In short, smartphones are a nuisance at least while conducting business meetings (Ebelhar, 2009).

According to a study conducted by Gulf Business Machines (GBM), an IT company in the UAE, 43% IT professionals in the UAE had experienced a security incident in a year while using smartphones at their workplaces. Moreover, majority of the IT professionals in the UAE are of the view that Middle East is prime target” for cyber criminals (Sinclair, 2013). In short, security related threats are one of the major problems associated with the smartphone use in the workplace. The Global Corporate IT Security Risks conducted a survey in 2013 in 24 countries in order to know the security risks associated with smartphones. As per the findings of this study, 93% Japanese companies, 69% of North American companies, 65% of Middle Eastern companies and 57% of Russian companies recognise huge security threat associated with smartphone usage in the workplace. Despite of the increasing awareness about the security threats associated with smartphones, 31% of the companies which took part in the survey are still going ahead with the strategy of allowing smartphones in the workplace (Kaspersky, 2013). In other words, many companies believe that smartphone use is the workplace brings more benefits than drawbacks to the organizations.

As per the views of Phifer (2015), the vulnerability of smartphones against Malware and Spyware is more in Android devices compared to other devices. Since the majority of the smartphones all over the world make use of Android operating system, security threats brought by smartphones cannot be neglected. It is quite possible that critical company data may be lost while employees given the freedom of using smartphones for work related tasks (Phifer, 2015). For example, there are many employees who make use of smartphones even for sending company emails and messages. It should be noted that smartphone users normally have the habit of downloading free applications from web stores without bothering too much about the credibility and reliability of such applications. Such applications can plant malware and spyware in the smartphones in order to monitor the activities of the user. Such malwares and spywares can steal critical company data while an employee makes use of his smartphone for professional purposes. As per the findings of the research conducted by Delgado (2014), around 2,000 new malware samples are appearing on Android devices every day. Between 2011 and 2013, around 388% malware increase has been recorded in the Google Play store (Delgado, 2014). Majority of the mobile malwares spread while a smartphone user engages in SMS text messaging. Security experts are of the view that data leakage from smartphones normally takes place when an application asks for too much permission. Contact names, email addresses and the location details of a mobile phone user can be traced when application has given the permission to access critical smartphone data (Westervelt, 2013).

Many of the smartphone users have the habit of jailbreaking and rooting of their smartphones. While jailbreaking helps a smartphone owner to bypass the restrictions imposed by the manufacturer rooting helps them to install applications from unreliable sources (Westervelt, 2013). Both jailbreaking and rooting are extremely dangerous as far as the security and safety of the smartphones are concerned.

There are many instances in which an employee may connect his smartphones with company devices. On such occasions, it is quite possible that the viruses of malware contained in the smartphone may affect the company devices (Delgado, 2014). For example, it is necessary for an employee to use Wi-Fi network in the company in order to transmit company mails and messages from his smartphone. While connecting his smartphone to the Wi-Fi network of the company, it is easy for the malware in the smartphone to reach other company devices in the Wi-Fi network.

The popularity of cloud based storage is increasing among smartphone users at present. Cloud based storage helps smartphone users to store as many files and critical data outside their smartphone and access them using their phones. Dropbox, Google, Apple and Microsoft are some of the companies which offer cloud-based storage to smartphone users. It is quite possible that employees may use cloud based storage when the storage space in their smartphones decreases. They may store even company data in cloud based stores in such cases (Westervelt, 2013).As a result of that, third parties may get access to critical company data.

Another important disadvantage of using smartphones in the workplace is the threat raised by the stolen smartphones. As part of the BYOD concept many of the companies allow employees to use personal phones for professional purposes. As a result of that employees are getting the freedom to use or store company data in their phones. At the same time, companies cannot take any actions against an employee if he loses his smartphone (Phifer, 2015). It is possible for IT teams in a company to wipe of the corporate data if a personal device is lost or stolen. However, the user should allow IT teams in his company to make some adjustments in the settings of his personal device before the device is stolen or lost (Westervelt, 2013). On many occasions, employees do not like the idea of allowing IT teams to make some security related adjustments in their personal phones because of their fear about loss of privacy.

Another negative effect of using smartphones from an employee’s perspective is the possibility of being accessible from anywhere and gets calls outside of business hours. It is quite possible that employers may call the employee even during night time when emergency occurs. Moreover, clients may call the employee outside of business hours in order to know the latest status of their project (Gomes, 2011). In short, employees may not get peace of mind even after the completion of their daily works, while using smartphones.

As per the findings of the study conducted by Bozeman (2011), excessive use of Smartphones can lead to addiction. Smartphone addiction can decrease the productivity of employees. He has pointed out that the employees who were obsessed with smartphones or employees who have a passion for smartphones may not concentrate very much in their work related functions. Such employees may treat their smartphones just like pet animals and spend too much time for the caring or smartphones (Bozeman, 2011).

The findings of Bozeman (2011) are contradictory to the findings of scholars such as Phifer (2015), Torode (2011) Hislop (2008) and Miller-Merrell (2012) who argued that productivity of the employees will be improved once they were allowed to use smartphones in the workplaces. In other words, there is a gap in the literature regarding the role of smartphones in improving the productivity and efficiency of the employees.

Through a quantitative research using a survey to collect data, Yun, Kettinger, and Lee (2012) examined the unique characters of Office-Home Smartphone (OHS) use including productivity, work overload and flexibility. The study also involved an investigation into the effect of these attributes on different work-related outcomes and work-to-life conflict. These researchers found that an increased work overload traceable to the use of OHS led to increased work-to-life conflict that further results in job stress and the subsequent user resistance towards OHS. On the other hand, it was exposed that productivity gained because of OHS use could decrease work overload. Concerning organizational scope findings, the findings indicated that negative OHS effects can be minimized through promotional of an organizational culture that is supportive of work segmentation and one that attempts to reduce work-to-life conflict and its consequences (Yun, Kettinger, & Lee, 2012).

Derks and Bakker (2014) undertook a quantitative, diary study to examine the impact caused by daily recovery experiences on WHI (Work-Home Interference) and symptoms of daily stress among a group of 69 employees who were also smartphone users. The results demonstrated that intensive use of the smartphone results in elevated WHI levels. In addition, evidence was found indicating that an increase in daily WHI influenced an increase in state stress. The latter had been operationalized as suspicion and tiredness (Derks & Bakker, 2014). Smartphone usage was also found to be positively related with WHI and users of the smartphone were more likely to encounter difficulties related to work-home balance management (Derks & Bakker, 2014).

In a double-quantitative study drawing upon the personality reduction theory, Lanaj, Johnson, and Barnes (2014) investigated whether the use of smartphones resulted in the depletion of the regulatory resources of employees. Lanaj, Johnson, and Barnes (2014) also required to determine whether smartphone use at work causes weaknesses in employee engagement at work in the next day. The findings of two studies reported in their study showed that use of smartphones for work during the night led to raised depletion rates in the following morning and diminishing daily work engagement. Lanaj, Johnson, and Barnes (2014) also found evidence indicating that job control could buffer the negative morning depletion effects on engagement by ensuring that depletion damages work engagement only for employees with reduced job control.

The Economist (2012) also pointed out the role of smartphones in reducing work life balancing. It mentioned that Smartphones are capable of forcing employees to bring stress from their workplaces into their private lives at home. Thus employees many not get peace of mind even after the completion of their work. It should be noted that proper relaxation today is necessary for employees to perform better tomorrow. However, smartphones force employees to attend work related calls even while they rest in their homes. Thus, they will struggle to achieve proper work life balancing because of smartphones. Rush (2011) also supported the views expressed by the Economist. “Working excess hours, including being constantly accessible via Smartphone or the expectation of needing to be so may result in negative consequences, for example, workplace-related stress” (Rush, 2011, p.2).

The findings of Yun, Kettinger, & Lee (2012), Derks & Bakker (2014) and Lanaj, Johnson, Barnes (2014), Rush (2011) and the Economist are not in agreement with the findings of scholars such as Hislop (2008), Miller-Merrell (2012) and Carayannis & Clark (2011) who argued that work life balancing can be achieved by allowing the smartphone usage inside the workplaces. In other words, there is a gap in the literature about the smartphone usage in the workplaces and the work life balancing of the employees.

Some scholars are of the view that employees may not utilize the time fully or give enough attention to their work if they allowed using smartphones in the workplace. For example Bozeman (2011) argued that more focus on smartphones would prevent employees from knowing the realities and their job functions. He has pointed out that smartphones force people to avoid those who are nearby. In other words, employees may not get enough socializing when they are allowed to use smartphones in the workplace. In the absence of smartphones, employees will be forced to communicate directly with their colleagues nearby and thereby they get enough socialization. On the other hand, smartphones help employees to achieve socialization from the virtual world only. Real world socialization and virtual world socialization are entirely different. Direct face to face contact occurs in the real world communication whereas such things will not occur in the virtual world communication (Bozeman, 2011).

It is quite possible that smartphones increase the stress levels of the employees in some instances. For example, the Economist (2012) mentioned that the employees who receive unpleasant information from their home may lose their attention on the work. They will think about the unpleasant information until the work ends on that day. “Working excess hours, including being constantly accessible via Smartphone or the expectation of needing to be so may result in negative consequences, for example, workplace-related stress” (Rush, 2011, p.2).

According to The UAE’s love affair with the smartphone has a downside – an increased threat of cyber crime.

As mobile usage increases, with residents now averaging two phones each, so do the threats posed by hackers, phishing scams and internet fraud.

The widespread use of smart phones and tablets means that residents are online more and are bigger targets for cyber criminals.

But law enforcement agencies are in discussions with Microsoft over how to combat the threat.

The UAE’s love affair with the smartphone has a downside – an increased threat of cyber crimeAs mobile usage increases, with residents now averaging two phones each, so do the threats posed by hackers, phishing scams and internet fraud.

The widespread use of smart phones and tablets means that residents are online more and are bigger targets for cyber criminals.

Sinclair (2013), cybercrime in the UAE is increasing day by day because of the increased use of smartphones in the workplaces. As per the findings of the survey conducted by Gulf business machine (GBM), an IT company in the UAE, among 485 IT professionals, 43% of the UAE employees faced security related threats while using smartphones in the workplaces. Two thirds of the survey participants believe that the Middle East in general and UAE in particular are the targets of cyber criminals (Sinclair, 2013). It should be noted the UAE is the business hub in the Middle East. Many international companies are controlling their Middle East operations from the UAE. As a result of that cyber criminals are targeting UAE as their prime target.

To conclude, this literature review clearly underlines the importance of using smartphones in the workplaces of UAE. It reveals that smartphone use at the workplaces will be beneficial to the employer as well as the employee in many ways. At the same time, this review reminds that the smartphone usages in the UAE workplaces should be carefully monitored and managed in order to avoid negative consequences.

Theoretical background

The influence of technology on an employee’s performance is often evaluated using the Task-Technology Fit or TTF model (see Figure 2 below). According to Goodhue & Thompson (1995), TTF is nothing but the extent to which technology helps a person to perform his tasks well. To be more precise, TTF is the fit among various task requirements, abilities of individuals and the utility or functionality of technology (Goodhue, 1997). Studies conducted by Baas (2010) and Goodhue & Thompson (1995) proved the impact of TTF on an employee’s acceptance of information systems (IS) and his performance in the organization. The major purpose of information systems or technology is to help people to perform their tasks more easily. The theoretical underpinning behind the TTF model is based on the above notion (Goodhue & Thompson, 1995). TTF model can be illustrated as follows

Figure 2: TTF Model (Irick, 2008)

From the above illustration and from the previous studies supporting such model, it can be concluded that, it is evident that task factors, individual factors and technological factors are important in the TTF model. TTF model can be applied in various contexts. Elements of TTF model may be varied when it is applied in various contexts. In the context of mobile phone uses in the workplaces, Task factors such as Task Mobility, and Task Feedback, technology factors such as System Quality and System Accessibility, and individual factors such as Trust, Self-Efficacy and Perceived Job Performance are important.

Task Mobility

The extent of the use of mobile devices for different purposes at different geographical locations is referred as task mobility (Gebauer et al., 2010). According to Liu et al. (2011), the arrival of mobile devices and wireless broadband telecommunication has brought revolutionary changes in the workplaces. In their opinion, these new technologies have changed the pattern or ways of doing work in the workplaces. As per the views of Junglas et al. (2008) mobility of jobs is an important factor brought into the workplaces by the mobile devices. It is easy for the modern employees to work for their organization even when they are at home or any other place outside the organization. Zhou et al (2010) cited mobile banking from banking industry as an example for task mobility. They mentioned that mobile banking helps people to access their banking accounts ‘anytime and anywhere’ (Zhou et al., 2010).

Task feedback

Task feedback refers to the feedback received by an organization about how well an employee is performing his tasks (Sims et al.1976). Holmes and Pizzagalli (2007) conducted a study among 57 employees in order to identify the impact of task feedback on employees. They found that negative feedback may cause depression among employees whereas positive feedback may motivate the employees to improve their performances further (Holmes and Pizzagalli, 2007).

As pointed out by Sansone (1989), task feedback has the ability to affect intrinsic motivational levels of an employee. He has mentioned that the feedback often consists of many irrelevant information with respect to the task performed or completed. Such irrelevant information may affect the employee positively or negatively based on the nature of the information (Sansone, 1989).

System Quality

System quality refers to the overall system characteristics. In the context of mobile phone usages in the workplaces, system quality refers to the functionalities of various mobile enterprise applications. It is not necessary that the readiness of organizations in using mobile enterprise applications at different departments such as ERP, CRM, SCM, Business Intelligence, and Executive Information may be the same. Organizations use these applications based on their perceived reliability, accessibility, and (3) overall quality of the system (Chung et al., 2015). According to Pagani (2006), system reliability (dependability) is the most important factor that is taken into the account while organizations make use of mobile applications.

System Accessibility

            System accessibility in the context of mobile phone use in the workplace is the easiness in accessing and retrieving information using mobile phones (Wixom & Todd, 2005). It is not necessary that the system applications that may be performing well in a computer may perform well on mobile phones The mobile version of system applications may have many limitations. Therefore, such applications may be useful only when the employees find it easy to use and seamless to access, retrieve, and even upload information. Moreover, the belief about the reliability and accessibility of such applications among the employees play a vital role in the readiness of employees in using such apps in the workplaces (Wixom & Todd, 2005).

Trust

According to McKnight et al. (2002), trust plays an important role in reducing the feeling of risk and insecurity when an employee uses an IS application. For example, there are many ecommerce applications suitable for mobile devices from different companies. However, an employee may use any of such application only if he has enough trust in the company which develops that application (Tung et al., 2008). As per the views of Gefen and Straub (2004), trust helps companies to cultivate positive purchasing intentions in the minds of its customers. At the same time, since many of the mobile applications works over a wireless network, information security risk is high while using mobile phones for a business transaction (Arbaugh, 2003).

Self-Efficacy

Self-Efficacy theory says that an individual performs a task only when he has enough faith in his ability to perform that task (Venkatesh et al., 2003). For example, Luarn and Lin (2005) mentioned that an individual use the services such as mobile banking and internet banking only if he has enough faith in performing these tasks. Same way, an individual may accept the mobile healthcare system only if he has the ability to use it properly (Wu et al. 2007)

In the context of mobile phone usage in the workplaces, self-efficacy refers to the belief of an employee about his ability to use IS or mobile apps properly in the workplaces. An employee may use a mobile app in the workplace only when he has enough faith in the ability of that app in bringing success to him in his profession. Self-efficacy is highly dependent on the actual use or frequency of use of IS (Luarn & Lin, 2005).

Perceived Job Performance

Creativity is highly necessary for an employee to perform his tasks well in the modern organizational context (Gong et al., 2009). Job performance and creativity are mutually related to each other. The perception is such that highly creative employees perform better in their jobs using IS and other modern technologies (Zhang & Bartol, 2010). As per the views of Massetti (1996), the extent of creativity used in the performance of an employee depends on a variety of factors such as social, cultural, individual abilities, task characteristics, and technologies used. According to Chung et al. (2015), TTF has the potential to affect an employee’s willingness to accept IS. Moreover, it can affect his perceived job performance in relation to performance impact, productivity and job satisfaction.

 

Research Model and Hypotheses

The proposed model for this study is derived from the literature on the Task-Technology Fit (TTF), individual factors, and organizational agility to explore the role of mobile technology usages on employees’ perceived job performance in the workplace in UAE on the TTF model with some modifications to fit the current research topic and the proposed environment in which that the study will be conducted namely UAE workplace. In the following section, the proposed model will be presented and list of proposed hypotheses will be delved into with a literature background.

Research Model: (Chung et al. 2015)

From the above illustration, it is hypothesized that the job performance is dependent on task technology fit (TTF) whereas TTF is dependent on the following task factors: task mobility, task feedback, technology factors (system quality and system accessibility) and individual factors that include trust and self-efficacy. Based on the above research model, the following hypothesizes will be tested as part of this study.

• H1: Technology Task Fit (TTF) positively influences Employee’s perceived job performance
• H2: Task mobility positively affects   TTF
• H3: Task feedback positively affects (TTF)
• H4: System quality positively affects (TTF)
• H5: System accessibility positively affects (TTF)
• H6: Trust positively affects (TTF)
• H7: Self efficacy positively affects (TTF)
• H8: Organizational agility positively affects (TTF)

Influence of Technology Task Fit (TTF) on employees’ performances

According to Liu et al. (2011), the invention of mobile handheld devices such as smartphones and wireless broadband telecommunication has contributed heavily to the changes in the nature of works get done and the ways through which people accomplish their tasks. Gebauer et al. (2010) have mentioned that new technologies helped the evolution of concepts such as task mobility and task feedback. Employees can connect to their organizational applications and can work on their tasks while they are away from their desktop computers (Chung et al., 2015). For example, it is possible for an employee working in the sales department of a company to contact his clients even when he is at home or travelling. It is not necessary that he should be at his office in order to accomplish his sales related tasks. Mobile phones helped him to move out his tasks from the boundaries of office. Moreover, mobile devices help the sales guy to collect feedback from the market even without a visit to the market. In short, employees get more flexibility and convenience with the introduction of mobile devices at the workplaces.   Moreover, mobile devices can improve the creativity of the employees with the help of the cognitive fit between task and technology (Chung et al., 2015).

At the same time there are many arguments against the use of mobile devices at workplaces. Many people believe that mobile device use at workplace may reduce the productivity and efficiency of the employees. John Hildebrand (2015) has written an article on The Business Times, dated October 13, 2015, in order to prove the above argument.

Many people receive 10 to 20 or more text messages a day. Being conservative, let’s say an employee spends only 10 minutes a day sending and receiving messages. I suspect that many business owners would place these numbers closer to 30 minutes a day. If it is only 10 minutes a day, you might think that’s not too bad. The cumulative math for a year gets a bit scary, however. Multiplying 10 minutes by 260 work days produces 2,600 minutes a year. Divide that total by 60 minutes and the result is 43.3 hours per worker. At $12 an hour plus other expenses, that’s $575 in overpaid wages and $1,726 in lost productivity — a total of $2,301 per worker. Lost wages for five workers over a year comes to $2,875 (Hildebrand, 2015)

Task mobility and TTF

As per the findings of the study by Chung et al. (2015), task mobility has significant impact on TTF in the context of mobile applications. They argued that task mobility can be used as an important task-related factor in future research that investigates the task characteristics in the context of mobile devices (Chung et al., 2015). At the same time, Gebauer, J. and Ya Tang (2007) have expressed a different opinion after studying the theory of task technology fit related to mobile devices. They have conducted their study among 216 users of mobile devices including smart phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and laptop computers. They found stronger relationship between task difficulty and functional requirements of the mobile devices among highly mobile users than for less mobile users (Gebauer and Tang, 2007)

Task feedback and TTF

Chung et al. (2015) found significant positive association between task feedback and TTF. They argued that employees who are in need of a great deal of feedback for their jobs consider enterprise mobile applications (EMA) as a good fit for their tasks. At the same time, Chiasson et al. (2015) have expressed a different opinion regarding the association between task feedback and TTF. They argued that tasks feedback with the help of mobile devices may negatively affect TTF through feedback (Chiasson et al., 2015).

System quality and TTF

As per the views of Chung et al. (2015), system quality is positively associated with TTF. They found that overall system quality positively related to an individual user’s perceived TTF (Chung et al., 2015). At the same time, Glowalla and Sunyaev (2013) have different ideas about the relationship between system quality and TTF. In their study, they found that even though system quality provides a starting point for TTF, cultural and managerial challenges need to be addressed in order to help system quality to positively affect TTF (Glowalla and Sunyaev, 2013)

System accessibility and TTF

According to Chung et al. (2015), system accessibility is positively associated with TTF. It is a fact that positive attitude towards TTF will be developed among people only when they get enough opportunity to access new technologies such as computers, internet and mobile phones. Nonusers of these technologies may not understand the utility and advantages of these new technologies just like the users of these technologies. Therefore, system accessibility is definitely a factor in cultivating positive attitude towards TTF among people (Wixom & Todd, 2005).

Trust and TTF

Trust is another factor which has been found to be associated positively with TTF by Chung et al. (2015). A lot of studies have supported the above claim. McKnight et al. (2002) mentioned that trust reduces the perceptions of the users with respect to risk and insecurity while using websites. People usually purchase from trusted ecommerce websites (Tung et al. 2008). For example, ebay and amazon are some of the trusted websites and people feel greater security while purchasing from these websites.

Self-efficacy and TTF

Chung et al (2015) found that self-efficacy has nothing to do with TTF. They pointed out that the external factors such as the reputation of EMA is more important than internal factors such as self-efficacy in controlling the attitude of people towards TTF (Chung et al 2015). These findings are against the findings of some of the other scholars. For example, Wu et al. (2007) found that self-efficacy is a big factor in forcing people to accept technology controlled things like a mobile healthcare system. Moreover, Shih (2006) found a positive relationship between self-efficacy and TAM (Technology Acceptance Model)

Organizational agility

The ability of an organization to respond positively to the changes in the external environment is often referred as organizational agility. External environment consists of things like market and customers (Lee & Xia, 2010; Sambamurthy et al., 2003). These things undergo constant changes because of the rapid developments in science and technology and subsequent developments in the business world. For example, the rapid development in computer technologies and the introduction of ecommerce websites helped many consumers to changer their attention towards online purchasing rather than offline purchasing. With organizational agility, organizations can read the market trends well and they can respond positively to such trends. As per the views of Sambamurthy et al. (2003), organizational performance can be improved tremendously with the help of organizational agility. Firms that are able to respond positively to changes in the external environment may develop faster than firms which are failed to do so.

Organizational agility can be classified into two broad categories: (1) market capitalizing agility and (2) operational adjustment agility (Lu & Ramamurthy, 2011). Market capitalizing agility refers to the ability of an organization in quickly responding to external changes and capitalizes on such changes with the help of improvements in the product or service offered. On the other hand, operational adjustment agility refers to a firm’s ability to make adjustments in internal business processes to cope up with changing demands in the market (Lu & Ramamurthy, 2011).

Many studies in the past proved that organizational agility has a positive impact on organizational performance (Chen et al., 2013; Tallon & Pinsonneault, 2011). The studies conducted by Chung et al (2015) proved that organizational agility has a moderating role in controlling organizational performance. Moreover, organizational agility helps employees to share their ideas instantly and get quick responses for such things. Crocitto & Youssef (2003) mentioned that a high level of organizational agility in terms of operational adjustment can develop better attitude among employees towards TTF

 

3.0 Methodology

3.1 Research design

It is necessary for me to plan this project properly before the actual beginning of the project. So I should have proper understandings about what methodologies are necessary to conduct my paper in a successful manner. A carefully constructed research design would help me to streamline the entire research processes in the right direction. A research design can be considered as a framework or approach that should guideme throughout the study. It helps me in the collection of data, analysis of data, identification of research variables and to establish relationships between collected data (Miller and Salkind, 2002).

Based on the nature of the research project undertaken, I will decide what type of research design is appropriate for myresearch. In the current study, I have decided to use an exploratory research design. The reason for the use of exploratory research design is the ability to conduct a research in a suitable manner when the research questions or problems that may be addressed in the study are not defined properly at the beginning. The current study investigates the effects of mobile device use on the productivity of the employees in the workplaces of UAE. It is quite possible that the mobile devices use may affect employee performances both positively and negatively. Before the completion of the study, it is difficult to argue either in support or against the use of mobile devices in the UAE organizations. An exploratory research design is used for this study because of the ability of this research design in analysing a problem based on previous research studies (Jupp, 2006). Exploratory research design helps to develop suitable data collection and analysis methods based on the nature of the problem. The exploratory research design used in the current study can be better understood with the help of the following illustration developed by Saunders et al (2009).

(Saunders et al., 2009)

It is evident from the above illustration that a typical exploratory research design has elements such as research philosophy, research approach, data collection methods and data analysis etc.

3.2 Research philosophy

It is not necessary that two researchers studying the same problem may come up with same solutions. This is because of the fact that individual differences, differences in attitudes and life philosophies might affect the research processes. It is not necessary that two researchers understand the problem in the same manner. Therefore, they may approach the problem in different manner and make different conclusions. Research philosophy is all about the ways used in dealing with problems.

Positivism and naturalism are two of the noticeable research philosophies used in academic studies. Those researchers, who use quantitative tools and techniques such as measuring and counting, are called positivists whereas researchers who use qualitative tools such as observation, questioning, and description are called naturalists (Sagepub, n.d.). In other words, numbers and statistics are important for positivists whereas theories, principles, views and opinions are important for naturalists. For example, while investigating a problem like the present one, positivists collect statistics about the positive and negative effects of mobile devices in the workplace whereas naturalists collect the views and opinions of relevant people for solving the same problem. Since numbers and statistics as well as the views and opinions of others are important for this research paper, a mixture of positivism and naturalism is used as the research philosophy of the current study.

Both positivism and naturalism have many advantages and disadvantages. The major advantage of positivism is its ability to provide 100% right results all the time. Positivists accept only those arguments that can be proved scientifically without the constraints of location or place. Moreover, such theories should provide same result on different occasions of testing (Gabriel, 1990). In short, positivists use a data interpretation method which is free from the influence of their prejudices, beliefs and attitudes (Hallebone and Priest, 2009). At the same time, positivists cannot explain unexpected data or data that have no scientific support. While doing a research like this, i may come across with many expected and unexpected data. The unexpected data can be explained with the help of naturalism. However, it is not necessary that the clarifications made by naturalism may be right all the time. Possibilities, probabilities, views, opinions and suggestions of people have no role in the research strategy of the positivists whereas these things assume noticeable roles in the research methods of naturalists (The University of Utah, 2009). In short, I cannot use positivism alone as the research strategy since the clarification of all data cannot be done with the help of positivism alone. That is why I use mixed research philosophy in this research paper.

3.4 Research approach

According to Burney (2008), research approach helps me in connecting or developing theories from collected data. It is determined by the research philosophy used by the researcher. Since the research philosophy used is a mixture of naturalism and positivism, the research approach used for the current study is also a mixture of two approaches: inductive and deductive. Inductive approach is normally associated with naturalism whereas deductive approach is associated with positivism. In other words, Inductive approach works on assumptions and probabilities whereas deductive approach works on scientific theories and principles (Sekaran, 2006). Moreover, deduction is the process of collecting data for the support of a theory whereas induction is the process of making theories from the data collected (Easterby et al. 2012; Hyde 1998). (See the data analysis section for more details about induction and deduction)

3.5 Data collection methods

            Both primary and secondary research methods were used for the collection of data in this study. An extensive literature search was done with the help of books, journals, articles and internet for the collection of secondary data. Secondary research helped me to know the theories, principles and view of previous researchers on similar topic. At the same time, it should be noted that secondary research is capable of providing data from the past. It is necessary to collect data from the present also in order to make meaningful conclusions. Since primary research methods are capable of collecting current data, survey and interviews were used for that purpose in this study. Surveys are capable of providing quantitative data whereas interviews are capable of providing qualitative data (Saunders, 2007). Since quantitative and qualitative data are equally important for this study, survey and interviews were used for the collection of such data.

3.5.1 Qualitative research

Fifteen interviews (Two with the managerial staffs of HCT, two with the managerial staffs of ZADCO, eleven with the ordinary employees of HCT and ZADCO) have been conducted as part of the qualitative research of this study. Purposive/judgmental sampling was used for the selection of participants for the interviews. Purposive/judgmental sampling is a sampling method that works on the judgement of the researcher (Lund Research, 2012). Ten open ended questions were used for the interview. All the interviewees were asked the same questions in order to get different opinions on the same topic.

One of the major benefits of interviews over surveys is its ability to collect descriptive data. The responses were recorded using a mobile phone, in order to avoid the chances of losing any vital information. I was able to use some questions other than the pre-planned ones while conducting the interviews. In other words, interviews have the ability to go beyond the boundaries or territories of the pre-planned questions. At the same time, it is difficult to conduct interviews over a wide population because of the time constraints and the difficulties in getting appointments from the officials. It should be noted that some of the officials or top executives may not be interested in giving appointments for the researchers.

3.5.2 Quantitative research

Quantitative research is often referred as data driven research because of the important role of statistics and numbers in it. It answers questions like how many rather than why. Questionnaires, surveys, experiments, econometrics, and mathematical modelling are used as the tools in quantitative research (Easterby-Smith et al, 2012). The purpose of quantitative research is to analyse human behaviour on different contexts (Bogdan & Biklen, 1998). It is capable of making new theories and establishing relationship between different variables (Castellan, 2010).

It is often said that the purpose of quantitative data is to define research problems whereas that of qualitative data is to explain various dimensions of the same problem. Bryman (1988) pointed out that the qualitative method of research may facilitate the quantitative part of the study, or then the other way around. Therefore, both qualitative and quantitative research methods are important for the success of a research study.

A Web-based questionnaire survey was administered through Google survey forms as part of the quantitative research for this study. Convenience sampling method was used as the sampling method for the survey. Convenience sampling is a non-probability sampling technique in which people who are easy to reach are selected (StatTrek, 2015). Even though the intention was to collect at least 300 responses, i was able to collect only 210 responses. At the same time, i was able to collect responses from employees working at various levels of the Zakum Development Company (ZADCO) and the Higher College of Technology (HCT). 10 engineers, 8 team leaders, 15 managers, 5 VPs, 2 Senior VPs and 110 ordinary employees from ZADCO took part in the survey. On the other hand, 50 students and 10 faculty members from the HCT were responded to the survey.

Only closed ended questions with multiple choices were used in the survey (See appendix A for more details about the survey) in order to help the answering mechanism simple. A five point Likert scale has been used in some questions in order to allow the respondents to express how much they agree or disagree with a particular statement.
3.6 Data analysis

Data analysis is the process of inspection and cleaning of raw data. The collected data may contain a lot of wanted and unwanted information. Before processing these data, it is necessary to eliminate the unwanted data from the collected data. Only after making sure that all the unwanted data are eliminated, I will be able to analyse the data. In other words, data analysis can be compared with the processes in a manufacturing unit. Various processes are taking place in a manufacturing unit before the conversion of raw materials into finished goods. Same way, raw data will undergo various processes before converting them into theories and principles.

In the present study, two processes or data analysis methods- induction and deduction- were used for the conversion of raw data into useful data. Deduction is the process of collecting data for the support of an argument whereas induction is the process of generating theories and principles from the collected data

Theory                                        observations/findings (Deduction)

Observations/findings                                            Theory/Induction (Bryman and Bell 2007, p.13).

The working principles of these two methods of data analysis can be represented mathematically as follows

                  If X => Y, and Y => Z, then X => Z (deduction)

If X => Y, and X => Z, then Y => Z (induction) (Apgaylard, 2013)

As mentioned earlier, deductions always give 100% right results whereas same thing cannot be said about induction. That is why deduction is always preferred over induction in academic research projects. In other words, theorizing is an integral part of both deduction and induction. That is why Partington (2002, p.155) mentioned that a segregation or differentiation of induction and deduction is not necessary.

Primary data collected through survey were analysed with the help of MS Excel software. MS excel is excellent for its ability to represent survey data graphically. Because of its simplicity, even a layman can make charts and illustrations using MS Excel. MS Excel analysis of the survey data helped me to identify the views and opinions of different participants in the survey.

 

3.7 Research ethics

Privacy is an important thing in the life of UAE people. Most of the participants in the survey and interviews were not much interested in revealing their personal information. Therefore, I have taken care of such issues. Under no circumstances, the personal details of the participants in the survey or interviews will be disclosed without consent.

Plagiarism is another ethical issue that may arise while doing academic research projects. In order to avoid the issues related to plagiarism, I have cited all the information taken from external sources properly in APA format in this paper

3.8 Research limitations

Lack of timing and lack of funding are the major limitations of this project. At least a year is necessary for a comprehensive research on this topic. Another limitation of this study is its limited scope in contexts other than that in the UAE. It should be noted that this study was conducted in two sectors in UAE, Oil & Gas and Education. Therefore, its findings may be applicable only to the context of UAE. Even in other Middle Eastern countries, the findings of this research may not be applicable since UAE work culture is dissimilar to the work culture in other مساعدة التعيين – خدمة كتابة المقالات من قبل كبار الكتاب العرب, Arab countries such as Saudi مساعدة التعيين – خدمة كتابة المقالات من قبل كبار الكتاب العرب, Arabia or Kuwait.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Today’s bring your own device (BYOD) workplace has welcomed the use of smartphones like the iPhone and Droid that target consumers who desire intuitive touchscreens and entertaining apps into the corporate world.

“In the BYOD world, companies are giving employees US$200 to subsidise their preferred smartphone and are then implementing company resources to monitor their data and workplace usage on those phones,” says Ronald Gruia, director at the consulting firm Frost & Sullivan.

This contradicts trends of the past, when companies issued their own devices, namely the BlackBerry, with the implication that it would be used solely for workplace communications.

Today, about 75 per cent of companies allow personally owned devices to be used in the workplace for corporate communications. This number is expected to rise, given that only 24 per cent of companies currently have formal compliances in place for BYOD programmes.

As the number of compliance programmes grows, so will the number of companies shifting to BYOD.

The rapid expansion of BYOD has boosted smartphone sales in the consumer market. Globally, the number of the devices sold year over year is expected to grow by nearly 30 per cent this year, according to Juniper Research.

Downloadable apps are also an important part of the equation when determining which smartphones consumers prefer.

Juniper Research forecasts that in 2016, more than 160 billion apps will be downloaded globally on to consumer handsets and tablets. This sharp increase, from an estimated 80 billion this year, is a result of many consumers in developing markets upgrading from feature phones to smartphones, and a growing number of apps downloaded at no upfront cost.

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