Does postgraduate degree make any difference in job performance of information professionals?

Pages14-27
DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1108/LM-07-2019-0042
Published date19 November 2019
Date19 November 2019
AuthorFarhana Hashmi,Kanwal Ameen,Saira Soroya
Subject MatterLibrary & information science,Librarianship/library management,HR in libraries,Library strategy,Library promotion
Does postgraduate degree make
any difference in job performance
of information professionals?
Farhana Hashmi
University of Central Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan
Kanwal Ameen
University of Home Economics, Lahore, Pakistan, and
Saira Soroya
Department of Information Management,
University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan
Abstract
Purpose Since 2005, variouspublic and private sector institutions have been offeringa postgraduate degree
in Library and Information Management (LIM) in Pakistan and a good number of professionals working in
differentsectors have got MPhildegree. However, locally,no study has been conductedto measure the impact of
higher educationon the job performance of information professionals (IPs)in any aspect. The purpose of this
paper is to measure job performance of MPhil degree (18years of education) holder IPs.
Design/methodology/approach It is a quantitative study based on the theoretical framework of job
performance comprised of its four constructs, i.e. task performance, contextual performance, counterproductive
work behaviors (CWB) and adaptive performance. An adopted self-administered questionnaire was used to collect
data from professionals who have graduated from any LIM schools of the Punjab province with at least one-year
work experience after completion of MPhil degrees. For the purpose of the present study, demographic information
like age, job experience and library context was also asked about to explore their impact on job performance.
Findings Findings revealed that MPhil degree has a significant positive impact on the job performance of
IPs. The professionals reported a significant positive change in their CWB regarding experience after getting
a degree. Furthermore, results revealed that professionals were capable of technical skills but needed training
regarding time management, teamwork and improving emotional intelligence.
Originality/value This is the first study reported from Pakistan on the subject. The results of the study
may help the LIM schools to review their MPhil programs for the desired results. It may also help
organizations to encourage their personnel for higher education.
Keywords Pakistan, Task performance, Job performance, Information professionals,
Counterproductive work behaviours, Contextual and adaptive performance
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
Professionals need a formal education to excel in their respective fields, and research plays
an important role by enriching the knowledge base. Globally, a bachelors degree is
considered as the minimum qualification to be able to enter into a profession (Trusty and
Niles, 2004). It is important to realize that technological evolutions, knowledge-based
economy and globalization have urged organizations to indulge their human capital into
higher education to cope up with the changing needs of the profession (Kasika, 2015).
In Pakistan, due to the initiatives taken by the Higher Education Commission to promote
research and development, a number of students in both, public and private sector
universities, have increased gradually from the years 2010 to 2015 (Figure 1).
The trend of acquiring higher education is also present in the field of Library and Information
Management (LIM). Previously, a masters degree (16 years education) was sufficient to get into
the field, but, with the changing nature of information services, growth in the use of information
Library Management
Vol. 41 No. 1, 2020
pp. 14-27
© Emerald PublishingLimited
0143-5124
DOI 10.1108/LM-07-2019-0042
Received 4 July 2019
Revised 29 September 2019
Accepted 30 September 2019
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/0143-5124.htm
Kanwal Ameen and Saira Hanif Soroya contributed equally to this work.
14
LM
41,1

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