5.2 CONCLUSIONS
5.2.3 Conclusions based on objectives of the study
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with their personal mobile devices. They also have the perception that they really need the freedom given to them to use their personal mobile devices for work purposes within workplace. The finding further revealed that the current BYOD practice in the institution has resulted to duplication of devices as some of the respondents indicated that in addition to the laptops in their possession they also have desktop computers in their offices. The respondents are knowledgeable in Green IT but are not aware that the current form of BYOD in the institution contributes to duplication of devices which in turn adds to energy consumption and defeats the aim of green IT. This necessitates that the HEI that is dedicated to improving energy efficiency considers the huge untapped potential to realise massive savings in merely considering the power management aspect of the use of mobile devices (Department of Environment, Heritage, Water and the Arts, Canberra, 2009) through the integration of various functions into one device (Revenaugh & Schweigert, 2013) as this would assist in reduction of utility costs (Ferris, 2012).
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institution for both work and personal purposes. This partially shows that the institution is technically ready for BYOD, hence it may not be a tough task for the institution to adopt BYOD as a way of contributing towards Greening their IT. This is necessary because the existing form of BYOD in the institution has given rise to duplication of devices which contributes to increased energy consumption. From the findings, the employees own personal laptops, and institutional-issued laptops as well which they bring to work and use concurrently (see question 17 in Table 4.3 in Chapter four). In addition to the two mobile devices, some of the respondents have desktop PCs in their offices (see question 18 in Table 4.3). This duplication of devices highlights the need for the adaptation of BYOD as a Green IT practice. Looking at BYOD from the perspective of Green IT will help reduce the duplication of devices and in the long term reduce energy consumption.
5.3.3.3 To investigate the current state of BYOD adoption and implementation at the NWU.
The findings revealed that employees perceive that they can easily get support from the IT department when using their personal mobile device. They also revealed that most of their personal mobile devices are compatible with the network of the institution, hence they can easily connect to the network of the institution to access the internet and other important resources. The findings again point out that BYOD thrives in the institution, since the employees’ level of control over mobile usage is high and most of the employees perceive the use of mobile device as much better than the use of the desktop PCs.
It is important to know from the employees’ perspective what they perceive regarding the willingness of their institution to allow the use of their personally-owned devices for work.
This section further proved that there is an existing form of BYOD which the institution has under control. The findings suggest that the employees perceive that their institution is comfortable with the use of any mobile device on its network and they are very pleased about that. Moreover, the respondents also highlighted the need to get guidance from the institution regarding the adaptation of BYOD as a Green IT solution or practice.
5.3.3.4 To determine NWU employees’ level of interest regarding the adaptation of BYOD as a Green IT practice.
There is a positive perception towards caring for the environment, as the findings suggests that the employees believe that environmental issues resulting from energy consumption of computers and related mobile devices should not be ignored. This implies that the institution
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is made up of employees with the right mind-set towards environmental sustenance. The use of multiple devices adds to the number of devices consuming energy in any organization, and the employees think that it is necessary to care about environmental issues that could result from this reckless practice ( see question 32 in Table 4.5 in Chapter four where 49.0 percent and 44.7 percent of respondents selected “strongly” and “agree” respectively).
Overwhelming majority of the respondents responded positively to the questions in this section( see question 35 in Table 4.6 in Chapter four where 32.19 percent and 38.79 percent of respondents selected “strongly” and “agree” respectively). The findings reveal that the adaptation of BYOD as a Green IT practice is an appropriate and satisfactory initiative to the employees. Organizational support as a facilitating condition might play a big role in this aspect. Even though a BYOD survey by Loucks, Medcalf, Buckalew and Faria (2013) which revealed that users are ready to procure devices they consider crucial to their effectiveness at work, which is supported by TAM that individuals use such systems to improve their output in the office (Wati & Koo, 2012), but the findings in this study further revealed that there could be financial motivation in this regard. The findings made it bare that most of the employees can do without the device issued by the institution, but also highlighted that financial support would contribute to their willingness to buy and use of their personal devices for both personal and work purposes.
Again, the respondents indicated that they are willing to adopt BYOD as a Green IT practice.
This further means that their intention towards this initiative is positive, as most of the respondents also indicated that they are likely to recommend the adaptation of this initiative to their colleagues when necessary. The need to have employees or individuals that would have a positive intention towards partaking in green initiatives is very critical, and fortunately the respondents are very much willing to be part of this green initiative. Furthermore, they also indicated that they intend to support BYOD adoption as a Green IT practice in every possible way. The respondents indicated that they would definitely adopt BYOD as a Green IT solution (see question 43 in Table 4.7 in chapter four where 30.5 percent and 41.4 percent of respondents selected “strongly” and “agree” respectively). This suggests that if eventually the institution decides to adopt this initiative, they are likely to become willing employees that would engage in the practice.
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