Examining an Information System Used to Process Employees Award: A Qualitative Study

The military is an organization that uses an automated system, Global Electronic Approval Routing System (GEARS), to process service members’ awards for approval. Despite the recognized benefits of using the system, some individuals expressed concerns about its impact on the approval process because documents such as awards are not processed on time. This has the potential to impact an individual’s motivation and job satisfaction. The study applied the Herzberg’s Two Factory theory, Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), and Task Technology Fit (TTF) theory to investigate whether GEARS was effectively processing awards promptly. Using the qualitative descriptive method, 15 participants perspectives were captured on a questionnaire through interviews. Archived data relevant to the topic of discussion was collected as well. The data analysis revealed the emergence of 5 themes, which supports the theories. The paper concludes with key implications and recommendations for businesses, military, and practitioners