The Impact of Telecommunications in the Work Setting - Literature review Example

? The Impact of Telecommunications in the Work Setting David Shope National The Impact of Telecommunications in the Work Setting Introduction The term ‘telecommunications’ is broad and encompassing across different root words: telephone, telegraph and communications. As one searched on more accurate definition of the term, the search engine came up with more than 60.1 million results in a matter of 0.24 seconds (Google, 2013). One simple definition indicated that it is the “the exchange of information over significant distances by electronic means” (Rouse, 2007, par. 1). Another more detailed definition of the term disclosed its meaning as the “science and technology associated, in general, with communications at a distance. A telecommunications system requires a analog or digital transmitter, a compatible receiver, and a physical (cable or wire) or non-physical (wireless) connection” (Web Finance, Inc., 2013, par. 1). Messerschmitt (1996) revealed that “the term telecommunications is derived from “tele”, meaning at a distance, and “communications”, meaning exchanging of information” (p. 1). If defining the term apparently generated voluminous results, one was more intrigued on how telecommunications have evolved and impacted the contemporary work setting. In this regard, the current discourse aims to present the impact of telecommunications in contemporary work settings, or how telecommunications have significantly shaped the work place. Historical Overview of Telecommunications A discussion on the historical background of telecommunication actually traced its origins from the discovery of the telephone by Alexander Graham Bell in 1876 (von Alven, 1998), 137 years from now. Previous to that, it was interesting to note that forms of communication included fire signals, carrier pigeons, and even a line of canon that relayed relevant messages (von Alven, 1998). Also, other communication patterns such as the Chappe brothers’ semaphore system which “consisted of movable arms on a pole whose positions denoted letters of the alphabet” (von Alven: Early Beginnings, 1998, par. 1) and the electric telegraph were also noted. Telecommunications in the 21st century has evolved in a rapidly changing pace due to the merging with the computer industry and the emergence of the Internet (Messerschmitt, 1996). As such, it pervaded vast industries and endeavors that transformed diverse facets of the work setting through increased access to information and through the use of new technologies and communications facilities that provided new applications in faster, greater and wider scope. The statistics from axvoice.com (2013) presented the changes in market shares of telecommunications in the United States from 2010 to 2015, as shown in Figure 1 below: Figure 1: Changes in Market Shares of US Telecom, 2010 to 2014 Source: Axvoice, 2013 Effect of Telecommunications in the Work Setting Telecommunications have evidently transformed contemporary work settings in terms of eliminating barriers to time, space, and locations. As confirmed “advances in telecommunications have not only untethered people from desks, but they have also made it possible for people who might traditionally be unable to be in the workforce- such as those who are caring for children, or those who are disabled- to have exciting jobs and contribute to the business community” (Alexis, 2010, par. 7). The evolution of telecommunications have enabled the establishment of diverse work settings, from the traditional office-based work place to varied work centers (Kurland & Bailey, 1999). Due to developments in telecommunications, there emerged four distinct work settings such as home-based; use of satellite offices; the existence of neighborhood work centers; and mobile working (Kurland & Bailey, 1999). This provided greater opportunities for increasing productivity, higher morale, lesser absenteeism, and minimizing costs and expenses. Likewise, through developments accorded by increased access to information on a 24/7 basis, people got to know more about other people from vast cultural background which made it possible to source more recuits with specialized competencies and skills from global sources. However, despite obvious benefits, telecommunications have also been revealed to be contributory to negative effects of social and professional isolation, difficulties of separting work from home, inability to create a conducive work environment from other locations, and compatibility of telecommunications gadgets and resources to maintain, support, and sustain consistency across similar work settings (Pate, 2013). Likewise, part of the challenges posed by different work settings are the difficulties in performance evaluation and monitoring, managerial control and governance, assumption of a virtual culture, and the need to regularly be kept abreast on telecommunications updates and applications which could necessitate the use of additional resources (Kurland & Bailey, 1999). The paper written by Gill, Kamath, & Gill (2012) has revealed the effects of the smartphone, particularly the use of the iPhone in the health care setting as shown in Table 1 below: Table 1: Combined results of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analyses performed on 15 iPhone applications (apps) geared towards health care providers Strengths (S) 1. Convenient: Information at your fingertips 2. Designed and maintained by medical professionals 3. Regularly updated with new health care related data 4. Easy to use 5. Allows health care professionals to connect to consumers/patients directly Weaknesses (W) 1. Need to be tech-savvy 2. Need to own a smartphone Opportunities (O) 1. Standardized/digitized format for storing data 2. Allows health care professionals to communicate at a global level Threats (T) 1. Compromise patient privacy and security: unsure who else has access to his information beside the doctor and hospital 2. Users might access it across multiple devices, which poses data-privacy risks 3. Source of distraction – alerts, beeps, reminders can be distracting 4. Interrupts continuous communication with the patient Source: Risk Manag Healthc Policy, 2012; cited by Gill, Kamath, & Gill, 2012 Current Trends in Telecommunications In contemporary global organizations, the global telecommunications industry has been noted to provide vast services which include: “broadband internet, mobile internet, wired telephone and mobile phone as well as standard, cable and satellite television” (Report Linker, 2013). The top organizations in telecommunications on a global scale were disclosed as follows: “Tata Teleservices, China Mobile, Orascom Telecom, T-Mobile, Vodafone, Orange, Deutsche Telecom, Verizon Wireless, Rogers, China Unicom, Sprint and AT&T Mobility” (Report Linker: Industry Leaders, 2013, par. 1). The white paper published by Cisco (2011) has emphasized current trends that continue to shape the work setting including increasing applications of video communications, mobile communications and the continuing upgrades to the use of smartphones in varied work endeavors. This was corroborated by Gill, Kamath, & Gill (2012) who closely evaluated the use and impact of smartphones in the health care environment. The authors cited a Gartner study which revealed that “by 2012, the top ten smartphone apps would include money transfer, location based services, search, browsing, health monitoring, mobile payment, near-field communication service, advertising, Internet messaging, and music” (Gartner, Inc., 2009; cited by Gill, Kamath, & Gill: Smartphones and software applications, 2012, par. 3). In heath care, smartphones were noted to be significantly used in the areas of providing health information to patients, continued access and connectivity to health practitioners, scheduling for medical appointments or medical examinations, to name a few. However, despite the apparent benefits, Gill, Kamath, & Gill (2012) have likewise revealed that the use of smartphones in the healthcare setting poses risks, threats and safety issues for health care practitioners who are using these and also to their patients. From among the negative effects noted from smartphone use include: exposure and possible contamination from bacteria-laden smartphones, especially in high-risk areas, to wit: “a study conducted at a health care organization in Ireland to test the bacteria-carrying potential of cellular phones showed that, of the 70% cellular phones tested for bacteria that could cause infection, 96% were contaminated and 15% had bacteria known to cause health care-associated infections” (Gill, Kamath, & Gill: Distraction from health care, 2012, par. 5). Likewise, the sharing of personal and professional information across social networking sites among health care practitioners might potentially cause violations of privacy and confidentiality, which is a paramount standards and concern in the health care industry. Future Trends in Telecommunications From the report published online by the Deloitte Development LLC (2013), it was revealed that the future trends in telecommunications beyond 2013 focus on the following: “advances in telecom technologies continue to create significant business opportunities, even spawning entirely new business models. The fourth generation of cellular wireless standards (4G), the movement toward open mobile and the increasing proliferation of mobile Internet devices are transforming the telecommunications ecosystem” (Deloitte Development LLC, 2013, par. 1). As such, global telecommunications organizations need to be vigilante and regularly assume a pro-active stance to capture opportunities in the market and enable them to exhibit core competencies, expand market shares, and sustain leadership position, as required. The projections noted from another Deloitte publication have revealed that the following trends are potentially shaping the future work settings: (1) cheaper smartphones pricing about $100 to proliferate and was projected to breach the 500 million units mark; (2) a doubling in growth for devices which were noted to have near field communications (NFC) to affect the sales of smartphones, tablets and eReaders; and also intensify applications to mobile banking and payments; (3) being able to connect through bypassing the Web or what is more commonly known as wireless technology; (4) the continued proliferation of applications which could imply that downloadable files could significantly be lesser (Deloitte, 2012). Conclusion The current discourse has successfully presented the impact of telecommunications in the work setting. It initially provided some definitions of the term, prior to delving into a historical overview of the evolution of telecommunications. The effect of telecommunications in terms of advantages and disadvantages were disclosed. Specifically, the effects of the use and applications of the smartphone in the health care setting were closely examined as it clearly indicated pros and cons which necessitated a re-assessment of contemporary policies to adhere to ethical, moral and legal standards, as required of the industry. The paper likewise presented both the current and future trends of the developments and advancement in telecommunications as affecting the work setting. As emphasized, “in a dynamic industry like telecommunications, it becomes extremely critical for the customer service providers to continuously monitor the trends. This is important not only from an opportunity cashing in perspective, but for the company's very own survival. The key for future lies in the trends today. After all, trends help companies devise strategies. And strategies help the company be a winner in long run” (Joshi, 2012, par. 8). Overall, it is recognized that the significant changes and transformations in the telecommunications environment have affected contemporary work settings in terms of the need to re-evaluate current stategies, plans, internal competencies and weaknesses; as well as opportunities and risks that continue to shape the course of contemporary organizations’ operations. It is imperative that organizations would continue to assume a proactive andvigilant stance to make use of the changes in telecommunications applications to enhance their competitive advantage on a global sphere. References Alexis, W. (2010, January 19). Understanding telecommunications: Advantages. Retrieved from Bright Hub: http://www.brighthub.com/office/collaboration/articles/61923.aspx Axvoice. (2013). US telecom industry from 2010-2015-A research by Axvoice. Retrieved from axvoice.com/: http://blog.axvoice.com/us-telecom-industry-from-2010-to-2015-a-research-by-axvoice/ Cisco. (2011). Transitioning to Workforce 2020. Cisco Public Information. Combined results of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analyses performed on 15 iPhone applications (apps) geared towards health care providers. (2012). Risk Management and Healthcare Policy, Vol. 5, 105-114. Deloitte. (2012). Technology, media & telecommunications predictions. Annual Publication. Deloitte Development LLC. (2013). Telecommunications: An ecosystem in transformation. Retrieved from deloitte.com: http://www.deloitte.com/view/en_US/us/Industries/Telecom-Telecommunications-Technology/index.htm Gartner, Inc. (2009). Gartner identifies the top 10 consumer mobile applications for 2012. Retrieved from Gartner Newsroom: http://www.gartner.com/it/page.jsp?id=1230413 Gill, P., Kamath, A., & Gill, T. (2012). Distraction: an assessment of smartphone usage in health care work settings. Risk Management and Healthcare Policy, Vol. 5, 105–114. Google. (2013, February 23). Definition of telecommunications. Retrieved from google.com.ph: http://www.google.com.ph/#hl=fil&sclient=psy-ab&q=definition+of+telecommunications&oq=definition+of+telecommunications&gs_l=hp.3..0j0i30l3.7383.12788.0.13463.32.19.0.13.13.3.512.5379.2-14j3j1j1.19.0...0.0...1c.1.4.psy-ab.yq6Lu9FPAgo&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc Joshi, M. (2012, August 30). Recent trends in telecommunication industry. Retrieved from Infosys: http://www.infosysblogs.com/customer-relationship-management/2012/08/recent_trends_in_telecommunica.html Kurland, N., & Bailey, D. (1999). The advantages and challenges of working here, there, anywhere, and anytime. Organizational Dynamics, 53-67. Messerschmitt, D. (1996). Telecommunications in the 21st century. Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of California. Pate, E. (2013). Disadvantages of telecommunication. Retrieved from eHow Money: http://www.ehow.com/info_8507148_disadvantages-telecommunication.html Report Linker. (2013). Global telecommunications services industry. Retrieved from reportlinker.com: http://www.reportlinker.com/ci02081/Telecommunication-Services.html Rouse, M. (2007, July). Definition: telecommunications. Retrieved from SearchTelecom: http://searchtelecom.techtarget.com/definition/telecommunications von Alven, W. (1998, May). Bill's 200-year condensed history of telecommunications. Retrieved from cclab.com: http://www.cclab.com/billhist.htm Web Finance, Inc. (2013). Definition: telecommunications. Retrieved from businessdictionary.com: http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/telecommunications.html Read More