Role of Information Technology in Current Business Environment - Teleworking/Homeworking - Essay Example

Role of Information Technology in Сurrent Business Environment - Teleworking/Homeworking Table of Contents Question 1 3 Role of Information Technology in current Business Environment 3 Typical Structure of IT Functions 3 The Role of IT Function Structure for Supporting the Existing System of Chrichton & Diggitin 8 Developing New IT System 9 Recommendations 11 Question 2 13 Teleworking/Homeworking 13 Advantages of Teleworking/Homeworking for Employers 14 Disadvantages of Teleworking/Homeworking for Employers 15 Advantages of Teleworking/Homeworking for Employees 16 Disadvantages of Teleworking/Homeworking for Employees 17 Implications of Teleworking/Homeworking to Chrichton/Diggitin 18 References 22 Question 1 Role of Information Technology in current Business Environment In the recent phenomenon, the availability and the use of information system and technologies have significantly grown almost in all the sectors of the business. Additionally, the information system entails several types of software platforms and database programs. These software platforms and database programs comprise the organization-wide systems designed in order to effectively manage all the major functions of the organization which are provided by particular brands such as SAP and JD Edwards among others. In the most general sense, the database products are targeted towards specific uses of particular products that are offered by companies such as Oracle and Microsoft in general. Furthermore, the information technologies include a wide range of communication media as well as devices that further help an organization to link information system and people through voice mail, e-mail, the internet and video conferencing phones among others. It is in this context that the combined form of information system and information technologies is widely being termed as Information Technology (IT) (Legrisa & et. al., 2003). Typical Structure of IT Functions The IT department develops and maintains an organization’s information system. It is in this context that the structure of the IT functions or the departments generally vary from one organization to another. A typical IT function structure with an organisation comprises of various attributes including application development, system support and security, user support, database administration, network administration, web support and quality assurance (Legrisa & et. al., 2003). Application Development The IT department in an organisation tends to involve an application development group which comprises of systems analysts and programmers who are responsible for conducting information system designing along with its developmental and implementation functions. It is worth mentioning that in the current business scenario, the role of user involvement is perceived to be crucially important in almost every stage of IT functions. The application development cluster is liable for performing leadership functions and providing overall guidance to the IT user. The application development system is primarily developed by teams composed of users, managers and other IT staffs. Contextually, one of the popular models for information system development is often related with project-oriented teams that use Rapid Application Development (RAD), together with IT professionals ensuring overall synchronization, guidance and technical support (Legrisa & et. al., 2003). System Support and Security System support and security ensures crucial protection and maintenance services for both system hardware and software which entails enterprise computing system, network transaction processing system and corporate IT infrastructure. Those individuals or the experts involved in the functioning of system support and security are liable for effectively implementing and monitoring physical as well as electronic security, hardware and software including the entire procedures. The system support and security professionals are also responsible for installing and supporting operating system, centralized database system and telecommunication software. In addition, the technician engaged in the system supports and securities are also responsible for performing the tasks of technical assistance to other functional groups. In certain circumstances, where there is a ‘lager remote client’, the system support group often deploys teams for installing and configuring the workstations (Kankanhalli & et. al., 2003). User Support User support undertakes the responsibility of providing needed technical information, training and productivity support. Contextually, the user support function is often termed as help desk or information centre. Those professionals engaged in the functioning of the help desk provides training to users engaged with application software systems such as e-mails, spread sheets, graphics packages and word processors. In general, the user support group constitute of specialists who are liable for answering questions as well as trouble shooting various problems and serving as the clear house for user problems (Delone & Mclean, 2003). Database Administration The database administration segment comprises database designs, management security user access functions and backups. It is worth mentioning in this context that IT professionals working within an organisation are held responsible for performing all the aforesaid functions effectively and thus ensure efficiency in relation to database administration (Seltzer & Olson, 1999). Network Administration In the current business world, multiple business operations rely on telecommunication networks that facilitate an organisation with –widely spread and effective information system. Correspondingly, the network administration system comprises of hardware and software maintenance as well as support and security systems. This particular IT segment also attempts to control user access followed by the functions related with installation, configuration, monitoring and managing of network applications (Hammoudeh, 2010). Web Support Web support is a crucial technical support function. Web support personnel are required to deal with organization’s internet and intranet operations. The web support function undertakes the responsibility of designing and creating web pages and monitoring traffic in the networking system. Furthermore, the web support group’s role is to efficiently manage hardware and software systems along with linking web based applications to the organization’s existing information system (Legrisa & et. al., 2003). Quality Assurance Quality assurance group are responsible for reviewing and testing the effectiveness of all IT applications and systems installed within the organisation. The quality assurance team is usually created as a separate unit that reports directly to the IT management personnel regarding the issue and suggests with the requisite measures to solve the situation (Shelly & et. al., 2009). The Role of IT Function Structure for Supporting the Existing System of Chrichton & Diggitin The case study of Chrichton & Diggitin revealed that currently the companies have been confronted with numerous IT issues and challenges which have seriously influenced the overall profitability of the company. The major problems faced by the companies can be identified as illegal software usage which was accompanied by lack of IT support, security hurdles, problems associated with payrolls, different computer platforms, unorganised IT department and misuse of the networking system. It is in this context that the implementation of the above stated structure shall highly benefit the companies in numerous ways (Shelly & et. al., 2009). The effective use of application development model such as Rapid Application Development (RAD) may support the organizations in various ways. The RAD provides a model for developing system faster, while reducing costs and increasing the quality. On the other hand, effective system support and security is quite likely to ensure adequate protection to hardware and software systems installed in order to perform the organisational functions smoothly and shall further ensure reliability of computing system, network transaction processing system and corporate IT infrastructure within the organisations. The user support shall further facilitate in providing necessary assistance to those who are engaged in performing various tasks with the application installed within the IT infrastructure of the companies as well as it shall provide effective training to these professionals for ensuring greater productivity and customer satisfaction by mitigating the faults in their services. The database administration can further aid in managing the security system related with user access. Similarly, the network administration shall also facilitate in effectively installing, configuring, monitoring and efficiently managing the network applications. Additionally, the web application system can facilitate in managing the organisations’ internet and other functions such as web page creation and effectively managing internet traffic so that enhanced services can be effectively rendered to the customers. Furthermore, the quality assurance team within the organisations shall facilitate in measuring the effectiveness of the software and hardware systems installed. Consequently, it can be argued that the problem ridden IT infrastructure of Chrichton & Diggitin shall be tremendously benefitted from the adoption of the above stated IT function structures (Shelly & et. al., 2009). Developing New IT System Developing a new IT system will require the selection of structure analysis technique that uses the series of phases also known as the Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC). Contextually, the SDLC technique constitutes of five major steps including planning, analysing, designing, implementing, and supporting an information system within an organisation (Shelly & et. al., 2009). These attributes can be taken into account when developing a new IT system for Chrichton & Diggitin. System Planning The system planning phase addresses the problems or the change requirements within the IT infrastructure of the organisation. In relation to Chrichton & Diggitin, the system planning phase will aim at performing a preliminary investigation to evaluate IT related business opportunities or problematic issues existing within the organisations. This phase also requires feasibility assessment and review of estimated benefits and costs in order to identify the need of installing the system (Shelly & et. al., 2009). System Analysis The system analyses technique is often argued to lead towards the creation of the new system. It is in this context that the system analysis will comprise of requirement modeling which focuses on the investigation of business process as well as documentation of new systems in order to develop the IT system as per the convenience of the users to the highest possible extent. The system analysis also plays a vital role in describing the management regarding user requirements and proposes substitute development strategies aimed at the betterment of the organisation and therefore can be high benefits to Chrichton & Diggitin (Shelly & et. al., 2009). System Design The system design model creates physical models which are intended to satisfy entire documented requirements for the IT system. The phase emphasises on designing the user interface and ascertains necessary outputs, inputs and processes. It is in this phase where application architecture is designed (Shelly & et. al., 2009). System Implementation During this phase, programs based on the alternative solutions will be written, tested and documented for the final specification of the new IT system to be followed by its installation. However, it is worth mentioning in this context that the system shall not be purchased as a package as it will then be required to configure the new software and perform necessary modification lacing adequate quality assurance. It is in this context that the IT system in Chrichton & Diggitin will be developed on the basis of specifications noted by the users in these organisations, understanding their requirements and therefore ensuring quality. In the system evaluation phase, frequent periodic assessments of the system installed will be performed in order to ensure that it is performing as per the expectations (Shelly & et. al., 2009). System Support and Security In this phase, the IT professionals are required to maintain, enhance and protect the system. Contextually, in this phase, errors in the system will be detected and duly corrected so as to upgrade the system for efficiently adapting the changes in the organisation environment. Primarily, this phase includes acquiring maximum return on the IT investment (Shelly & et. al., 2009). Recommendations In order to mitigate the problem related with retailing, Chrichton & Diggitin can implement the enterprise resource planning technique in order to integrate demand and supply and thereby improve the bottom line employees. The implementation of ERP will facilitate the company to gain sufficient benefits from a long term perspective. Furthermore, the ERP system also uses central database that fascinated in quick processing of the information received from the customers’ end. Moreover, ERP system uses varieties of hardware and software systems that shall add to the efficiency of the organisation’s information system. Furthermore, the ERP system facilities in ‘single database’ that permits the different departments to effectively communicate with each other, making the entire business process more effective. Notably, the ERP system encompasses function-specific components that are also capable to interact with other modules such as Account Payable, Account Receivable, Order Entry, purchasing and distribution among others (Wieder & et. al., 2006). Another option for Chrichton & Diggitin is the adoption of Software as a Service (SaaS) mechanism. SaaS is often regarded as a cost effective, agile and convenient system used to outsource IT requirements. The SaaS model provides flexibility for the companies as it is based on ‘pay as you go’ model. With the adoption of SaaS model the companies will be able ensure better connection with customers, employees and can also effectively comply with multiple regional rules and regulations. Moreover, the company shall also be free from the burden of frequent software up-gradation and maintenance costs as the SaaS vendors are centrally concerned with such matters. SaaS also provides effective payroll management software that shall help the company to efficiently overcome the problems related with their existing payroll system (York, 2009). Question 2 Teleworking/Homeworking Teleworking, also called as homeworking, is the work arrangement which provides employees with flexibility in terms of working locations and hours. Generally, the teleworkers tend to possess two options to their organization in the form of VPN access which includes e-mail, calendar, Intranet documents and other options which also constitutes of using telephone. It has been argued that success of teleworking largely depends on the top management support as well as on the employers’ and employees’ willingness to participate in teleworking project. Another basic requirement for the success of teleworking can be associated with skills and knowledge possessed by the employees and employers of the organisation who are the users of the IT system. It is in this context that both employees and employers should have necessary skills and knowledge related with managing various technical aspects of teleworking. Additionally, any sort of inability, either on the part of employees or the employers, may influence the teleworking project to result as less useful than expected. It is worth mentioning in this regard that the teleworking have various advantages and disadvantages for employers as well as employees (Harris, 2003; Ellis & Webster, 1997). The prominent advantages and disadvantages related with employers have been illustrated below: Advantages of Teleworking/Homeworking for Employers One of the most significant benefits of teleworking to employers can be related with improved team worker productivity. The employer offering flexibility in work location and work hour are able to attract and retain skilled employees deciphering higher morale, which ultimately facilitate in enhancing the competitive position of the organization. Additionally, with the implementation of teleworking strategies the employer is likely to gain a position to save considerable amount of money by eliminating overhead costs, especially those related with real estate. This is due to the reason that the employer does not have to provide office space to their teleworkers. Thus, teleworking has the potential to attract prospective employees and retain competent staff at the limited overhead costs. At the same time, teleworking is likely to mitigate the problem of increased absenteeism within the organisation owing to which the employers can enjoy the greater productivity over a long-run period (Shafizadeh & et. al., 2007). The employers also achieve the considerable advantages derived from the efforts delivered by the satisfied employees. The employers are thus quite likely to enjoy the benefits of greater customer satisfaction and larger customer base due to the quality services delivered by their employees. The employers providing teleworking facilities to their employees shall also be able to enjoy the geographically dispersed teams. Over the long-run, the employers shall also enjoy the advantages from the reduction in the staff turnover which can save a considerable amount of investments required for the execution of recruitment selection and training processes. The teleworking also facilitate in driving innovation within the organisation that helps employer to remain viable at the marketplace. Disadvantages of Teleworking/Homeworking for Employers Apart from the above mentioned advantages, teleworking also possesses certain disadvantages for employers in the current day context. For instance, teleworking creates physical distance between employers and the employees by minimising the need to interact in person. This particular issue is quite likely to lead in non-compliances of organisation standards and poor work culture on the part of employees. The employees may also feel reluctant to perform the tasks assigned to them due to lack of supervision. Furthermore, due to the same reason, i.e. lack of supervision, teleworking may also cause in decline in productivity because employees may not be able to perform efficiently. Additionally, there are always security concerns for employers against teleworkers. The teleworking may also contribute in poor communication between the geographically dispersed employees due to minimum direct and face-to-face interaction which results in deteriorating employer-employee relationships. Moreover feeling of isolation and away from workplace environment may de-motivate the employees and thereby, cause direct influences on the overall productivity of the organisation (Kurland & Bailey, 1999). Advantages of Teleworking/Homeworking for Employees The advantages of teleworking for employees or teleworkers are numerous. With the flexibility in the work location and working hours, employees tend to gain better control over the work environment due to which they are motivated to work better and faster at their convenience resulting in improved quality as well as deadline adherence. Additionally, the teleworking facilitates employees to perform their tasks from any place which makes them attain greater satisfaction. The users of teleworking have also been observed to enjoy much closer proximity and involvement with their family members maintaining effective balancing of their work and life. The teleworkers also enjoy improved health because of the minimised stress. It is fundamentally due to these benefits that the employees also feel more satisfied with their jobs and constantly try to improve their performances creating a competitive working environment within the workplace. In addition, the employees are benefitted with reduced transportation costs and food costs which again enhance their lifestyle rendering better satisfaction. More autonomy is also enjoyed by employees working from home through the benefits of teleworking. The employees feel less interrupted by their co-workers while they work from their home, thus they can concentrate more on their performances and provide an opportunity to improve their quality by a significant extent. On an ethical note, the teleworking facility immensely benefits those employees with disability and provides an opportunity for them to work in their convenient working conditions (Bellido, n.d.). Disadvantages of Teleworking/Homeworking for Employees One of the prime disadvantages of teleworking to the employees can be identified in terms that it provides a limited office culture and less social interaction opportunities that may create a feeling of isolation among the teleworkers which can further ultimately lead towards decreasing productivity of the organisation on the whole. Additionally, the teleworkers also tend to suffer from low motivation receiving relatively lesser support and assistance from their employers or superiors (Edwards, 1997). Furthermore, teleworkers are also paid less by their employers which may tend to create dissatisfaction relating to their salary scale making it quite challenging for them to perform competitively. The teleworkers, working from home may get engaged more in family or other personal matters that may also possibly distract their focus from work causing disruptions in their work-life balance and thereby leading to stress. It has also been observed that teleworkers have less chances of getting promotion despite their efforts owing to the gap in supervisory observations. Required support from co-workers and seniors may not be available when the problem arises. Additionally, in teleworking, it might so happen that the teleworkers may not get access to some vital data and files. Teleworking may further lead towards the creation of resentment from co-workers. It is in this context that the teleworkers may also have to bear hardware costs and personal expenses in certain circumstances lowering their value earned through working at their convenience. The teleworkers while working from remote areas also have to suffer from lack of technological support while installing new applications. Such limitations often result in communication breakdown while performing their jobs from remote areas. The inability to communicate properly among the co-workers may create misunderstanding and distrust among the teleworkers and therefore cause lack of team support. Implications of Teleworking/Homeworking to Chrichton/Diggitin It is worth mentioning in this context that Diggitin’s team has been operating in rented offices in St. Albans from where the company performs its certain specific operations such as systems development, fault fixing and other online functions. Consequently, the company has to bear overhead costs for its rented space as well as it has to bear costs related with management of office equipments that eventually reduced the overall profitably of the company. Thus, it can be suggested to the company to undertake teleworking projects for performing these functions effectively. The teleworking projects may also require certain expenditures to be made by the company initially related with the employee training. After the completion of successful training programmes, the company shall be able to benefit itself from the elimination of various overhead costs such as expenses associated with rented space and management of office equipments among others. The company shall also be benefitted with increased productivity of its employees due to fewer interaction and distraction and further lead towards the improvement of employees’ productivity in the long-run. Additionally, the company will also be benefitted with continues services from its employees, particularly in the emergency situations that shall aid it towards providing enhanced customer services and greater satisfaction for the services received from the company’s employees (Shelly & et. al., 2009). Furthermore, both the companies, i.e. Chrichton and Diggitin, will not have to change their organisational cultures if these companies undertake teleworking as an alternative to the implemented face-to-face communication system in its working environment. The implementation of teleworking system within both the companies will further facilitate in increasing the level of motivation and morale among their employees and thereby ensuring greater productivity through increased performance level, lowered attrition rate and better employee satisfaction. Additionally, both the companies can be benefitted with the implementation of teleworking in terms of better time management along with reduced costs. Simultaneously, the companies are likely to receive greater time to focus on the customers’ orders and requirements obtaining better satisfaction from the buyers’ end as well. The implementation of teleworking will also enable employees in these organisations, to seek greater work satisfaction due to the greater connection with their familiar environment and less stress which shall ultimately lead towards increasing productivity. The introduction of teleworking can also help the company to retain and recruit skilled and motivated employees who render their significant efforts towards accomplishing the organisational goals and objectives. It is worth mentioning in this context that teleworking will also result in low rate of absenteeism among the employees which will ensure Chrichton and Diggitin to enjoy uninterrupted services from their workforces. However, from a critical perspective, it can be stated that teleworking not only render potential advantages for these companies but it may also be accompanied with serious security challenges (Shelly & et. al., 2009). Nonetheless, the security challenges associated with teleworking may be mitigated by the companies with the implementation of the steps described below. Use of standard Web Browser Secure Socket Layer Virtual Private Network (SSL VPN) remote access is clientless and uses SSL which is the security protocol available in the standard Web Browsers. Thus, the use of standard Web Browsers tend to prevent the installation of full software client as in the case of IPsec and results in the significant savings of costs to both IT staff and its end users (Juniper Network Inc., 2009). Setup Endpoint Security The SA Series SSL VPN device automatically performs a pre-authentication assessment of the network and system attributes of the end users appliances initiating the connection. The endpoint checks also ensure that devices have the required appliances installed as well as perform verification of the sources connected with the IP address (Juniper Network Inc., 2009). Configure Access Privilege Management The configure access privilege management attempts to identify the users who have access to IT applications and information sources used in the company. Thus, it plays a major role to ensure better control on the access of the companies’ various information resources (Juniper Network Inc., 2009). Deliver Access to Multiple types of Applications The SA series SSL VPN devices not only facilitate in accessing only Web enabled applications, but it also possess remote access to certain non-web enabled devices and information resources. Additionally, the devices also support the access of Microsoft Outlook and terminal services applications like Microsoft Windows Terminal Services (MSTS) (Juniper Network Inc., 2009). References Bellido, A., n.d. Telework People: How to Make Money and Get Your Life Back By Working Online. The Advantages of Teleworking, pp. 1-17. Delone, W. H. & Mclean, E. R., 2003. 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B. & Bailey, D. E., 1999. Telework: Advantages and Challenges of Working Here, There Anywhere, and Any Time. Organizational Dynamics, pp. 53-67. Legrisa, P. & et. al., 2003. Why Do People Use Information Technology. A Critical Review of the Technology Acceptance Model. Information & Management, Vol. 40, pp. 191-204. Seltzer, M. I. & Olson, M. A., 1999. Challenges in Embedded Database System Administration. The USENIX Association, pp. 1-8. Shelly, G. B. & et. al., 2009. Systems Analysis and Design. Cengage Learning. Shafizadeh, R. K., et. al., 2007. Costs and Benefits of Home-Based Telecommuting: A Monte Carlo Simulation Model Incorporating Telecommuter, Employer, and Public Sector Perspectives. Journal of Infrastructure Systems, pp. 12-25. Wieder, B. & et. al., 2006. The Impact of ERP Systems on firm and Business Process Performance. Journal of Enterprise Information Management, Vol. 19, No. 1, pp. 13-29. York, J., 2009. Competitive Advantage in Software-as-a-Service. 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