Technology in Business - Essay Example

Institute

Technology in Business

Technology plays a significant role in modern business environment. There is an immense increase in dependency on computers and software among corporate. Organizations have incorporated technology at both management level and production levels. In the modern business environment, technology has become a core necessity and every business is striving to integrate information technology solutions in its daily operations. Technology helps businesses to gain a competitive edge within the marketplace by facilitating accuracy and active operations. The use of technology such as global positioning system in supply chain management enables the company to monitor its real-time shipments: as a result, the companies can update its customers on the exact time their products will be delivered and customers will be notified in time in case of an accident. Technology also provides a paramount communication channel thus enabling a business to maintain a healthy relationship with its clients.

Definitions of Terms

In this paper, supply chain management refers to all processes and practices involved in the flow of information and materials from the producers to the immediate customer, supplier, or retailer. Technology in Supply chain management refers to the adoption of inter-organizational technology based system used in sharing information and processes between a business and its immediate customers, suppliers, and retailers (Bloom et al., 2014). Accounting information system is a set of the interrelated accounting system that aids in collecting, processing, storing, tabulating, calculating, and distribution of information essential for planning, control, and decision-making. Business technology is the entire range of software applications and hardware components that help a business to run efficiently and effectively.

Impact of Technology on Business

Technology has a positive impact on business operations. First, corporate rely on desktops and personal computers to executive most of the administrative works. The application of information technology micro-programs such as Microsoft office aids companies to record and store data safely. Administrators can also use technology computer software to project their business profits without undertaking complicated calculations (Escobar & Monge, 2012). The use of technology in administrative business operations saves time as well as papers used and therefore reducing inventory cost. Technology also enables the administrators to communicate effectively with their customers as well as another department within the organization. Technology-based communication platforms such as email have significant role in facilitating easy and cheap communication within the business operation.

Technology has a positive impact on supply chain management. Technology adopted in the supply chain management department can be broadly classified into the following categories namely, transaction processing, supply chain planning, order tracking, and delivery coordination (Prajogo & Olhager, 2012). In the transaction processing, technology has facilitated easy exchange of information between all supply chain partners. Technology such as emails, Skype, and live website communication have substantially facilitated activities of order billing, producing order quotes, order processing, and delivery verification. Technology in supply chain planning and collaboration has improved effectiveness in supply chain management by facilitating the sharing of planning related information such as inventory information and demand forecasts. Technology has also facilitated order tracking and delivery certification. The adoption of technology such as global positioning systems (GPS) and another tracking technology has enabled the companies to monitor shipments and convey real-time information about their products location to all their customers.

Technology has also increased efficiency in accounting department within a business. Traditional manual system accounting system was occasionally bound to errors, as they are solely dependent on human calculations. Manual system was also paper-based thus increasing the inventory cost (Kaplan & Atkinson, 2015). The adoption of technology in business operations has revolutionized the accounting information system from a manual based on the computer-based accounting system. Technology-based accounting systems are more accurate and transactions are processed and posted quickly. With technology-based system, it is easy to locate promptly transactions compared to paper-based inventories. Accounting packages and software also reduces operation cost incurred in hiring highly skilled accountants since a person with a basic accounting and software knowledge can effectively use the user-friendly accounting packages. Moreover, technology-based accounting operations can be backed out using cloud technology, thus, in a case of physical hazards such as fire data will not be lost.

Technology can also improve the accuracy of the overall business management. Technology can provide valuable data to the managers thus enabling them to make effective decisions. Technology platforms linked to a central database can help the manager to gather data from external and internal sources; the accessed data forms the basis for planning and decision-making (Bloom et al., 2014). In addition, the managers and supervisors can use surveillance technology such as CCTV to monitor their employees. Technology also helps a manager to maintain a proper communication channel through which he or she can offer directives and receive feedback from his or her junior employees. Local Area Network also enables a manager to monitor what each employee is working on. Finally, the technology can help the manager in the follow-up to each employee work output. For examples, the use of keystroke tabulating software helps in recording the daily keystrokes keyed in a given computer by a given employee.

Historical Development of Technology in Business as a Management Issue

The use of technology in business management has recently taken a remarkable upsurge. In the old times, business administration was majorly techno-limited with limited communication pathways of landline and fax machines. Managers lacked an effective way to measure the employee work output and efficient tools to monitor each employee (Holtshouse, 2013). In the past, every business operation was done using mechanical tools and bare hands, which made it a challenge to conduct businesses instantly. Internationalization was also halted due to limited technology and communication channels. For instance, it was almost impossible to maintain communication relationships between different continents. Management and retrieval of information and data were also a challenge since it was purely paperwork. A secretary would have spent more than four hours trying to retrieve a file. Owing to the complexity of the old business model and limited technology, managers had limited innovative initiatives.

Innovations and technology in business management started to rise in the mid of nineteenth century. The technological inventions were a bit simple, but they had a significant impact on business transformation. The ushering in of electric utilities in the late 1800 and invention of the telephone substantially promoted technology in business management. Telephone bridged a huge rift in business administration and business operations and formed a necessary tool in corporate offices. Typewriters were then introduced into business offices and later were replaced with word processors. The telephone was also replaced with mobile phones. Personal computers were also subsequently added which substantially shifted paper-based inventory into paperless inventory. In the 21st century, more business-based technology was invented including accounting software, management software, supply chain management software, and more sophisticated communication devices. Currently, significant technological innovations have eased business management. With the evolvement of communication devices such as emails, web-based communication, Skype, and social media have eased business management.

The Cost of Implementing Technology in Business

Despite the enormous benefits of technology in business, implementing the technology in an organization attracts a cost. Implementing information technology system in business whether in a single organizational department or the entire organization involves significant expenditures. The initial cost for acquisition of technological hardware and software is significantly high. For instance, a single personal computer can cost as high as $20,000 and single software can cost as much $100,000. Secondly, software attracts licensing fees, which subsequently increases the operation cost. Moreover, maintain the system requires the hiring of additional expertise. An organization will have to hire system management technicians as well as database administrators. The company must also incur additional cost in training its employee on how to work with the software. Finally, adoption of technology in business operations exposes the organization to security and privacy concerns. The company’s technological system can hack leading to losing the huge amount of money.

Conclusion

To sum it up, it is clear that technology is of paramount importance to an organization. Technology increases speed, efficiency, and accuracy of business operations. Technology can be adopted by all the departments within an organization. Administrators and managers can adopt a technological system to monitor business operations within the organization thus improving the overall operations of the organization. The managers and administrators can also use the technology to broadcast information to all the intended parties. They can also use the same technology platform to gain feedback from their employees. Technology system is also necessary for procurement and supply chain management department. The department can be able to monitor real-time shipments. It is also clear that business technology is an evolving entity. Finally, to fully adopt and implement a technological business system, the organization must invest a significant amount of capital.

Recommendation

Organizations should understand the exact technology they require before implementing it. Some technical system is suitable for large enterprises whereas some are suitable for small and medium-sized enterprises. Secondly, the organization must weigh the cost against the benefits of adopting a technological system; if the benefits outweigh the cost, then the company can adopt the technology. Finally, the organizations need to understand the level of expertise possessed by its employees and invest only on technological system suitable for those employees. This helps in reducing the capital invested in training or recruiting additional employees.