Using of Technology to Provide Enhanced Productivity and Functionality - Essay Example

? IT Productivity Through Software Usage and Section # of Executive Summary Technology is fast replacing almost all walks of life where other conventional methods that were time consuming or otherwise inefficient were used. By far the greatest use of technology to provide enhanced productivity and functionality is in the fields of academics and other work-based offices. This report aims to explain the role of three primary documents in this effort: Microsoft Word, Microsoft PowerPoint and Microsoft Excel. The basic functionalities of all three applications are explained as well as its use and importance in providing enhanced efficiency and productivity, which not only saves time, energy and resources but also provides for an easier and more enjoyable interface, which makes work stress free and therefore productive. Introduction As technology spreads its roots farther and farther deeper into our very existence, perhaps its greatest influence is being felt in the changing trend being seen by offices, enterprises, organizations and even student bodies, where software applications are being used more and more instead of conventional systems of writing, editing, storing, retrieving and organizing. The use of Information Technology and software in replacing conventional methods of data representation, editing and storing is fast taking over all other alternatives as its advantages are so great and obvious that to do otherwise would make no sense. This is not only because it far enhances productivity due to the amount of time it saves, but also because as it makes work easier, it generally reduces stress, which further enhances productivity (Allen, 2002) Tools used for these purposes are vast and many, but the primary ones that find functionality in almost any organization at all, at the smallest level or the largest, are Word, PowerPoint and Excel, with the first being used to create documents, the second being used to represent data and the third being used to organize efficiently this datum. Libraries, offices, supermarkets, multinational corporations, student offices, entrepreneurs alike all find use for the simple, easy, efficient and highly useful functionalities provided by these three most basic software applications as well as countless others, especially because it makes operations highly more efficient, saving time, which in turn naturally enhances productivity. Microsoft Word Microsoft Word is a word processing application and Microsoft’s primary software for writing and editing text based documents. Owing to its use as the base of all text based documents, it is one of the most primary tools of use in an office based setting but it has great use and application in almost any enterprise, small or big, as well as personal home-based used, which can be academic or otherwise. Microsoft Word creates documents such as reports, briefs, letters, questionnaires, summaries and countless others with great ease particularly due to its inbuilt features such as spell check, word count and easy formatting options. Yet although Word’s use as a text editor is obvious and indeed its most common functionality, Microsoft Word also has a great many other features, which provides great functionality, increased organization and enhanced effectiveness, if used correctly. Using Microsoft Word for editing documents provides advantages over writing without due mostly to aforementioned features which automatically perform word count and spell check, but also because documents are very easily formatted and edited, without any obvious evidence of prior revisions. This is especially useful when the user may constantly need to update information in a certain document. Word can also be used to create tables and graphs. These are most useful when the table needs little changing or editing other than to add more rows of information, though newer versions are capable of performing automatic operations on all the members of a certain row or column. These tables and graphs are again, easily formatted and edited and allow for clear, visual representation of text based information or otherwise, which make them a highly useful tool for efficiently presenting large bodies of information. Documents in Word can employ the use of features such as bullets, highlighting, header and footer information, as well as time and signature stamps which in the long run reduce editing time in cases where this information needs to be repeatedly and regularly added. The features of bullets and graphs allow for information to be broken down and displayed in smaller, highlighted portions, with focus on each individual bit of information. This allows for a clearer understanding when viewing it at a glance, as well as making it easier to explain and convey information. Tables provide the same functionality, making it easy to view, compare and contrast information in an easy ready-to-view form, rather than having to work through superfluous paragraphs to get to the intended bit of information. Thus tables, graphs and bullets aim to save time as well as make it easier to view and understand documents, thereby maximizing productivity. Easy and diverse formatting option, teamed with a simple and user-friendly interface make using Microsoft Word for editing large documents especially useful. It highly enhances efficiency as documents can be reused easily, with easy referencing and extraction, as well as easy search and indexing options. Microsoft PowerPoint Microsoft PowerPoint is used mainly for creating visual slides used as aiding tools in presentations and demonstrations. Slides can employ both text as well as visual graphics, which includes images as well as small demonstrative video clips. Furthermore, slides can be formatted to change automatically or at the click of the mouse, which can work both as a prompt to change the slide or control varying bits of information on a single slide. For example, a certain slide can be formatted such that at one click, bullets of information appear. At another, a diagram representing the information can appear. At a further click, the diagram may change to represent updated information. This makes it easier to explain, display and represent information in a step by step manner, engaging the audience and making it clearer. Slides and presentations created by Microsoft PowerPoint are considered an ideal tool to aid presentations, be it in an office based setting or academic settings where they can be used as visual aids for demonstration. Owing to its clear, organized and exact representation of data as well as support for spoken information, PowerPoint is a highly valued tool in allowing easy communication (Atkinson, 2007). PowerPoint Presentations can be used in an extremely wide range of applications where data may be needed to be clearly and boldly represented and focused upon or where the requirement of the user may be to represent or show the data step by step, not all in one go, so that each topic of reference may be individually and exclusively focused upon, which as studies show, allow for easier understanding and comprehension (Gerard & Goldstein, 2005). Presentations made in PowerPoint can host almost all the features that documents in Word can. Therefore graphs and tables may also be included in presentations, in the same manner as with documents, and thereby giving the same benefits. Studies have shown (Kao & Huang, 2007) that information displayed in graphic form gives a far clearer message rather than information in textual form, particularly when the said information is aiming to aid spoken word. Older methods of presentations include writing on blackboards and making hand diagrams, but this was both unclear and time consuming, therefore inefficient. It is for this reason that PowerPoint slides are being used to aid presentations not only in office-based settings and meetings, but also in classrooms where teachers can benefit from a far more diverse database of information to be availed from, allowing them the opportunity to display diagrams and video clips that would otherwise not have been possible in a conventional classroom setting. Microsoft Excel Microsoft Excel is another Microsoft developed application and is used primarily for creating spreadsheets, which is used for efficient organization of data, as well as easy storage and retrieval. Excel has a great many features which make it ideal for organizing data. First, data is entered into the spreadsheet in the form of small boxes arranged in rows and columns. The sizes of these boxes can vary if the data is text-based and requires a larger amount of space. The data is then easily referenced as each column and row is titled by a letter, which can be used in combination in indicate the exact location of the said bit of information. The referenced data can then be used in a variety of functions and equations, which are either in-built in the application, or they may be easily created and then used. The data can also be very easily represented in the form of graphs or tables. There are many options for formatting these graphs and tables, so that they are exactly customized according to the user’s requirements. The form of data that may be used can either be static or interactive, which means that it can either be stored and edited only by the user creating the spreadsheet, or it may be stored in way where the spreadsheet can provide interactive options to other users and then manipulate or evaluate the newly entered data. This can include values taken to create graphs and tables, values taken to perform certain calculations, visually displayed results of conducted polls, or questionnaires and surveys. Spreadsheets can also be formatted such that certain bits of information are hidden from the interactive user by the original creator, such as in the case of the aforementioned polls and surveys, where the storing mechanism might perhaps, for example, not be relevant and so is concealed from the interacting user, but questions and options are, and so they will be displayed. When the original user wishes to access the storing mechanism information, they may do so when they open the original spreadsheet. Excel has perhaps the greatest functionality options of all three applications and for a user to take full advantage of it perhaps slightly more familiarity with the software is required. Nonetheless, owing to its highly simplified interface, it is easily enough mastered and users can take advantage of its highly simplified yet considerable useful features regarding data representation, editing, storing and organization and which makes it easier not only to view and model data, but also to analyze it and the effect of any changes upon it (Winston 2007). Features aside, perhaps the greatest advantage and benefit of Excel is that it allows changes to be made in runtime. This means that you can be viewing your document, which may contain graphs and tables, and when you change a value, the corresponding section of the graph and table will also update itself. This makes it far quicker than having to erase and edit to do it yourself, especially if the document is large, or the value has been used in multiple instances throughout. This also allows the user to track the effect that a certain variable’s change might have on the final outcome, again making it a valuable tool for visualizing theoretical data. Conclusion Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint are the three most basic tools from the Microsoft Office series of software programs used to enhance office and home productivity, yet perhaps ironically, they are also the most useful. With one being used to effectively create data and another being used to represent it in a visual, broken down manner that makes it easy to understand, both due to the fact that the data is represented more visually as well as the fact that it is represented in smaller pieces, and a third used to then store this data and provide functionality so that simple newline editing can bring about great changes and manipulation to the data, particularly in the form of tables, it would make no sense to use any other non-software based alternative. With work being made so much easier and efficient, and far easier to manipulate and edit, there is almost no need to venture elsewhere to create these documents. In conclusion, the great efficiency of these software applications is not perhaps due to the great features they boast. Rather it is perhaps due more to how easily it has managed to replace mundane, time consuming requirements that would otherwise take up both time, energy and resources, and all in a manner so simple that both high level organizations and a simple student sitting at home find the same comfort and functionality, and remarkably, with the same ease. Recommendations The main reason behind the world’s rapidly changing trends and eager adoption of IT usage in everyday activities is the ease that it provides to everyday activities and life in general. That is why adopting IT into our work, through the use of software applications such as the ones mentioned above, are proving to be so beneficial and are almost universally adopted by those capable of doing so. Applications such as PowerPoint which allow visual aids make it easier to understand and explain concepts which would otherwise have to be explain through hand-drawn drawings and theoretical explanations, but through slides and presentations, can be clearly animated and displayed. Spreadsheets made by Excel are easily adaptable and transferrable to other systems, allowing mobility and reusability. With information being shared so widely and easily it is important that applications be such that all documents produced on them are universally accessible and editable if need be. Older, conventional methods do not allow for this easy mobility and adaptability. Therefore it is recommended to apply IT in our everyday work tasks through the use of these tasks as it not only enhances productivity, allowing greater work in a shorter duration of time, it also makes it far easier to achieve and more lucid to the person it is intended for. Top of Form Bottom of Form References Allen, D. (2002) Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity. Penguin (Non-Classics) Atkinson, C. (2007) Beyond Bullet Points: Using Microsoft® Office PowerPoint® 2007 to Create Presentations That Inform, Motivate, and Inspire Bott, E & Siechert, C. (2010) Microsoft® Office 2010 Inside Out. Microsoft Press Jelen, B. (2010) Microsoft Excel 2010 In Depth Gerard, A. & Goldstein, B. (2005) Going Visual – Using Images to Enhance Productivity, Decision Making and Profits. John Wiley & Sons. Kao, W & Huang, J. (2007) Advanced Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007: Insights and Advice from the Experts. Que Publication Massy, W & Zemsy, R. (1995) Using Information Technology to Enhance Academic Productivity. Educomreg Interuniversity Communications Council, Inc. Parsons, J. & Oja, D. & Ageloff, R. & Carey, P. (2007) New Perspectives on Microsoft Office Excel 2007. Course Technology. Shelly, G. & Cashman, T. & Vermaat, M. (2007) Microsoft Office 2007: Introductory Concepts and Techniques. Microsoft Press Wempen, F. (2010) Microsoft Word 2010 In Depth. Microsoft Press Winston, W. (2007) Microsoft® Office Excel® 2007: Data Analysis and Business Modeling Read More