How the Workplace Has Changed Over the Last 10-15 Years - Coursework Example

topic: How the Workplace Has Changed Over the Last 10-15 Years Introduction It is not in doubt that the workplace world is changing. The trend has especially been buoyed by new technologies, an increased labor demand in the global market, and emerging economies such as China and India that are expanding rapidly. These factors have had a tremendous impact on supply and demand of skills, productivity and growth, employment prospects, inequality and most of all, organizational structures and practices. As such, many organizations have witnessed a lot of differentiation, formalization, coordination and shifts in the centralization of power (Mesut 2005). The rapid change in technology is fast being felt in the workplace. According to a recent survey carried out in the UK on some business executives, 61 percent of those interviewed concurred that technology does indeed enable new working styles. In addition, 63 percent of the executives also said that technology is also the future enabler of working styles in the future. Nevertheless, technology ranked fourth among the priority list of these executives in as far as the driving of businesses is concerned; after better productivity, culture, and cost reduction. According to these executives, VoIP, wi-fi, and ultra-mobile PC’s are some of the technologies that will greatly impact on the workplaces in the next five years (Carr 2006). In this regard, flexible working is slowly becoming a common culture in some of the technologically-oriented companies. Whereas close to 91 percent of these organizations let their employees to work from home, a further 67 percent are still reliant on office attendance. For the latter group, 55 percent of the executives interviewed were optimistic that this trend will soon change (Carr 2006). Only just about 50 percent of the respondents believe that in the next five years, their workforce will still be commuting from home. How do technological changes in the organization affect the structure of organization? Information technology has proved to be of fundamental importance in as far as organizational change is concerned. The business landscape will always have to change in line with the technological innovations in the workplace, pressure from competitors, and consumer preferences. As such, a lot of companies are now embracing information technology to streamline operations, improve business processes, increase profitability, and cut costs. The impact that information technology has had on organizational change cut across all the sections of an organization. Thus, the structure of the organization, process change, employee skill base, product delivery, and methodologies in marketing, all have to change as a response to information technology. Weber, Taylor and Fayol, as well as a couple of other theorists were of the opinion that there does exist a single and best way through which organizations can be structured. Nevertheless, organizations still vary greatly with regard to structural attributes, and this has led to the carrying out of numerous researches with a view to understanding the determinants of such variations. A lot of organizations are now becoming aware of the need to have relationships and social interactions at the workplace (Klein et al 2001). The understanding of such a phenomenon and the implications that it will have at the workplace is already proving to be a challenge to many organizations. Today, a lot of organizations struggle to keep pace with changes in the economy and the marketplace, while at the same time also seeking out for ways through which they can best enhance their financial profitability, while also enhancing the performances for their employees. Lin (2001) has described the theory of social capital in reference to the investments that organizations make in social relations, while also expecting to make returns in the marketplace. Such organizations usually embrace the culture and ethics of the company in line with their overall mission and goals. Examples of Information Technology and Organizational Change The changes in the structure of an organization occur as a natural consequence of information technology advancements. A case in point would be the changes that have been witnessed in the print media following the advent of the internet. Everyday, the levels of internet access continues rising on a global scale, and this has thus forced consumers to demand that the conventional print publications be delivered in digital format. The companies that have been affected by this have been forced to establish new delivery methods and infrastructures as a way of accommodating consumer preference changes. With this comes a new business framework, often requiring personnel who are suitably qualified wit the necessary skills to adequately operate the company’s new processes. In as much as information technology, coupled with organizational change has gripped the print industry, the online platform has nevertheless stimulated a demand for a new set of skills that are necessary running of the required infrastructure. The requirements of the web delivery methods are such that the skill base of an employee has to shift from print skills, to embrace online digital savvy. As such, content management platform has over the years replaced the traditional printing press, for purposes of delivering the medium online. In addition, marketing efforts also have to shift to the online media from offline media. Better still, a combination of the two would also suffice. This shift calls for the acquiring of new skills in order to accommodate the demand for these new services responsible for effecting change in the newspaper industry. To facilitate such a change, a company then has to hire personnel with the skills to handle the new technology processes. Such a move might as well involve retrenching the current staff, or the establishment of training programs for purposes of retraining the existing skill base of a company. The Independent newspaper in Dublin, Ireland is a perfect example of how information technology has revolutionarised the newspaper industry in general, and journalism in particular. Computerized technology was first introduced by the newspaper in 1988, in the form of systems integrators incorporated (SII) editorial system. However, the journalists had their first direct input to the system in 1991 (Molony 1996). Prior to this, the system that was in operation at the independent newspaper was the double key-stroking, whereby the text had first to be inputted by reporters into the editorial system, printed, then edited. Finally, members of the print union had also to input for purposes of production. Strains in industrial relations at the independent are rife, but the staff has readily welcomed the degree of technology that has come to their rescue (Molony 1996). The news editor for the paper, Phillip Molly, is also surprised by how quickly he has come to embrace the editorial system. Philip cannot today contemplate how he would be bale to work today with carbon paper and typewriters that characterized the print media before the advent of the information technology. The computer system has brought with it speed and ease of working, much to the contentment of the editorial staff (Molony 1996). However, the transition to computer-based system was not always smooth, and as Claire Grady, one of the staff reporters for the paper has noted, the staff were nervous about how they would cope with the change. A dimensional shift in the conduction of business at a company will often present skilled labor shortfall, as demand exceeds supply. Consequently, new industries will always emerge wit a view to filling these shortages. As such, both information technology and organizational change leads to a rippling effect in the industry According to Borgartti (2001), the history, size, and the line of business of many companies will have an impact on the way such an organization carries out its values process. Additionally, the values that are held by an organization are often determined by the structure of such an organization. Structural effects often will result in the observing of change in an organization, because they directly impact on the human resources. Structural effects are a measure of the influence an individual’s position has, in as far as the social space for such a person is concerned. This is as a result of the opportunities and constraints for social comparison and interaction deriving from structural realities. Impacts of structural positions (physical location, network location, and demographic relations) on turnover, job attitudes, wages, and performance is an indication of the application of a structural; perspective at the workplace (Mesut 2005). From the perspective of a business standpoint, social capital has been used in reference to such resources as business opportunities, information, ideas, power, financial capital, trust, goodwill, emotional support, and cooperation (Baker 2000). On the other hand, Cohen and Prusak (2001) have stated that social capital comprises of mutual understanding, trust, and shared behaviors and values that bind community and human network members, thus making cooperative action possible. A lot of organizations are now recognizing how important relationships and social interactions are at the workplace. With regard to social capital, this often includes understandings, shared knowledge, rules, norms, interaction patterns that individual groups are expected to bring to a recurring activity. The most important elements of social capital are therefore trust. It is a commonly held idea that social capital does indeed enable employees to get better jobs, improves the performance of an organization, better pays for employees, and improved and faster promotions. This is because social capital acts as a driving force for the attraction of business, by providing possibilities and opportunities for expansion. When a merger does occur, two different cultures clash, and it is thus important that the organizations involved are able to reach a common ground, by compromising. In this case, despite the differences in the experienced values from the different hierarchical levels, a majority of the employees in the bank agrees that the merger decision and the subsequent reviewing of the company’s values were necessary. When an organization develops cultural values, it seeks to control the behavior of its members, and ethical values tend to fall in this category. By extension, organizational ethics are the beliefs, rules, and the moral values that pave way for the members of an organization, and the environment under which they operate in (Jones 2001). Coleman (1998), in reference to social capital, views it as a variety of entities that has two common elements. All of these elements have some social structure aspects, and they also influence the actions of either individual or corporate actors within the structure of an organization. According to Klein et al (2001), a healthy business image calls for kept promises. Today, it is mandatory that businesses are able to keep up with the times, in order to contain competition. This can be achieved by extensive growth, realignment, the changing of the organization structure to suit the goals and objectives of an organization. Take for instance the Irish Independent, with a circulation of 160,000 out of all the daily newspaper published in Ireland, which totals to 400,000. This then makes the Irish independent the largest selling newspaper in Ireland (Finlay 1996, p20). It would then be expected that such a large publisher would also be at the forefront in the embracing of information technology development to cushion against competition both locally internationally. Conclusion The nineties were characterized by downsizing, and today, globalization is the phenomenon. This has given rise to fierce competition, forcing corporations to resort to lean and mean establishments. In addition, some corporations have also been consumed by greed, and this has resulted in a restructuring of their workforce, so that they can attain more profits margins with a reduce workforce. Nevertheless, information technology has for the most part led to fast and efficient means of undertaking business processes. A case in point is at the Irish Independent paper, where the staff has witnessed a revolution in the print media, thanks to information technology. To achieve this however, there was a need to have the staff trained on the necessary skill to foresee the transition from the traditional carbon and copywriter-dependent industry to the digital industry. Bibliography Borgartti, S. P, 2001, “organizational theory: determinants of structure”. Retrieved November 5, 2008, from http://www.analytictech.com/mb021/orgtheory.htm Baker, W, 2000, Achieving Success through Social Capital: Tapping the Hidden Resources in Your Personal and Business Networks. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Cohen D & Prusak, L. 2001, ‘In Good Company: How Social Capital Makes Organizations Work’. Boston: Harvard Business School Press. Coleman, J. S, 1988, "Social Capital in the Creation of Human Capital". American Journal of Sociology, Vol 94, No 5, pp 95-121. Hockertin, C, ‘organizational characteristics and psychosocial working conditions in different forms of ownership. Academic search premier. Retrieved November 5, 2008, from http://www.diva-portal.org Klein, H. J, Wesson, M. J, Hollenbeck, J. R, Wright, P. M & DeShon, R. P, 2001, The assessment of goal commitment: A measurement model meta-analysis, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Vol. 85, No. 1, May, pp. 32–55, Available online at http://www.idealibrary.com Retrieved November 5, 2008. Lin, N, 2001, Social Capital: A Theory of Social Structure and Action. Cambridge, New York: Cambridge University Press. Mesut, A. 2005, ‘Social capital theory and implications for human resource development’. Singapore management review. Retrieved November 5, 2008, from http://www.allbusiness.com/human-resources/workforce-management/468086-1.html Molony, M. 1996, The effects on information technology on journalism. Retrieved November 10, 2008, from http://www.comms.dcu.ie/molonym/maj/ Read More