How and In What Ways Information Technology Has Changed How We Collaborate - Essay Example

Critically Discuss How and In What Ways Information Technology Has Changed How We Collaborate In Organisations and the Implications of Such Change Using Two Concepts from the Module Name: Institution: Date: Information technology has impacted different aspects of life including how people communicate, interact, work, and learn. With information technology, communication and interaction has changed significantly. Before information technology emerged, people used traditional means and methods of communication such as letter writing to communicate. People used to get news from newspapers and their radios. Although these forms and methods of communication are still in use today, they are not the only options or the most convenient in modern societies. Today, people are more likely to communicate with their families, friends, and colleagues through social media networks or email that offer instant communication. Unlike in letter writing where one has to wait for long to receive the feedback, one can get instant feedback through social media networks. Apart from this information technology has transformed the modern workplace. Information technology has become integrated into modern organizations leading to new business models and organizational cultures. In the public sector, for example, government agencies and departments are using information technology to deliver essential services such as issuance of licenses. Prior to the adoption of information technology, people would have to visit government offices physically to get such services or wait for days to receive their licenses via the post office. Indeed, information technology and information systems have impacted many aspects of life. However, the greatest impact on organizations has been on collaboration. Overall, information technology has enhanced how people collaborate in organizations by creating integrated systems of information sharing and communication. This essay aims to critically discuss how and in what ways information technology has changed how people collaborate in organizations and the implications of these changes. In meeting this aim, the essay will apply the concept of information systems and its effects on integration as well as the concept of knowledge management. Information technology, which is core element of information, has influenced many aspects of organizations. First, the adoption of IT has led to changes in the organizational structures. The organizational structure refers to the arrangement of authority and communication relationships as well as workflow in an organization (Kirst-Ashman & Hull, 2008; Golembiewski, 2000). The type of organizational structure influences the level and nature of collaboration in the organization. Hierarchical organizational structures limit collaboration because they tend to focus on top-down collaborations. However, flat organizational structures enhance collaboration across the organization because people from different levels or different departments within the same level can communicate easily. The integration of IT into organizations has influenced the transformation of organizational structures from the hierarchical structures that prevailed before the development of IT to flat organizational structures with little hierarchical levels (Bezweek & Egbu, 2012). Therefore, with the adoption of IT, the barriers to communication and collaboration that existed in organizations because of the hierarchical structure were eliminated or reduced. Organizations that have adopted IT have increasingly reduced the hierarchical levels in favour of flat structures. In a flat organization, people working in the different departments can easily communicate without having to follow the strict hierarchical and bureaucratic systems of communication and authority. For example, IT has enabled enhanced collaboration between the marketing department, the finance department, and the production departments in the production of effective marketing strategies. Through the organization’s IT system, the marketing department will communicate with the production department about the desirable product design based on market research. The three departments will then collaborate in implementing the marketing strategy. Indeed, the marketing manager does not have to go through the management of the organization to reach the finance manager and the production manager thanks to the adoption of IT. Additionally, IT has changed the workflow in many organizations. In the early stages of IT adoption in business, the work flow software was created to change the way work was performed in organizations. The work flow software automated the business procedures and enhances the workflow by increasing collaboration among the employees. With the automated workflow, employees were able to collaborate and manage business data and information automatically and virtually. The implication of this was that manual work was replaced by automated workflow software (Lawlor, 2007). Organizations that have integrated IT into their processes have reduced manual work significantly. Manual work had the disadvantage of poor collaboration and coordination. For example, a large company with different office locations that depended on manual work would experience poor collaboration among the different offices because it would take real people to move from one office to the other to pass information or data. Depending on the distance between the different offices, it could take long to pass information. However, with automated workflow, it is possible to share information in real time without the need for sending people. For example, if the manager of one office needs to share important information with his counterpart in another office, he can use email to send the information virtually and the recipient will receive it within seconds. A good illustration of this impact of IT on collaboration in organizations is the use of ERP to integrate business processes (Saha, 2007). With an ERP system, coordination is enhanced because various business functions are integrated and controlled from a common database (Zhang, 2007). in a large organization with multiple business units and functions, the ERP system can improve coordination significantly because the system provides a common database from which all the units and functions draw data or information. Moreover, IT has enhanced coordination in organizations through the concept of teleworking. Teleworking refers to working from home or any other place that is not the common office environment (Vos & van der Voordt, 2002). This is a new model of work that relies on the capabilities of IT especially the improved ability to coordinate virtually. With this new working model, there is no need for having physical offices to accommodate employees as they work. Instead, an organization can rely on the power of IT and let employees work from their homes. One would wonder how this is possible considering that it is uncommon for employees to live in the same place. In the traditional organizational setting, employees are housed within the same office or building where they can easily communicate and interact. However, telecommunicating removes this physical closeness and creates a distance barrier. Ordinarily, this would mean poor coordination in the workplace because of the distance barrier. However, IT enhances coordination among virtual employees and teams. Armed with a computer, the internet, and the appropriate software, employees working from different locations across the world can still coordinate by sharing information and data in real time. For example, if the employees need to discuss something as a group, they can use teleconferencing (Sutanto, Kankanhalli & Tan, 2011). With the growth of multinational organizations, the role of IT in coordination within such organizations is crucial. Multinational organizations often have operational units in different parts of the world that are geographically dispersed. One of the main challenges for such organizations is the coordination of activities from all the operational units located in different parts of the world (Filatotchev & Wright, 2011). Luckily, IT provides the necessary solution to this problem. As Lewis et al. (2006) note, “many multinational corporations have developed sophisticated management information systems to support their global operations” (p. 226). The changes in coordination brought about by IT and IS in organizations has been incremental rather than revolutionary. According to Fornaciari et al. (1993), incremental change occurs slowly and results in large-scale strategic changes while revolutionary change is intense but occurs after extended periods of relative stability. With regard to the impact of IT in coordination in organizations, it is important to understand how this transformation has occurred. The introduction of IT and IS marked a period of major strategic transformation. When businesses started adopting IT and IS, there was a revolution. The organizational structure, culture, and operational models of organizations underwent significant transformations. However, the effects of the IT and IS adoption were slow. In fact, the real effects of IT and IS on organizations is still on going. This is typical of incremental change that causes major strategic transformations but in a slow manner. Organizations did not realize the potential of IT and IS in improving coordination immediately. Rather, this was a slow process of learning. When the cost of IT reduced significantly in the 1990s, many organizations were quick to invest in IT systems and applications that resulted in complex organizational change (Attaran, 2004). The complex organizational change has been systematic rather than erratic. With regard to the impact of IT adoption on coordination in organizations, in the early days of IT adoption, organizations did not explore the full potential of IT in enhancing coordination within and with external stakeholders. However, with time, organizations began to realize and explore the additional potential of IT in improving coordination. Generally, organizations that embraced IT early tend to have better coordination because of the incremental nature of the IT-instigated change. The change instigated by IT in organizations has had positive and negative consequences. On the positive side, the improved coordination has generated positive outcomes for organizations and the stakeholders. With regard to knowledge management, the changes triggered by the adoption of IT improved knowledge management practices and their effectiveness by improving the ability to disclose knowledge and form fast connections among the various knowledge channels (Hawajre & Sharabati, 2012, p. 103; Allahawiah, Al-Mobaideen & Nawaiseh, 2013). In other words, IT and its improvement of coordination in organizations had enhanced knowledge management. In fact, knowledge management has become a strategic area for competitive advantage in modern organizations thanks to the change instigated by the adoption of IT and IS. With improved knowledge management, organizations are able to achieve greater efficiency in coordinating and managing processes and teams irrespective of where they are located across the world. Successful multinational companies such as Wal-Mart are typical examples of this positive outcome. However, not all consequences of the changes brought about by IT are positive. Despite the improved coordination, there have been growing concerns regarding issues such as electronic surveillance and the digital divide (Reddick, 2010, p. 351). These issues are affecting how IT is influencing organizational change. With regard to digital divide, not everyone is able to use or access information technology. If some stakeholders cannot use information technology, there will be no point in adopting it to enhance coordination. As organizations continue to adopt and embrace IT, many people are being left out because of the digital divide (Newell et al., 2009). The other major issue entails concerns regarding electronic surveillance by governments. The notion of government surveillance of the internet and related technology is worrying for individuals and organizations. As the users of IT, knowing that the government is monitoring the information they send or share via IT systems discourages optimal use. In fact, some organizations may choose not to adopt IT because of the fear that doing so would be exposing their sensitive information to the government or hackers. This is a real threat to organizational success. However, the greatest negative consequence of the changes instigated by IT in organizations is the high risk it poses on effective coordination. Motivated by the potential for enhanced coordination, many organizations embark on intensive integration of IT such that the IT system forms a fundamental part of business processes and coordination. If the IT system breaks down or fails, the effects would be adverse. An organization that depends heavily on the IT system can experience operational failure because of such as failure. For example, hackers can hack into an organization’s IT system and make it impossible for the organization to continue operating normally. Therefore, while IT has enhanced coordination in organizations, it also poses significance threats. References Allahawiah, S., Al-Mobaideen, H., & al Nawaiseh, K. (2013). The impact of information technology on knowledge management processes: An empirical study in the Arab Potash Company. International Business Research, 6(1), 235-252. Attaran, M. (2004). Exploring the relationship between information technology and business process engineering. Information & Management, 41(5), 529-684. Bezweek, S., & Egbu, C. (2012). Impact of Information Technology in Facilitating Communication and Collaboration in Libyan Public Sector Organisations. Retrieved from http://usir.salford.ac.uk/12835/1/530.pdf Filatotchev, I., & Wright, M. (2011). Agency perspectives on corporate governance of multinational enterprises. Journal of Management Studies, 48(2), 471-486. Fornaciari, C., Lamont, B., T., Mason, B., & Hoffman, J., J. (1993). Incremental and revolutionary strategic change: An empirical test of common premises. The International Journal of Organizational Analysis, 1(3), 273-290. Golembiewski, R. T. (2000). Handbook of organizational behavior, revised and expanded. New York: CRC Press. Hawajreh, K., M., & Sharabati, A., A. (2012). The impact of information technology on knowledge management practices. International Journal of Business, Humanities and Technology, 2(7), 102-107. Kirst-Ashman, K., & Hull, G. (2000). Understanding generalist practice. 5th Ed. Belmont, CA: Cengage Learning. Lawlor, B. (2007). The age of globalization: Impact of information technology on global business strategies. Honors Projects in Computer Information Systems, 1. Lewis, P., Goodman, S., Fandt, P., & Michlitsch, J. (2006). Management: Challenges for tomorrow’s leaders. 5th Ed. USA: Cengage Learning. Newell, S., Robertson, M., Scarbrough, H., & Swan, J. (2009). Managing knowledge work and innovation, 2nd Edition. Palgrave Macmillan. Reddick, C., G. (2010). Politics, democracy and e-government: Participation and service delivery. IGI Global. Saha, P. (2007). Handbook of enterprise systems architecture in practice. Hershey, PA: Idea Group Inc. Sutanto, J., Kankanhalli, A., & Tan, B. C. (2011). Deriving IT-mediated task coordination portfolios for global virtual teams. Professional Communication, IEEE Transactions on, 54(2), 133-151. Vos, P., & van der Voordt, T. (2002). Tomorrows offices through todays eyes: effects of innovation in the working environment. Journal of Corporate Real Estate, 4(1), 48-65. Zhang, Q. (2007). E-supply chain technologies and management. Hershey, PA: Idea Group Inc. Read More