The Changes in Office Systems Due to Advanced Technology - Essay Example

The changes that have occurred in office systems in the past decade due to advanced technology Introduction When one speaks or thinks of an office inan organization, the ‘mental picture’, one visualizes is of papers, telephones, typewriters, computers, cabins etc, etc. The crucial thing that the mind ‘crops out’ is the picture of a working human. So, it clearly proves that in an office environment, prominence is always attached to the technological products. In an organization, workers will normally be apportioned or “structurized” into different departments and importantly into different offices for better arrangement and streamlining of work. The management and the employees will manage or will be managed with the aid of various tools. The tools to manage could be manual or technological. Through out the 20th century and particularly in the first decade of the 21st century, many technological products including many IT products were developed through out the world, which had and is still having applications in all spheres of human lives. Out of the many technological products, a good number is being used in office management. That is, offices of today have used or integrated communications systems in every aspect of their functioning. From opening a simple door to carrying out advanced operations, technology has become an omnipresent entity in offices, with their entire operations hinging on the support provided by technology, particularly Information Technology. Background As mentioned above, 20th century is the ‘gateway’ for the entry of many new technologies in all spheres of life. As early 20th century saw the full effects of Industrial Revolution, many new technological products made their presence felt in organizations or factories or offices. Particularly in offices, technology was at its fullest use. That is, only in the early 20th century, people ‘organized’ themselves into a structured setup like offices to carry out their duties. While carrying those duties only, the technological products came into the picture and started to aid them in the early part of the 20th century. The first of the new breed of technological machines, which started making presence in the office environment, is the Adding machines. Adding machines carried out additions and other mathematical calculations and in turn replaced many employees who were specifically employed for doing these calculations. That is, by carrying out various calculations, Adding machines minimized the number of employees, thereby changing the structure or the interior of the offices in many fields like banking and accounting. Further Evolution The use of these tools continued till the advent of electronic calculators and computers. Next on the list were the Typewriters, which made its presence as an effective tool in the early 20th century. The typewriters started doing manual works like writing with greater effect, speed and ease, becoming a prominent part of office environments. “The advantages that electric typewriters brought to the workplace were greater speed and legibility. The machines enabled businesses to increase their efficiency.” (museumoflondon.org.uk). The other technological tool which made its entry into the office environment in the early 20th century and is still evolving in the current times as an effective communicative tool is the telephones. Even though, telephone was invented in 19th century, its applications became extensive only in the early 20th century. That is, as the new century dawned and with the establishment of many commercial trading companies, organizations extended their operations within the home country and also beyond the borders. So, when the organizations extended, it lead to offices being located a various distant places. This is when telephone was started to be optimally used. The communication structure was developed using telephone and that technology ‘shrunk’ or shortened any distant physical distances Role of technology in protecting the office systems Employees with ulterior motives and importantly using Information technology tools could wreck and cause immense losses to the companies ranging, from loss of money, data, contracts, etc. The employees could wreck the Corporations in which they are working, by using Information Technology in many ways. That is, they could alter or break down the Information Technology products functioning inside the organizations, and also they could ‘bring in’ other tools or threats from outside to disable the technologies used in the organization. Apart from those harmful and disgruntled employees, external elements in the form of competitors, thieves, hackers, etc, could also attack or intrude or rob using Information Technology. “…usually crimes are carried out by disgruntled employees who feel the company has treated them unfairly. Data theft can often occur by employees leaving to set up a rival company or data is stolen to sell on to rival companies.” (CY4OR). Critical Information Assets and Virus Attacks Every company or office systems will have what they call Critical Information Assets. The attack or breach into the corporation’s technology corridor could be mainly in the form of Virus attacks targeting Critical Information Assets. With more complicated and virulent Viruses created every day, using advanced computer programs, the technology of corporations are exposed to constant threats. Apart from these hardwares, the system will also be connected and also interconnected, using virtual networks in the form of internet or intranet. But, if a Virus infiltrates into this system through loopholes, then it will crash the entire system or a part of the system, bringing down the functioning of the company. When this happens, apart from the stoppage or crash of the information technology components, there will also be loss or stealing of data through the affected system. Employees or external threats Apart from the Virus attacks initiated by the employees or external threats, the security of the companies can be compromised, if the same employees and other external people steal the data storage devices or steal data using portable data storage devices. That is, when the storage devices are not kept under safe environment, it can be easily taken away or tampered by the culprits. Also, if the culprits have access to the secure locations of the information system through power, knowledge, etc, they could easily infiltrate it and take away the data. In case, if the locations are ‘protected’ by physical structures and weak passwords, then the culprits can decipher the passwords and can enter the locations. Also, if the data is transferred in an unencrypted form, the data can be easily accessed. If the data contains financial information, then the culprits can easily steal the companies’ finances. If the data is about the Corporations’ strategic plans and policies, then it can easily used by the competitors against them. Monitoring of the employees One of the first ways in which companies can review and test their security status is by monitoring their employees. That is, as discussed above, employees or ex-employees of the companies due to one reason or other will try to breach the information technology system of the companies. They should be given sanctions to enter or access those secure installations after technologically fool proofing the security apparatus of the installations. That is, security measures like Closed Circuit TV Camera systems, authorized entry mechanisms, trackers, etc should be installed in all the sensitive installations, to monitor the employees and prevent them from becoming security threats. “Agencies shall develop, document, and implement policies and procedures for the selection, orientation, and supervision of employees and contractors who have access to agency IT resources. The objective is maintained and to promote an awareness of security matters” (Washington State Department of Information Services). One of the technologies used for surveillance and which is showing optimal results is the CCTV (Closed Circuit TV). This technology is one time investment, and thus cheaper compared to personnel but at the same time more effective. CCTV’s can also function round the clock without any lapse in ‘concentration’, unlike humans. So, security measures like CCTV installed in all the sensitive installations of the organization will help the organization immensely in countering any security threat. Entry of authorized personnel Technology can aid the organizations by making the system of authorized personnel foolproof. The entry of authorized personnel into physical structures can be made safer by having hardened passwords. "Hardened passwords shall be used and enforced whenever technically and operationally feasible. After a maximum of five incorrect login attempts, accounts will be locked for a specified period of time, or until administrator reset" (Washington State Department of Information Services). So, if organizations use more automated technologies that correlate and integrate information from a wide array of security solutions, it will translate to higher productivity and growth (CRA Reports). If all the parts of an organization conduct this way, their security will be guaranteed and can fully utilized to have ubiquitous presence all over the world for the organization. Anti-Virus Protection system The main problem of Virus infiltration and other infiltrations can be solved, if a fail-safe Anti-Virus Protection system is implemented. The Anti-Virus Protection system should be able to address the three processes of Virus prevention, detection and removal, including signature currency. As internet and email are the rich source of viruses, the protection system should be able to block the entry of any viruses, from these sources. With new viruses being created every day, the protection system should be upgraded often to neutralize the challenge from the new viruses. Apart from these measures, steps should be taken to ensure that all the softwares, used to access or transmit through the Internet are approved by an authorized agency authority, inside the Corporation (Washington State Department of Information Services). Safe data protection system The next step through which the Corporations can test and review their security status is by having a fool proof and safe data protection and sharing mechanism. That is, while sharing the companys data including critical information assets, the involved parties should sign a service level agreement (SLA). In that agreement, all the intricate and in-depth details about the ways in which the data should be protected and shared have to be spelled out. Firstly, steps should be taken by the Corporation to protect its data in its original form and also the authorized changed data. "Secure data storage is defined as the protection of data content and changes in data state from its original storage on electronic media by using encryption processes" (Washington State Department of Information Services). The first step to protect the data is by using a strong encryption process. That is, the data should be encrypted in a strong way, so that the intended receiver only accesses the data, with third persons having no chance to access the data, illegally. Role of technology in optimizing the communication channels and recommendations Providing a perfect and barrier environment to the workers will develop communication in an effective manner. For that the management should initiate new methods and if those methods are based on technology, it will surely provide optimum results. With many organizations diversifying physically with units and sister concerns being established at different places, there has to be seamless communication for the effective functioning of the organization. Same way, if an organization also concentrates on the sale or supply side of its products and services, communication need to be established between the manufacturing unit and the sale or supply side. In these situations, where physical distances could be the barrier, technology and the technological products will only break that barrier and will help to maintain the communications, thereby benefiting the organization in many ways. Among the many technological products, the electronic ones could be bring in immense benefits Virtual self-managed teams Organizations can also develop virtual self-managed teams in an effective manner by adopting other communicative tools as well. That is, if communication is carried out by actualizing interactive websites, it can aid organizations in having employees, who can function autonomously, without having to visit the company’s headquarters each and every time. That is, organizations in this internet friendly world, can incorporate interactivity in its website by giving its employees separate logins. In each of the logins, employees should be ‘communicated’ detailed information on strategies, targets, etc, etc, so they can perform in an effective manner. But, the main aspect that needs to be taken care while making the website interactive is the need to incorporate diversity. That is, as the organization’s employees could be from the host or local country, it would be advisable to add the local language and other local symbols as part of the country specific websites and in their particular login. Even though English is a global language, there are many people in various countries, who will feel comfortable to use their local language for all sorts of communication. So, organizations can optimize its communication structure by incorporating interactivity in its country specific websites, and importantly by adding the local language and symbols as well. Conclusion and Recommendation From this analysis of technological tools from early 20th century till the past decade, it is clear that their entry brought out major developments in the functioning, efficiency as well as infrastructures of office systems. Although, technological tools were introduced mainly to help the clerical and manual work and to reduce labor, its introduction had a massive impact in the productivity of the organizations. However, with the entry of IT tools in the last part of the 20th century and particularly in the past decade, certain security issues started plaguing the computer. On the positive side, the same technology is being used to nullify those security issues. As analyzed in the paper, there are various IT tools which can protect as well as optimize office systems. Along with IT’s role in communication, technology is actualizing best case scenarios in many office systems. Unison of many employees under single organization to reach a target can always be aided by technology, importantly information technology. The information technology and its related products can be used optimally, if there is no security threat to it. So, to nullify the security threats, office systems can no longer ignore the importance of information security. That is, if corporations use more automated and proactive management strategies that correlate and integrate information from a wide array of security solution, it will translate to higher productivity and growth. And, if all the parts of an organization conduct this way, they can be fully utilized to have ubiquitous presence all over the world for the organization. References CRA Reports. Security Threat Management (STM). 7 May 2010. http://www.high-tower.com/docs/Security_Threat_Management.pdf. CY4OR. Computer Forensics Companies Can Help with Security Breach. 7 May 2010. http://www.cy4or.co.uk/pr-computer-forensics-security-breach.htm museumoflondon.org.uk. New Technology in the Workplace 1900 to 1950. 7 May 2010. http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/English/Collections/OnlineResources/X20L/Themes/1376/1191/ Washington State Department of Information Services. Information Technology Security Standards. 7 May 2010. http://isb.wa.gov/policies/portfolio/401S.doc Read More