What Makes IT-Production Skill Intensive - Coursework Example

Group Discussion Brief history of modern technology Advanced technology that is driving the innovation and modernity in the contemporary age has a long history. Since the Second World War, the performance capabilities of the telecommunications and computers have been increasing rapidly every couple of years at some cost (Dede, 1989). The advancement of technology in general and the advent of the Internet in particular has had profound changes in the work setup in nearly all industries. “The Internet, also called the “virtual world,” or “cyberspace” (first popularized by William Gibson’s classic Neuromancer in 1984), is both an environment and a complex system that is created and architected for the act of signification to take place” (Matusitz, 2007, p. 22). What makes IT-production skill intensive? Information technology in principle compliments or serves as a substitute for the skilled labor on the basis of use of technology. Literature about implementation of information technology in the organizations suggests that there are two fundamental routes which make the IT-intensive production quite skill intensive particularly when the complementary changes are made to the organizational practices; these routes are information overload and limited substitution (Bresnahan, Brynjolfsson, and Hitt, 2000, p. 4). Benefits of use of technology in organizations Improved flow of communication Different institutions use information systems and internet as a means for facilitating social interaction in an organisation as well as between one organisation and the other. At present, a good number of organisations and businesses are adopting knowledge management technology with an aim of increasing the flow of knowledge and information at multiple levels. Knowledge management technology has so far turned out to be very effective in connecting employees and other stakeholders in an organisation both at the workplace and at home. The strengthening of interpersonal communication that happened as a result of integration of technology in the workplace has led to the achievement of a range of valuable outcomes that include but are not limited to increased trust of the organizational personnel upon one another, increased commitment of the workers to the organization, improved performance, and shared expertise (Ferrell and Herb, 2012). Improved recruitment strategies Use of modern technology is also a means of facilitating effective interaction and communication between different organizations and between the organisation and the broader community members. For instance, by using the internet to advertise for a job opportunity, the organisation transforms their recruitment process from mechanistic process to organismic process. Using the internet to look for an employment opportunity also transforms individual academic and professional qualification from production-oriented qualification to knowledge- centred experiences. Many organizations have improved their recruitment strategies by adopting the right forms of technology. For example, the Portland State University has adopted a new application to bring improvement in the process of admissions, hiring and retention. The Talisma Constituent Relationship Management (CRM) software has been licensed by the Oregon institution. “We decided to invest in a CRM solution to improve our admissions program and retention efforts, moving us closer to a more unified, Internet-based approach to student services and record keeping online” (Balzer cited in Schaffhauser, 2010). Collaborative learning Organization’s managers and overseers are using modern information technology and knowledge management technology to bridge epistemic gap in their organizations by developing virtual spaces for collaborative learning. Collaborative learning results in the establishment of autonomous work groups as well as adoption of social cooperation, self-control and common values. Moreover, a good number of modern managers use knowledge management technology, information technology and e learning to facilitate social interaction both within the organization and between different organizations. Numerous organizations use information technology both in primary groups’ level and in organization level to link modern technology with human systems. For instance, a good number of organizations use e-learning technology to help community members to facilitate non-structured and structured interactions and training in their organizations. Modern entities, especially higher learning institutions use both e learning and online learning in their training process. As applied in contemporary organizations, e learning connects people with emerging technology. E-learning training’s open system nature has as well played an essential role in enhancing self-regulation, collaborative decision making, as well as in necessitating workgroup autonomy (Trist, 2001, p. 23). Improved management Knowledge management and information technology offers a technical framework that is required in information and knowledge sharing among various professionals in an organization. Managers and supervisors in different organizations have as well been relying on information technology to manage and control the organization’s activities and operations. The emergence of modern information technology knowledge in modern entities as well as continued invention and innovation in contemporary organizations has as well advanced the technical and social interactions. Effective and consistent information and knowledge sharing is the main characteristics of entities that have adopted socio-technological systems (Avgerou 2002, p. 93). The organizational personnel have been empowered to communicate with one another better and stay more updated on the latest proceedings and changes implemented by the management. This has helped the management achieve better control over the manpower. The increased supervision and closer monitoring made possible with the use of information technology has increased the accountability for all. Optimal use of resources Integration of information technology in the organizational systems has helped the organizations make optimal use of their resources like time, money, and manpower to achieve the most desirable results with minimal inconvenience and in the least possible time. For instance, “Health care organizations have had to adapt to many changes in the world around them, from advances in diagnostic and therapeutic procedures to the emergence of administrative innovations such as managed care and the invention of new information technologies” (CSTB, 2000). Business entrepreneurs have been able to maximize the profitability of their businesses since the technology has replaced the requirement of manual work in many areas. Offshore outsourcing Use of information technology has caused the number of opportunities for the organizations to grow rapidly and multiply over the passage of time. As a result of this, many businesses have expanded internationally and have chains operating in different countries across the globe. Many companies today are benefiting from the offshore outsourcing strategy that allows them to get the products made by the offshore vendors at cheap rates and accordingly be able to sell the products at a lower rate as compared to what is offered by other companies in the country’s industry. A major example of such a successful company is Wal-Mart that outsources its products and is the biggest retailer of the US. Although Wal-Mart has been subject to a lot of criticism for outsourcing, yet this happens to be the reason of its success and competitive advantage over other companies in the industry also. Distance learning Several global organizations have also come up with distance learning and training programs that have intentional socio-technical designs. These programs have enabled employees and other trainees who are participating in practical work group to undergo a technological transformation. Technological transformation on the other hand enables employees to acknowledge the significance and validity of establishing new means of acquiring both professional and technical competence. E-learning programs also have both intellectual and emotional experiences that are brought about by the nature of interaction in the entire e-learning process. Generally, e- learning in most institutions takes place at three main levels, macro-social level, and individual level as well as in-group level (Shrader, James & Alan 2009, p. 51). Increased involvement of juniors in decision making Traditional leaders hold the belief that, decision-making process should be a top-down process and the implementation should be a bottom-up process. Post-modern organizational leaders have used modern information technology to get the relevant management and leadership information and feedback from junior leaders. Moreover, modern managers use modern technology to interact with other professionals on social and economic issues. The incorporation of modern information technology has resulted in the introduction of mechanistic model that helps managers to use their knowledge in the management of the organization (Obstfeld, 2005, p. 109). A good number of researchers and scholars have also asserted that, individuals in an organization have a bigger role to play in changing the manner in which organizations transfer and share their information through emerging information technology. Benefits for the broader society To some extent, professionals in different organizations play a very essential role in incorporating modern technology in the organization interaction and socialization process. As a result, many traditional and modern higher learning institutions have embarked on the process of preparing students to become knowledge-based employees. Moreover, it is as well factual to state that, the 21st social and technological climate is appearing to have positive impact on socio-technical systems. Internet and other social media have as well significantly contributed in advancing the level of intelligence in modern families and community. The development of an intelligent society forms a basis for effective socio-technical organization. Proper inclusion of information technology in an organization enables shared leadership and collaborative decision-making process (Marcus & Daniel, 2008, p. 579). Effects of integration of information technology in work Replacement of manual work with technological work The systems of computer business become the most effective in the work tasks that are well-defined and in the automating routine. This creates room for the substitution out of different forms of human efforts. The term used by the economists to describe a condition that has surfaced as a result of the loss of jobs from the stupendous growth of technology is “technological unemployment” (Pandey, 2011). Concerns for the technological unemployment started to surface since the industrial revolution when machines replaced large sections of manual work. The use of information technology has enabled the organizations to substitute the human decision-making with computer decision-making for such clerical works as remembering, record keeping, and calculating. However, simple decisions particularly the ones related to the operational actions and individual transactions are most amenable to computerization. Limitations of computerization The more demanding and cognitively complicated works like the managers’ works are very difficult to automate. The scope of computer automation of such tasks is limited. “Computer automation of clerical and blue-collar work typically does not directly substitute for all of a workers tasks, but instead for a subset of ancillary tasks, and in particular, those that do not require exception processing, visual or spatial skills, or non-algorithmic reasoning” (Bresnahan, Brynjolfsson, and Hitt, 2000, p. 4). Challenges of integrating technology in work Resistance to change Despite the increased significance of information technology in enhancing socio-technical context, a good number of managers in different organizations are still reluctant to give their management and leadership powers to other people. While the use of information technology in organizations has benefited the businesses in several ways, the challenges have also increased manifolds. One of the most fundamental challenges faced by the management in organizations is overcoming the retaliation shown by workers toward the integration of technology that they are not competent in. “Such resistance may take a number of forms—persistent reduction in output, increase in the number of “quits” and requests for transfer, chronic quarrels, sullen hostility, wildcat or slowdown strikes, and, of course, the expression of a lot of pseudological reasons why the change will not work” (Lawrence, 1969). Dependence on technology not only requires the workers to give up the traditional ways of working which they have mastered over the years but also requires them to develop skills and competence in the use of latest technology. To a considerable extent, this requirement has made the young and relatively inexperienced workers more empowered as compared to the old experienced ones that are habitual of working in the old manner. Rise in rate of unemployment Reduced amount of manual work because of more dependence of the organization on technology has surfaced as a bad news for many employees. Many jobs that were manually done before have vanished as those operations are performed by computers now. Accordingly, the need of people doing those jobs has been obviated. This has played a role in raising the level of unemployment in the society. “More than 800 million human beings are now unemployed or underemployed in the world. That figure is likely to rise sharply between now and the turn of the century as millions of new entrants into the workforce find themselves without jobs” (Rifkin, n.d.). Besides, another factor that has caused a rise in unemployment is the lack of tendency of the old workers to develop skills in the use of technology. Old workers that have learnt the use of computers and different softwares that are used in the work in different industries have been able to survive whereas a vast majority of the old workers that could not learn the use of computers or modern technology were simply replaced by other workers that could. Need of stronger supervision Management also needs to closely monitor the activities of the workers since employees can use the information technology for purposes that are not related to work like social networking. Availability of technology in the workplace has provided workers with an opportunity to use it for personal purposes and yet seem busy doing the work. The threat of the misuse of technology by the workers extends beyond merely the loss of productivity. Certain forms of misuse increase the exposure of the organizations to more sinister risks. For instance, web surfing can lead the workers to such websites that consist of malicious codes, thus increasing the susceptibility of the users’ desktop to infection. The same can happen as the workers participate in file sharing among the peers. Workers storing the pirated videos, music, and unlicensed versions of software expose the organization to the risk of liabilities of copyright violation. Similarly, many other examples of security risks can be cited that happen because of failure to reign in the misuse of technology by the workers. “Individuals misusing the organization’s computing resources are for the most part not doing so with the intent to harm the organization. They may just be attempting to "get the job done."” (Computer Economics, 2009). A manager cannot tell whether the office time is being used productively or not unless a proper system of monitoring and supervision has been installed in the organization. This requires installment of cameras, and connection of the individual units of computers with a master computer under the use of the manager. Blurred boundaries between work and social networking The social networking sites have weakened the boundaries between the work time and private time. Employees cannot ignore a friend request sent to them by an employer without facing the issues of etiquettes particularly when the employees share a friendly relationship with the employer in the workplace otherwise. “If businesses need to work with social networking websites, as seems likely, they should have a policy on social networking in the workplace” (Baker et al., 2011, p. 1). In addition to that, the tendency of workers to indulge in the acts of sexual harassment and display other kinds of inappropriate behaviors in the workplace has also increased with the use of the Internet. Threats posed by offshore outsourcing In spite of the numerous benefits of the offshore outsourcing strategy for the companies, its adverse impacts on the society at large cannot be denied. As more jobs are outsourced, the opportunities for the local people are reduced which in turn causes the rate of unemployment to rise. “To be sure, in a lot of cases it is and will continue to be wrenching and deeply disruptive for not only many individuals but also large groups of professionals caught on the wrong side of this trend” (Evans, 2013). In addition to that, there are many security threats posed by the use of information technology in the offshore outsourcing. The vendors might release the secret information and important data of the employer to others in their countries that might be a potential threat for the employer. Avoiding this requires proper monitoring of the information that is shared with the vendors working in other countries. Conclusion In the light of the above analysis, it is clear that, different managers and supervisor in different organisations applies information technology differently in the socio-technical content. The Internet symbolizes a very important change in the organizational processes and forms. Information technology has played a very essential role in enhancing collaborative decisions making process in different entities. Moreover, modern entities especially higher learning institutions have used on-line training mechanism to training employees on social and technical issues. The tendency of the Internet to empower the consumers, flatten the hierarchies with organizations, and facilitate the dynamic exchanges of information across organizations has caused new business models, operational strategies, management mechanisms, and modes of service delivery to surface. However, in spite of the encouraging outcome of information technology in enhancing social interaction in different organisation, managers and other involved players ought to identify and execute the most effective means of training the employees and the public on the importance of information technology in socio-technical context. The changes induced with the increased use of and dependence upon the Internet in the organizations has so important implications that there is need to start preparing today to adopt the latest applications of the Internet that are likely to emerge in the future. Use of latest forms of information technology has had mixed effects on the organizations. The challenges posed by the use of technology in the organization include but are not limited to security threats, rise in unemployment, misuse of time by the employees, and blurred boundaries between work and social networking. The tendency of an organization to achieve optimal results from the use of the Internet and other forms of information technology fundamentally depends upon the quality of supervision and monitoring of the resources and the quality of management. This imparts need for the organizations to assess the power, usability, and implications of the latest Internet technologies and adapt them to the specific needs and conditions so that the risks are minimized and the opportunities are maximized. With proper planning and management, the organizations can optimize on their ability to make best use of latest technology without having to experience its negative effects. References: Baker, D, Buoni, N, Fee, M, and Vitale, C 2011, Social Networking and Its Effects on Companies and Their Employees, [Online] Available at http://www.neumann.edu/academics/divisions/business/journal/Review2011/SocialNetworking.pdf [accessed: 21 February 2013]. 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