Why Information Systems and Technologies Are Political - Essay Example

BUSINESS By Why Information Systems and Technologies are Political Up-to information is the key ingredient to economic success in businesses and that is why general managers are always looking for new ways to promote information systems. It is because of the existence of information systems that businesses are in a better position to establish effective knowledge management systems. This is evident in lecture 4 where we learnt that knowledge management (KM) assists businesses by reducing the duplication of efforts and encouraging innovation among other benefits (Petrakaki 2014, slide 7). According to Garson (2007, p. 110), information technology is responsible for alteration of many aspects in life. However, most of these managers ignore the political aspects of managing information systems are equally crucial. The teachings in lecture 2 show that politics rearranges the power and authority in human associations (Petrakaki 2014, slide 32). This is why it is important to know the political factors in organizations particularly when it comes to determining an organization’s success in relation to information technology. Information is the most critical resource and organizations are now keen facilitators of the development of appropriate systems for organizational production and movement of information. The effectiveness in all these areas contributes to the attainment of set goals in businesses. In management of information, there are two aspects: information production and information flow. Information production looks at how organizations gather and organize data (Stair & Reynolds 2013, p. 399). Information flow refers to how information moves from one system component to another. For example, in lecture 3, we learn that users are some of the components in information systems that ensure data moves from one system to another one (Petrakaki 2014, slide 4). The system components of an organization could consist of the computers, employees or departments used in the organization. During information movement, it passes through different agents that have the power to alter or suppress it before passing it on. This is well explained in lecture 3 which shows how information moves in the traditional system development life-cycle (Petrakaki 2014, slide 6). Such information production and flow are processes that are political. The first reason that makes them political is because they contain implications that are political. The second reason that makes information flow and production political is because they are a reflection of the political structures which exist in businesses. Organization members must actively participate in collective decisions which make up the information systems of organizations. Demonstration of the idea that Technology has politics Technology is extremely appealing. It is autonomous and independent as noted in lecture 2 teachings (Petrakaki 2014, slide 9). As proposed by Rosenau and Singh (2002, p.3) technology proposes the change that will occur, but not responsible for determining it. It is through technology that lives get saved and made easier. Technology allows people to acquire more knowledge, and knowledge is as we read in lecture 4, a political resource (Petrakaki 2014, slide 6). From a figurative or literal point of view, technology takes people to places and provides people with things that they did not have centuries ago. For example, computers are there to help people get to the information superhighway and cars are there to get people to the real superhighway. This is technology in action and in other instances; it is the language that persuades other people to share information (Fung 2014). The idea of politics in technology focuses on the power relationships (Petrakaki 2014, slide 2). These are relationships that exist between the users of information systems, the producers in organizations and artefacts and designers of these systems. An excellent demonstration of this relationship is the example of Robert Moses, the master builder of New York City among other cities and the New York Freeway that he built. In the New York freeway, the power of politics is clear because Moses made the freeway based on the assumptions of the people who would benefit from such technological development. Since there are public places that he constructed and were not accessible to the public he was able to use his skills to construct a logical, technological design that resulted to artefacts. The last result is that he was in a better position to determine how the New York image would appear. In this demonstration, it is clear that technology has politics, even though it does not evidently portray itself in the physical artefact when a person observes the city casually (Dean, Anderson & Lovink 2013, p. 5). Two ways in which Information Systems/ Technology are political Information systems have been the way by which organizations now have advanced user experience. It is also the easiest way through which the people who are outside the organizations are able to access the technological services and products (Dean, Anderson & Lovink 2013, p.6). Since information systems have made the life of users and designers easier, it has also contributed to inventions which changed how people get information. This is a contribution made by inventing the Internet and the printing press. The Printing Press Before the invention of the printing press, most states had closed ecosystems. Therefore, most information in the 1800s spread through the words of mouth and in other instances, by writing for those who were literate or born from noble families (Childress 2008, p. 10). It mostly worked well for most people who were rich or in power because anyone with an alternative view of such technology was seen as a person against revolutionary movement. Therefore, it was because of the printing press that the ecosystems were open and every thought whether it was good or bad found a way in which it could spread or promote ideas that would change the political scenes. A look at the printing press, a few decades ago or in this century shows that it has not only had an impact on the investors, the industry or the inventors, but it has also had an impact on the public, from a global perspective. As shown in lecture 2, it is now a technology people view as a social norm (Petrakaki 2014, slide 23). The printing press transmits data not only in one location, or from one class, such as the rich or the poor, but every corner of the globe (Dittmar 2010, p. 3). This has been possible through the advancement of technology which has made it easier to print on a mass production. It is also fundamental to recognize that the printing press is widely known because of the impact it has on the society. This is the democratization force. It is through the printing press that groups or parties within the political arenas compete with each other while attracting party supporters. There is an excellent example in lecture 4 where we learnt that there are lawyers who examine the documents that their rivals feed into the system to monitor their activities (Petrakaki 2014, slide 33). The shift from the traditional way of communicating with large masses of people such as through the manuscript to the printing press promoted the literacy rates in many people. This is because it reduced the costs which were incurred when books were published, which also resulted to making the process labour intensive and one that took less time. The technology of the printing press had changed the way people looked at education and the process of learning. Most of the public members were now literate enough to understand the printing press without necessary being born in rich families. Hence, the printing press became the key to the world movements and as an effective way of having political views disseminated. As an earlier form of information technology, the printing press was the only cheaper means of participating in political dialogue before the invention of other advanced technologies such as the internet. Since technological innovations, such as the printing press has always been required to adapt to a country’s legal systems, they always have an effect on diplomatic relations in a state. This is because it is a form of technology and as we learnt in lecture 2, technology is like a text because its essence is subject to different interpretation (Petakaki 2014, slide 24). Decades ago, the printing press changed the way wars were fought and the relationships that existed between politicians in a state (Mattern 2003, p. 20). The printing press in the 1930s also helped also led to the promotion of totalitarian regimes such as Hitler’s regime because everything he dictated was published for all to see. The printing press can also be credited for facilitating the end of wars, such as the Vietnam War because it encouraged the intervention of forces from outside warring areas in different countries. The Internet In lecture 10, we learnt that the internet started as a technology which was not inclusive (Petrakaki 2014, slide 8). Unlike the printing press, the internet is different because it is intrinsically global. As noted by Garson (2007, p. 123), the internet ensures even the disparate geographical sectors in the world are well-connected. For example, any person in the world can set up a website on a public or a personal computer, connect it to the internet and publish the site or the pages within seconds and all people in the world who are also connected to their computers can see these pages. It is only through the internet that the printing press is able to reach people past the boarders in this century. Contrary to the internet, the users of the printing press had to have connections or pay a lot of money to have their political ideologies reaching the public members across borders. The internet has the advantage because the users only need to have the finances to buy a computer and pay for internet among other few requirements to send their message across the borders (Bosker, 2011). In lecture 10, we also learnt that the internet facilitates open information and transcends boundaries (Petrakaki 2014, slide 11). An excellent example is that a web page that gets published in New York is also visible in Asia, Africa or the Middle-East. The internet is also advantageous in another way. Groups that are not favoured within political arenas and cannot send their political messages using the printing press have the chance to use the internet without finding themselves in political asylums (Harrington & Englert 2014, p. 286). It is through the internet that these disfavoured groups are empowered, nit only on a state level but internationally. For example, the world was able to learn about the events surrounding Muammar Gaddafi’s death through the internet. It is also through the internet that the world learns about countries with political problems, whether in Africa, Europe, Asia or the Middle-East. The internet is also cheaper than sending political data through televisions (Petrakaki 2014, slide 12). According to a Huffington post article by Bosker (2011), the internet which is a technological innovation is also political because its influence largely manifests itself because it is easy to make international contracts. It has an influence on the behaviour of states and how laws get enforced against people. Therefore, the internet is a technology that is political because it helps in developing new international laws, strengthening them and promoting their acceptance to public members within and outside the borders (Petrakaki 2014, slide 12). In addition, it also aids in identifying human rights violations in states and as a tool to send the message of imposed sanctions. These aspects are all interrelated because the groups that use the internet are the same groups that may also be involved in the establishment of new treaties. For example, a few years back, there were several movements which were not in support of landmines. It was through the web pages that the horrors resulting from the use of landmines became existent to the world and to the political activists who would become sympathetic, thereby working towards attaining new treaties. Since the internet is an excellent example of an information system, such activities existed to coordinate the ideas that the public members presented. This is evidently shown in lecture 10 where we learnt that the internet favours the social interests of certain groups (Petrakaki 2014, slide 41). These groups also participate in political activities within domestic settings as the most effective way of getting states to support and adopt the treaties they establish. These are also the same groups that participate in investigations when there are any forms of domestic or international violations. Personal Reflection and Views For users, technology is political because through the printing press and the internet they can present their opinions regarding the contents of legal systems, within and out of boundaries. Depending too much on technology shows that now users might be too confident with the power over nature which means that technology dominates their lives. It also means that users become too lazy because they do not aspire to improve their lives without using technology. Technology users and the social actors, particularly those who are in the local settings all have the influence on each other because such influences emerge with time as different factors unfold (Petrakaki 2014 slide 11). For this reason, technologies cannot be said to operate without the users or the designers, just as the users and designers cannot succumb to the arrangements that come about because of politics in technology that emerges as a result of the social actors. For designers technology is political because system designs provide the most appropriate means of establishing their authority and power in the settings given. It is through these systems or technologies that the actors who hire designers achieve political ends. This is because as noted in lecture 3 the traditional development life-cycle systems depends on implementation of the users (Petrakaki 2014, slide 11). For example, the invention of moulding machines in the 1800 and 1900s was widely embraced by the designers of such machines because the machines displaced workers. The social actors, who are under a social order also, have an effect on technology when t comes to pursuing those policies that most believe serve their interests. An excellent example would be how the music companies and the Hollywood studios have the upper hand because they are the groups that come up with the copyright policies in United States. In all this time, the users are not represented when it comes to making the copyrights rules and policies. Bibliography Bosker, B. 2011, March 29. As internet use grows, is it polarizing political views? The Huffington Post. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/29/internet-polarizing-politics_n_842263.html Childress, D. 2008. Johannes Gutenberg and the printing press. Minneapolis, MN: Twenty-First Century Books. Dean, J., Anderson, J., & Lovink, G. 2013. Reformatting politics: Information technology and global civil society. London: Routledge. Dittmar, J. 2010. Information technology and economic change: The impact of the printing press. Department of Economics, 2-29. Retrieved from http://goo.gl/soSWF7 Fung, B. 2014, November 4. Net neutrality was the biggest tech issue of the year but nobody campaigned on it. Washington Post. Retrieved from http://goo.gl/dVk1of Garson, D. 2007. Modern public information technology systems: Issues and challenges. Hershey, PA: Idea Group Inc (IGI). Harrington, A., & Englert, M. 2014. How much is enough? The politics of technology and weaponless nuclear deterrence. American Political Science Association, 2, 286-288. Retrieved from http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-642-55010-2_17 Mattern, J. 2003. The printing press: An information revolution. New York: The Rosen Publishing Group. Petrakaki, D. (2014). Lecture 10: Internet & Politics. N1039 information systems. School of Business, Management and Economics, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK. Petrakaki, D. (2014). Lecture 2: The debate on social determinism vs. technological determinism. N1039 information systems. School of Business, Management and Economics, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK. Petrakaki, D. (2014). Lecture 3: IS Development & Evaluation. N1309 information systems. School of Business, Management and Economics, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK. Petrakaki, D. (2014). Lecture 4: Knowledge Management. N1039 information systems. School of Business, Management and Economics, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK. Rosenau, J., & Singh, J. 2002. Information technologies and global politics: The changing scope of power and governance. New York: SUNY Press. Stair, R., & Reynolds, G. 2013. Fundamentals of information systems. Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning. Read More