IT Admins in Small Companies - Essay Example

The paper "IT Admins in Small Companies" is an outstanding example of an essay on information technology. There are various tasks to be performed in any organization all geared towards a common goal. To reach this goal, various tasks are divided among different individuals. However, they all work towards a common goal (Tucker 2013). Differences exist in the number of tasks performed by employees in a small organization and those performed by employees in a large organization. In small companies, employees perform a wide range of activities while in bigger companies; employees are specialized to one task ("Small Vs.

Large Companies"). The following paper helps to examine the differences between the tasks performed by employees in these two types of companies together with the advantages and disadvantages of each in relation to job specialization. Large companies are highly specialized. Individuals perform certain specific single tasks throughout. This helps them to develop expertise in the area leading to increased productivity and accuracy (Shepard 2006.). This is because the employee in a large company needs to master only the specific task unlike his counterpart in a small company who needs to master many tasks at the same time.

Specialization also saves on organizational time and employee time (Tucker 2013). This is because the employee does not have to move from one place to another as in small business since he/she concentrates in the area of his/her expertise. The saved time can be put into good use such as innovation. Specialization also requires little training since only one task is taught (Tucker 2013). Once learned, the employee becomes independent and self-sufficient requiring less supervision. This saves time for supervisors who can be used to train other workers.

Specialization also leads to job security for the workers (Shepard 2006.). For example, in a large organization, there is only one employee trained on data recovery making it difficult for the company to replace him/her like no other employee can perform that task. In a small company where there is no specialization, he/she can be easily replaced. However, the doing of one task can lead to boredom and dissatisfaction at work. This is because of the monotony of doing one task continuously (Tucker 2013).

The employee never faces any new challenges or opportunities which act as motivators. The other disadvantage of performing a single task is the loss of flexibility in the job. Only the particular individual can perform a specialized task. In case he/she is not available the organization may encounter difficulty finding a replacement (McKeen, 2003). Small companies that are not specialized also have their advantages. This includes a higher degree of flexibility because individuals can perform a wide range of tasks (McKeen, 2003).

In case one person who performs a certain task is not around, another one can perform that task as well. This in return has the disadvantage of reducing the job security for the employees who work in such. Employees avoid boredom and monotony of work in smaller companies (Tucker 2013). This is because they perform many activities as opposed to the large companies that perform few. The employees in smaller companies also have a huge variety of skills that they acquire from various tasks that they perform.

Small unspecialized business, however, has a high degree of duplication of work where the same work is performed by two or more individuals. The employees also do not gain the proper expertise in one field as concentration is scattered among many different tasks. They also waste a lot of time moving from one task to another. Conclusion In conclusion, Specialization has obvious advantages and disadvantages at work. However, employees should be creative when being specialized in certain institutions so as to avoid job dissatisfaction and boredom.

The organization should also establish procedures such as job enrichment so as to motivate employees in specialized firms.