Technology's Broad Impact on the Management - Term Paper Example

? Impacts of Technology Technology is arguably among, if not the most powerful forces driving business globally, indeed, an analysis of an industry’s level of technological adoption can easily be used to give a fairly accurate estimation of its success. This can be attributed to; among other reasons; fact that technology increases efficiency reduces time, expenses as well as streamlining operations and allows firms to make maximum use of existing resources. Consequently, today business managers try their best to harness the most recent and progressive technologies and inculcate them into their organizations so as to remain competitively relevant as well increase profitability. In this paper, the impacts of technology on; cost of business, human resources and customer satisfaction will be examined with the intention of establishing its import in the aforementioned sectors. Many organizations are to a large extent dependent on computers to handle their administrative tasks such as inventories bookkeeping and other clerical tasks which were traditionally handled exclusively by personnel. The advent of the internet as well as growth in the diversity and capacity of computing hard and soft ware has significantly reduced the cost of doing business; computer are increasingly becoming more powerful and cheaper to run due to the exponential growth in innovation. In addition, business owners and other entrepreneurs are better able to understand the cash flow and manage their storage and other running costs better ultimately saving time and money. For instance, today with only a laptop, one can open a business or even run a company without requiring to rent office space or hiring employees, the computer can store all the information they need and they can use it to communicate with customers, suppliers as well as carrying out product promotion. The availability of online marketing and sales means one can order and ship goods from point A to point B in the comfort of their home. Furthermore, technology reduces the need for human resource since a computer can carry out tasks that were traditionally done by employees thus further reducing the cost of starting and running a business. The use of bookkeeping software such as QuickBooks and automated sales functions such as sales force allows business owners and managers to focus of strategy by cutting down the running costs and labour expenses. Technology also provides means through which to cut indirect costs, these include cost of commuting which can be scaled down since with the option of telecommuting , one can work from home. Ergo, they will not only save on fuel costs but also reduce the amount of time they spend getting ready to go to office as well as traffic jam which at times cost both employees and their employer’s valuable time which could be used profitably. Technology has helped to reduce the cost of storage by eliminating the need for double or triple entry systems as well as amounts of paperwork that needs to be filed arranged and stored, customer data, contracts and any relevant information can be stored on online or hardware databases and accessed in seconds. Information and advertisement cost can also be scaled down significantly through technology, for example instead of costly TV ads, many firms are opting for online advertising through social media such as Facebook which can reach more people transcending geopolitical borders and which is either low cost or free. According to Jeff Wourio, a manager at Microsoft co-operations, inculcating technology solutions in business is crucial owing to the fact that with technology one can have among other things an online presence and that way they can cut down the costs of advertising significantly and transfer the resources to improving product quality. Online marketing provides a fairly affordable and at times even free avenue through which a company can, not only reach millions of consumers globally but also create a following of (fans/follower/friends) which serve to enhance brand and customer loyalty. According research by the business insider, Mulberry fashions and Levis have managed to get over 13 million likes on Facebook and this significant publicity considering that it is mostly free and yet they have managed to get exposure that would have otherwise cost them millions(Felix 2013). Critics may put forward that technology can be expensive especially when one has to keep upgrading and keeping in touch with technological extremely dynamic technology. While conceding that the cost of technology can be prohibiting at times, it is noteworthy that the cost of not having technology can be devastating, this is because it is virtually impossible in today’s technology driven world for a business to hold its own against better and more advanced competition. Eventually, business that does not embrace technology would most likely lose relevance in the face of techno-savvy competitors and end up losing their clients and out of business. The importance of customers in a business cannot be conceivably understated; there is often a direct correlation between customer satisfaction and the profitability of a company or organization. Accordingly, it is only natural that business managers make significant investment in the benefits heralded by technological innovation to improve the level of customer satisfaction. One of the most common and practical ways to improve customer satisfaction is through tracking your customer purchases and determining which of your customers are likely to be repeat buyers. For instance, if one is selling products online they are often required to give their names and provide a password from the account the seller can track their purchases. This way they can communicate with buyers and send brochures and information on the products they buy frequently as well as information on new products that are related or relevant based on their purchasing records. Through the internet, sellers can maintain constant communication with their customers and inform them of special offers and discounts whenever they are available, that way the customer will feel appreciated and their loyalty and satisfaction will be enhanced. There are certain software programs that can be used to send customized email to customers in order to give them a feel of individuality. Contrary to popular assumption, it is not the problems that customers may encounter in the service provided by a firm that cause most dissatisfaction; poor response to their complaints is often the main cause of dissonance (Salzberger and Monika, 2010). Technology can be used to effectively address this by providing a forum through which complains can be communicated by the consumers and responded to speedily by the employees responsible. Moreover, managers can keep track of the complaint and follow it up until it is resolved and that way it will be easy to supervise the whole process. Studies have shown that customers who complain and get a solution to their problem are likely to be loyal because they feel the organization does not take them for granted. To facilitate this, most companies have websites that have a complains button as well as a facility for live chat with customer care representatives, that way technology is effectively harnessed to facilitate customer satisfaction. Notwithstanding these overt benefits, technology has been the cause of considerable customer dissonance, this is because some firms have taken the online marketing too far and bombard customers with random spam email and other unwanted information. As a result customers may deliberately block certain firms and assume a negative attitude which may translate lowered sales for the firm to specific customer groups. Nonetheless, despite this and other downsides, customers generally feel more satisfied if sellers and service providers produce more efficient service which in many cases result from the latter’s effective use. The increased convenience of facilities such as online shopping means consumers can buy products online and have them delivered to their doorstep, the convince of such shopping experience is likely to result in lasting customer satisfaction. The field of human resource has also been significantly influenced by technological innovations today; HR practices have come to depend a great deal on the technology and in many of the aspects of HR practice as we know them today cannot be separated from ICT (Roberts, 2010). Recruitment in particular, is one of the facets which have been radically changed by technological innovation, in retrospect; HR recruiters depended on print publication such as newspapers and magazines (Leonard, 2001). Other methods used include notice boards, word of mouth as well as personal head hunting, nonetheless, none of the methods were cheap nor possess the capacity to reach millions, today the situation is markedly different. Through; websites, TV adverts and other technology based tools, recruiters can reach millions of potential employees notwithstanding international boundaries and even carry out online interviews. A firm can advertise for a position of its website; interested potential employees will send their applications and resumes to the firms email address, the HR managers will go through them and shortlisted candidates may be scheduled for an online interview possibly through Skype. Finally, the qualifying candidate may be invited to the company’s premises for a final interview, ultimately, the internet will have significantly reduced the cost streamlined the efficacy of the whole process. Alternatively in online firms the employer may never need to meet the employees and the later can work exclusively from their home (Telecommute). Technology has reduced markedly the cost and time of recruitment and training by human resource professionals has been made easier and convenient, for example through company online databases. Company information can be accessed from remote locations and this eliminates the necessity of recruiters to work directly with trainees from a central location. In addition, one trainer can train numerous employees simultaneously and assess their progress through computerized testing programs, furthermore the can administer exams and other assessment activities online quickly and efficiently. Human resource professionals often produce and require a great deal of documents and these often need to be filed for long periods; through the use of digital imaging devices documents that need to be printed out for employees can be produced on demand and this saves the time that would have been used looking for them in files. Technology can also enhance performance management since HR personnel can employ technology to evaluate and asses’ employee competence, this can be done through a variety of available software programs (DuBose, 2006). That way employees who don not perform as per expectations can be recommended for retraining or crash courses or replacement based on the organizational needs. . References Leonard, B. (2001). "Technology's Broad Impact on the Management of HR Functions." HRMagazine 46.12: 27-8.  Salzberger, T. and Monika, K. (2010). "Investigating the Impact of Cognitive Dissonance and Customer Satisfaction on Loyalty and Complaint Behaviour." REMark 9.1: 5,n/a.  Roberts, B. (2010). "Using a Road Map for HR Technology." HRMagazine 55.1: 49-52.  PRNewswire. (2010). KENSHOO to make Next Generation Social Media Advertising ... Personal. Retrieved from http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/kenshoo-to-make-next-generation-social-media-advertising--personal-89701527.html DuBose, W. (2006). “Globalization of Business and Its Effect on Human Resources” Yahoo Voices. Retrieved from http://voices.yahoo.com/globalization-business-its-effect-human-113765.html?cat=3 Wuorio Jeff. (2013) “. 7 ways technology saves money”. Microsoft business for small and medium sized companies. http://www.microsoft.com/business/en-us/resources/optimize-it-investments/business-technology-cost-saving-strategies.aspx?fbid=cUGrLqzDN4G Read More