Organizational Problems: the Expansion of Internet Technology - Essay Example

To what degree have organizations resolved the cultural and organizational problems associated with the expansion of Internet technology? Internet isbasically a network of networks, which is connected through different telephone network companies that are themselves linked throughout the world. These computers usually connect through a device known as modem whereby computer signals are transmitted through it. Around 50 million people are making use of this service across the globe. The main content on the net is the “World Wide Web” or abbreviated as WWW. There are so many sites on this web that one can sit on the Internet for ages but the sites won’t finish. Internet provides visits to different places as well as caters to what a user wants to know – just about anything. There are many search engines from where specific and precise information can be found easily and without any major complexities. It’s all free on the Internet to this level but there are certain sites which ask for money in return of their services to the users. (Madden, 2002) Organizations are the biggest users of the Internet and they mostly employ it for the promotion of their products and services, which are introduced in the local as well as global market every now and then. The Internet for them is providing benefits aplenty. These advantages can be in the form of providing information to the users as well as advertising on the net and thus setting sights and their target market on the whole world. (Fonseca, 2002) The domestic use of Internet is spreading at a fast pace. E-mail is the most famous of the net services that is being used by people all over the world. Other than this, chat programs and voice is also being used all over the world and is quite famous. The Internet is very helpful from the technical as well as specification information viewpoint; about the different machines and their tools that are a part of the business industry throughout the world. The use of Internet is a two-way communication platform between the buyer and the seller and it is up to either one of them to harness its potentials as much as he/she possibly can. It can also be used on the buyer’s part to “offset” a salesman’s characteristics and benefits with prior knowledge of the product. This very valuable knowledge attained can be used to undervalue other’s products and services. The training of staff over a certain period of time becomes immensely important since they stagnate in their current positions and they need to look out of their spaces to explore more and more. The communication aspect for these staff members comes in handy that have to be considered all said and done. All sets of employees work for the organization and hence care must be taken to ensure these employees are on the same level and there is not any discrimination whatsoever. (Shapiro, 1999) Organizational values are something really intrinsic to an organization and hence it is important to ascertain the actual basis under which these staff members and employees exhibit their roles and responsibilities. This means that the values need to be the first and foremost factor for them when these employees think of carrying out different activities and being a part of the various processes occurring within the organizational regimes. The first salient point for these staff members and employees is to understand that their voice gets heard and they are audible enough to be listened in the same vein as they speak. They must get their message across to the relevant audiences as per their queries of using the Internet within the domains of the organization. Hence there is a need for a common wavelength amongst the different employees that work in unison within the organization’s umbrella. (Stroud, 1998) For building an organizational climate which makes proper use of the Internet, it is pertinent to understand that the staff manifests their actions in a manner which is easily followed by the employers and there are no expectations attached with doing the right thing on the part of the employees, rather the emphasis must be brought down by the top management hierarchies. The cultural and organizational problems due to the advent of the Internet have posed a number of troubles for the workers and employees. These aspects come into consideration due to the fact that there is diversity within the frameworks of the organizations, thus hindering the smooth flow operations under the due course of advancements in the Internet sector. The cultural basis stems from the fact that the workers have problems in understanding the language of instruction on which Internet operates, usually being English in this case. (Castells, 2002) Then there are the technical details which matter a great deal in the up and coming problems. The technical problems owe their basis to the ever-changing technological regimes as well as the advancements which happen within the software and hardware units making use of the Internet technology. Organizational problems have come about due to the different infrastructural make-ups of these companies and the varied business models under which they operate from time to time. (Cross, 2000) The Internet, which is also called the 4th Channel, thus provides the ideal opportunity to buyers and suppliers to interact with each other and consequently acts as an efficient sales channel of all present in the business world. Similarly, Internet is being made use of in the field of marketing and will so be used more and more in the 21st century as it has real assistances for this industry. Internet helps in decreasing the rates of brochures as well as other selling aids thus becoming more and more accurate as well as user-friendly and easily navigable. The Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) are a case in point whereby information about products is supplied to the buyers as well as domestic users at a minimal cost and at a great speed. There are no hassles involved like visiting the company for brochures and the like. (Frame, 2003) These FAQs can also help develop a customer-based vision with the company actually interacting with the buyers in real-time and catering to their needs and responding to their queries, in the meantime putting confidence in the customers’ mind that the company is worthy of them. The Internet is also used for conducting online classes as well as seminars, workshops and shows within the domains of the organizational set-ups thus bringing in various opportunities for the employees to understand the ever-growing advantages of the Internet and the related technologies. They can also preview products before they are brought out in the market thus acting as a way of performing market research. It can easily empower a company’s prospects and set the tone for future accomplishments. Buyer-seller relationship develops through the use of Internet that determines how sound business is being carried out. It also helps to point out the flaws where the company is lacking in attaining its goals and providing maximum benefits to its customers as well as suppliers. This age is the era of Internet. (London, 2001) More than ever before today, we need to know the business and if that isn’t possible, then there’s no way out to restore the confidence of the customer over and above the suppliers. There is also a distributor-builder relationship that requires each one getting more out of the other one. It actually is the way to carry out the business, faster, inexpensive and better with higher margins of profit. Orders, shipments and service calls are just about the blend of what we call the business side usage of the Internet. It develops a relationship between the suppliers as well as the customers. Interacting with them is always beneficial for the company and hence the business. The growing use of Internet can offer so much more to the employees and staff working within the lengths and breadths of the organization but all these points are pertinent if and only if the organizations properly put into practice the framework of understanding the needs of their own employees. These could be in the form of their getting used to with the latest Internet advancements and so on and so forth. ATMs (Automated Teller Machines) and PBNs (Packet Backbone Networks) are such examples, which have become reality with the passage of time, thus providing an effective interacting mechanism with the business of technology and its facilitation. (Nicholas, 2000) These technological facets have provided a tremendous amount of boom to the up and coming commercial activities as well as have helped the ISP (Internet Service Providers) business, not to forget the banks who are in total dependence with the belief of having as many ATMs at their offices (at different branches) as possible. Internet traffic is expanding at a very cutthroat speed and if measures to tackle its extension are not taken, then it would be very difficult to equip the companies of today with the new hype of the Next Generation Internet, let alone live up to the required standards of performing smooth transactions and so on in the already available networks. This is only possible if businesses have in focus their vision and mission objectives set in sight of the up and coming potential of the new technologies like Abilene and more like them and then actually putting their same system into the latter’s boots to reap benefits which are there for the taking. (Henderson, 1994) No body in this whole big world owns the Internet. It is the Internet’s power that, according to some, is due to lack of censorship. It won’t be wrong to state that if someone starts controlling the Internet, then this very censorship will be lost and there would be all kinds of problems for its users worldwide. Just about everyone can use the Internet as well as create a webpage or a site that can target to each and every individual in the world. It is very vast and it has no range. The ownership issue has its due problems as well. The orders and transactions are not that safe on the net and the banking industry has been the worst hit in this regard. People can use their bank accounts as well as buy products online but it’s not that safe as the Internet security system suffers from serious hurdles. (Shade, 2002) Hackers as well as crackers are the people who have started this ordeal for the domestic users as well as the companies, which has made the net so unsafe from the security standpoint. They are rightly regarded as the thieves of the Internet, disclosing anyone’s passwords and account numbers as well as getting into any company’s server and destroying its databases. This is ethically immoral and one that should be taken care of by everyone while he is on the net. Similarly, women issues are also an important facet of the Internet whereby bisexuals, trans-sexual and homo can correspond with each other without any such problems as imposed by the society. Every person on the Internet is free to say just about everything, be it ethically correct or otherwise. Issues concerning women are highlighted and portrayed in a manner that people concentrate more and more. Millions of computer users worldwide every year lose invaluable data and information at the hands of stolen means employed by anyone sitting on a workstation thousands of miles away from the host node. Computer privacy is one such aspect on which the researchers in the same field are working their best at. Certain ways are being devised all around the globe to ascertain the manner in which computer data can be kept secret from the people who are not authorized to seek it. Internet privacy of late has become a serious issue that should be tackled with immediate effect. (Gattiker, 2001) There are a number of ways in which personal information can be kept secret from all. These include using good and difficult to guess passwords as well as not storing them on the machine they are most likely to be accessed by someone else. In addition, employing anti-virus and anti-trojan measures can also be deemed beneficial from the computer privacy viewpoint. It is very important for a computer user to identify the difference between the good and the bad. There is positive marketing on the Internet through which consumers can easily purchase certain products but the majority of the online world is filled with spam and irrelevant stuff, which only creates hindrances for the commoner when he/she is hooked on to the Internet. These should be kept away at all costs and must not be replied back in any fashion whatsoever. People must be careful when performing online transactions on the net because no one knows that on the other side a crook is sitting to grab someone’s credit card number and other significant information. One should always trust his/her feelings and should not carry out business when he/she thinks that something is fishy in all the dealing. Fraud as well as theft must be reported to the relevant authorities so as to curb the effects of being deceitfully attacked by someone anonymous. People should be vigilant enough to know as to when and how certain dealing should be undertaken and under what circumstances. In the case of downloading stuff from the Internet, a computer user must check the file that whether it has come from a known source and if it is proven correct, then the particular mail should be scanned before it is opened. Anti-virus software is employed in scanning this sort of material and it is a must in the world of computers today. M E Porter argues that “basic Internet applications will become table stakes” once the usage of Internet within the companies increases. Expansion of the Internet regimes is thus a quintessential feature that needs to be touched upon here. This argument is judged in the light of some fundamental elements. It is true that companies cannot really think of existing without their business carried out through the use of Internet but can actually live without gaining any such advantage from them. For the latter to be of some sort of help, it is necessary that the local marketplace where the business is mostly concentrated in be networked and business over Internet is encouraged. (Steinbock, 2000) This should not only be assured within the dot coms but also with the investors, different individuals who are interested in buying shares and just about any body who has some sort of interest in the business. The companies will attempt to seek more powerful and sturdy applications that will not only give them a sustainable competitive advantage with other businesses but would also give strengths to their individual products, which might be a shortcoming on the part of the Internet. With Internet, a particular business would only compete with those companies that have this facility (Internet) at their disposal. In turn, these (the businesses) would only be able to attract those investors and individuals that have access to the Internet and not any other. One of the reasons for Porter’s judgment is that only the companies who have a vision of being indoors and not actually getting out and helping their customers and investors into persuading into buying shares and the like would be benefited from the Internet perspective while the latter would not be able to seek any sort of monetary or otherwise competitive advantage. Another rationale for his statement lies in the fact that companies tend to look towards a future setting whereby their business could grow for an indefinite period of time but with the ever-changing scenario of computers and technology as well as the Internet, this cannot be assured at any cost at any such level. Thus, it is better to rely somewhat on the dependence of Internet for the dot coms of today but staying away from them can also lead to serious losses for the business as well. (Ray, 1995) It is true that for a business company of today, getting on the bandwagon of Internet and the up and coming technologies attached with computers is very necessary but they cannot fully depend on these as many factors are dependent on them. All these are listed in the above section of this paper. It is best advisable for these dot coms to bring their business out of office workplaces and rather carry out the same where the real investors, shareholders and other individuals interested in the business actually are. In the end, it is appropriate to suggest that proper and adequate recruitment and selection ensures that the business processes and management activities are carried out in a fine manner, a manner which will ensure sound usage of Internet and related technological regimes within the organization. Also it guarantees success to the well being of the employees and workers who expect growth and profitability to touch their feet and not only that but also the organizations start reaping rich dividends from these steps in all essence. (Hermans, 1998) One must understand the true strengths and weaknesses which exist within an organization under the ever-growing use of the Internet and then analyze the rights and wrongs so that the whole picture is seen from both the angles. Expansion of the Internet technology will only boost the eventual basis of the organization that employees are working under. All said and done, it is pertinent to understand that much good work is being carried out in the related ranks as far as incorporation of Internet within organizations is concerned. Bibliography CASTELLS, Manuel. (2002). The Cultures of the Internet. Queens Quarterly, Vol. 109 CROSS, Elsie Y. (2000). Managing Diversity – The Courage to Lead. Quorum Books FONSECA, Jose. (2002). Complexity and Innovation in Organizations. Routledge FRAME, J. Davidson. (2003). Managing Projects in Organizations: How to Make the Best Use of Time, Techniques, and People. Jossey-Bass GATTIKER, Urs E. (2001). The Internet as a Diverse Community: Cultural, Organizational, and Political Issues. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates HENDERSON, George. (1994). Cultural Diversity in the Workplace: Issues and Strategies. Praeger HERMANS, Hubert. (1998). 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