Telecommuting as Technology in Action - Research Paper Example

Technology in Action “Telecommuting”  Abstract Telecommuting is a technological development made at the workplace and is seen to be a boon to the employees. The employees do not need to go to office but can work from home. This increases the level of satisfaction of the employees. Information Technology companies are constantly upgrading the technology used in telecommuting. Telecommuting is also found to promote a greener and safer environment. However, the concern lies in the communication factor. Hierarchal communication gets affected in a telecommuting process. Thus special focus needs to be given to communication to make the process highly effective. the paper focuses upon the technology involved in telecommuting and ho it makes the work easier for both the businesses and the workers. Introduction       The introduction of Telecommuting as a concept in the field of Information Technology has brought about a significant change in the process of remote communications. Telecommuting as a function works with the aid of telecommunication devices like the telephone, fax machine and Internet technology via computers. Modern amenities provided at the offices like video conferencing and web conferencing through a modem and web cam are the necessary outcomes of Telecommuting. Telecommuters also make optimal use of conferencing facilities while communicating simultaneously with two or more recipients. Telecommuting has also helped in changing the work atmosphere to a considerable extent. The telecommuters can opt to work independently from home. It thus helps in the reduction of expenses ith respect to office, food and personal care. However, certain social problems do exist. One main disadvantage that the telecommuters do face is loneliness. The rapid use of telecommuting function makes one lose the benefits of teamwork. A person not visiting the office may also suffer from lack of information especially pertaining to the issues discussed in meetings. Team interactions often bring up crucial information, which is quite useful and adds to one’s knowledge base. However, the promotion of working from home concept through the advent of telecommuting has helped in the increase of productivity of the employees. They can devote more hours while working in the comfort of their home, thus committing to greater volume and quality, which might not be possible within the office environment. (Deborah, 2010) The paper in this context tries to highlight the technology used in telecommuting and the growing use of the concept in the field of information sharing.     Technology used in Telecommuting History        Telecommuting as a technological advancement had its beginning in 1970 when it found its use in linking up the branch or satellite offices to the mainframe computer located in the head office. As time passed the demand for the use of telecommuting technology also increased. In the modern context, the growth of working from home led to the growing use of the telecommuting concept. Recruitment centers on productivity and quality rather than demanding the physical presence of the employees. (Telecommuting Technology Explained Simply, 2010) Telecommuting Aides       The following section focuses on the present and future technologies, which make the telecommuters skilled and equipped enough to work independently from their remote places. This in turn helps in the propagation of telecommuting.       Internet       The rapid growth of Internet usage worldwide has propelled the popularization of telecommuting. Existence of features like World Wide Web and electronic mail counts on the Internet to provide access to remote areas. The World Wide Web enables a user to get volumes of information right at hand while the electronic mails support speedy communication. An estimate made in 2002, shows that in United States 54 million people work in a telecommuting environment. The application service providers are constantly focusing on the development of the Internet medium to make the browsers les dependent on remote access connections. Thus, it aims at opening of manifold line-of-businesses in the near future. (Work from home technology, 2010).       Remote Access       The growing use of internet technology in the field of telecommuting often results in poor signaling and delayed communication for dial-up users. In order to find a solution to the above problem the Internet Technologists have developed the Virtual Private Networking (VPN). While working in a Virtual Private Networking environment the main office of a company connects to the Internet and the VPN Server through a public Internet Protocol (IP) address. While working the users first link up with their own Internet Service Protocol (ISP) and with the company’s Virtual Private Networking (VPN) server, which in turn provides connection to the company’s network. Apart from the process of establishing the connection, the network obtained is the same as that of the dial-up connection. The encryption and the encapsulation protocols of Virtual Private Networking take care of the security part. Small entrepreneurs operating in remote areas use the Internet Services Digital Network (ISDN) for telecommuting where cable Internet connection is unavailable. The advantages for an Internet Services Digital Network connection are that there is no necessity of setting up a separate phone or fax line. Rather one has to purchase an ISDN line, which can help serve the purpose faster. Moreover, it is also economical compared to the installation of two separate phone or fax lines. (Work from home technology, 2010).       Mobile Computing       The trades, which greatly depend on generating contacts and appointments, require people to work in a Wi-Fi environment. Thus, the emergence of Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) has significantly helped in the substitution of laptops to earn the benefits of the trade. Personal Digital Assistants as substitutes to laptops provide support to functions like electronic mailing, storing documents, contacts, and appointments. The Personal Digital Assistants can also be synchronized with the help of Outlook Express and a host of other computers to work in a wireless environment. (Work from home technology, 2010).       SOHO Technology            Manufacturers like Xerox, Brother and Hewlett- Packard in the light of the growing demand for home office environment, aimed at developing the small office or home office line of products and services. In popular term, it is known as the SOHO line of products. The above development made by the companies has assisted in setting up an office within one’s home in quite an economical manner. This has led to a growing demand for these products. (Work from home technology, 2010). Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and Telecommuting       The Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) proves advantageous since it reduces the amount spent on telephone bills and augments the quality of working in a telecommuting environment. Voice over Internet Protocol enables telecommuting features like video conferencing and call routing helps create an effective virtual office atmosphere. A global research report conducted on Voice over Internet Protocol indicates that 92 percent of the firms believe that letting the employees function in a remote destination independently helps increase their productivity. The Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) claims if installed by a company it can reduce the possibilities of the employees missing important information discussed on meetings for not attending offices. (How VOIP Benefits Telecommuters, Business, and Quality of Life, N.D.) In this regard, a brief discussion can be presented on the working of the Voice over Internet Protocol process. The Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) process functions by transforming one’s voice to a host of data bits. The bits created are then organized into packets and transferred by data networks such as internet, wide area network for corporate and local area network for small office locations. (Reality Check, 2002) Groupware and Telecommuting       The introduction of Groupware as software helps in the work of people engaged with a common system or application irrespective of their business locations. Common groupware applications existing today are electronic mails, newsgroups and chat features. The groupware activities are mainly divided into three groups by the users, viz. tools for communication, conferencing and for collaborative management. On this basis, the common application groupware tools can also be segregated. Electronic mails, FAX and Voice Mails are communication tools. Data, Voice, Video Conferencing and Chat Rooms are examples of Conferencing tools. Examples of Collaborative Management tools are electronic calendars, project management and workflow systems. Further, Groupware can also be categorized on the basis of time and place. In terms of time, the groupware activities can be categorized into synchronous and asynchronous forms. If people at the same place carry on the groupware activities then it is termed as collocated groupware. When people reside in different locations it is known as distance groupware. Importance of groupware activities in telecommuting lies in the fact that people living in different locations can have an access to the common application and benefit from it. Groupware activities can also help in solving problems in a collective manner, which reduces the cost borne by companies. (White, 2010)    Designing of the Work-Home connection       The right combination of a Personal Computer or Laptop, Virtual Private Network (VPN) Software, a broadband Internet connection, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) enabled with the suitable telephone connection helps in designing the work-home set up. The functions of the above components may be explained as follows:       The Personal Computer       The telecommuters while making a decision about choosing the right computer to perform the required task must find out whether the electronic mail profile has been created, the virtual private network (VPN) has been configured and installed, the security policies are created and enforced and adequate virus soft ware are installed and updated (Practical Telecommuting Technologies, 2003, pp.3-5).       High Speed Connection         The broadband connection helps in faster and efficient connectivity in contrast to dial up connection. It is because the transportation of larger files along dial up connection takes much greater time in contrast to broadband connection. The Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) cannot be enabled in case of dial up connection for reasons like low bandwidth. (Practical Telecommuting Technologies, 2003, pp.3-5)       The Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) connection       The speech to be transferred along the communication medium requires the connection of the company’s Internet Protocol telephones to the Private Branch Exchange (PBX) devices in the company, the integration of network-hosted applications and the extension of Private Branch Exchange to home office applications. In regards to the above context, the telecommuting solution needs to build a gateway of Private Branch Exchange and the Internet Protocol to convert voice calls to Internet protocols. Further, an appropriate Internet Protocol endpoint should be constructed for VoIP connection. (Practical Telecommuting Technologies, 2003, pp.3-5)       Telephonic Connection       The right telephonic connection is to be chosen by the telecommuter to facilitate his work. Moreover, the possession of a cell phone by the telecommuter acts as an advantage to this end. However, the cell phones do not provide a complete solution to the above problem. In this respect, the suggested solution is the installation of an Internet Protocol phone, which can help in solving the purpose. (Practical Telecommuting Technologies, 2003, pp.3-5) Communication use in Telecommuting       Telecommuting on the rise encourages many business promote the idea of a global village by installing concepts like groupware. In regards to the above context, the paper needs to first define the types of telecommuters existing in the industry. It is argued that there are essentially three types of telecommuters viz. fulltime, traveling and part time. The full time telecommuters come mainly from the marketing or sales background. The employer here gives the employees laptops or personal computers, which are used mainly for activities like contact management, word processing, and maintaining contacts with people at the employee’s workplace. Traveling telecommuters also belong to sales and marketing. However, they prefer carrying a notebook or a laptop while working out contacts and arranging meetings with clients. Part time telecommuters divide the time between meeting his office colleagues and working in a quieter environment. He thus carries out his desire of participating in teamwork with his office colleagues and also gives due importance to working in solitude. Software developers are regarded as part time telecommuters. (Coleman, 1992, p.138) Interpersonal Communication through Telecommuting       A case study on the United States Department of Defense shows four different types of human communication in regards to the development of software. The communications made by the focus groups are through electronic mails, terminal links, telephones, and face-to-face meetings between themselves. While communicating through terminal links, the response group has terminals linked to a host computer. When something is typed on the host computer, the same thing appears on the screen of both the terminal computers. Hence the communication conducted needs to be analyzed based on three parameters like the rate of information transfer along high or low band width, the breadth of information transferred i.e. one to one to one or one to many basis and the time taken to reach a terminal computer. In this regard, it is found that the communication conducted along terminal links are one to one, have low bandwidth, and are transmitted fast. In regards to electronic mail, it is found that communication made is one to many, have low bandwidth and are delayed. Conference calls communication through telephones is generally on a one to one basis, have moderate bandwidth, and occur fast. While dealing with communication via face-to-face meetings it is found that, they occur on one to many basis, have high bandwidth and occur fast. The electronic mails and face-to-face meetings are regarded as effective communication processes since electronic mails are used to generate information among a host of people while meetings are held for demonstration purposes. (Bush, 1990, p.5) Telecommuters’ Communication in an organizational context       An observation conducted on the employees of the City of Long Beach in California depict that 73 percent of the telecommuters had purchased their computers without depending on the employers. It was further found that communication took place mainly through electronic mails followed by telephonic communication. The meetings were conducted but not in a frequent manner while communication through voice mail scored last. The study reflects that telecommuters prefer mediated communication to direct communication. It is because the full time telecommuters mainly work from home and hence inculcate a feeling of social inclusion with respect to his fellow workers. The hierarchy of communication in an organizational environment also changes as far as telecommuters are concerned. New set of rules needs to be developed to manage the telecommuters. (Kalbfleisch, 2004, pp.102-103)      Impact of Telecommuting       In a telecommuting environment where training is being conducted, the manager must ensure that effective communication takes place between the management and the employees while communicating through telephone, electronic mails or by video conferencing. Care must be taken that both the telecommuters and the non-telecommuters do not lose important information in this process. It was further observed that the part time telecommuters were more productive than the full time telecommuters were. (Johnson, 2001, p.179)    Telecommuting and the Greener Environment       Videoconferencing one of the modes of communication in a telecommuting environment has been referred as a greener technology. The companies, which promote effective telecommuting process, are seen as socially responsible companies. It is because the employees need not commute to the office daily and this saves the environment from pollution. (Tandberg, 2007, p. 2) In this respect, it is also seen that Voice over Internet Protocol designed for employees is an effective way in sustaining the natural resources like petrol and natural gas and promoting a greener environment. (Going Green with Telecommuting Solutions, N.D.). Thus, a telecommuting environment needs to be promoted by every company. Communications Etiquette in Telecommunication       The web based workers need to maintain communication etiquettes while communicating with the different stakeholders of the company. It is because the parties cannot see each other and thus trust needs to be built here. Moreover, work must be given due importance to socialization activities to show the employees’ dedication to the task assigned. (Business Communication Etiquette for the Telecommuting Employee, N.D.)    Conclusion       Telecommuting as a phenomenon helpthe employees of an organization feel satisfied with its humanitarian guidelines in letting them work from homes. Many companies are found to have introduced special devices at economical rates to help foster telecommuting. Technological developments have also taken place with a view to develop the telecommuting process. The researchers view the telecommuting process as a progress towards a greener environment for taking cars out on the roads. However, the communication paradigm needs to be closely administered for the process as it becomes increasingly difficult for the managers to manage staffs without visiting offices. Moreover, the employees engaged in telecommuting feel a sense of social inclusion from the outside world. The employees must maintain basic sense of etiquette while working in a telecommuting environment and needs to show same dedication to the work assigned as the office goers. References 1. Bush, R. (1990). Telecommuting: The Case of Research Software Development. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 37. Retrieved on September 23, 2010 from: http://www.grundu.net/papers/telecom.pdf 2. Coleman, D. (1992). GroupWare `92. Morgan Kauffman. 3. Deborah, N. (2010). What is Telecommuting? Retrieved on September 23, 2010 from: http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-telecommuting.htm 4. “Going Green with Telecommuting Solutions”, TELCOM data. (N.D.). Retrieved on September 23, 2010 from: http://www.telcom-data.com/going-green.aspx 5. Heath, D. (N.D.). Business Communication Etiquette for the Telecommuting Employee. Retrieved on September 23, 2010 from: http://ezinearticles.com/?Business-Communications-Etiquette-For-the-Telecommuting-Employee&id=2317967 6. “How VOIP Benefits Telecommuters, Business, and Quality of Life”, Vonplus.org. (N.D.). Retrieved on September 23, 2010 from: http://www.vonplus.org/benefits/Benefits%20webpage/Telecommuters.pdf 7. Johnson, N. (2001). Telecommuting and Virtual Offices: issues and opportunities. Idea Group Incorporation. 8. Kalbfleisch, P. (2004). Communication Yearbook 28. Taylor and Francis. 9. “Practical Telecommuting Technologies”, Intel. (2003). Retrieved on September 23, 2010 from: http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:DCcPWIA1QzkJ:www.ctiforum.com/train/intel/english/practical%2520telecommuting%2520technologies.pdf+telecommuting+%2B+technology&hl=en&gl=in&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEEShTFL2p_8oh3jNMqHXeE4nv8V2mlfchN-yNg1Ziabw3ubjr8nMGoTLOwm23f0ulDgBvvBUeM2r6oKz-RyTQXWA0ljqe3-IJ4mZKAfmoDDyuA5TPs34X5SeZfvDF4t6E0rApanAD&sig=AHIEtbQ_JxlbwrvGlJ6nLIIPOLwqiRDoYQ 10. “Reality Check”, Patton Electronics Company (2002). Retrieved on September 23, 2010 from: http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:sac9X1ZpxH8J:www.patton.com/articles/reality_check_ursula.pdf+voip+%2B+telecommuting&hl=en&gl=in&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESjUZUl6Jq-lz6i1cMqZLJJAyhjE0J1WPIsaob0R9XzqzWTqYPiDYuJnRNAVMv55o8WT7E0iTvFr6AjhOUtGB04fAKtn2jCp4ZcbIPx9e9myr15E1IecQVJOplHcRpiO_10cy2w4&sig=AHIEtbSmWFD0KVB0N_ZNkABauhAlmiAeSQ 11. Tandberg, “ Tandberg Visual Communication is Green. (2007). Retrieved on September 23, 2010 from: http://www.tandberg.com/collateral/white_papers/TAN_WhtPpr_Green_r1.pdf 12. “Telecommuting Technology Explained Simply”, OSOURCE. (2010). Retrieved on September 23, 2010 from: http://www.osource.eu/ittelecommuting.php 13. “Work from home technology”, database systems corp. (2010). Retrieved on September 23, 2010 from: http://www.databasesystemscorp.com/tech-telecommuting_06.htm 14. White, D. (2010). What is Groupware? Retrieved on September 23, 2010 from: http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-groupware.htm Read More