Impact of technology
Abstract
Over the past few years, there have been huge revolutions in communication and computing. The advances in communication and computing are attributed to the growth of technology. Changes in technological advances have changed not only the way individuals live but also the way business is carried out across many parts of the world. Research and global integration continue to facilitate technology advancement and technology transfer. Through the use of information technology, many companies are able to reach out to many customers and market their products. This has made the introduction of many products in the market. Information technology has facilitated business connections across the various parts of the world. Suppliers are well connected to their clients due to advancements in technology. There has been a major transformation from a traditional society to an information society. In the world today, information has become an asset to many organizations. Through information systems, better business decisions are made on real rime. These transformations are attributed to information technology. Development of information technology has not been limited to the world of business. Many government systems in the modern world have applied information systems to facilitate citizens ease access to information. Healthcare facilities have heavily applied information technology to facilitate healthcare practices in handling the patient’s information on diagnostics. The main objective of this paper is to explain in details the various impacts that information technology has had.
Introduction/topic paragraph
In the last 50 years, there has been rapid growth in information technology. In modern days, it is nearly difficult to think of a new project without integrating technology into the project. Technology is not limited to the use of computers and other devices. Information technology has been essential in the automobile and in other factories. Research indicates that many people in the United States work from home for a larger time of the year. Through advance in information technology, many people can work from home with easy communication with the main office. This phenomenon indicates good progress in information technology and the use of the internet. Many business analysts understand the benefits of information technology in expanding profits and decreasing costs of business operations. Globalization and the increasing trend of computers application have been key in enhancing growth in information technology. Through globalization, many economies of the world have become integrated, facilitating the flow of information technology across these countries. Countries with abundant information technology resourced are able to transfer such technology to the countries which are less developed in information technology advancements. Globalization has been facilitated by growth in information technology systems. The advancements in the communication and movement of people are now possible across the world.
Body
Impacts of information technology in business
The development of information and communication had had great impacts in business innovations. Businesses are now managing their data more efficiently to improve their prospects. Information technology enables businesses to analyze data and take the necessary actions and decisions which favor survival of their business. Businesses have benefited from cloud computing. Cloud computing services enable a business to store its information and data in a secure manner and at low costs. Many businesses today can store huge and big data conveniently through the improved information storage resources available in cloud computing. Modern businesses are opting to use cloud technology to derive the many benefits that accompany use of information and data in business.
Information technology has facilitated automation of businesses. In the recent years, there has been increase in business automation which increases business efficiency and workflow. Developments of automated systems for business have been essential in reducing the business operating expenses and also save on time. Manual collection and analysis of data can be tedious and time consuming. The use of automated systems allow businesses to process huge amounts of information and make decisions within a short duration of time. Modern business information systems have the ability to record data during business operation such as the number of customers served and give data on the various transactions every day. Business has adopted information systems to keep track of their metrics and facilitate the monitoring process. There are various information technology available to help businesses in this regard.
Information technology has facilitated working firm remote areas. Advancements of information technology allow businesses people to work away from the office. Information systems facilitate sharing of information across the various organizational departments. Individuals can work from remote locations if they can access the network of the organization. Employees can generate output for businesses without need to be physically present at the workplace. Such technologies enable the businesses to save costs in renting huge spaces for the large workforce. People can work from home and share information and send daily work reports to the office. This trend has gained popularity in many countries that embrace the advances in information technology. Information technology allows businesses to coordinate its functions. Efficient sharing of business information in secure networks facilitates efficiency in businesses operations. Many businesses can coordinate the many departments and branches using information systems.
Information technology has facilitated mobile communications in business. The recent technology of mobile phones has been very effective in increasing business efficiency and the speed of communication. Businesses stakeholders can easily and conveniently communicate with much ease due to availability of efficient communication channels such as the mobile phones and the emails. In many organizations, many employees have mobile devices increasing the levels of employee satisfaction. The mobile technology has placed businesses sin an ideal place for doing business. Efficient communication is essential in increasing the workplace productivity.
Information systems have facilitated the protection of business information. Every organization has databases for keeping their data. In the modern world advancements in technology has resulted to increased activities of cyber crimes. Modern organizations can secure their information using business information systems. Organizations have huge data that should be kept confidential. The information ranges from the employees confidential information, financial information and statements of an organization and other important information. It is very essential that this information is kept confidential. Loss, destruction of modification of organizations information can be detrimental to the organization. Loss or disclosure of organizational information can entangle businesses into legal concerns. Information technology systems allow business to keep their information safe from access by unauthorized users. Businesses which adopt information technology systems manage their information and data conveniently with reduced risk of interference. The systems keep off hackers from accessing the organizational data through the use of various methods of ensuring data security such as unique authentication features. These information systems enable businesses to maintain high levels of integrity.
Information systems have played a significant role in increasing the levels of customer satisfaction in business. Satisfaction of customers is one of the objectives businesses endeavor to achieve. Customer support programs are essential in ensuring customer royalty and satisfaction. Information systems have enabled businesses to have strong customer support systems. Online systems are available to automatically respond to the queries of customers. Customers can also communicate to the organizations care desk through the use of the various social media cites. Information technology provides essential communication tools for the customers. The systems solve the challenges of customer in real time. Information technology has unlocked the huge potential in the use of email and other social media platforms.
Information systems facilitate the management of resources by organizations. Organizations have huge capacity of resources both financial and human. The management of these resources has been made easier through the use of information technology. Information technology systems provide for several feasible business solutions. The Enterprise Resource Planning are tools provided by information technology. ERP programs enable the businesses to integrate various applications and automate their operations.
Impact on healthcare systems
Impacts of information technology have not been limited to business only. Information technology has facilitated the safety of information in healthcare. Healthcare systems have moved from the traditional approach of keeping manual record to use of health care information systems. Healthcare systems have robust data on the patients detail, diagnosis and medication. Healthcare facilities also have data on their employees in their systems. Information technology has facilitated confidentiality of information in these facilities. Details on patient’s diagnosis and medication are critical and should be kept safe from access by unauthorized persons. Alteration of this information or modification can be detrimental to the patient’s health. Information technology offers tools to enable the heath facilities to secure their information from intruders and access by unintended people.
Information technology has resulted into increased quality on healthcare services. Information systems enable healthcare facilities to increase efficiency in treatment through provision of capacity to store information on treatment. Information systems facilitate analysis of patient information. They analysis enable physicians to gain insights into the trend of various diseases improving medication. Information systems facilitate sharing of information among the health professionals. The sharing of information facilitates research in the medical field.
Impact on governance
Information technology has had huge impacts in governance. Many governments have embraced information technology to increase management of their resources and property. Governments are complicated structures characterized by wide information management. Information technology has facilitated the sharing of information amongst the various government authorities. Information technology provides an efficient platform for governments to share information conveniently with reduced chances of risk.
Governments apply information technology systems to increase quality of service delivery to the public. Governments make essential services available online in various websites of authorities. Citizens in need of the services need to log in and access the online services. Some governments in the world have made the electro systems online. The citizens vote the leaders of their choice through online reducing the time required to make long queues in voting. The application of information technology in electro systems facilitate and increases efficiency in the tarrying process. This saves huge costs for the governments.
Increased efficiency in coordination of government activities
Information technology enables governments to coordinate the various departments and authorities using the information systems technology. The sharing of information facilitates governance and reduces the time rag in communications. Governments in various parts of the world can easily share information. Information governance had a long history around the 20th century when various organizations developed the concepts of information and data capture. Prior to that, many organizations and corporations kept huge manual records with corporate information and data. Traditional systems did not provide for effective systems for managing huge data sets. The majority of the companies and corporations used manual approaches to manage their information, which made retrieval of that data cumbersome and a tedious process. Information governance developed due to the need to secure essential information for businesses. One of the crucial steps in the development of information governance was EDRM. The model had the initial function of identification and solutions of the previously existing systems. The early developers of the information governance appreciated that the traditional systems were highly inefficient and resulted in significant losses in business. The 21st century marked the start of the information age. Many organizations started depending on the information in various aspects of life and business functions. (Deepak 2018) The development of the technology of data storage and the advancement of information systems became very important in information governance.
Impact on management
Information technology enables the managers to carry out their management functions more efficiently. Managers in many organizations are in charge of planning both short-term and long-term plans. Other important roles of a manager are monitoring the productivity in the organization as a whole as well as supervising the employees. Managers and technology cannot operate independently. It is the managers who make decisions on the best time to adopt a given technology.
The role played by managers and technology brings about the concept of management technology. Management technology involves the use of a variety of software and hardware solutions which, when incorporated into an organization; they make the performance of a manager to be more efficient. In precise terms, technology enables the achievement of management functions. The roles of a manager and technology can be explained as below;
Communication- It is one of the essential functions of management that leads all the other functions. If a company has to achieve good output, then the flow of communication in that organization should be efficient. Communication technology plays a vital role in enhancing the flow of communication across various departments in an organization.
Planning- Planning is a function of management that allows for data collection and analysis. This data is used to make future forecasts and also guide in decision making. Technology is widely employed in all the stages of data collection and analysis. It could be hard for managers to easily gain insights and understand large volumes of data without using data analysis software.
Monitoring- Managers of organizations need to be updated on the progress of various projects in an organization. In addition, they are required to supervise the employees and maintain their records. Software technologies enhance quality control in many organizations. This enables easy monitoring.
Control – in the entire process of monitoring and evaluation, control is essential. Managers are part of what happens in an organization every day. They follow up with each activity to ensure success. In the process, managers detect areas that need more attention through the monitoring and evaluation process. Managers use technology that is focused on control to generate solutions to the problems as a result increases the levels of productivity.
Information technology and information governance
A significant deal of confusion exists in developing a distinction between the three critical concepts of information governance, information technology governance, and data governance. Information governance was defined by Gartner as specifying the right decisions and developing a framework for accountability and good behavior in the process of valuation, storage, creation, and removal of information. It comprises of all the activities that contribute to ensuring efficiency and effectiveness in the use of information to help in the achievement of organizational goals. Handling information by organizations requires that all legal demands are met. Information governance plays a critical role in ensuring that organizations derive optimum output from their data while maintaining the costs of information acquisition low.
IT governance plays a critical role in ensuring that investment in information technology creates more value to a business. The adoption and use of such technology must comply with existing regulations. IT governance is an important function of the board of directors and executive management. The main efforts in this category of governance are the development of software, and the best data practices are adopted.
Some people perceive data governance to be part of IT governance. The primary function of this governance is to ensure the law data in organizations very accurate and exhibits a high level of cleanliness. The focus is on the data gathering and input processes. A very important activity here includes scrubbing data to get rid of inaccurate and redundant data. In the process of cleaning data, organizations use master data management techniques. Data governance is a relatively new concept which ensures data quality across all levels, from collection to reporting generation.
In summary, IG, IT, and data governance have some clear differences. Information governance ensures the optimization of information and keeping secure information in line with various organizational policies. Data governance is following specific processes, tools, methods, and techniques in ensuring a high quality of data while avoiding duplication and redundancy. IT governance follows a well-established framework to obtain the optimum benefits from the organizational data.
The principles of information governance keep evolving and getting broader. For information governance to be termed as successful, it must exhibit essential characteristics.one of the most critical principle is the integrity principle. Information governnce should ensure there is consistency throug out all the processes of tracking information and data. For an information governance system to be successful, it should ensyure that data being used bu the organization for decision making is of highest quality and free from reduduncy. An effective information governance system should facilitate the risks associated with data loss and inteference by third parties. The costs of obtaining this information should be relatively low. Organizations making appropriate use of information governance must comform to the existing data regulations.
The second principle in information governance is information security and privacy. The information governance proffessional must ensure that data is safe when in rest, in motion and when in use. Under this principle, infromation governance must ensure that appropriate measure are adopted to protect the information and data of an organization from damage by system intruders or other unauthorised persons. There should be formulation of internal policies that secure data even when devices with the organizational data are lost. Information governance should ensure that information is only made available in the required and relevant places towards achievemnet of organizational objectives. Enough care should be taken not to disclose personal information of employees to unauthorised people. when the employees information is being shared, consent from the employees should be collected first.
The third principle is the information accessibility principle. Information governance should ensure that information and data are made accessible any time the organization needs them. Availability of data is available both in the longrun and in the short run. There should be a good balance between accessibilty of data and data privacy. Data accessibility should not compromise data privacy. Organizations should employ essential search skills to ensure easy retrival of such information. Information governance ensures that the user interface when interacting with data and information systems is user friendly.
Negative impacts of information governance
Despite the many positive impacts of information technology, information technology has some negative impacts. Information technology encourages waste of time. Vast information in the internet encourages many people to spend time in the internet. Through the increase of technological devices such as computers and smartphones, many young people have access to the internet. They consume much of their time focusing on less variable information and media.
Information has impacts on people’s isolation. People who are working from remote places have little time to interact with workmates. This trend creates boredom and reduced motivation at the workplace. Many people prefer sharing information online rather than taking trips to meet physically. Isolation is characterized by reduced or no contact amongst friends and workmates.
Loss of information confidentiality
Information systems have resulted to reduced privacy. During the processes of sharing information there are minimal chances that privacy is compromised and confidential information leaked to unwanted persons. Cyber crimes also attack information systems resulting into compromised privacy of information. The loss of privacy can have serious effects on the affected individuals and organizations. Sharing of information in social media platforms pose a risk to the user’s privacy. As information technology continues to grow, there are increased risks of privacy to people suffering from lack of privacy.
Increased activities of cyber attacks and bullying
Growth of information technology has facilitated advancement of cyber crimes. Victims of cyber crimes aim to acquire essential financial details about an organization or for various individuals in the organization. Cyber bullying results into sharing of peoples confidential information such actions encourage teens to commit suicide. Cyber attacks have resulted into many people and organization suffering financial loses.
Conclusion
Information technology has many impacts both negative and positive. As information technology continue to advance, there is need to increase approaches of enhancing security of information systems. However, information technology has many positive impacts in many sectors of the economy. The sectors in the economy that derive huge benefits of information technology include in business, governance, in healthcare among other sectors. Information technology has more positive impacts than negative impacts. Globalization has facilitated advancements in information technologies through transfer of information technology skills from developed countries to less developed countries.
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