FINAL EXAM

Final Exam

Final Exam

Many organizations try to improve their decision making with technology. As technology is an integral part of all organizations. The majority of organizations have a computer with e-mail and access to the Internet and a website. Yet many organization leaders often overlook and underutilize technology within their organizations. Additionally, technology has evolved so quickly in the last 10 years that many nonprofit leaders struggle to make decisions to meet the minimum technology requirements needed to accomplish their programs and missions (Callon, 1993).

The technological approaches mentioned in the textbook are most promising, which defines six competencies that are critical for strategic technology innovation in organizations. These competencies, which are supported by literature, include:

Information technology (IT) planning

IT budgeting, staffing, and training;

Internet and Web site capabilities and use;

Measuring IT effectiveness;

Board support and involvement in IT decision making;

Leader's understanding of the strategic potential of information technology

Selecting hardware and software.

These seven competencies are the key for organization leaders to lead new technology innovation within their organizations, which impacts programs and mission achievement.

Organizations face many decisions and challenges when trying to innovate through the use of new technology within their organizations. They use a variety of data sources and resources when considering decisions about technology planning, budgeting, staffing and training and online and web usage, measuring IT effectiveness, board involvement in technology decision making, and the strategic use of technology and hardware and software purchases. Data sources will be used to describe what technology research; as well, recommendations will be made on how organizations can better access technology research and resources.

Researchers believe that people involvement in decision making affects whether or not technology will be implemented within organizations. Some people have more influence over the technology budgeting process. Also, people support and involvement in decision making is linked to organizational culture and values. If a people does not value technology, then this will trickle down through the organizational culture, and the organization will be less likely to use technology (Callon, 1993).

2)

Science and technology frequently raise difficult and unanticipated social, ethical, and legal issues. This question places the special case of the demands for participation in assistive technology decisions in the larger context of public participation in science and technology policy in the United States and, to a lesser extent, in the European Union and Japan. Although the science and technology interests of people have been largely relegated to social, ethical, and legal issues, people have been further stymied by the lack of participation within these governments. These democracies have few institutions through which citizens can become critically engaged in choosing or designing technology. In Europe, too, research and development for social needs such as assistive technology did not have the economic and industrial weight of other sectors. Direct communications with policymakers, researchers, and advocates in Europe and Japan have allowed for a more candid discussion about allocations of resources such as applied research, regulatory behavior, and international issues. There is, of course, a great need to address ...