Key Trends

Key Trends



Key Trends

Introduciton of technology is one trend that every organization needs to adapt in order to sustain in tbe complex business enviorment. Technology is used in all aspects of business operations. In fact, today's desktop computers have more power and capacity than mainframes that took a large staff to run as recently as 1980. Businesses today are using fully integrated information technology equipment and processes. It is called information technology.

Information technology is creating a definite change in the way business occurs; it is changing lines of command and decision making channels. It is changing the job structure seen in companies and even limiting personnel in different departments. Those less-skilled find jobs are harder to come by because the routine types of tasks can be completed by a computer more efficiently and less expensively (Alonso, 1996).

Information technology provides the means by which a business can progress and while doing so provide enormous benefits to the population. The rapidity of growth in information technology makes it difficult, however, for some businesses to keep up, to stay on the cutting edge, so to speak. When a simple computer was the main event, it was easy but in today's technological world businesses must be concerned with numerous other advances such as networking their internal computers, networking with other offices, video telecommunications, and presenting an image on the World Wide Web. An employee in an office that is at least somewhat up-to-date no longer receives a written memo on their desk; they receive internal E-mail messages on their computer. Many employees must also check an internal electronic bulletin board frequently during the work day or they may miss an important announcement. It is a "virtual environment" meaning that rather than department meetings or memos placed visibly on the desk by a real live person, communication is more often occurring in cyberspace (Alonso, 1996).

Information technology is creating a definite change in the way business occurs; it is changing lines of command and decision making channels. It is changing the job structure seen in companies and even limiting personnel in different departments. Those less-skilled find jobs are harder to come by because the routine types of tasks can be completed by a computer more efficiently and less expensively (Alonso, 1996).

The Internet has attracted large numbers of small businesses because it can be used as an effective competitive tool. This is the fastest growing technology in existence today. All large corporations have Web sites and small businesses are also finding that establishing a Web site can grow their business. The number of businesses taking advantage of the Internet is soaring: in 1996, there were 1.5 million businesses on-line; that figure jumped to 2.5 million in 1997 and it to more than 3.5 million in 1998. Small businesses are also taking advantage of having Web sites: in 1996, 300,000 small businesses had a Web site; that number jumped to 900,000 in 1997 and in 1998, it grew to 2 million (Farranti, ...