Use of Technology



Use of Technology

Benefits of Technology in Financial Industry

In the recent years, financial industry have greatly benefited from the advancement in technology. Previously, it was difficult to maintain records of millions of shareholders of a company. However, this is not an issue now, because all data is computerized and SEC has access to all the information about the investors, who have invested in stock market and in various companies. It makes it easy for them to distribute dividends and transfer all the required information to the investors. It has not only improved the efficiency of financial industry, but also has reduced the cost of carrying out various transactions and processes.

Moreover, Financial Industry require complex calculations especially in banking industry including the derivatives. However, technology has made the task of calculation an easy one.

Technology Usage in Organizations

Today's global managers are facing unprecedented challenges outside their organizations fuelled by environmental “forces of change” such as: globalization, emerging technologies, emerging best business practices, government regulations, competitive global financial markets, limited knowledge workers, and higher worker turnover rates. Most scholars and subject experts agree that environmental (external) forces may have triggered a “creative destructive cycle,” thereby making most information systems obsolete and forcing many firms to reinvent their business processes.

Historically, new business computer software applications have evolved every decade. For example, transaction processing systems were introduced in 1950s, management information systems in the 1960s, decision support systems in the 1970s, knowledge management and executive information systems in the 1980s, and electronic business and commerce systems in the 1990s. It is clear that management and technological paradigm shifts are occurring in today's global economy. Also, “global economic shifts” have created new information systems such as mobile business and commerce, virtual enterprise, and web-based database. In addition, new management change tools have been introduced such as: business process reengineering; process innovation; lean manufacturing; value stream mapping; six sigma-total quality management; the delta model and the balanced scorecard. If we assess all the technological advancements, it is evident that companies has been able to benefit from the situation, in terms of increased efficiencies and reduced costs (Housel, & Skopec, 2001).

Technological development has significantly changed the business practices employed by global companies over the last five years. The evolution of information systems and the reengineering of business processes have created a demand for managers with “data savvy” skill sets. The fundamental reason behind choosing this topic is that the study will be helpful in analyzing the impact of technological development on modern business practices. The results obtained will be useful in the development of business strategies. Maximum benefit will be sought from the positive impacts. The negative impacts found will aid in the development of risk minimization strategies.

The rapid increase in the deployment of emerging technologies (e.g. Internet, Extranet, Intranet, e-business, e-commerce, m-commerce, m-business, Voice over Internet Protocol [VoIP]), intelligent software agents, wireless, [XML] tools, and web-based databases) into business processes of global organizations have forced many managers and executives to reinvent ...