Technology - Definition, Uses, Limitations & Application in Accounting

Technology - Definition, Uses, Limitations & Application in Accounting

Part I

Technology - Definition & Impact

Technology has changed the way we live in this world. The meaning of the term “technology” has been changing for the past about 200 years. The investigation of the useful arts was the meaning of the term, prior to 20th Century. In English language, the term was uncommon at that time. With the Second Industrial Revolution, the term gained prominence in the 20th century. Read Bain, the American Sociologist, gave the definition of the technology in the year of 1937 (Bain, 1937). He defined technology as “all the tools, communicating, clothing, utensils, weapons, instruments, machines, housing, skills and transporting devices through which we use and produce them”.

Various dictionaries & scholars have defined the term technology in different ways. Technology is defined as the applied knowledge in a specific area by Merriam-Webster Dictionary (Accessed from: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/technology). Inorganic matter in organized way and “the pursuit of life by means other than life” are the definitions of technology given by the Bernard Stiegler (Stiegler, 1998).

Technology today has been defined broadly as the application of the physical and mental effort in its creation so as to attain some value, either material or immaterial. Today, technology is used to solve real-world dilemmas and the tools and machines utilized to solve such dilemmas is technology. Definition of technology does not undertake the material dimensions but immaterial too such as software, methods of business, etc.

Technology has made this gigantic structure of the world into an encapsulated shrunken area and is therefore said as a global village. Technology has altered the way the businesses work. Technology has improved the overall organization's productivity and has made them efficient. The firms operating in geographical dispersed location are communicating with each other through the use of communication technologies.

Impact of Technology on Organization's Operations

Various information travelling through different routes & hierarchies across the organization helps decision makers in making economic decisions efficient & effectively. Not only information itself is important, but information processing is important too. Information processing helps decision makers in converting data into information and finally into the knowledge base. Information channeling across the company will help staff and employees to coordinate and collaborate with each other better. To process the information better, technology has played a vital role in it. Through the use of information technology, information systems have been made in order to cater the needs of the information management in the business environment.

Information system (IS) can be any organized combination of people, hardware, software, communications networks, data resources, and policies and procedures that stores, retrieves, transforms, and disseminates information in an organization (O'Brien & Marakas, 2011, pp. 4). In a business environment, the fundamental roles of information technology & systems are stated as follows (O'Brien & Marakas, 2011, pp. 8):

They support in business processes and operations of a company

They help in making economic decisions to middle & top management

They aid businesses in achieving competitive ...