Police Stress Management

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Chapter 16Chapter 16

Impacts of IT onOrganizations, Individuals

& Society



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Learning Objectives

U nderstand the major impacts of information technology onorganizations, individuals, and society.

Consider the potential dehumanization of people by computersand other potential negative impacts of information technology.

Identify the major impacts of information technology onorganizational structure, power, jobs, supervision, and decisionmaking.

Identify some of the major societal impacts of the Web.

U nderstand the role and impact of virtual communities.



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Case: Wearable Computers

F or years, many mobile employees were unable to enjoy the new

technologies designed to make employees work or feel better.

The use of wireless devices that can communicate with each other

and with remote IS is increasing very rapidly (m-commerce).

Such systems could easily include GPS (global positioning

systems).

So far only a few companies make and sell wearables for mobile

workers, but this is expected to change in the future.



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Does IT have only Positive Effects?

While our society generally embraces IT, there are many

people who believe that humankind is threatened by the

evolution of technology.

We must be aware of IT¶s effect on us as individuals and as

members of organizations and society.Questions arise, such

as;

Will society have any control over the decisions to deploy

technology?

Where will technology critics be able to make their voices heard?

Who will investigate the costs and risks of technologies, and who is

going to pay for that investigation?



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Structure, Authority & Job Content

F latter Organizational Hierarchies

An increased span of control.

Blue-to-white Collar Staff Ratio

The number of professionals and specialists could decline.

Special U nits

Technology center, e-commerce center, etc.



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Structure, Authority & Job Content(cont.)

Centralization of Authority

Greater empowerment and decentralization.

Power and StatusOnline knowledge bases may reduce the power of certain

professional groups.

Job Content

If job content changes, people may need training, re-skilling.



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Personnel Issues

E mployee Career Ladders

The use of IT may short-cut a portion of the learning curve.

Changes in Supervision

E lectronic supervision.

Other Considerations

Job qualifications, training, worker satisfaction.



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The Manager·s Job

IT changes the way Managers make decisions in the following ways;

Automation of routine decisions (e.g,. frontline employee).

Less expertise required for many decisions.

Less reliance on experts to provide support to top

executives.

E mpowerment of lower and medium levels of management.

Decision making undertaken by non-managerial

employees.

Power redistribution among managers, and power shifts

down the organization.



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Organizational Changes

A large number and variety of

people participating in decision

making.

A decrease in the number and

variety of people participating in

traditional face-to-face

communication.

F ewer organizational levels involved

in authorizing actions.

More rapid and accurate

identification of problems and

opportunities, so better decisionsare made.

Organizational intelligence that is

more accurate, comprehensive,

timely, and available.

Shorter time required to authorize

actions and make decisions.

The use of computer-assisted communication technologies leads

to the following organizational changes (Huber,1990);



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Impacts of Individuals at Work

Job Satisfaction

Dissatisfied Managers

Dehumanization &

Psychological Impacts

Isolation and the Internet



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Impacts of Individuals at Work

Information Anxiety

F rustration with the quality of the informationavailable on the Web.

Too many sources online. F rustration with the guilt associated with not being

better informed.

Impacts on Health & Safety

Job Stress

Repetitive Strain Injuries

E rgonomics



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IS & the Individual



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Social Impacts

Opportunities for People with Disabilities

Quality of Life Improvements

Potential positive uses of Robots E .g., Case: Laying F iber Optic Cables.

E .g., Case: Cleaning Train Stations in Japan

Improvements in Health Care

Crime F ighting and Other Benefits



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Technology & Crime

One of the major debates surrounding IT involves situations in

which police are using technology to reduce crime.

Scanning Crowds for Criminals.

Casinos use face recognition systems to identify ´undesirables´.

The U .K. police have, since 1998, been using a similar system

inE

ast London borough with 300 cameras. Many banks, gas stations, convenience stores, and even

elevators use the system.



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Cultural Lag

Ogburn¶s Cultural Lag Thesis:

An inherent conflict exists between the rapid speed of

modern technological advances and the slower speed at

which ethical guidelines for utilization of new technologies

are developed.

A failure to develop broad social consensus on appropriate

applications of modern technology may lead to; breakdowns in social solidarity

the rise of social conflict.



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IT & Society

Hearst (1999) presents three different views on how IT and

society are changing one another:

View #1: Becoming socialized means learning what kinds of behavior

are appropriate in a given social situation.

View #2: Newly internetworked IT allows people acting in their own

self- interest to indirectly affect the experiences of other people.

View #3 There is a move away from a hierarchical society into asociety in which boundaries are more permeable.

³glocalization´- simultaneously being intensely global &

intensely local



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V irtual Society

The term virtual society

refers to all components

that are part of a

society¶s culture based

on the functional rather

than the physical

structure.



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IT & Employment Levels

A major attribute associated with automation is the

replacement of people by machines.

There is no doubt that many people have been displaced by automation, but many more have gained employment due to

automation.

Computers encourage competition, which leads to a decline in

prices. Lower prices mean higher demand, which, in turn, creates more

jobs.

The computer industry itself has created millions of new jobs.



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Is Mass Unemployment Coming?

Massive U nemployment Will Come No Massive U nemployment

Benefit/ cost advantage of computers

increases with time.

New occupations and jobs have always

been created by automation.

Less skilful employees are needed. There is much less unemployment in

countries that use more automation.

Shifting displaced employees to

services is getting difficult.

Work can be expanded to

accommodate everyone.

Many employees lost their jobs in the

1990s.

Conversion to automation is slow, and

the economy can adjust.

Hidden unemployment exists in many

organizations.

Many tasks cannot be fully automated.

E -commerce will cause millions of

intermediaries/ agents to lose their

jobs.

There will always be some areas where

people are better than machines.



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Digital Divide

Digital Divide ± the gap between those that have information

technology and those that do not.

Within countries and among countries.

In 2001, only 5 % of the world¶s population used the Web, and

the vast majority of this 5 % was located in the developed

world.

Yet the Web has the potential to turn poor countries such as

India into economic powerhouses & dissolve rigid social

barriers.

Cyber cafes - One instrument for closing the digital divide.



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Globalization & Free Speech

International Implications

Many countries, willingly or

unwillingly, knowingly or unknowingly, are being

westernized as a result of

information about western

ways of life and values

flowing freely across

borders.

Challenge to F ree Speech

The problem of Internet

pornography is very serious

Some countries take an

entirely different line with

respect to freedom of

speech



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Social Responsibility

Social Responsibility.

Organizations need to be motivated to utilize IT to improve the

quality of life in the workplace.

Social Services and Privacy.

Conflicting public pressures may rise to suppress the use of IT

because of concerns about privacy and ³Big Brother´

government. E .g. Hong Kong ID Cards



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V irtual Community

A virtual community is one in which the interaction is done

by using the Internet.

Also known as an Internet community or an electronic community .

An Internet community may have millions of members and as

a result could have significant effects on e-markets.

GeoCities (geocities.com) has grown to many million members

in less than two years.



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Elements of the V irtual Society

Category E lement

Communication Bulletin boards, Chat rooms\threaded discussions

(string Q&A), E -mail and instant messaging, Private

mailboxes, Newsletters, Web postings, Voting

Information Directories and yellow pages, Search engine,

Member-generated content, Links to information

sources, E xpert advice

E -Commerce

E lement E -catalogs, e-shopping carts, Advertisements,

Auctions of all types, Classified ads, Bartering online,

Classified advertisement mail and instant messaging



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Types of V irtual Communities

Communities of Transactions - facilitate buying and selling.

Communities of Interest or Purpose - people have the

chance to interact with each other on a specific topic.

Rugby365.com gets rugby fans, and music lovers go to

mp3.com.

Communities of Relations or Practice - are organized around

certain life experiences, situation, or vacations.

Communities of F antasy - participants create imaginary

environments.



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Business Aspects of E-communities

Value creation arises in virtual communities because the

community brings together consumers of specific demographics

and interests.

This presents opportunities for transacting business, and for

communicating messages about products and services.

E -communities can attract advertising revenues from advertisers

eager to communicate their messages to a specific target

audience.

Opportunities also arise for collecting valuable marketing

information.

demographics and psychographics of members



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V alue Creation in V irtual Communities



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The IRM Model



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Lessons Learned

The major concern of most organizations today is how to

transform themselves to a ³new organization´ adaptable to the

new economy.

The key to survival is the ability to properly and quickly adapt tochanges in the environment.

Change in the business environment is demonstrated not only in

the increased competition and globalization, but also in industry

structures, distribution channels, production systems, and more.

IT can also save organizations, helping them to adjust and

survive.

IT is the major driver of the new economy.



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´Digital ²Economy Readyµ Actions organizations can take to become ³digital-economy

ready´;

Build strategic information systems and use innovations such as

electronic auctions and exchanges.

Create effective and efficient communication and collaboration

networks.

E xamine possible new models and initiatives of e-commerce

E xamine supply chains.

Make a continuous effort to increase productivity, quality, security,

and effectiveness in every facet of the organization¶s operations.



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´Digital ²Economy Readyµ (cont.)

In moving to a ³digital-economy-ready status,´ carefully plan IT

systems in coordination with the business plans they intend to

support.

Increase recognition of knowledge, its creation, preservation, storage,and dissemination.

Support managerial decisions with IT and especially the Web.

Have the ability to process a large amount of data.

F acilitate innovation and creativity in digital economy applications by

using intelligent systems.



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´Digital ²Economy Readyµ (cont.)

Carefully address the economies of IT in general and e-commerce in

particular, including outsourcing, when moving to the new economy.

Properly build and deploy information systems that will provide for

internal efficiency and connect to the many business partners.

Manage the increasing information resources in both business units

and a centralized IS department.

Address organizational, personal, and socioeconomic issues

associated with the increase use of IT.



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Managerial Issues

Supporting the disabled.

Culture is important.

The impact of the Web.

Making money fromelectronic communities.

Information anxiety may create problems.

IT can cause layoffs.

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Police Stress Management