THE ROLE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

Business technology is continuously changing names and changing roles.
1. In the 1970s, business technology was known as DATA PROCESSING (DP).
  1. DATA are raw, unanalyzed, and unsummarized facts and figures.
  2. INFORMATION is the processed and summarized data that can be used for managerial decision making.
  3. Its role was to SUPPORT existing business through improving the flow of financial information.
  4. It was primarily used to improve the flow of financial information.
2. In the 1980s, business technology became known as INFORMATION SYSTEMS (IS).
  1. Its role was changed from supporting business to DOING business (for example ATMs and voice mail).
  2. As business used technology more, it became more dependent on it.
3. In the late 1980s, business technology became known as INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (IT).
  1. Business shifted from using new technology on old methods, to using it on NEW METHODS.
  2. Information technology’s role became to CHANGE business.
HOW INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY CHANGES BUSINESS
1. Time and place have always been at the center of business.
  1. Today IT allows businesses to delivery products and services whenever and wherever it is convenient for the CUSTOMER.
  2. As IT breaks time and location barriers, it creates organizations and services that are INDEPENDENT OF LOCATION.
  3. NASDAQ and SOFFEX are electronic stock exchanges without trading floors.
2. IT also creates organizations and services that are independent of location.
3. VIRTUALIZATION means accessibility through technology that allows business to be conducted independent of location.
  1. The technology allows you to access people and information as if you were in an actual office.
  2. Virtual communities are forming as people communicate over computer networks.
4. Doing business dramatically changes when companies increase their technological capabilities.
MOVING FROM INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY TOWARD KNOWLEDGE TECHNOLOGY
1. In the mid-1990s, we started moving from information technology toward KNOWLEDGE TECHNOLOGY (KT)—information charged with enough intelligence to make it relevant and useful.
2. KNOWLEDGE TECHNOLOGY adds a layer of intelligence to filter appropriate information and deliver it when it is needed.
3. KT changes the traditional flow of information from an individual GOING to the database to the data COMING to the individual.
4. KT "thinks" about the facts based on an individual’s needs so businesspeople can spend more time DECIDING about how to react to problems and opportunities.
5. With technology as the key to growth, the new economy is based on brains, not brawn.

THE ROAD TO KNOWLEDGE: THE INTERNET, INTRANETS, EXTRANETS, AND VIRTUAL PRIVATE NETWORKS
1. Knowledge, more than physical assets, is now the key to successful competition.
  1. Knowledge has become one of the more important factors of production.
  2. Business is realizing that it needs to manage knowledge like any other asset.
  3. This is leading to new technologies that support contact among staff, suppliers, and customers.
2. INTERNETS AND INTRANETS
  1. The INTERNET is a network of computer networks.
  2. An INTRANET is a company-wide network closed to public access, which uses Internet-type technology.
    1. Some companies use intranets only to publish information for employees.
    2. Others create interactive intranets, allowing employees to input information.
  3. Intranets are the fastest-growing segments of the Internet.
    1. By 2002 between a half and two-thirds of all businesses will be running intranets.
    2. To limit access, companies can construct a "firewall" between themselves and the outside world to protect corporate information from unauthorized users.
  4. An EXTRANET is a semiprivate network that uses Internet technology so more than one company can access the same information.
  5. Since it does use public lines, hackers can gain unauthorized access.
  6. One solution is to use dedicated lines, but this is expensive and limits use to computer directly to those lines.
  7. A VIRTUAL PRIVATE NETWORK (VPN) is a private data network that creates secure connections, or "tunnels," over regular Internet lines.
    1. Companies no longer need to own leased lines, but can use the public lines securely.
    2. VPNs provide secure sharing of public resources for data.
3. BROADBAND TECHNOLOGY.
  1. As traffic on the Internet increases, the slower the connection becomes.
  2. BROADBAND TECHNOLOGY offers users a continuous connection to the Internet and allows them to send and receive data much faster than before.
    1. Bandwidth connection is by cable modem, digital subscriber lines (DSL), satellite, or fixed wireless.
    2. Data can reach users more than 50 times faster than traditional 56k modems.
  3. The traffic on the Internet has become so intense that early Net users have been squeezed off the crowded Internet.
    1. Their answer is to create another Internet, reserved for research purposes only.
    2. The new system, INTERNET 2, will run up to 22,000 times faster and will support heavy-duty applications.
  4. A key element is a network called vBNS, or VERY HIGH SPEED BACKBONE NETWORK SERVICE, set up in 1995 to link government supercomputer centers and a select group of universities.
    1. Users who pay more can use more bandwidth.
    2. The designers of Internet 2 are planning to filter Internet 2 technology out in such a way that there is plenty of room for everyone.
MANAGING INFORMATION.
1. Managers have always had to sift through mountains of information to find what they need.
  1. Today businesspeople also have voice mail, the Internet, faxes, e-mail, and instant messaging.
  2. Businesspeople refer to this information overload as "INFOGLUT."
  3. IDENTIFYING THE FOUR OR FIVE KEY GOALS helps eliminate unnecessary information.
  4. USEFULNESS of management information depends on four characteristics:
    1. QUALITY: The information must be accurate and reliable.
    2. COMPLETENESS: There must be enough data to make a decision, but not too much to confuse.
    3. TIMELINESS: Information must reach managers quickly.
    4. RELEVANCE: Managers must know the questions to ask to get the answers they need.
  5. Sorting out the useful information and getting it to the right people is the goal in solving information overload.
    1. Software programs can filter information so that users can get the customized information they need.
    2. Known as "PUSH TECHNOLOGY," they push the information to you, delivering customized news to your computer.
2. MANAGING KNOWLEDGE.
  1. KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT means sharing, organizing, and disseminating information in the simplest and most relevant way possible for the users of the information.
  2. Knowledge-mail sorts through e-mail messages on a company’s system and tracks users’ work.
    1. Such monitoring of e-mail is seen by some as an invasion of privacy.
    2. Some e-mail systems let you "opt-out."
  3. Knowledge management requires organizing information so that it’s clean, accurate, and consistent.
THE ENABLING TECHNOLOGY: HARDWARE
1. What is powerful today in computer hardware may be obsolete by the time you study this.
  1. Chairman of Intel Corp., Gordon Moore, has remarked that the capacity of computer chips doubles every year or so (MOORE’S LAW.)
  2. Moore has recently revised his law by saying that his prediction cannot hold good for much longer because the finite size of atomic particles will prevent infinite miniaturization.
  3. This will be a simple overview of the kind of computer technology available now, at the start of the new millennium.
2. HARDWARE includes computers, pagers, cellular phones, scanners, printers, fax machines, and personal digital assistants.
  1. All-in-one devices that address all your communications needs are now available.
  2. Researchers are working on a human computer interface that combines a videocamera and computer
3. CUTTING THE CORD: WIRELESS INFORMATION APPLIANCES.
  1. Internet appliances, including gaming devices, are designed to connect people to the Internet and to e-mail.
  2. The biggest trends is to wireless handhelds like the Palm and two-way paging devices.
  3. People are taking the Internet with then, and this has changed the way information is delivered.
  4. Information must be available in small bits, using brief lines and small icons.
4. COMPUTER NETWORKS.
  1. The most dynamic change in recent years is the move AWAY FROM MAINFRAME COMPUTER PROCESSING TOWARD NETWORK SYSTEMS that allow many users top access information at the same time.
    1. In the new NETWORK COMPUTING SYSTEM (also called CLIENT/SERVER COMPUTING), the tasks such as searching sales records are handled by personal computers ("clients").
    2. The information needed to complete the tasks is stored in huge databases controlled by the "server."
  2. The major BENEFITS OF NETWORKS are:
    1. SAVING TIME AND MONEY.
    2. NETWORKS PROVIDE EASY LINKS ACROSS FUNCTIONAL BOUNDARIES.
    3. ALLOWING EMPLOYEES TO SEE COMPLETE INFORMATION.
      1. In traditional organizations, information is summarized so many times that it often loses its meaning.
      2. Networks catch raw information.
  3. The text uses the example of Lotus Development’s information database.
  4. Networks have their drawbacks also.
    1. Maintaining a system of PCS can be expensive.
    2. System and hardware upgrades can be disruptive and expensive.
    3. Using networks requires so many organizational changes that some companies are moving away from computer networks to other options.
  5. In a new hybrid of mainframe and network computing, called THIN-CLIENT NETWORKS, applications and data reside on a server.
  6. Another option is to lease specific software applications from an APPLICATION SERVICE PROVIDER (ASP), who maintains and upgrades the software on its servers.
  7. Companies such as Everdream offer services including a PC, unlimited Internet access, daily data backup, e-mail, software, training, and 24/7 support.
  8. Using thin-client computing or ASP frees up more time for actually running the business.
SOFTWARE.
1. Computer software provide the instructions that enable you to tell the computer what to do.
  1. It is important to find the right SOFTWARE to do the job you have BEFORE finding the right HARDWARE
    1. Some programs are easier to use than others.
    2. Other programs are more sophisticated with more functions.
    3. A business person must decide what functions he or she wants performed then choose the appropriate software.
  2. Most software is distributed commercially through suppliers.
    1. There is some software, called SHAREWARE, that is copyrighted but distributed to potential customers free of charge.
    2. PUBLIC DOMAIN SOFTWARE is software that is free for the taking.
2. Businesspeople most frequently use SOFTWARE FOR SIX MAJOR PURPOSES:
  1. WRITING (word processors.)
  2. MANIPULATING NUMBERS (spreadsheets.)
  3. FILING AND RETRIEVING DATA (databases.)
  4. PRESENTING INFORMATION VISUALLY (graphics.)
  5. COMMUNICATING (e-mail and instant messaging).
  6. ACCOUNTING.
3. Many functions have been combined in one kind of program known as INTEGRATED SOFTWARE or SUITES.
4. A new class of software program, called GROUPWARE, has emerged for use on networks.
EFFECTS OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ON MANAGEMENT.
1. HUMAN RESOURCE ISSUES.
  1. Technology makes the work process more efficient as it replaces many bureaucratic functions.
    1. One challenge is to recruit employees who know how to use the new technology.
    2. Some companies outsource technical training.
  2. Computers and the increased use of the Internet and intranets will allow employees to stay home and do their work from there (TELECOMMUTING.)
  3. ADVANTAGES OF TELECOMMUTING:
    1. Telecommuting involves LESS TRAVEL TIME AND COSTS, and often increases productivity.
    2. It helps companies save money by RETAINING VALUABLE EMPLOYEES and by TEMPTING EXPERIENCED EMPLOYEES OUT OF RETIREMENT.
    3. Companies can get by with SMALLER, LESS EXPENSIVE OFFICE SPACE.
    4. Telecommuting enables men and women TO STAY HOME WITH SMALL CHILDREN and is a tremendous BOON FOR DISABLED WORKERS.
    5. Studies show that it is more SUCCESSFUL AMONG SELF-STARTERS and those whose work doesn’t require face-to-face interaction with co-workers.
  4. DISADVANTAGES OF TELECOMMUTING:
    1. Long-distance work can give workers a DISLOCATED FEELING of being left out of the office loop.
    2. Some feel a LOSS OF ENERGY people can get through social interaction.
    3. Often people working from home don’t know WHEN TO TURN THE WORK OFF.
    4. Some companies are using telecommuting as a PART-TIME ALTERNATIVE.
  5. Electronic communication CAN NEVER REPLACE HUMAN COMMUNICATION for creating enthusiasm and esprit de corps.
    1. Efficiency and productivity can result in people being treated like robots.
    2. Computers are a tool, not a replacement for managers and workers.
    3. Computers should aid creativity by giving people more freedom and more time.
    4. The technology also allows people to work at home, in the car, or any time of the day.
    5. The result is that U.S. workers work longer hours than people in any other nation.
2. SECURITY ISSUES.
  1. HACKERS, people who break into computer systems for illegal purposes, are an increasing problem.
  2. Computer security today is more complicated than in the past.
    1. When information was processed in a mainframe environment, the single data center was easier to control.
    2. Today computers are not only accessible in all areas of the company, but also with other companies.
    3. It takes skill and knowledge to keep systems clean and hackers at bay.
  3. A VIRUS is a piece of programming code inserted into other programming to cause some unexpected and undesirable event.
    1. Viruses are spread by downloading infected programming over the Internet or by sharing an infected diskette.
    2. Some viruses are playful, but some can erase data or crash a hard drive.
    3. Software programs such as Norton’s AntiVirus "inoculate" the computer so that it doesn’t catch a known virus.
    4. It is important to keep your antivirus protection program up-to-date and practice "safe computing."
  4. Existing laws do not address some Internet issues such as:
    1. Copyright and pornography laws.
    2. Intellectual property and contract disputes.
    3. Online sexual and racial harassment.
    4. Crooked sales schemes.
3. PRIVACY ISSUES.
  1. Your e-mail is no more private than a postcard.
    1. More than a fourth of U.S. companies scan employee e-mail regularly and legally.
    2. Most e-mail travels over the Internet in unencrypted plain text.
  2. A major problem with privacy has developed as more and MORE PERSONAL INFORMATION IS STORED IN COMPUTERS and people are able to access that data illegally.
    1. The Internet allows Web surfers to access all sorts of information about you.
    2. One of the key issues is: Isn’t this personal information already public anyway?
  3. Web sites have gotten downright nosy by secretly tracking users’ movements online.
    1. Web surfers seem willing to swap personal details for free access to online information.
    2. Web sites often send COOKIES to your computer that stay on your hard drive.
    3. These often simply contain your name and password.
    4. Others track your movements around the Web and then blend that information with their databases and tailor the ads you receive accordingly.
    5. You need to decide how much information about yourself you are willing to give away.
4. STABILITY ISSUES.
  1. Instability in technology also has a significant impact on business.
  2. The text uses the example of Hershey and its Halloween candy delivery.
  3. The blame for such problems is a combination of computer error, human error, malfunctioning software, and overly complex systems.
TECHNOLOGY AND YOU.
1. It may be OCCUPATIONAL SUICIDE TO BE COMPUTER ILLITERATE since most workers come in contact with computers to some degree.
  1. By 2006 half of all American workers will be employed in information technology positions.
  2. In 2000 there was a shortage of almost 850,000 skilled information technology workers.
2. Researchers who have studied computerphobia (fear of computers) found that 55% of Americans have the disorder.
  1. Gender, age, and income level don’t appear to lead to computerphobia—the key variable is exposure.
  2. As information technology eliminates old jobs while creating new ones, it is up to you to learn the skills you need to be certain you aren’t left behind.