INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY - The ways it has been changed Essay

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY - The ways it has been changed - Essay Example There is tremendous reason to expect that the development of information technology will considerably affect the trade-offs intrinsic in various structures for organizing work, the theoretical basis for these changes remains badly understood. According to the website som.csudh.edu, in the age of information, technology is in the forefront in the way we work and communicate. Many companies must now conform to the needs of many to satisfy the few. No longer is money the only criteria for companies to survive. Challenges such as global competition, technological innovation and customer service persist more so today than any other era. In order for the companies to exist in the industry and preserve what they can, they have taken a bold step in reorienting themselves. One way of doing this is through the use of Information Technology (IT) which can be defined as "computer and telecommunications hardware and software that aid in the processing, collection, and transmission of text, voice, and pictorial information" (Lahti, 1994, p. 1). With this technology, I as an employee can do my work virtually anywhere and at anytime that IT allows. The fundamentals of technology allow me to explore many ways of providing accurate and ac cessible information. The organization must form an infrastructure that will be incorporated into the corporations for its survival. Technology has played a most important role in shaping an organizational structure and processes, and is one of the main catalysts for organizational change. Technological innovation in the factory and office has accelerated lately and foreign competitors have been adopting these innovations promptly and effectively. Unless, companies do the same, they will be at huge disadvantage. Many of the barriers to effective use of new technology are managerial and organizational, rather than technological. For instance in my work we are still semi-computerized, we are still using manual operation in some instances, because of that our report used in meetings or for decision making is not updated. This means that organizational structure is directly associated to the usefulness of technology. The terms, organizational structure and information technology, are subject to various interpretations. Management teams in the 1980's keenly anticipated that new technology would answer the organization problems. Information technology, a term broadly used, is seldom defined. Information refers to the use of two or more elements of data. Information is subject to broad interpretation. In most organizations, on the other hand, data and information are used interchangeability. Organization refers to a group of people working together towards a common goal or objective. Structure is the summary of the ways in which a firm's labor is directed and coordinated into tasks. This definition of organization leads to the supposition that there exists a division of labor. The classical organizational model, the Elite model, was constructed over 50 years ago. Some organizations still follow this model that stresses stability, centralization, division of labor, and command and control. Technology has also influenced the organizational structure. Organizations of the past had cultures that reflect the values of bigness, hierarchy, and rigidity, have little craving to upgrade their technological equipment. Because of these unyielding and inflexible hierarchical structures, U.S.