(Author)
Introduction
Technology has changed many aspects of business in the last few decades. It has covered almost every department of different businesses such as consumer services, financing and sales, human resources (HR), and marketing. Many important tasks in a business need technology more than age-old principles of business such as the use of business models. In the present era, businesses are moving at a very fast pace with technology and are increasingly becoming complex with the addition of new things. Moreover, technology is not only moving faster but its speed is also accelerating that is producing huge changes in logic of operating a business. With increase in technological progresses, businesses have to test more in terms of rules and processes than planning different things as working on rules and regulations could be a very hard task in a continuously changing environment, especially if many people are involved.
Technology has provided a number of different types of jobs that can help businesses in different ways ranging from self-employed independent contractors to temporary and contingent workers. It has increased the chances of outsourcing. It has brought together people from different governments, companies and services; thereby helping in bringing expert solutions at a very fast rate from international market. With advancements in technology, people are able to work from home for different companies. It has been estimated that in 2006, nearly 23.5 million workers of U.S. businesses gave part-time services from home. One interesting example, in this case, is that of Jet Blue Airlines that has over 700 reservation agents working from home, thereby reducing the company’s overhead charges in office space and equipment. Another example is that of Hewlett-Packard in which 70% of employees are working from home (Hafner & Owens, 2008).
Technology has also increased the chances of employment for individuals with disabilities through desk based tasks such as website development and E-consignment such as selling items on different online stores on behalf of customers (Hafner & Owens, 2008). Moreover, they can also present their talent to businesses easily. This can also help in progress of businesses by using more talented people without worrying about their disabilities.
Increase in the use of business applications and software
Business applications and computer programs have helped companies in increasing the productivity of the business and its employees. These are helpful in processing more information as compared to manual methods. Business owners have to check advancements in technology as it can help in further increasing business efficiency and expanding operations in different areas of business. Technological applications in business have helped in decreasing manual-labor hours and simplified the compilation of data. They have also helped in streamlining information and removing data redundancy.
Companies and organizations can use the technology for business by using appropriate computer programs. Among the most important software or applications that can help in moving with technology are accounting software, planning tools or apps, time tracking apps, email control apps, and mobile access of internet and services.
- Accounting software can help in processing accounting transactions and looking at profits and losses. It can also facilitate in developing budget for business.
- Planning tools or applications such as calendar system can help in keeping on the organized track. Sticking to a planned strategy can help in moving up the business.
- Time tracking applications can help in determining the time spent on important tasks that can help in improving profits of the company. These applications can also help in determination of tasks that can be made better, can be outsourced, or eliminated.
- People are using mobile devices in a number of innovative and novel ways to fulfill their requirements (Elmore, 2013). An important use is mobile internet access that can help in checking different things such as emails and other information on websites. It is also helpful in maintaining the positive reputation of the business as for example business owners would be able to reach their clients in a timely and professional manner. According to the report of Citrix, a cloud company, 18% of small businesses in the U.S., Canada, and Australia have achieved over 30% of productivity gains by adopting mobile workstyles. Mobile devices not only help in improvement of productivity but can also contribute to innovation (Elmore, 2013).
Increase in using the services of people from Information Technology (IT)
Information technology (IT) has become an important part of businesses. According to reports, better-performing branches of businesses have more sophisticated use of IT (Wagner, Beimborn & Weitzel, 2014). So, with rapid progress in technology, businesses need those professionals who are able to analyze huge amount of data through the use of technology. These people are helpful in analyzing trends and transforming the business for better prospects. They can also help in developing new ways to connect with customers (Elmore, 2013).
Outsourcing in the field of IT has also become easy with the advancements in technology. We can see the expansion of globalization, i.e. businesses can easily find the required talent in the world and can take the services of people from different parts of the world. Companies usually outsource technical support and customer services. Companies usually outsource their functions to cheapest areas in the world. In this regard, outsourcing from Asian countries can help in working on different tasks with high skills and low costs (Hafner & Owens, 2008). Small businesses outsource different functions if they think that proper facilities or manpower are not available. Reports are showing that public sector organizations spent about $10.3 billion in the 3rd quarter of the year 2013 on IT and business process outsourcing, whereas private sector organizations spent about $6.4 billion on the process of outsourcing. The U.S., Britain, and Australia are the top three outsourcing spending governments (Sako, 2014).
Increase in communication
Good and fast communication is important in giving information to different stakeholders including public at large. Efficient communication strategies can help the organization in not only maintaining its reputation but also in managing its legitimacy. Fulfilling the stakeholders’ expectations can help in maintaining legitimacy of the company (Vielhaber & Waltman, 2008).
Progress in technology has helped businesses to communicate in a quick manner with their customers and stakeholders. Technology has given various communication channels such as websites, electronic mails, and SMSs that can help in reaching target people in crisis or any other form of emergency. Strategic communication during crisis can help in reducing the uncertainty about the causes of crisis by providing credible answers to questions (Vielhaber & Waltman, 2008). They can also use internet advertising to reach new markets and customers through the use of web banners and ads. Moreover, companies can also get more feedback from consumers through these methods of electronic communication.
Conclusion
Most important thing in the use of technology is that business owners have to know the right type of technology as it can help in moving up their business. This information will also help in becoming more organized and efficient in different tasks. Businesses can decrease the amount of human labor in business functions. Moreover, companies can also expand their operations using technology without spending too much money on employees if the technology is providing better outcomes in production. However, companies have to consider that changes are hard, so they have to continuously inform their employees about the changes in technological structure in the company.
Businesses have to work on the changing trends in jobs and skills, and utilize the advantages of those trends. They can search for outsourcing opportunities that can help in providing jobs that can easily be digitized and do not require face-to-face meeting, and can be partially automated. Businesses have to know the additional competitive advantage with the integration of technology and its different aspects.
Although technology comes with some issues such as security issues as for example hacking of websites and emails, and breaching of documents but increased use of better technology can help in overcoming this problem. Technology has become a necessary expense of modern businesses because with advancements in technology, systems become outdated rapidly and can start showing incompatibility with web based applications or other systems. Overall, businesses find technology useful in many ways that are far more than its disadvantages.
References
Elmore, B. (2013). The New Digital Dawn: How Technology is Changing Business. Retrieved from http://bbr.baylor.edu/new-digital-dawn/
Hafner, D., & Owens, L. A. (2008). How globalization is changing our workforce: A global vision to job development. Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation, 29(1), 15-22.
Sako, M. (2014). The business of the state. Communications of the ACM, 57(7), 28-30.
Vielhaber, M. E., & Waltman, J. L. (2008). Changing Uses of Technology Crisis Communication Responses in a Faculty Strike. Journal of Business Communication, 45(3), 308-330.
Wagner, H. T., Beimborn, D., & Weitzel, T. (2014). How Social Capital Among Information Technology and Business Units Drives Operational Alignment and IT Business Value. Journal of Management Information Systems, 31(1), 241-272.
