Modern day business methods have undergone a revolutionary change in the last decade owing to changes in the global environment affecting almost all aspects of business. Throughout the world companies have realized that incorporation of these changes in their activities is necessary in order to stay ahead of their competitors and manage the affairs of business in an efficient manner. Because of the increasing competition and availability of numerous options for consumers businesses today understand that they have to reach more customers. This is not possible unless they are ready to adapt to the changing environment which means taking advantage of the opportunities presented to them by globalization and relaxation in the rules of doing business. There have been remarkable changes in both the external and internal scenario surrounding a business and in order to survive in the present environment business enterprises have to be informed about them as well as introduce them in their strategies. The major changes that have affected the world of business today are economic political, legal, technological, social and natural apart from the change in internal influence. Liberalization policies for out sourcing and foreign direct investments have enabled the enterprises expand their operations across the countries. There have been changes in law to allow entry of foreign made goods, currency and technology, through acquisitions, mergers and collaborations. Thinking of the ruling government has also affected the businesses to gain entries into market outside their own country. Joint Ventures of industries have also supported the exchange of technology between countries resulting in faster development and modernization. Because of growing awareness especially in developing countries, the socio cultural environment has also changed. People are becoming more active in protecting the cultural heritages of their countries from being harmed. Also there has been a protest from nature groups on allocating natural resources indiscriminately to industrial groups that endanger the ecological environment. Internal environment of work places has also changed; there are stricter rules on payment equality, racial discrimination and harassment. Development of management processes, software for assisting office administration, monitoring performance and rewarding methods show changing trends in concepts and the management has to incorporate these in their processes in order to avoid conflicts and function smoothly. Although all these elements are witnessing fast and massive changes, the most discernible change has been in the field of Technology; the invention of digital technology and software have given an entirely new dimension to manufacturing, engineering and data processing in business. Intelligent processes, which have been made possible by the explosion of digital technologies are set to reinvent much of the way that businesses are run—in as soon as the next five years (Thomas et.al, 2016).Today most businesses processes are carried out in the world with the help of digital technology like cell phones, social media, androids, big data, predictive software and cloud using the internet and other media.
The best possible definition of Digital technology has been given in the NZCETA as ‘the use of digital resources to effectively find, analyze, create, communicate and use information in a digital context. This encompasses the use of web 2.0 tools, digital media tools, programming tools and software applications.’(2006).In common language, it is the technology that converts data into binary numbers and uses it to analyze and communicate in the desired language to the users. More than a billion people on Facebook, 5.6 billion mobile devices and more than $20.4 trillion dollars of business or 14% of all economic activity are transacted across digital resources A study of more than 2,200 companies indicated that digital technology supports an average 58% of their business processes. (McDonald and Rowsell-Jones, 2012) Looking at the figures above, businesses have to gear up to introduce digital technology in their business processes or be prepared to go dysfunctional soon.
All functions of a business such as marketing, procurement of resources, sales and banking has become an altogether different experience using electronic systems. This has enabled us to perform activities faster across large distances more efficiently without the necessity of our physical presence. Digital or electronic markets enabled by websites have not only made buying and selling easier it has also presented the consumer with a variety of options which was not possible earlier. Delivery of goods has become possible through supply chain processes and payments are made through electronic banking, both enabled by digital technology. The same process is applicable to purchase also. There are websites that advertise for vacancies thus enabling recruitment through internet. Thus digital technology has made it possible for buyers and sellers come together on a common virtual platform something that was not heard of a few years before. Not only has the external business environment been influenced by digitization, the internal processes of a business organization has experienced a transformation as well. Sharing of information via intranet, using software to collect, coordinate and analyze information for decision making has given an impetus to management systems which was never foreseen. Digital processing of information has brought in more accuracy and speed in computation saving valuable time and efforts. This has resulted in more efficient performance of all administrative function. Digital technology supported machines have helped in manufacturing processes with more precision than before and helped in lowering the percentage of defectives. The sales department can get more accurate and dependable forecasts from analysis of last years’ performance or market trends using software. An MIS that coordinates information from all functions and makes it accessible to concerned groups is a product of digitization and has become indispensible for businesses especially in Banking and Government sectors. The
advantages of using digital technology in running a business concern have many implications. It has made business transactions possible across the world, Transactions have become easier, faster and cheaper, it offers a wide variety of options to compare and choose from. It facilitates collection of information about a product or service regarding the reliability from comments of the users. Any information addressed to the stakeholders can be published on the social media so that it is available to all across the world saving the time and effort of the organization. A supply chain can be established using digital technology and payments and receipts can be mobilized immediately. Maintaining virtual files saves space and assists in accessing information anytime from anywhere. The advantages of installing digital system in internal processes consist of guaranteeing more accuracy and precision in information processing and deriving results since it is free of human bias. Forecasts are based on factual evidences and prove to be more reliable. It lowers the time taken to process data manually.
Considering all these factors it becomes imperative for business concern to incorporate digital technology in their internal and external operations for getting better revenues and adding value to their products or service. Experts have observed that those who embrace digital technology have the opportunity to make their mark on the business, to innovate and steer company strategy (Goodwin. B, 2016). Experts have predicted that those companies who do not recognize the signs and introduce digitization can be pushed out of business pretty soon. Those who have the ability to foresee the tremendous impact digital technology is going to have on their businesses have already started to convert their operating systems into digital ones. For IT companies who already have an edge over others in availability of resources and knowledge this transition have been easy but for other companies the transformation may not be so smooth. The
best possible way is to take the services of software companies or technicians and let this transformation be gradual. Installation of digital systems may need training of employees and their transfers across departments. In some cases it may necessitate laying off employees. This often leads employees to resist the change. It is better to train them in advance and convince them about the advantages of reducing time and effort. Customers and other business associates must also be helped through support centers to use the new system.
Although digitization has a number of merits and in the changing environment it is necessary for businesses to convert from manual to digital, it has certain dangers also. One of the most common dangers of installing digital system is its misuse by hackers and cyber offenders. Companies that convert to digital technology must also take steps to ensure that the privacy of the users is protected. This can be done by using password protection or by installing software that detects spyware or malware. There are cases where entire systems have crashed because of virus that is a link that cause corruption of data and cause websites to fail. Misuse of cyber space by criminals to steal confidential information and other offenses is common. This can be avoided by installing antivirus software that restricts unwanted emails known as spam. There are laws that prohibit companies from using spam mails or filtering of information from websites for the use of advertising. Many countries ban websites containing objectionable material and make it a punishable offence.
There are some dangers also from digital technology as information made available though the internet may be misused by offenders. Social media is often used to spread objectionable material or to attract potential victims. There is software that restrict children from accessing certain sites and that are linked with parents instruments for monitoring the children’s activities. In spite of all these faults, digital technology has become a must for conducting business in the modern environment and is expected to take every business function under its fold in future. Hence modern businesses should start using digitization in their activities to remain in business for a longer period.
References
Goodwin, Bill; (2016), The-digital-CIO-How-digital-technology-will-change-the-way-organisations-work, Computer Weekly retrieved from http://www.computerweekly.com/news/2240216339/The-digital-CIO-How-digital-technology-will-change-the-way-organisations-work
McDonald, Mark P. and Rowsell-Jones, Andy (2012, November), Digital Business: How Technology Will Support Growth, Forbes, retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/gartnergroup/2012/11/28/digital-business-how-technology-will-support-growth
Thomas, Robert J., Kass, Alex & Davarzani, Ladan;(2016) How-digital-technologies-are-changing-the-way-we-work, Outlook, Retrieved from https://www.accenture.com/us-en/insight-outlook-how-digital-technologies-are-changing-the-way-we-work.aspx
Enabling the 21st Learner, (2006), Ministry of Education, retrieved from, http://www.nzceta.co.nz/pages/digital_technologies.htm
