How Information & Communication Technology (Ict) Has Impacted On Management Practices
Introduction
Information and Communication Technology is applied in the services rendered across companies or organizations. The advancement of technology impacts the ways information is dealt with in information centers and libraries. This occurs through the effects that arise in computation technology, technology in communication and mass storage technology that give continued development and reshaping to the access, retrieval and storage of information to users. Organizations have applied various forms of technology depending on the size, quantity and amount of production being carried out. Management in organizations requires technology in all aspects and the key elements. Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has brought about extraordinary changes and transformation to the information services. These transformations have been felt in the field of delivering documents and customer relations which have been provided more efficiently and effectively through the use of information and communication technology.
Similarly, ICT has introduced convenience in aspects such as time, cost effectiveness, place and fast and current dissemination in the process involved in information services. Businesses and organizations have utilized the vast services offered by information and communication technology to characterize on information services through changing the formats and contents, as well as, methodologies used in the production. These changes have also occurred in the area of methods used for production and delivering information products. The internet is one of the sources of information and knowledge that has emerged to change the role in managerial services. It facilitates information and acts as a tool for disseminating information by shifting from physical to virtual services. This creates and environment that is extinct to the conventional information services and brings about new and advanced innovative structures that depend on the web.
This paper aims at describing the effects that arise in the management practices through the use of information and communication technology. It will bring out the various aspects involved in management, as well as, the functions of a manager. This will be coupled with the factors that reshape and redefine management the definition of the external environment and its importance in the area of management. Additionally, part of the paper will help in understanding how the external environment affects managers in their work. The final part of the paper will describe how the workforce is changing, and its impact on the way organizations are managed.
Findings
Management refers to the process where activities within an organization are clearly and properly, planned, organized, led, and controlled. This occurs through the way resources are achieved in effective and efficient ways that aim at achieving the organizational goals. These key aspects in management help organizations in performing according to the desired objectives set across. All the employees are expected to follow the guidelines in order to ensure effectiveness in their work. The element of planning refers to the actual process where the necessary goals and courses of action are chosen for every organization. It occurs through the realization of processes such as making decisions that will be pursued by the organization, decisions the causative actions that need to be adopted in order to achieve the necessary goals and focusing on the allocation of the resources within the organization for the attainment of the objectives. This brings about the results where strategies set within the organization aim at achieving the goals.
Additionally, there is the organizing element where structures are established in terms of the working relationships. They help in facilitating the interactions among the members within the organization and ensure cooperation in order the goals that are set. This brings about an organized structure.2 The next element is leading where the vision and mission of the organization are articulated through the energizing of the employees. It ensures that the employees kept in a state where they are eager to contribute to the achievement of the goals in the organization.2
Leaders and in this case managers involve the use of power, influence, persuasion ,as well as, elaborate communication skills to create the perceptive that drives the employees. Control is the next step that is encompassed in the area of management. It involves the evaluation process that determines how well an organization achieves its goals by taking the correct courses of action in order to maintain or improve performance.3 In this element, managers are obligated to monitor the performance of the employees, the various departments and the holistic organization. This ensures that the organization and the employees perform accordingly and in the required standards. In addition to this, it ensures that whenever the standards are not met, managers act according to their mandate to improve the performance. The control process brings about the ability to measure and evaluate performance in accurate ways that control the effectiveness and efficiency within the organization.
Analysis
Managers in an organization are the people who are responsible for planning and directing the work conducted by individuals. They monitor the work through effective structures by taking corrective courses of action whenever the need arises. Their duties may vary depending on the size of the company where they work but their overall responsibility includes working in collaboration with the directors in order to meet the objectives of the organization. They ensure that the work and objectives carried out in the organization are carried out in an organized manner. They help the directing the workers through several supervisors who ensure that the outcomes are efficient. They also control various departments within the organization such as the human resource, the finance department just to mention but a few.
Additionally, managers have the powers of hiring and firing employees whom they render unproductive or violate the conditions of the organization. This is coupled with the mandate to promote those employees whom they perceive productive and dedicated to the company. Similarly, they may also make recommendations on certain employees to the next level of management. Managers in the accounting department ensure that all the financial details are organized and structures in a way that reflects the company’s transactions. This is the same case for managers in the operations department who are responsible for the operations carried out in the organization.
The factors that are reshaping and redefining management include the use of information and communication technology. It has helped managers in organizations to effectively delegate their roles as they give faster responses to the objectives set. It also ensures that the managers are able to plan their objectives through effective ways that bring about outcomes that are well structured. Similarly, managers have been able to ensure effective communication through the variety of resources provided by information and communication technology. They render their messages efficiently and in good time, which ensures efficiency within the organization. Information and Communication technology offers managers the opportunity to track down the activities carried out in the organization. This occurs through proper supervision of the employees’ performance and the integration of technology in monitoring the activities involved. Production and transactions are also monitored to ensure effective end products and services.
Additionally, interpersonal roles that are delegated by managers enable efficiency and reshaping of the organization. They help in the involvement of people who include subordinates and people outside the organization, as well as, other duties that are ceremonial and symbolic in nature. These roles involve the figurehead, leadership and liaison that help in collectively receiving and dissemination of information. Managers in this case act as the disseminators and spoke persons who monitor the activities in every aspect of the organization. The decision making roles in managers have helped reshape and redefine management in that they bring about entrepreneurial aspects that may build the organizations. This reshaping and redefining also entail handling of disturbances, allocating of resources and negotiation that are carried out by managers. They give the managers the mandate of ensuring that the overall objectives are achieved.
Management has over the years been reshaped in that managers have been given the mandate to call the shots and make decisions relevant to the organizations. However, managers are required to have certain skills in order to achieve these concepts. These skills entail conceptual skills where managers have the ability to analyze and diagnose complex situations, interpersonal skills where they are able to work with and understand mentor and motivate other individuals. Additionally, they are also required to have technical skills that demand for knowledge on the specificity of the job, as well as, techniques necessary to perform the tasks involved in the work. Political skills are also important in this area as they give the mangers the ability to build a power base and establish the necessary connections. The factors that may help reshape and rebuild management include characteristics such as purpose, the people and the structure of the organization.
The external environment and its importance in the management of organizations include consideration of the factors that have a clear correlation to the operation carried out in the organization. Managers in this case have to think carefully about the way the environmental factors affect the organization where they work. External factors include the economic, technological, socio-cultural, political-legal, global, as well as, business environment. These are complex factors that may bring about opportunities and opportunities. Consideration of the external effects is importantly because they are sources of competition. Organizations aim at improving their quality of the external environment based on the presences of competition and hence maximize their sales.
These external factors present various challenges to the organization in terms of risks that need to be dealt with in order to ensure effectiveness. They also help in crating structures that are appropriate for the organization in the future. External environments such as technology are necessary for the management process in that they help to ensure efficient and effective production of goods and services. The fact that companies will compete to have the best type of technology brings about advanced products that are of quality standards. This in the long term ensures better services and advanced strategies. They also bring about essential planning of the future through forecasting of the events that may occur over the next couple of years. This occurs partly due to the urge and need to have accreditation for products.
The external environment affects managers in their roles through various ways. One of these ways is that factors such as technology bring about new construction that affects working practices in the organization. They introduce more component systems in the organization, which may not have been planned for by the managers in the first place. Social factors, on the other hand, change the population rates in a certain area. This may affect the demand for the products and bring challenges for the managers in that they have to restructure their processes to ensure standardized operations. Similarly, economic factors affect managers in their work through changes in demand of the products. Interest rates affect the demand commercial property which is a challenge to the managers in maintaining the quality of services being rendered. Managers have to make decisions based on the external factors and obey the rules and regulations. They are bound by these factors and may at times have to bend the goals and objectives of the organization in order to align with these factors.
The changes that occur in the workforce influence the way organizations operate. Changes that arise due to global market economy, technology and population age have introduced changes in the way organization are managed. They have brought about cognitively complex structures of work, more collaboration and teamwork in organizations as well dependency on social skills within the organization. This is coupled with the aspect of dependency on technological competency, as well as, pressure based on time. Geographical dependency has been limited as people have learned and adopted mobile structures of carrying out their activities. This has allowed managers or rather the management to delegate work to people and expect results in ample time and effectively.
Conclusion
Management is not an easy task as the people in this field are expected to make decisions based on their skills. They have to be effective and efficient in their work in order to ensure proper outcomes. They are leaders with various skills that are applied in the delegation and supervision of activities. Therefore, they need to be at their best in what they do but also consider the input of other members in the field.
Bibliography
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