Does Technology Determine Organizational Activity, or Do Social Processes Determine Technology Use? (Essay Sample)

Does Technology Determine Organizational Activity, or Do Social Processes Determine Technology Use?
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The role technology plays in the modern day organization cannot be ignored. Indeed, some authors have argued that the use of technology is one of the major reasons that determine the rise or fall of many organizations. This is because technology is one of the main external factors that affect the running of a business (Rothaermel, 2008, p. 215). Technology serves the important task of connecting people, organizations and social systems (Katz & Kahn, 1978, p. 23). This is through facilitating organizational communications such as email and virtual meeting services, online orientation services and online survey feedbacks. However, it is this interaction with individuals and social systems that draws the line between the role played by technology in determining social behaviour and the role played by human beings in determining the role technology has in the organization. This paper discusses the extent to which technology alters organizational behaviour and how the human element alters the use of technology within the organization. The paper is divided into two sections. The first section discusses how technology influences organizational activity. The second part looks at how social processes influence the use of technology.
Section 1
The reasons why an organization adopts technology are varied as there are organizations. Researchers have argued that among the many reasons why a firm adapts a system such as an enterprise resource planning system is the issue of cost (Scapens & Jazayeri, 2003, p. 210). The adoption of information technology systems stems on the costly practice of duplicating data, thus reducing costs as argued by Scapens. Another reason for the adoption of information technology systems is to improve on transaction processing, co-ordinate record keeping, and make it much easier to produce different kinds of reports. Therefore, information technology, as annotated by the name, plays an important role in the relay of information. As some have noted, information is a very powerful tool in the running of the organization.
Owing to the importance of information in the running of an organization, the purveyors of information have gained prominent roles in the organization. Before technology came to play a crucial role in the running of an organization, it can be argued that the most powerful people in the organization were the people who controlled key financial decisions. However, the modern day organization has seen the rise and rise of the chief information officer, chief data administrator and people who hold similar titles. For example, in a survey done by Gartner Inc., it was found that, by the year 2015, 25% of large global organizations will have appointed chief data officers who will be in charge of collecting and analysing data (Gartner, Inc., 2014).
Apart from altering organizational activity by introducing new roles and people to top management levels, technology is also influencing how companies interact with their customers, shareholders, suppliers as well as other stakeholders. Owing to the increased access to the internet by the worldwide population, companies have found that they can get their hands on information which they could not previously access. Today, it is much easier for a retailer such as Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. to know what a group of customers from Delaware is likely to buy over Valentine's Day by accessing information lodged on their computers by cookies. This is changing the way companies use information to market themselves with a focus being to target online platforms as opposed to the traditional platforms of radio and television. As a reflection of this trend, it is estimated that 43% of companies intend to reduce spending on marketing through traditional media while simultaneously increasing spending on digital marketing by 38% (Mckinsey & Company, 2009). Digital means of communication are identified to be through smartphones and tablets. This is because the customer uses these devices in their daily lives and this what makes them a prime target on digital marketing.
Recent events in the field of finance such as the adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards by over a hundred countries have been fuelled by increased accessibility to information by the international investor. This investor wants to access information and interpret it as if he were still in his home country. Of course the increase in accessibility has been fuelled by changes in technology such as the internet that have made it easier and cheaper to access information. The result of this need to access information is that organizations have been forced to change their reporting procedures so as to meet the new legal requirement that emanate from the adoption of the standards.
Apart from altering how businesses interact with their customers, technology is changing how employees interact with data. Previously, employees relied on a top-down type of information flow. Information about projects came from the top management and the employee was expected to act on it based on what he has, no more. Once the project was completed, the employee would send his part to the supervisor who would assemble all other parts of the project to form a complete one. Sometimes this would take months to complete. However, technological improvements have made collaboration between different members of the project team to interact and work on the project from anywhere on the globe. This has been enhanced by developments such as cloud computing that allow the end users to share the same data as if they were working from the same physical space. This has enabled organizations to complete projects faster while enhancing a collaborative corporate culture irrespective of distance or time.
Technology is changing how companies use their capital. Due to the fact that technology has brought with it enormous opportunities for establishments like bookshops and retailers, these companies are resulting in a trend of selling their wares through online platforms rather than through the traditional brick and mortar stores. These companies have realized the importance of using platforms such as websites and apps in a world that is increasingly wired to the internet. Firms that do not take advantage are quickly overtaken and as a result fade into oblivion. Such firms include the Mary Martin, Borders and Angus & Robertson all of which were leading booksellers beaten to collapse by Amazon.com, Inc. Firms have, therefore, had to shift their allocation of resources from building stores to building credible websites, creating social media platforms and designing applications that can be used by the customer on his mobile phone. While dismissed by critics as a waste of the brightest brains, building of applications is useful to the company that uses it as it is the best way of getting personal with the customer and interacting with him on a daily basis. These costs are capitalized as their benefits will continue flowing to the organization for many years in the future.
Another industry that is changing its way of doing business is the banking industry. The most important invention after the ATM can be argued to be the invention of mobile banking. This invention allows the bank client to use his phone or computer to send and receive money without having to go to the banking hall or the ATM. For example, in the United States of America, 28% of all mobile phone users used their mobile phones to conduct business from their phones, up from 21% in the previous year (Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, 2013, p. 4). In countries like Netherlands, 42% of smartphone users used a variant of mobile banking in the year 2013 (Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited, 2013, p. 5). This has seen banking giants like Barclays PLC lay off its employees in record numbers as technology renders some of their functions redundant (Slater & Scuffham, 2014).
While a lot of the preceding discussion has been about assets that appear on the financial statements, technology is also changing what is perhaps the most important to any company; its employees. According to research, companies are finding it hard to cope with the demands of the new generation of employees entering the workforce after college. Popularly known as the Generation Y, the mean age of this group is 25 years. Owing to their exposure to technological inventions early on in their lives, the employees in this age bracket are both high performance and high maintenance. As a result of their exposure to the internet, they are more knowledgeable regarding the best practices, and they know what their peers are receiving in other industries and companies. While this might be wished away by executives as a trend that will soon fade away, it is estimated that by 2025, this generation will comprise about 75% of the workforce (Business and Professional Women's Foundation, 2011, p. 2). Firms’ intentions of staying competitive are changing their hiring structures and making their workplaces more accommodative to this generation of employees.
As a result of the changing demographics in the workplace, companies are increasingly adopting new communication measures that would have been deemed unacceptable in past decades. It is the norm in a modern day organization for a company to allow official communication take place through media such as SMS or even instant messaging services. While mode of communication one way technology is changing the workplace, the new generation of employees is calling for a relaxation of office attire that points to a trend that could change an organization's culture completely. This is yet an...