In this section i am going to be talking about the impacts of ICT on organisations. An organisation is a company or a business such as Google and Apple. Google and Apple are quite big organisations, an example of a smaller organisation is Amazon. also in this section it will explain how the world of ICT has impacted on organisations.

 

Introduction

The world is changing rapidly. Technology is helping to push new boundaries in almost all areas including science, design, health, transport, communications and education to name but a few. We discussed how ICT impacts us on an individual level, but how has it changed the way organisations operate.

 

People were really worried that ICT would strip jobs away from people and there would be mass unemployment. To some degree, this statement is true. The introduction of ICT into the work place has meant that jobs have been lost.

 

However, many more jobs have been created because of ICT and now the ICT industry is one of the biggest out there. What it has meant is that the skills we have needed to learn has changed. In the UK, manufacturing companies have declined and skilled based jobs in software and hardware development have increased.

 

Structure of an organisation

Organisations used to have to be located in similar, well built up areas. All departments of that organisation had to also be in the same location. ICT has allowed companies to expand to different geographical locations because communication is so much easier.

 

Companies have also had to create new jobs and departments because of ICT.

This includes:

• ICT Directors

• Network managers and departments

• ICT training managers and departments

 

Teleworking

A part of any job is the commute to work jostling for position on the roads and moving a few metres every few minutes getting hotter and hotter in those summer months with barely a breeze running through your car you’ve gotta love it.

 

The developments in ICT have allowed employees to work from home. I do a lot of work at home these days. I prefer it (although I do get easily distracted). I often connect to the school’s network so that I can do the same things I would do at school but from the comfort of my own home whilst listening to some banging tunes.

Jobs might include:

• Marking coursework from student’s drives

• Accessing my work emails (although I use the iPhone for this now)

• Accessing the reporting system

• Leaving reminders on my desktop

• Getting files from my network drive rather than emailing them home

 

Teleworking has massive financial benefits for any organisation. Firstly, they don’t have to hire/purchase a building for their workers. They only need a safe location for a server and support staff. They can track the amount of work that an employee does in a day quite easily through their emails and target setting devices.

 

There are benefits for the employee too. No longer having to commute to work means you save money on transport (lower fuel and insurance costs). You are also more refreshed because you can sleep longer and don’t have the stress of driving through rush hour.

 

There are benefits to the environment too if you are in to those things. The environmental impact of building buildings is quite high so less need for buildings means less impact on Earth’s resources. Same for cars less cars means less pollution. But remember people’s livelihoods are built around building and cars and fuel etc.  Remember for every action there is a consequence.

 

You need a high level of motivation to work from home. If you are like me and I know some of you are you like playing on your xbox rather than working flicking through iTunes or popping to the fridge. You have to have the discipline to work when you are supposed to work. For me working at home is something I do out of choice so I figure I am allowed to make a cup of tea at 7pm. Its not official work time.