Introduction
In the recent scenario, the business leaders are currently operating under the updated technologies that are highly reliable and relevant for increasing the efficiency of the organization. Developments in technology are responsible for the recent economic enhancement that took the companies to a great extent as well as for completely changing the working style of the employees(Buchanan, 2017). But, previously the situation was not the same. Many of the organizations were under the traditional model, which is vertically integrated that hires the employees to work full-time eight-to-nine shifts in a firm have won office, factory, or company. However, the traditional method has been updated with the latest trend that is representing the growth of the organization. Today’s performance in technological capabilities is increasing exponentially to enhance the computing power both for the consumers as well as for the enterprises, and the internet connectivity among the digital technology is changing the way enterprises, and employees work. Considering the large or small scale industries, everyone is competing with each other to set the place in the market. None of the companies are using traditional methods to increase productivity as they want the results as soon as possible.
Competitive Marketplace
Due to the competitive marketplace, the demands are also varying to a great extent. But, the organizations have not put any restrictions on the working style because of the developments in technology. In earlier times, employees need to work in the office and have to complete the task alone without any help within the stipulated time. But, the changes in technology have entirely shifted the idea and given full freedom to the employee. Now the organizational style is changed, and it allows the employees to work as per their wishes and choice. Employees are now working from home and technology is assisting them to change the way they usually prefer before. The company no longer has all the employees physically in a place; rather, the employees are moving around the world and have started to explore the business in a better way(Sharp, 2017).
The changes are not only limited to the employee. The changes are for the entire organization that includes HR and IT, automation, and social media as well as changes in the structure of the economy. With the rise in the development of technology, expectations are getting higher. People are demanding more, and organizations are taking it as a challenge to fulfill the requirements in time(Thomas, Kass & Davarzani, 2017). To improve the economic conditions, to provide the best facilities to the employees, and to remove the traditional approaches of business structures, the companies are adopting the changes that are coming in the market regarding the technology that opens up new opportunities for business across the world. The scope of every business is more now as the demand for social media has been raised. Social media is considered the best way to explore the industry which will reach every nook and corner of the world within a few times. Employees and the customer are appreciating the changes as they are getting maximum benefits out of it.
How Has Digital Technology Changed The Way Of Working?
Initially, the artisan came into the limelight and labored over one pair of shoes for the entire day, which is considered as an ad-hoc process in the organizational term. In the next phase, the industrial revolution came, with improved standardization parts as well as repeatable processes, which helps the firm to increase productivity quickly, but at the expense of variety. However, Sharp said that this phase is also changed, and the recent norm of the organization has been accepting the adaptable process, in which the same people are working with the same number of equipment to provide more variety(Sharp, 2017). But, the adaption of the techniques slower the process and provides less accessibility for designing better designs as well as fails to manage the risks at a time. Therefore, more recently, the organizational structures are changed, and a new game has been introduced in the market, that is, the intelligent processes, which have been made possible due to new implications of digital technology.
The intelligent process creates cycles that are set with different improvement levels along with continuous feedback. The devices that were used earlier are less equipped with sensors and monitors which raised some issues regarding productivity. The cyber issues were high, but now the situation is under control(Buchanan, 2017). Now, companies are successfully finding the issues with the help of an intelligent process that has more sensors and monitors to identify the faults from the sophisticated models to make better real-time adjustments. Digital technology is helping the firm to grab better opportunities as well as to analyze the trade-off to fasten up the process.
With the rise in technological developments, the number of faults related to the workplace is also decreasing. Previously, employees were fixed to a particular set of work and time limits. They are completely unaware of the facts that were going into the system, and when suddenly some issues arise, they fail to solve it immediately. They couldn’t sense the internal and external conditions of the devices used; rather they used to work in a structured manner. But, after the introduction of new technology that is highly packed with concepts, usage as well as new approaches, the attraction of employees gradually shifted and they start to work on it.
They explore the versions of the intelligent process to identify better opportunities within the organization as the demand outside was increasing. One can’t stick to a particular field; otherwise, one may be fired from the company. Organizations are expecting more from the employees as the advancement in technology demands more results within the stipulated time frame(Thomas, Kass & Davarzani, 2017). Intelligent technology has made two things possible; it facilitates the ability to experiment anything on new technology to learn new things as well as has helped employees to interact with others to grab better ideas for recombination. The combination of humans and technology is more flexible and reliable which has successfully changed the structure of every organization for yielding better productivity, improving connectivity, and making more possible ways the securing the future. The change in technology has made the bond between employees and employers stronger. The employees are now free to have a healthy conversation with the higher-level managers regarding the work through tablets, phones, or laptops. The digital workplace creates more challenges that bring them together for developing a better kind of organization with digital etiquette and formalities(Sharp, 2017).
Changes in HR and IT due to technology
Human resources and the IT industry are simultaneously changing the view of the organization better than the traditional approaches. The human resource sectors are typically a frenzy of activities that were previously done through pen and paper. It is quite tough to manage the entire work with pen and paper, and various issues were coming up with those methods. But, with the pace of time, technology has completely changed the HR professional’s tools to minimize the workloads so that they can easily focus on those issues that require more attention(Jain, 2014).
Before mobile phones and cloud computing, HR was defined by a set of paperwork as well as a constant struggle is required to keep up with hiring, compliance, and unending tasks of the employee’s information. It was quite hectic to maintain the records of recruitment, enrolments, and payroll, but, very few times, technology has changed the way of thinking and made a drastic change regarding the accuracy, efficiency, and increasing employee morale(Hppy, 2017).
For example, it is always difficult to hire people when the number is more. But, with the change in technology, this problem has also been solved. Now, the process of recruiting is quite easy as new hiring is taking less time and is cost-effective. It is easy to find skilled people who are fit for the requirements given by the company. Previously, the recruiters were taking face-to-face interviews to choose the best out of thousands, and that takes the maximum number of days. Sometimes, out of frustration and lack of patience, the decisions were made wrong. After winnowing hundreds of applicants to the final level, some recruiters fail to find the best one(TalentCulture, 2017). Therefore, the change in technology or the developments in the technology have provided huge scope for companies to select employees over the web, the listing of the data is now easy with digital technology as well as hiring process has been upgraded as a result of which relevant employees are selected who fulfill all the required condition of the organization.
The performance management of the company is considered an important function in HR. HR function involves the performance-driven approach, monitoring process, collecting feedback, and managing the process of regular employee reviews. These are time-consuming processes when they are done on pen and paper. But, the change in the style of the technology helps to install new software to carry forward the process efficiently without consuming more time. The critical information about the organization needs to be in a safe condition, otherwise few problems may arise regarding the data(TalentCulture, 2017). Therefore, it is essential to update the system with the latest technology to keep the data in a safe state so that outsiders can’t get even touch the data through any means. The developments in technology have made possible ways like fingerprints, cameras, and HR teams can capture the illegal usage of data, as well as the security system of monitoring the data has greatly increased to avoid threats.
Apart from recruiting and data storage, training is another important part of HR management. Training is given to those employees who are working for the companies. The training is basically coming in different formats that require sharp knowledge about the recent updates, and ideas about the tool as well as needs proper locations. Sometimes due to the lack of training during the sessions, the employees are unable to achieve the target within the time as they are unaware of the situation and consequences. For example, when the trainers during the induction programs are giving the ideas of operating a device, they are not explaining the details; rather overlook the topics that ultimately bring problems for the employees shortly(Jain, 2014).
But, nowadays, these things are changes to a great extent. The trainers are well acquainted with the new tool and terms of technology which is only possible due to the advancement of technology. Previously, the location was a huge problem for some people, but, later, with the rise in the services, employees can even get the training simply sitting at home. They can learn the basics from the internet where everything is available along with the virtual classrooms where experts are giving the training(Jain, 2014). There is huge progress in the system where everything is possible with the latest computerized testing programs, new software as well as new developments in the tools which are modified better than the traditional ones. The bond between the higher level managers and lower level employees is also getting stronger as they are getting an immense number of chances to clarify the things that are rising within the organization. The fear no more exists within the teams and technology has made it possible to make the relationship healthy worldwide.
Impact of technology on social media
Previously, there was no significance of social media due to which the promotion of the products was getting slower. Companies were developing the bond with the stakeholders physically as there were no other means to communicate. Therefore, the limitation of selling the products is only limited to a particular place. But, the development of social media has changed the scenario completely in every possible way. For example, when the companies were producing the products long ago, they used to sell them within the local markets. They had no communication with the international stakeholders as well as they were unaware of their marketing strategies. The number of local marketers increases but they were selling the products at fewer prices and in less quantity. But, later, with the pace of time, technology has brought a drastic change in the marketplace. The rise in technology has opened many opportunities for producers to increase their field of communication with international marketers.
One of the possible ways is social media. The rise in social channels and networking has made it faster to access the information that is available worldwide. Social media has millions of supporters who are actively accessing the services as they found it a reliable and flexible way of communication(Grübler, 2010). Communication is always an important part of the production process as without the passing of information from one vendor to other; it is no possible to sell the products in a better way(Change & Corcoran, 2012). Therefore, communication is essential in every respect, which has been enhanced by social media. Technology has changed the structure of social channels and made the process easy to communicate with a wide range of people across the world. It has broken all the barriers and made it possible to track information about the choice of customers as well as about new products. Social channels are becoming famous due to the rise in technology. The developers of the social channels are developing a new version of the application to make it more user-friendly.
Social media is a platform that provides huge opportunities for customers to select the best out of thousands in the least time. For example, a customer wants to buy a dress from an online shop. But, they are completely unknown of the process. Previously, there were only social media that helps to share data with friends, relatives, and close members. But, later, with the rise in the demands, the developers are also changing the frame of the channels and allow showing the best products of some shops over the web. Social media is now also giving a chance to the companies to have a voice when it comes to their brand and various ways to engage and communicate with customers and employees. The developers have changed the system to enable businesses across the world to amplify their message possibly.
Technology and an innovative economy
Looking at human history, technological advancements serve as a mile marker; where there are new telephones, the invention of the wheel, the dial-up modem, and much more. Some of these developments have changed the structure of the world as well as the way people used to communicate. But, the question arises that how these things are possible within a very few periods of time. Early in the 1980s or 1990s, there are industries that are producing products in larger quantities, but fail to achieve maximum productivity due to several reasons(Jaffe, Newell & Stavins, 2003). These reasons are mainly associated with the communication process, better relationship with the stakeholders as well as the financial crisis. The mindset of every people is set to get the best product at a lesser price, which was an earlier approach, and due to this companies were failing to achieve the target within the stipulated time(Grübler, 2010). Later, with the rise in technology and time, the system starts to change. People start to expect more from the producers. Therefore, companies start to explore their business worldwide with the help of technology. They use online platforms to modify the existing systems for better productivity.
The technology has highly improved the strategies of innovative products and boosted the confidence of the sellers to create a difference between the traditional and recent developments. Many companies are getting maximum economic rise with the change in technological tools as they are applying those methods to improve productivity. Innovative ways like online promotion, and websites as well as the way that helps to communicate with international traders have made a huge impact on the economic scale of organizationsJaffe, Newell & Stavins. Companies are crossing all boundaries and developing a better way of communication for sustainable economic recoveries(Tidd, Bessant & Pavitt, 2005). A number of countries have found information technology as a vital infrastructure needed for national development. Broadband is viewed as a way to stimulate better economic development, social connections as well as civic engagement.
Conclusion
The change in technology has increased the efficiency of the workplace through increased productivity, with the more agile and developed workplace, cost savings as well as generally increased flexibility and adaptability in the ever-increasing complex marketplace. More enterprises are collaborating globally and with more diverse and global staff. Technology has opened up new ways to work anywhere from all over the world. There are no restrictions on the way people work for the organization, even they can work from the jungle to the arctic, as long as they are reliable and connected to the internet. The company wants the results within the time frame; it didn’t bother about the process. It has changed the employee-employer relationship to a great extent. Employees can connect through smartphones, tablets, or other connecting devices.
References
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