The Impact of Digital Technologies on an organisation 2.6

How is the world of work changing? The world of work is changing rapidly due to economic and technological changes. The jobs that are available today and how people work are totally different form how your grandparents worked. These changes are continuing and will have a huge effect on the types of work your own grandchildren will have to do. The main trends currently driving change in the world are:

Global competition Intense global competition among businesses is forcing them to constantly seek ways to cut their costs. They are doing this in a number of ways: Businesses are moving labour intensive work to countries such as India where wages and other business costs are lower. Outsourcing occurs when a business pays outside firms to do specialist work. Apple outsource some of their production to Asia. Governments in many countries are also outsourcing more public services e.g. the Government has employed a private business to provide job seeking support to the unemployed. Businesses are reorganising their workplaces and reducing employee numbers using more automation and robotics.

B) Technological innovations New ways of working are possible as advances in internet and communications technologies mean that people can work online from home or when travelling. E-Working refers to working from home for at least part of the week and using the internet to communicate with colleagues. Low skilled jobs are becoming fewer – boxes in Butlers Chocolates made by a robot New jobs are becoming available for people with specialist skills in growing areas such as information and communications technologies.

c) Environmental pressures Demand for green jobs is rising in areas such as renewable energy, pollution control and recycling. More environmentally friendly. d) Life spans A longer working life is more common. People are retiring later. This is partially because of longer life expectancies but also because pensions and savings are often inadequate to meet financial needs and so people have to work longer.

Effects of these changes on the workplace are: Less secure employment and fewer permanent jobs for life. More transferable skills are needed by employees . Transferable skills are useful skills that you can take with you from one job to another. Self employment and entrepreneurship is growing. People are working longer and there are additional older people in the workforce.

What are digital technologies? Digital technologies refers to the use of electronic equipment to generate, process, store and distribute information. Also referred to as information and communications technology (ICT). The three main elements of digital technologies are Computer Hardware Computer Software The Internet

Computer hardware refers to the physical parts of a computer and related devises such as printers and scanners Computer software consists of the programs and applications that run on computers The internet is a global network that connects computer systems across the world. The World Wide Web WWW or simply the web is an information space where documents and other web resources can be accessed via the internet.

How can digital technologies help a business? Digital technologies allow businesses to use powerful software: Email allows messages, documents and audio files to be sent instantaneously over the internet at practically no cost. Word processing software allows high quality letters, reports and other documents to be produced. Database software allows a business to store huge amounts of data electronically. This data can be easily searched, sorted and updated. Spread sheet software enables users to do complex financial and statistical calculations quickly and present the results in the form of pie charts, bar charts and other graphical forms saving time and money.

Digital technologies bring the following advantages to a business: People work faster Improved decision making and data protection Business marketing is improved The manufactureand distribution of goods is enhanced Businesses have control over their finances

A) People work faster Time is saved improved efficiencies and reduced errors Staff motivation can be boosted if they have the option of working from home or other locations. B) Improved decision making an data protection Information can be analysed quickly Protects confidential information C) Business marketing is improved Market research can be easily conducted Online advertising and sales can reach a global audience at a very low cost.

d) The manufacturer and distribution of goods is enhanced Computerisation and automation has reduced the amount of staff and time needed to design and build products. ICT allows automatic ordering of stock with a minimum of paperwork or human involvement. E) businesses have control over their finances Payroll management is now way faster, cheaper and more accurate as most wages are paid automatically into employee bank accounts using computer technology Reduced travel and postage costs through the use of email and video conferencing. E-learning allows low cost, online staff training in new knowledge and skills.