Tech_401_Social_Contract

Organizational Technology Plan – Social Contract and Global Issues Team A TEC 401 February 27, 2012 Social Contract and Global Issues in Information Technology Technology is a major consideration for all organizations conducting business in the 21st century. Organizations need to determine the amount of time and money to invest and what the near-term and long-term technology needs are to support the business. Managers also need to consider technology acquisition and maintenance costs, training employees to use the technology, how new technology will change jobs, the organization’s responsibilities to retrain or dismiss employees whose skills are no longer required, and adapting procedures and technology to the language, culture, and infrastructure in other countries. The development of the digital age has caused many companies to expand into the global marketplace. But expansion into new markets and the outsourcing of manufacturing products and providing services includes benefits, limitations, and other considerations. This paper will cover businesses’ social responsibility to employees and consumers and the challenges of using technology in countries or regions that are geographically separated from businesses’ main facilities and headquarters. The Internal Aspect of Social Contract A social contract is: “Unwritten and tacit agreement said to exist among the members of a community or group that guides individual behavior and establishes personal rights and responsibilities. Social contract is deemed essential for any organized group behavior and, in democratic societies, is embodied in the national constitution”. (businessdictionary.com, 2012). For a company to boast itself as being excellent in what they do, the cream of the crop, they must begin by establishing a strong internal relationship with its employees. The employees are what makes or breaks a company. Employees have a need to be valued and respected, to be acknowledged and rewarded for their hard work. In turn, the employees will give back to the company by providing the best service they can to the customers and will safeguard customer and most importantly, company information. Loyalty is something that cannot be demanded from employees, it is something that is earned and it will eventually pay off. Employees must be able to work in an environment where their ideas are heard and the opportunity for advancement allows them to stay happy within the workplace. Customers expect for these companies to only use their information for what is needed, not for anything outside the scope of the business. The protection of personal information, whether it is the customers or its employees, is important for any company that strives to stay in business. Ensuring that the most trusted personnel, and only those individuals who need access to such sensitive information are the only one’s that can access it, is one of the most essential protocols that need to be in place. Not everyone in a business needs to have complete access to the flow of information, only essential personnel should be granted access and extensive training on how to handle and safeguard that information should be mandatory. Ensuring that the information stays safe and not compromised is the responsibility of every employee, but ensuring that everyone follows the rules is something that loyal employees will do with the help of a strong company leadership. Along with maintaining information, companies must ensure that the technology used to store such information is able to prevent an attack from intruders. The background of its employees is also critical. While most companies outsource its employees, some companies have offices throughout the world and need to ensure that the threat from that geographical area, technological or human, is something that they can go up against. In the unfortunate event that a breech does occur, the company must be able to accept responsibility for any output that comes from such an attack and should be able to ensure their clients that they are doing the best they can to minimize the any damage done with their personal information. Internet Policies Entering the global market is like starting a new business. It requires a lot of researching and planning to expand globally. Companies conducting business in emerging markets might find technological differences that will add to the cost of products manufactured or to a business's communication costs. Access to needed bandwidth or the Internet in some markets can affect global competitiveness or slow business communication. Mobile communication networks can be limited or non-existent. Businesses might have to increase technology budgets for network and equipment repairs because of computer compatibility issues. Also, Employees might require additional training to use unfamiliar computer products or equipment. Public perception is an important part of a business's international reputation. Seeing a country's social issues and views is vital to the success of any business. Social issues include a business's impact on local communities, the environment, religious beliefs and other cultural issues. Language barriers also affect businesses, which can generate cultural misunderstandings and increased costs for language translators. All of these factors will affect a business looking to grow globally if they do not have the knowledge and planning to do so. Effects of Cultural and Language Differences When an organization expands globally, the cultural and language differences can become a determining factor on where and how to best establish the organization. The Boeing organization is a leader in the global market as well as the domestic market because they have structured global best practices throughout the 170 countries where Boeing has established a presence. “The Boeing international organization was established in 2001, has country and regional executives in 20 offices worldwide, and was established to promote a stronger global presence, in turn creating diverse and dynamic global markets” (Boeing, 2012). According to Samuel, (1997), “Overseas business persons have very little colloquial knowledge. They might speak good English, but that does not mean they comprehend fully what is said. Speak s-l-o-w-l-y, and use no slang whatever.” What becomes important to initiate in the global market process, is how a person communications within cultural differences, “You are helping them while you help yourself to close an order” (Samuel, 1997). Cultural differences can simply be a matter of communicating in a different tone, the shaking of a person’s hand, and even not looking a person in the eye. Cultural differences in technology remain as important as cultural diversity in face-to-face communication, because new technology can be as effective and up to date as face-to-face communication. Technology issues caused by global expansion Using technology to expand into the global marketplace has challenges and disadvantages and the problems when using technology to for global business are more complex than those found during domestic business operations. Problems include differences in software, hardware, and communication networks availability and costs, equipment maintenance and costs, the skill level of local employees, and establishing standards and guidelines. According the Ives and Jarvenpaa (1991), information technology companies that provide adequate support in the United States are often unable to provide the same level of support in foreign countries. Problems occur when converting or transitioning information to local currency, languages, culture, and national infrastructure. Challenges also exist in connectivity, the availability and skill of local information technology staff, and data export control (Ives & Jarvenpaa, 1991). Internet sites written in users’ native language retain users’ attention for twice as long than if the site were in English only. Additionally, they are three times more likely to buy from a website if the information is presented in users’ native language (Paper & Tingey, 2001). Website designers are also challenged with the differences in reading styles. People in certain Asian countries learn to read vertically instead of horizontally and right to left instead of the Western style of left to right. There are also cultural considerations when developing website design. These include desiring a standard organizational template or format, and use of code to allow or purchasing of products or services. Laws in some countries do not allow use of credit cards to purchase online products while other countries allow only local credit card transactions. Javascript is designed to use with Western language systems and may fail if used with language Japanese or Chinese language systems and characters (Paper & Tingey, 2001). Decentralization can resolve some of the technical problems but creates new problemsk. Some of the new problems are duplicated many timed depending on the number of countries or locations the business operates in. Organizations can use several organizational approaches to mitigate some of the technical problems and challenges. Three organizational structures include an integrated global IT approach, a headquarters-driven global IT approach, and an intellectual cooperation in global IT approach (Ives & Jarvenpaa, 1991). The headquarters-driven global IT approach is a centralized approach to IT management. This approach allows for centralized control and relatively easy coordination of IT operations throughout the organization. The intellectual cooperation in global IT approach the relationship between headquarters and subordinate organizations is associated with influencing IT decisions and operations rather than control. This approach allows subordinate organizations the freedom to adapt to local infrastructure, costs, and culture. The third approach is the integrated global IT approach. This approach allows organizations to meet diverse objectives across national borders. Conclusion The development of the digital age has caused many companies to expand into the global marketplace. Technology has assisted with the expansion. But expansion into new markets and the outsourcing of manufacturing products and providing services includes benefits, limitations, and other considerations. Businesses need to consider their social responsibilities when using technology. The responsibilities include ethical issues and responsibilities to consumers, societies, and employees. Managers also need to consider how fielding of new technology will change jobs and responsibilities and what are the organization’s responsibilities to retrain or dismiss employees whose skills are no longer required. Other considerations include technology acquisition and maintenance costs, training employees to use the technology. Businesses find that they need to weigh the benefits and limitations of using in overseas locations when the decisions are made to outsource or relocate operations away from their main facilities and headquarters. References Boeing, (2012). Close relationships with global stakeholders are key to success. About Boeing International. Retrieved from http://www.boeing.com/aboutus/international/index.html Ives, B., & Jarvenpaa, S. L. (1991, March). Applications of global information technology: key issues for management. Global Information Technology, 15(1), 33-49. doi:http://ehis.ebscohost.com/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer'sid=2f9b1c7e-27d1-478f-b28e 685aea535a74%40sessionmgr11&vid=13&hid=22 Paper, D. J., & Tingey, K. B. (2001). Realizing frictionless global e-commerce. Journal of Information Technology Cases & Applications, 3(1), 1-8. doi:https://ehis.ebscohost.com/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer'vid=12&hid=22&sid=2f9b1c7e-27d1-478f-b28e-685aea535a74%40sessionmgr11 Samuel, H. (1997). Overseas deals often are a matter of style. Crain’s Detroit Business, 13(38). Boeing, (2012). Close relationships with global stakeholders are key to success. About Boeing International. Retrieved from http://www.boeing.com/aboutus/international/index.html Social Contract (2012). businessdictionary.com. WebFinance, Inc. Retrieved February 26, 2012 from http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/social-contract.html Zoldack, A. (2012). Factors for Global Business Failure. Retrieved from http://www.ehow.com/info_8056714_factors-global-business-failure.html