Technology_in_Business

Technology in Business University of Phoenix TEC 401 5/15/2010 Introduction In a multinational company like Aramco Corporation is one that rectifies its many challenges and problems as soon as the very possible as maintaining the image of a flawless corporation is vital and essential to a growth and standard of a company. Nonetheless, a flawless image does not mean that there is no room for improvement for there is always and it is statistically proven that there is always room for improvement. A huge company like Aramco is not one that is fueled only by oil but by human beings. These individuals are essential to the smooth running of a company, thinking of ideas and ways to improve, solve day to day problems that arise and produce products that satisfy the needs of their customers. That is why maintaining the motivation and morale of the employees in the organization is very important. That is why from the way that one can see are that there are certain aspects in the organization that can be improved that these solutions are going to be thoroughly explained in this report. The first room or improvement that would have the biggest positive impact would be implementing the usage of videoconferencing instead of sticking with the audio conferencing for reason that is devotedly explained below. Video Conferencing International and domestic meetings in today’s companies mostly are done using audio conferencing, in other words connecting all participants in a meeting to one phone line if the participating individuals are unable to meet at a certain place. That is where the video conferencing system takes its role. The videoconferencing system that is being proposed in this report is the Cisco Unified Videoconferencing system. Functionality Cisco Unified Communications system was developed for organizations and service providers that want a reliable, easy-to-manage, and cost-effective network infrastructure for videoconferencing applications deployment. These products provide large and small enterprises, government institutions, and educational environments with the tools they need to be more productive, to train and educate more efficiently, and to avoid the burden and costs of travel. At the same time, Cisco video solutions help end users build relationships with remote workers, help companies scale scarce resources and take advantage of existing investments in the network and applications. The Cisco Unified Videoconferencing solution comprises a variety of products designed to deliver the performance customers need to meet all their conferencing requirements. We all know that communication is not only verbal and this may also pose as a problem with the audio conferencing. This communication medium does not support visual images so the participants of the conference do not actually see each other. This kind of setting may be a little impersonal since you cannot see and understand the body language and cues of the people you are talking to. Advantages The Cisco Unified Videoconferencing system is a type of system that has advantages or pro’s that are so string and large that it just personifies the disadvantages to be miniscule beside it. Firstly, it improves the productivity between the distributed personnel that are engaged in the system. This system integrates with video telephony endpoints, rooms systems and rich media, enabling a wide variety of participants to cooperate and share information. In other words, it also enables the meeting to produce better efficiency rate and also enhance speed making decisions. As for the second point in this particular topic, it would be making the training and e-learning a much easier process. Market conditions changes rapidly from day to day and that means employees need to be up to date with the latest changes to maintain their organizations competition rate and efficiency. This system enables the company to bring the classroom to its employees from all over the world. Statistically, companies today expend in the scale between 2 to 8 percent of its income on employee training such as traveling expenses, time away from jobs, training material and training sources. By implementing this system, the company is able to at least manage to save fifty percent of the training resources and also enables the training courses to conclude faster. This system may seem sophisticated on paper but in truth it’s quite straightforward as the system is designed to be user-friendly, offering many simplified dialing options, a range of dynamic layouts, and many in-conference controls. This makes the implementation of this system much easier and fast as it doesn’t require the employees to take up valuable time to learn the usage of this system. Hence, the system also does not require the organization to fork out a large amount of valuable financial resource to install this system for it is a reasonably priced and affordable to a company of this scale. On top of that, employees will be able to handle more customer transactions and able to cope with one on one service with customers in a variety of locations with the increasing pressure on cost containment while also delivering better customer appreciation and support. Differences Many organizations have now applied the usage of videoconferencing as a step towards effectiveness and efficiency. The New York police department in the United States is one of the many organizations that implement the usage of videoconferencing. They upgraded their system from the audio conferencing system due to the fact that video gives a much clearer perspective as it enables the user to see the reaction of the superior and also enables one to express themselves in a more accurate manner. This way it also minimizes the chance of possible misunderstandings. On top of that, the audio conferencing system is unable to debate against the phrase ‘seeing is believing’. With visual aid, it also provides the deaf and mute to communicate using sign making their means of communication much easier and enabling them to share their information and experience anywhere on the face of the globe. Impacts of the Technology As employees have more access to video conferencing, they may find themselves having a greater access to unique opportunities as well. It may be possible to take part in special programs and activities via a video feed, which many employees would not be able to attend due to distance, cost, or the program being limited to a specific number of people. By adding a video component, programs and opportunities such as these could be opened up to a practically limitless number of people. Of course, other opportunities may be opened up for employees by giving them this sort of exposure to video conferencing technology as well. As the employees gain a better understanding of how the technology works and the situations that it can be applied to, they will be better prepared for future situations in the business world in which they may have to work with similar technologies or come up with ideas for how to improve their company's communications network. For instance, Sales managers hold ad hoc meetings as well as formal reviews with international cites. The sales and marketing division may also have started using the system for recruitment purposes, interviewing applicants around the world for a variety of positions. The impact of videoconferencing has been particularly noticed in relation to internal communications. Video provides employees with an additional communication channel and has significantly enhanced the effectiveness of their internal communications, simply as it has allowed us the option of face-to-face contact at the touch of a button. The decreased need of business travel saves money. The use of videoconferencing with customers led to devise a comprehensive solution to meet all their possible needs. Multinational companies, such as Aramco, may prove to be one of the main think tanks of the videoconferencing market due to the way videoconferencing can improve internal communications, whilst also saving time and money. Furthermore, instead of sitting in a car for an hour between locations for a certain important meeting of perhaps a half-hour and then having to drive all the way back again, it would be much better to make use of videoconferencing. Particularly the tremendous traffic jams that now often occur. Conclusion As for a conclusion to this paper, it is inevitable that the solution provided are essential in creating a workplace that is sophisticated and up to date with the technology of the world today. The technology solution given ensures a more productive and better workplace for the employees and most importantly the company. A company is held together by its employees and what benefits the employees, benefits the company. References Anon, 2009, Corporate Overview, http://newsroom.cisco.com/dlls/corpinfo/corporate_overview.html Anon, 2008, Introduction to Video Conferencing, http://www.cisco.com/en/US/netsol/ns340/ns394/ns158/ns280/networking_solutions_package.html Rajani Baburajan, 2009, Retailers Use Cisco Video Technology to Beat Challenging Economy, http://iptv.tmcnet.com/topics/video-hardware/articles/48577-retailers-use-cisco-video-technology-beat-challenging-economy.htm Ricardo Trinidad, 2008, Impact of Video Conferencing, http://ezinearticles.com/'The-Impact-of-Video-Conferencing-on-Education&id=565784