Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) Role in Company

Incorporating technology into a business boosts productivity increases the company's efficiency and thus makes a great contribution to the economy of a Country. That contribution to the country's economy is of the utmost importance of a company.

The Current Society is characterized by the use of information to generate knowledge, to improve the processes of any organization: information is an increasingly less restricted, more shared good and the competitive advantage of organizations lies in interpreting and converting it in a differential element, in a productive and profitable asset.

The old information systems used, which converted operational data into management indicators (most of the time of an economic-financial nature), have been absorbed and overcome by a new concept of information processing for decision making, evolving with strength in the field of Information Technology. This change has been facilitated by the evolution of ICTs, which allow an increasingly fast, complex and immediate treatment of data, information and, ultimately, knowledge.

The ability of a company to give Intelligence to its Business through Management and Administration in the Digital Economy is one of the strategic keys that is continually valued over time. Companies are increasingly investing in their staff computer literacy as they move from traditional business models to new models that are sustainable. One or the other strategy will agree according to the degree of "digestibility" of the current business: a "content" company may find it more convenient to carry out the digital strategy within the company because the Internet has an evident transformation effect on the digitizable service. On the contrary, a company whose current business models, the product they sell, their system of alliances, or their way of working, prevent digital experimentation in their interior, will consider, possibly, more convenient to act through a new company ( spin-off company).

For example, small traditional trade and ultimately SMEs can see the move to the Internet and become e-SMEs, as a threat to traditional business, if the typical customer of this trade begins to make purchases over the Internet, eliminating the calls shopping "by impulse." For this to be possible, it will be fundamental that whoever wants to sell understands the two main situations of the potential consumer: that of looking for something concrete, or that he would like to run into some surprise. In the first case, the consumer will be guided by the power of a brand, or go to an infomediary (a search engine, a comparator, a recommender) to help navigate to find what you want. In the second case, it would be to understand how the consumer habitually moves through the Internet, to offer products that, although not looking for them at that moment, can satisfy a need, perhaps not yet explicit.

The role of the Internet in the process of technification of companies is of the utmost importance. Managers have realized the versatility of the Internet to meet their needs and encourage innovation within the company. Staff computer literacy has enabled the employees of a company to interact with their clients as well as their service providers. ICT tools have gained importance in recent years which have necessitated companies to invest in staff computer literacy training.

Such tools foster integration with suppliers where t is possible to have direct communication with the suppliers so that the merchandise assortment process is automatic. Direct payments to suppliers without the need for a physical invoice, just with a simple "click"; through the electronic business (e-business) is now achievable.

Technology enables a company to disseminate and protect its private information. It is feasible to have access to different types of private information, such as financial, administrative, and employee information. The authorized persons to access this type of information can obtain it in any part of the world having a personal computer with a connection to the Internet.

Information technologies within companies play a very important role (in those that have them). They allow from the most direct and efficient interaction with the supplier, through the improvement of the internal processes of the company to be able to know the client and their preferences. But this is often not seen or not known by the administrators of these types of companies, and they oppose a great resistance to change.

In the current competitive environment characterized by the globalization of markets, which means new business opportunities and increased competition; for the new forms of collaboration between companies; the search for agents and functions that generate added value and, finally, the need to adapt business processes to the increasingly rapid changes in the environment, Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) play a decisive role, offering companies the flexibility and dynamism necessary to compete in this new scenario.

The ICT environment leads the organization to consider the handling of information as an element of vital importance, constituting the relationships that a company maintains with its environment as a differentiating competitive factor, as well as its products and services. The way in which a company shares information and systems is a critical element in strengthening its relationships with the key agents of the business process: potential customers, current customers, suppliers, distributors, partners, and employees. The Intranet / Extranet communications open the corporate information infrastructure to all key agents in the business, turning the company's communications into a competitive advantage. ICT tools offer software with which both management and staff can access relevant and last-minute information on the evolution of the business.

These tools help a company to penetrate more deeply into the key factors of the business and allows it to identify the most profitable customers, the most efficient suppliers, and detect in time the possible problems that may arise in the organization and that require correction. Fast ICTs are those devices that capture, transmit and deploy electronic data and information and that support the growth and economic development of the manufacturing industry and services. Computer literacy enables the employees and the management of a company to develop global strategies and establish initiatives and concrete projects that help to reduce the technological gap between the developed world and the developing world.

Staff computer literacy facilitates the impact of ICT in a company by helping solve the main business problems that are currently posed, such as customer loyalty, the measurement of corporate profitability, risk analysis, and fraud analysis, among others. ICT tools provide professionals with invaluable assistance in transforming business opportunities into specific businesses. Specialized applications for analysis facilitate the vision of a global perspective of the business to be developed, as well as the resources involved, operative and related procedures. The result is the optimization of processes, a better budgetary yield, and the obtaining of the maximum benefit of the business cycles.

ICT can be used simply to automate preexisting processes, but it is most likely that activities are at least rationalized, to take advantage of the new possibilities that technology creates, and in some cases, the processes need to be substantially redesigned. Therefore, the impacts on organizational processes are notorious and can be very profound.

The expectation is that the changes bring considerable benefits, but often these benefits are only realized in the medium term. Commonly, the short-term impact on the organization and its profitability is seen as negative; the investment is made, an exceptional expense and the existing routine is broken.

Inevitably, the impact on employees is significant. Many may not be well conditioned and mentally prepared for change as a result of their training and experience. It is common that the work fronts in which a radical redesign is required are precisely those in which the employees have been settling in inefficient operations, and therefore the shock of the change is greater.

When implementing new information and communication technologies, the work patterns and skills that they require may be very different from the ones they had before. Capacities related to computers and communications are vital. Some processes that were done in batches can be oriented to be carried out immediately, upon request, to meet the needs of customers. There may also be effects on working hours, such as the possibility of extending support to customers outside normal office hours. These technologies also offer the possibility of developing work at the customer's headquarters, or in the worker's residence (teleworking), maintaining at all times the necessary communication and exchange of information with the headquarters of the company.

Also, the organizational structure is impacted by ICT. Increasingly, the focus tends to give importance to business processes and to consider as less important the hierarchy of managers and supervisors.

Organizational units that function as mini-empires are often inefficient because of their resistance to change. When computer and communications technologies are implemented, these units tend to be replaced by looser groups, not associated by functional lines, such as marketing or production, but along the chain of businesses that add value to the raw material to produce products. A...