Computer technology and the networked organization

Is Oticon a good model for effectively integrating information technology into the office

Firms nowadays are facing an exceptionally fast paced and ever changing environment . Most of them have adapted strategies to not just be influenced by them but turn themselves into market leaders and lead the way to new horizons . As technological advancements are made in every field by the hour , it is imperative that its effects are seen in the workplace . The effects however are not just the lesser use of or an additional webcam used for videoconferencing . Technology is

no more a simple enabler as it used to be though of only recently . It is redefining completely how organizations formed , run , and work is done on a daily basis . Strategic decisions are not just related to the long term goals of a firm anymore , they are reflected even in decisions as to how an employee 's cubicle is designed so as to let him /her be more productive

Wallace in her article constantly stresses upon the fact that nowadays employees demand more than just their basic alary and the benefits that come with it like health care , vacations etc . In to retain and enable a top class work force , organizations now have to offer something more , and this additionally ingredient per se is the work place environment that organizations the world over are concentrating upon today . Proof that this actually is the case can be seen by results such as Google being selected as one of the best firms to work for (Fortune 2007 . Is it the perks like day care and dinner out ? Or the stock options ? It 's the environment that Google provides its employees where they feel at home and work happily producing the greatest and most advanced things known to man

According to Wallace , there is a continuous spectrum in which at one end lies office space denotes rank sort of organizations and at the other lie the most recent business model teams instead of department . In short , an office is bound to reflect the type of organization it belongs to . A functional organization will have division in terms of floors spaces etc . and will function in this way . A team based organization with a flatter hierarchy will obviously have offices that facilitate team work through group halls , collaborative meeting places etc . as opposed to individual cubicles with a huge room for the department head Furthermore she asserts that technology drives the new office design This is so because all this became possible only through technology Such collaborative efforts regardless of location were made possible through the barriers to information going down with the advent of Information technology . Finally she states that this is not true for every organization . For some , these new changes might be necessary btu for others , the traditional way of doing things might be the best way as it fits their business model . She then gives an insight as to how things had been where a person...