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Organizations and Information Systems
Class Time Mon & Wed 9-10:30 am,
Skilling 191
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"It happened, amazingly, just three years
ago: The Industrial Age gave way to the Information Age. In 1991 companies
for the first time spent more on computing and communications gear -- the
capital goods of the new era -- than on industrial, mining, farm, and
construction machines. Info tech is now as vital, and often as intangible, as
the air we breathe, which is filled with radio waves." Fortune, April
1994. The above Fortune quote emphasizes the fact that information
technology is the core infrastructure of the new economy. The computing and
communication gear referred by the above is irrevocably transforming the
nature of organizations. In an information-driven environment, different
skills and assets become important. Managers will need to know how to gather
and apply practical knowledge faster than the competition. They need to know
what information resources are available and how best to use or share that
information. Further, managers are constantly required to search for ways of
improving their organizations with the use of information technology. Organizations not only need to know how to use information technology
but also need to know how to cope with this ever-changing environment. The
importance of technology will change many of the relationships in the
organization. Both the internal relationships within the company and the
external relationships with customers will change. Many of these changes may
be positive, such as allowing a company to respond quickly to the customer's
needs. However, these changes may also alienate the customer, who may want
the personal touch of a "real human-being". |