Differential Impact of Information Communication Technology on Employees - Literature review Example

Differential impact of ICT on employees Grade (November 7, 2278 Words Differential impact of ICT on employees 1. Introduction The fact that Information Communication Technology (ICT) is increasingly playing an important role in the success of organizations cannot be overemphasized. The most successful companies in the 21st century must attribute certain aspect of their success to the adoption of technology. However, it has apparently become clear that technology adoption is not the key to the success of an organization, but rather the manner in which technology has been integrated into the organizational workforce (Barnes, 2012:127). This is because; under circumstances where the organizations have been granted sufficient time to integrate with the new technology, there are higher chances of the technology being effective, since it will be implemented appropriately. However, under circumstances where the employees are being required to adapt to the technology in a sudden manner, the levels of resentment and skepticism are high (Barnes, 2012:121). Thus, this report seeks to analyze a study that was undertaken to establish the impact of ICT on employees, with a view to applying critical analysis into the theoretical background of the study, the methods applied, the findings and their merits and finally concluding the report with a summary of the insights created from the study. To achieve the critical analysis, the report will seek to establish both; the merits and the limitations of the study, based on the strengths of the theoretical background of the study, as well as weighing the suitability of the methodology that the study applied to collect and analyze the data and arrive at a conclusion. 2. Theoretical background 2.1 Social constructivism Social constructivism forms the theoretical background for the analysis in this study, where the theory holds that meanings and knowledge is created through a process of micro-social interactions between different people, where interactions and negotiations eventually form a social understanding (Barnes, 2012:122). Thus, in the same way, technology is an aspect of the society that ought to be negotiated, as does the issues of culture and other social cultural factors. In this respect, technology and technological change are the outcomes of a complex process of negotiations, which will in the end, create a common understanding amongst the different stakeholders (Barnes, 2012:127). However, the most important aspect about technology, is the fact that technology is a component that comprises of varied applications, which are socially constructed by individuals, and thus cannot simply be generalized. What this means is that; while a new technology might be introduced in the organization for all the employees to apply in their different job responsibilities, each particular individual understands technology on their own accord (Barnes, 2012:123). Therefore, the adoption of new technology within an organization does not have to follow a predetermined path, but must be allowed to pass through the process of negotiated interactions, until all the stakeholders are capable of forming the requisite knowledge and shared meaning. 2.2 Determinism Nevertheless, the theory of determinism has been applied to criticize the position held by the Social constructivism theory, by holding that for every different technology that an organization introduces, there must be some different effects on the individual stakeholders, which cannot be controlled through the creation of a mutual understanding (Barnes, 2012:123). Thus, this theory holds that technology needs to be studied on the basis of how individuals interact with it. Therefore, the theory of determinism holds that; as opposed to the view held by the Social constructivism theory that people must create congruent goals for technology applications, incongruent ideas and assumptions cannot simply be avoided in the process of new technology implementation within the organization (Barnes, 2012:123). 2.3 Congruence of Social constructivism and determinism The strength of the theoretical background as applied by the study in this article is that; despite the fact that both the Social constructivism theory and the determinism theory holds different perspective in relation to the implementation of new technology, both agree on the fundamental concept that there exists multiplicity in the way technology is understood and consequently applied by different people within an organization (Barnes, 2012:122). Thus, due to the existence of the multiplicity in new technology understanding within an organization, there lacks organizational thinking in the process of new technology adoption, implementation and use within that organization. Therefore, the process of new technology adoption within an organization must be understood based on both the congruent and the incongruent ideas and assumptions about new technology within the organization (Barnes, 2012:121). The other strength observable in the theoretical background of this study is the fact that the theories of determinism and Social constructivism simultaneously agree on the fact that; where the individuals expectations in relation to the new technology are not met, such individuals tend to resist or ignore the new changes introduced by the technology, and thus fail to reshape to the demands of the new technology (Barnes, 2012:121). Thus both social constructivism and determinism theories are important in shaping the direction of the study, owing to the fact that the two theories provides that the understanding of technology by individuals within an organization is a process that has to be constructed over time. In furtherance of this observation, the social constructivism theory adds that the understanding of technology has to be accepted and then shared through the process of integration into the organizational culture and practice (Barnes, 2012:122). 3. Methodology The study was conducted in a large UK-based private sector company that operates in the telecommunication industry, offering products and services to retailers, wholesale and business markets (Barnes, 2012:122). The data was collected through site visits to three different sites of the organization, as well as to two other field sites, for the sake of observation of the interaction of the employees with the PC/laptops, software and conferencing technologies either during working or training (Barnes, 2012:122). The observed interactions of the employees with the technologies were further probed through interviews and surveys. The data collected includes i) the data in relation to the employees differentiated experiences with technology and its impacts, ii) the data related to capabilities and functionalities of technologies and their impacts on the employees, through altering their work iii) data on how technology shaped the nature of work as opposed to the employees initial expectations and iv) data on how technology shaped the communication and information flows amongst the organizational employees (Barnes, 2012:127). Thus, the methodology in this study applied three different data collection techniques. First, observation was applied as a method of collecting data, through the process of both participant and non-participant observation (Barnes, 2012:123). Under the participant observation, the researcher would engage directly with the technological functions that the organizational employees engage in on a daily basis to gain direct experience of the employees’ situation. On the other hand, non-participant observation entailed simply looking at the manner in which the employees were interacting with different technological devices and processes. Second, direct and face-to-face interviewing was applied as the other method of collecting data, which entailed the researcher sitting the employees down and asking them questions while recording the responses (Barnes, 2012:123). Finally, surveys were used as the third method of collecting data from the employees, where the employees were supposed to fill-in the survey questionnaires on their own, for subsequent analysis. However, during the analysis, the interview data and the fieldwork notes from the participation observation were applied as the most useful data for subsequent findings and conclusion formation (Barnes, 2012:124). While direct and face-to-face interviewing is a useful method of data collection, the major limitation associated with this method is the subjectivity weakness, which allows the interviewer to interview the respondents subjectively and then form subjective opinions of the interviewees’ information. Thus, the higher reliance on the interviewing as the major source of useful data for analysis in the study increases the risks of the study being biased to suit the researcher’s subjective interests. Secondly, the high reliance on the field notes obtained from the direct participation poses another aspect of weakness in the study, due to the fact that the information obtained was partly dependent on the types of access granted to the technology and the technological processes in the organization, as well as the acceptance of the participants involved in the study (Barnes, 2012:123). This serves to show that the completeness of the data collected through the observation methods is still in doubt, and thus the results, findings and conclusion formed based on the data collected through this methods becomes unreliable. Nevertheless, these limitations were partly overcome through the collaboration of the observation and the interview data of different employees, to see whether the data could agree, thus address the discrepancies in such data appropriately, such that the final data used for analysis and subsequent formation of findings and conclusions was ridden off the discrepancies (Barnes, 2012:123). Through the process of eliminating the incongruent data, 22-strong interviews from individuals holding different ranks in the organization were finally selected for the analysis and interpretation (Barnes, 2012:123). 4. Results and discussion 4.1 Employees experience of technology and its impacts in dehumanization of work The results of the data indicated that technology is experienced differently in different contexts, and for that reasons individuals can be both enthusiastic and skeptical about the new technology (Barnes, 2012:123). Therefore, the adoption and subsequent successful application of new technology with the organization was dependent on factors such as the manner in which work tasks were organized, and on how information regarding the technology was shared, by whom and when (Barnes, 2012:123). The differentiated effect of technology is that it has impacted on the individuals experience, the working practices and the organizational communication, with technological practices such as video conferencing and online interaction being the most influential technologies on the organizational communication (Barnes, 2012:123). On the other hand, the evaluation of technology on the basis of its consequences on the employees indicated that technology was found to be invasive and overloading to the workers, through burdening them with large amount of information. Further, the consequences of technology with the organization was found to be the isolation of the workers from their workplace social circles as well as controlling their interactions, since they communicated through technology as opposed to direct interpersonal interactions (Barnes, 2012:124). The dehumanizing effect of technology was mostly felt during the training. The social constructivism theory holds true under this finding, in that; different employees were found to perceive technology as impacting on them differently. 4.2 Alteration of work through the technology capabilities and functionalities The capabilities and functionalities of technology were found to have a positive impact on the employees, due to the fact that they allowed the employees to manage, communicate and share information with their colleagues (Barnes, 2012:125). Nevertheless, the capability aspect of the technology did not influence the functional aspect, as the employees applied the technological capabilities for different functions, other than for what it was initially intended. For example, where the establishment of the intranet was meant for storing up-to-date information, the employees did not use it for that purpose, rather storing the data in their PCs, and only using the intranet for back-up purposes (Barnes, 2012:124). This simply serves to show that the determinism hypothesis holds true, due to the fact that the results have shown that different individuals apply different deviations to the organizational original intention of introducing technology, not through a process of mutual agreement, but on an individual basis. 4.3 Technology shaping the nature of work and making it flexible and autonomous Technology was found to impact on the way individuals performed in their work by reconstructing the manner in which tasks are undertaken (Barnes, 2012:124). Thus, in this case, technology was not observed to be interrupting or overloading the employees, but rather perceived as a useful tool for aiding task performance. However, the usefulness of technology in this case was only relevant to the extent that the employees used it in their own ways, as opposed to being required to apply it in a certain manner by the management (Barnes, 2012:125). Thus, the proposition by the social constructivism theory that people share knowledge and meaning through the process of forming mutual social constructs holds true, since in this case, the employees applied technology in their different ways as they pleased, but eventually found it useful for communication, interaction and collaborated tasks performance (Barnes, 2012:125). 4.4 Redefining communication and information flows Technology was found to impact directly on the communicational flow within the organization, through increasing the amount of information and easing the process of allowing the information to flow (Barnes, 2012:126). However, the speedier transformation and flow of information was interpreted by the workers as causing increased obligation for the employees to read and answer mails (Barnes, 2012:126). In this respect, the social constructivism theory proposition that different individuals from different social constructs in reaction to both social and cultural factors holds true, due to the fact that; while the organization saw the introduction of technology as helpful; to the ease communication flow, the employees found it as increasing the burden of reading and answering mails (Barnes, 2012:127). 5. Conclusion In conclusion, the social constructivism theory and the determinism theory have been proven to hold true for the interpretation of technology at the workplace. This is because; the study has indicated that technology in the organization under study has been assimilated unevenly. Technology has been perceived as useful, supportive and easing in some aspects of the workplace tasks, while on the other hand it has been found to be overloading, intrusive and isolative. Thus, the introductory hypothesis that technology impacts differently for different organizational employees holds true for the organization under study, since different employees were found to interpret the experiences and impacts of technology differently. Reference list Barnes, S. (2012).The differential impact of ICT on employees: Narratives from a hi-tech organization. New Technology, Work and Employment 27(2), 120-131. Read More