The Role and Importance of Technology - Term Paper Example

Chapter Introduction It is easy to see the way that technology has affected almost every aspect of personal and professional life. In the early years, the role and importance of technology was very small. The reason behind this has to do with the fact that technology of several decades ago was much simpler than it is in the current time. For instance, understanding data management in the 1950s or 1960s was only a question of where information was physically stored and how it was organized. Yet, if one attempts to understand the way that technology is exhibited within the current time, it is clear that complex computer algorithms and many other techniques are used to categorize, classify, and store many different types of data. Additionally, whereas it was common in the past for data/information to be stored on paper, this is something that is becoming more of a historical legacy than reality in the current time. Another reality of changes in technology and the way that they are being reflected within the current time has to do with the fact that the most advanced technology is not only represented in businesses or firms that are the largest. What is meant by this is that even a small company or individual operation can use a complex technological system as a way of storing and accessing information from prior business transaction or future goals. This similarity between small and large enterprise creates a situation in which the reader can understand that even government agencies are interested in some of the techniques that private industry is using to maximize efficiency and engage with new technologies. As the reader can see, a change in technology will have benefits and drawbacks – strengths and weaknesses. One of the most obvious strengths is that an advanced level of technology creates the potential for an organization/firm/business entity to engage with this data/information more effectively and make better choices based upon it. Further, an obvious drawback/weakness has to do with the fact that the process of transitioning to a new technology is oftentimes extremely difficult and causes potential loss of efficiency, time, and other resources. Because of this, it is important to perform a level of research before engaging in technological change. The underlying reason for this is that if a level of research is performed, the individual responsible for making decisions will understand the risks and challenges before they ever take place. For instance, if it is understood that a particular technological change within a given organization, department, or firm will have an extraordinarily high cost and little benefit, the decision-maker (s) can avoid this choice. By means of contrast, if it is understood after performing the research that a change in technology creates more benefits and drawbacks, resources can be allocated and the process can be performed. Because of the benefits that research can provide in helping to make a good decision, it is advised by many experts that all organizations/firm/business entity should have an implementation plan for how they seek to apply new technologies. With this understanding, the following study is directed at understanding the potential benefits and challenges that may arise in the development of the Implementation of an Enterprise Resource Planning System in the Diwan of Royal Court of the Sultanate of Oman. Accordingly, the following chapter helps to discuss and review some of the aspects that have encouraged this research to engage with this problem. Further, in addition to providing an introduction and rationale for the work, the ailing objective of the study, as well as chapter 1 of the dissertation, has been put forward to readers to understand what will be directing the remainder of the study. Finally, and overview of the chapter layout will be represented. RATIONALE AND SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY The rationale for this study is focused on the need to understand cost, time, and resources that would be directed towards fulfilling a useful project. Additionally, the rationale for the study also helps to define the reason for conducting this study and the way in which it has importance to the field of research. Furthermore, with the role of technology being defined, the rationale for this study involves the ability to produce a landscape for the effective implementation of Enterprise Resource Planning System in the Diwan of Royal Court of the Sultanate of Oman. Finally, the research will try to illustrate the factors that will have an impact on the implementation of the project. Consequently, with the planet integration developed, is the hope of this analyst that comparatively fewer resources will be required as a means of affecting the overall project. Furthermore, some of the key issues that the government can understand and approach in order to minimize challenge with the project will also be discussed. Within such an understanding, the reader can appreciate the fact that the above rationale is not only useful for the government agency under discussion. Instead, it has a level of importance and relevance to many different departments and organizations that would attempt to engage a level of technological change within their system of performance. The study also has a level of significance with regard to enhancing a level of awareness for organizational members concerning the benefits and changes that the business structure will be undergoing. Most importantly, the significance of the study is assisted by the scientific results that will be generated; allowing for other researchers to perform quantitative measurements with respect to other areas of interest. Accordingly, the scientific model of unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) will be used (Venkatesh et al., 2003). This is the universal model helps to increase the significance of the study and reduce possible errors with respect to the results. In terms of the literature that will be used and analyzed, a focus on literature that discusses the implementation of technology in Southwest Asian cultures as compared to developed countries will be used. By understanding the way in which other organizations within a similar region have consider the implementation of systems and engaged in technological development, it will be possible for the reader to better understand the likely scenario that will develop within Oman in the case that such a tactic is employed. Further, validation of the results that will be presented is another possible area of future research. IMPORTANCE AND ROLE OF TECHNOLOGY IN AN ORGANIZATION As one might expect, successful with regard to technological implementation is subject to many different factors. One of the main factors is with regard to the ability to integrate the technology to the actual problem that first encouraged stakeholders to consider a new approach. Success can be measured based upon the extent to which technology and technological changes able to bring the user and the user experience to a higher level. As was discussed within the rationale section, the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) was developed by Venkatesh in 2003. As a result of Venkatesh’s groundbreaking research and understanding regarding technological implementation, the following chapter will illustrate the requirements towards the acceptance or rejection of technology from the point of view of the user. AN ENTERPRISE RESOURCE PLANNING Enterprise Resource Planning was first introduced in 1990 by the Gartner Group. Since its introduction, ERP has gained a lot of attention in management studies. Additionally, it has helped to change the way that organizations understand the reason for their existence. The main responsibility of the ERP is the management and conduct of the firm’s operations. Within this, the way that data exists and is transmitted/stored also has a very important role. Due to the fact that information has come to define the way that businesses interact with one another to a more and more important level, organizations have come to place a higher premium on the way that effective and efficient utilization of data and ERP takes place. A further reason for the increasing growth of ERP has to do with the fact that as firms begin to experience further levels of profitability, the competition realize that engaging with the correct application of ERP can lead them to experience a growth in profits and efficiency as well. (dos Santos Gripe & Rodellao, 2012). However, it is not the case that ERP is simple to manage or easily creates a benefit for any or all organizations/businesses that choose to engage with it. Many challenges exist for ERP and create possible problems that firms must consider before they decide to engage with ERP or other models of data performance. One of the most common failures of ERP has to do with the fact that back up systems are ignored and the down time that is experienced costs the company a great deal of money. Because of the many different needs that firms have for ERP, there are often situations in which the software/hardware requirements do not match the actual needs of the system itself. Additionally, differences in culture, communication, data types, and software risks oftentimes create issues as well. Because of these dangers, it is not always true that ERP creates an environment for instant success witin a firm. As one can see, success is not always as simple as finding out if ERP implementation is a good idea or not. Instead, small unconsidered issues can decrease the effectiveness of an organization long before they are able to enjoy the benefits that ERP can bring. OVERVIEW OF THE ROYAL COURT IN THE SULTANATE OF OMAN The Sultanate of Oman is the Southwest Asian country that is geographically located at the Arabian Peninsula coast1. The population of the country is around 3,001,583 the country has a ruling system called sultanate under the leadership of Qaboos bin Said Al Said2. The aim and objective of the underlying study is based on the identification of factors that will have an impact on the effective implementation of the Enterprise Resources Planning System in the Diwan Of Royal Court of the Sultanate of Oman. The Diwan Of Royal Court is one of the most important agencies of the most important functionary of the Sultanate of Oman that maintains connection between the leadership and government ministries. Owned by the government, the functionary works for the justice and public services3. Being the government functionary, the court has a wide network which translates into the following organizational chart: 4 Three to four layered organizations have multiple divisions working on second and third layers. This wide organizational structure has to take care of the wide range of data and information in to and fro manner, in addition to and support for other responsibilities assigned to each department. Currently most of the information management is conducted in manual form. This in turn affects that performance of the institution, both in terms of efficiency and effectiveness. Hence, in order to strengthen the bonding and the linkage between the departments and to expand the connectivity between the department and beneficiaries of the institute, it is critical to strengthen the information connection and flow. RESEARCH AIM The aim of the study is to describe and attempt to understand the central idea around which the entire research of ERP within the Sultanate of Oman should be developed. Research objectives will be provided that will help to guide the reader with regard to how the study will proceed. The aim of this research is to produce a survey based result about the development of the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system in the Diwan of Royal Court. Simply, the aim of this research is to develop a review about the problems that staff of the Diwan of Royal Court face in maintaining the manual record of the data. Also within this aim, another section will be provided that will relate to the issues that employees of the Diwan of Royal Court will likely experience; in case the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system is implemented. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES The research objectives are developed by breaking down the research aims into smaller pieces as individual objectives. As the aim of the research is to determine the effectiveness of the implementation of the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system in the Diwan of Royal Court, the following research objectives are set: Identification of the factors that play an effective role in the implementation of an Enterprise Resource Planning System in an organization. Identification of the factors that can be defined as challenges that are faced in the implementation of the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system in an organization. Identification of benefits and challenges that an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system will face during implementation in the Diwan of Royal Court. For the achievement of objectives, a comprehensive research methodology is defined. Each objective will be accomplished with the data and information that will be collected from different authentic sources. Upon successful accomplishment of these objectives, the study will be able to determine that factors that have played an important and critical role in the implementation of an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system in organizations. Moreover, it will also determine the benefits and challenges that an effective implementation of an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system in the Diwan of Royal Court will be faced with. As a result of the completion of the research the study will be able to ascertain factors that an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system implementation plan shall take into account before making an implementation decision. RESEARCH QUESTIONS Research is often faced with issues distract from the main idea of what is being studied. Therefore, in order to define the scope of the study, the research questions are focused on the actual problem that has been defined. The study is then developed in order to address the research questions within defined boundaries of the study. Therefore, for the study entitled “Building an Electronic Archiving System for Diwan of Royal Court in the Sultanate of Oman” following research questions are set forward: What are the key success factors for the effective implementation of Enterprise Resource Planning System in any organization? What are factors that hamper the performance of the Enterprise Resource Planning System in gaining success and effectiveness during installation in any organization? What are the suitable factors and major challenges that will have an impact on the effective implementation of Enterprise Resource Planning System n Diwan of Royal Court of Oman? STRUCTURE OF THE STUDY Research is a systemic study and so the complete plan is developed in order to prepare the output of a study as a complete project. For this purpose, the study is divided into several chapters to address the components that have already been discussed. The structure of the study is developed in the following pattern - with each chapter of the study addressing some aspect of the study as follows: Chapter One: Chapter one of the study is based on the introduction of the research. In the introduction section, the study has developed the review of the research; focussing on the different aspects that will be discussed in the study. In this way, chapter one of the study provide a complete guide for the pattern of the research. This includes the rationale and objectives - in addition to the research questions. Also, chapter one of the study provides a review of the organization; as well as a discussion of how such an organization might benefit from the study itself. Chapter Two: Chapter Two can be title as the literature review section. Different related aspects are studied in the literature review in detail. The literature review is a collection of past research conducted in the area by many different authors. The literature review chapter is developed by keeping in mind that a literature review has the main job of supporting the study’s discussions and analyses. Chapter Three: Chapter Three of the dissertation can be titled as the research methodology chapter. The research methodology is defined as the road map or a plan that will be used as the dissertation develops. As one can expect, the dissertation is prepared according to the plan of methodology provided in chapter three. This chapter will focus on and discuss the details of the research methods, approach, strategy, system data collection and analysis. Chapter Four: Chapter Four can be defined as the discussion and evaluation chapter. The discussion will include the analysis of the data collected from the study. The chapter will also discuss the study in reference to the literature review developed in Chapter Two of the dissertation. Chapter Five. Chapter five of the study will analyze the results from the outcome of the study. In developing a conclusion, the study will explore the factors that will have an impact on developing a paperless environment in the Diwan of Royal Court in the Sultanate of Oman. The chapter will also provide reflection to the way that managers can/should change their approaches as well as discussing some of the limitations of the study. Furthermore, the study will also shed light on the aspects that will be useful for the future research. Read More