Ethical and Social Issues in Information System - Report Example

?Introduction Increase in prices of raw material and goods have forced organizations to adopt and plan strategies that can help reduce substance waste and energy usage. Such strategies not only benefit the organizations but the overall society. In US environmental related policies have also forced and pressurized organizations to adopt such strategies and at the same time maintain the quality of their service and product. Therefore, they are stepping towards implementing equipments that will allow them to enhance asset efficiency, prevent additional use of resources and decrease the cost of energy. Among various environmental friendly initiative organizations take, one of the most common is reducing the excess amount of energy emitted from the equipments used by various organizations. This not only benefits the environment on whole but also decreases operational expenses resulting in higher profits for the organizations. In addition, by redesigning equipments and replacing green information technology enables organizations improve its operational efficiency on numerous stages and levels. Furthermore, as policy making agencies are passing environmental and energy related regulations and policies, companies by adopting green information technology (IT) can be well-prepared for upcoming policies and guidelines. There are several options available for the organizations to improve their energy efficiency. Companies can choose from the various available options depending on the budget they have. The least costly program is energy monitoring program which enables them to gather data and monitor their usage of energy. This program helps organizations develop their own energy management plan that assist them save energy. One of the least expensive energy monitoring programs includes demand response program which acts as a communicator between the person providing the energy and the person consuming the energy. These effective programs provide organizations a potential profit stream at the times of energy demands, due to its energy reduction facility. Majority demand response programs (DRP) offer after sale services, meters and monitoring services free of cost. This allows organizations to successfully reduce and manage extensive usage of energy. However, there are few program providers who charge penalty bill in case the organizations are unable to meet the required goal of load shed. With the passage of time IT equipments are getting more and more automated and require less space to operate. Hence in order to automate their operations, large companies can invest in such equipments that entail less space to set their footprints. Such changes can do well to companies that are looking forward to a fast return on investment (ROI) for the company. Unlike the traditional methods of operation, automated equipments can provide significant benefits in terms of space and reduced heat loss as these equipments enable companies to confined refrigerated or cooling area. Moreover it can also help in less wastage of material and proficient packaging of such equipments. Other major benefits the companies will avail after switching to automation are improved and efficient production with in the same or lower cost. This means the company will be able to produce more as compared to its pre-automation period. (Rebecca Tucker, 2011) Automated IT equipments have helped in improvising efficiency and sustainability in companies that are finding ways for taking an initiative to make improvements in reduced energy consumption which was not possible in their pre-automation period. This paper will discuss the benefits of Green information technology (IT) and how it is beneficial for both the organization and the society. Moreover, one common problem i.e. its high installation and maintenance cost faced by the majority will also be discussed in detail. As we all know for all kinds of operations businesses are dependent on some or the other kind of information or communication technology. Information technology (IT) plays a vital role in achieving company’s desired objective. Today, the most known and effective technology is “green IT”. Green information technology (IT) is an advanced technology used for reducing the extensive or additional energy released from the products organizations use. Moreover, green information technology (IT) helps reduce organization’s overall cost, make better the level of service and quality and reduce information technology (IT) complexity. Green information technology (IT) is another terminology for effective IT as it helps in achieving both, company and environmental goals simultaneously. Information technology (IT) equipments are used to make businesses more competent and efficient; however Green IT not only helps you become efficient but also environmentally sustainable. All organizations are making efforts to adapt green information technology (IT) in order to grow or sustain its position in the current competitive environment and become corporate sustainable. Various types of organizations including, fast food chains and oil and petroleum companies are taking steps towards adopting this technology. As mentioned earlier, this technology not only gives cost-advantage but also helps in building a brand image of being socially responsible. (Ijecbs, 2011) Among different industries, one industry is the software or IT industry which causes a lot of damage to the environment as they require huge amount of energy for their equipments to operate. Devices like power adaptors and other IT equipments use extensive amount of energy and release harmful gas while operating which damages the environment. In order to deal with such problems most of the organizations make use of green information technology (IT). For instance a well-known information technology (IT) company IBM used various strategies including adopting green IT for producing products and providing services for “smarter planet”. Many organizations have put up green information technology as it helps decrease carbon footprints. Carbon footprint is defined as “measure of the amount of greenhouse gases, measured in units of carbon dioxide, produced by human activities” (Walser, 2010) Server Virtualization is one of the most powerful technologies for applying Green information technology (GIT). Now the question arises that, what is server virtualization? Let start from the very basic. A personal computer (PC) is known as a server that has been advanced to handle and maintain you emails. Just like you run OS (operating system) on your home PC, organizations run operating system OS on their servers. But since presently computers are becoming more powerful and advanced as compared to servers, organization are observing that their high powered technology is just doing twenty percent of the work than its capability. This is where server virtualization plays an important role. It allows more than one OS to run at the same time on the same server and adapting green information technology has further made its work efficient and faster. (Tech Alliant Corporation, 2011) Though there are several advantages of implementing this technology but the problem lies in the fact that adopting this technology also results in implementation and long-term impacts. It is very essential to evaluate your financials as it requires high investment cost. No doubt, this technology can give you various benefits in long-term but at the same time leads to higher investment, increased support cost and dependence on experts for guidance and constant maintenance. Setting up and implementing environment related green projects involves huge amount of funds or investment. The installation process is so expensive that its hard to execute or implement without taking loans. Investments in installing green IT technology is so high, that it may take more than 10 years or so before profits or returns are seen. Not only the installation but maintenance of this technology also requires a lot of funds. Its repairing, time to time maintenance and other support cost for green IT products adds to a lot of expense. The type of machinery and processes used in the development of such products are comparatively different from other products and thus involves a lot of initial investment. The development process is so complicated that it requires specific type of expertise, training, skill and knowledge to identify problem and repair and maintain the green IT equipment. There are very few technicians trained for such purpose which is why it gets difficult to find expert’s assistance and support when required and this in turn leads to high support and maintenance cost. Moreover, due to limited amount of supply of green IT products, organizations might face difficulty and incur additional cost to acquire the parts of this technology. Furthermore, this technology is comparatively new and is still developing with time. Therefore, when you implement a green information technology in your organization you also take a risk of product failure and other technical issues. The newer the product or technology, the greater risk an organization faces. Though the demand for green information technology is increasingly growing but due to less supply of skilled workers or technicians and products, the price for it is also increasing. The increase in demand is due to the incentives green products offer including tax benefits and environmental awareness but increased demand and low supply has led to an uncompetitive market and increased prices. Prices of green information technology products are comparatively higher than their substitute products and therefore chances for discounts and concessions are very few. Other important issue faced by the organizations in installing green information technology (IT) is complexity. This product is formulated using complicated procedure and unfamiliar terms which are new to majority of the individuals and requires advanced knowledge and learning, thus making it difficult for the companies to identify problems in the product, performing regular maintenance and understanding the actual need, want and requirement. It is essential to acquire expert guidance and support for your green information technology (IT). This results in high maintenance cost. (Laura Acevedo, 2010) This energy efficient technology can also result in several other societal challenges and risks. It is not possible for the organization itself to gather data from different departments like IT, marketing and accounting. These services and facilities are provided by the experts but this adds to an additional expense. If these services are not provided by a single unit, problems might occur in lessening the usage of electricity and reducing carbon foot prints. Some companies or academic institutions do not acquire the complete equipments needed for the maintenance of green information technology in order to save cost. Lets take an example of air – conditioning systems. Often institutions do not purchase sub – meters or electric meters required for accurate measurements and usually work on estimated cost of air conditioning and carbon foot prints which lead to problems. To avoid this it is essential for the institutions to buy the needed equipments which obviously include more funding. Last but not the least, another challenge for installing green information technology (IT) in academic institutions is the need to bring various departments together including ecological management, computer science and other connected departments. It is essential for all the departments to work together with professionals and skilled individuals having know-how on data center problems. (White Paper, Technology Innovation Program) Conclusion Keeping in view the above discussion we can clearly conclude that the technology is not the actual problem, but the issue is with the implementation of the technology, procedure and the structure of the organization. Companies who cannot afford to implement Green information technology (IT) should opt for less expensive technology as there are several other substitutes available. Though benefits offered by Green IT are far better than others but companies should not invest in it unless they have enough funds to install its complete equipments and bare its maintenance cost. According to one of the recent survey conducted on the performance of this new technology, majority respondents stated that the implementation and maintenance cost for installing green IT is too high and others complained about its maintenance complexity. There are several organizations specially designed to assist users in making the most out of this technology, but again one common problem faced by them is its high cost. Therefore, it is essential for every organization to review its financials before its implementation because its improper or incomplete implementation and maintenance will not provide you with effective results.   Bibliography 1. Laura Acevedo, Problems of Going Green [Online] (Updated May 2010) Available at: http://www.livestrong.com/article/132206-problems-going-green/ [Accessed 23rd July 2011] 2. Rebecca Tucker, 2011, Going Green: Sustainability Best Practices in the Material Handling Industry [Online] Available at: http://www.frost.com/prod/servlet/market-insight-top.pag?Src=RSS&docid=224027985 [Accessed 23rd July 2011] 3. INTI University College. Sustainable development: the effect of adopting green technology on small and medium enterprises’ (SMES) business resilience and competitiveness [Online] April 2011. 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