IT and its Profound Implications

"Diffusion" is a word often used in the literature to describe the spread of an innovation or technology (see Attewell, 1992). The diffusion of CAD and CAM has been assisted largely by the considerable advances in computer technology over the last three decades. The appearance of the "personal computer" (PC), as a direct consequence of changing cost and capability relationships between microcomputers and mainframe

computers, was perhaps the most significant milestone aiding this diffusion (Krouse et I

a/., 1990).

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The revolution in the microprocessor market since the late 1970s has resulted in a I greater information processing power and capacity being available than ever before and j at a reasonable cost to many smaller businesses. Computer-based technologies have | therefore found a wider scope of application, and the question for management is no I

longer one of whether or not to adopt the technology, but which system to use j

(Bessant, 1991) .

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According to the "Dictionary of Computing" (Illingworth et al., 1983) the term "information technology" was coined in the late 1970s to refer to a combination of modern microelectronics, telecommunication technologies as well as major parts of consumer electronics and broadcasting. It is:

“.... an all inclusive term that encompasses computers and telecommunications in all their forms, whatever their use. It includes mainframe computers, supercomputers, microcomputers It includes the public telephone network, television and radio broadcasting, credit cards ...., radio paging systems, facsimile machines, and cellular telephones, as well as the software that controls them all.” (Hoffman, 1994: 11).

Back in the late 1950s Leavitt and Whisler (1958) predicted in their seminal article

"Management in the 1980s" that IT would spread rapidly. It has (see, for example, Ang and Pavri, 1994; Attewell, 1992; Coates, 1992; Scott-Morton, 1991; Tapscott and Catson, 1993). Over the last twenty five years innumerable articles and books have been published on tomorrow's work place in the light of the wide-spread applications of microelectronics in industry and offices (Saifati and Cove, 1986). The potential of computing and related technologies to affect society at large underlies recent more futuristic visions, often given attractive names (e.g. "the information age" [Coates, 1992]). In these technology is introduced progressively as a means of supporting faster and more accurate flows of information by overcoming constraints of time and place (Scott-Morton, 1991; Tapscott and Catson, 1993). IT’s impact on society, organisations and individuals, particularly in industrially advanced countries, can be felt nowadays in daily life and in every sector of society (see, for example, Kling, 1980; Sarfati and Cove: 1986). Its effects are "complex and defy any straightforward interpretation" because they are "more complicated and convoluted than has been

traditionally assumed, and much more research is needed before a clear picture is likely to emerge" (Ang and Pavri, 1994: 125 and 132).

Indeed, paradoxes of the "information age" are recognised (Coates, 1992). For example, IT is potentially capable of encouraging political democracy by virtue of widely dispersed information but, at the same time, creating economic elitism because access to such infomiation is less widely shared. This situation can be understood, in general, in the broader context of contrasting views on the social and economic advantages and disadvantages of scientific and technological development. In general, three basic reactions can be identified in society vis-a-vis the spread of IT: the pessimists, the optimists and the relativists or pluralists (see Hirschheim, 1985; Sarfati and Cove, 1986).

The optimists assert that IT increases productivity, creates as many jobs as it destroys, improves organisational efficiency, enhances communication, improves the quality of working life, and allows for more varied leisure and medical facilities. The pessimists associate IT with mass unemployment, deskilled jobs, reduced job satisfaction, centralisation of power, and lessening of personal privacy and freedom. The pluralist view is non-deterministic; it lies somewhere in the middle by stressing that the results of IT assimilation depend on the way the technology is put to use. As Frost and Egri (1991: 274) put it: "adopting a philosophy of technological determinism denies the critical human role of social choice in innovation". This view reflects an established theoretical current in the literature, which argues against technological determinism (see, for example, Durand, 1990; Sorge etal., 1983; Buchanan, 1984).

Researchers such as Ang and Pavri (1994: 133) realise the implications of such diversity of perspectives for the present and future research agenda. They rightly argue that:

“.... the important thing is to know that while each perspective has its merits, it also has its restrictions. Researchers have to be aware of the restilctions of llic various perspectives so that conclusions drawn arc less likely to be challenged on grounds of validity.” (Ang and Pavri,

1994: 133).

The universal applicability of IT has encouraged its use for so many different purposes. i

In this respect, IT differs from most technologies which offer benefit within a narrower | range of possibilities. This, in turn, supports the view held by many that IT is: 1 i ".... much more than a single technology: like steam power or electricity before, it is a I generic technology. And it is this property that - the potential to offer a wide range of

competitiveness-enhancing benefits right across the industrial spectrum - which really explains the claims for its revolutionary status.” (Bessant, 1991: 49).