Information technology and information systems the pros and Cons
With the new age we are living in comes the induction of the technological tide, sweeping across every sector of this diverse world, from health to government, to sports to environmental issues and the entertainment world at large. Yes, technology has managed to seep its way into all these various dimensions. This article serves to discuss a few other aspects that we find technology bringing about pros and cons.
Education
Advantages
E-learning; It has brought a lot of benefits to the world of education; nowadays there are advances such as e-learning where people can acquire degrees over leaning online, which gives people opportunities to study material from abroad from the comfort of their homes.
Practical ways of learning ;IT has also brought about the practicality of learning for many areas of study ,for example air flight simulations, though the use of IT software has been incorporated into many aviation school to give students a feel of how it is to fly an aircraft before they can do the actual thing.
Innovative ways of sharing knowledge, IT and its services has also brought about innovative ways of sharing knowledge to bridge the gap between the educated and non- educated. For instance the ‘talking radio’ a new innovation that has been made to help share knowledge with people in rural settings where there is no electricity and most of the people there are uneducated.
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Disadvantages
While IT has brought about such brilliant benefits it does have the disadvantages.
Illegitimate Information overload; These days when we talk of technology people immediately think of the internet and a lot of times though it can be beneficial the internet also poses as a danger, it holds immense amounts of information some of which is totally from legitimate sources and some which is simply contorted by imposters. This is a problem because students end up using information that is not legit and it can feed them with wrong thinking, this poses as a hindrance to learning.
Reduced use of reading material; With IT innovation such as the internet comes the ever famous techniques of copy and paste of which if really looked into have become an impediment to the learning process as students tend to just copy and paste things, these days it is rare to find students actually reading books from a shelf, and as a result the knowledge they have is lacks content and it is very flaky, resulting in inability to apply.
Wider technology gap; yes Information technology results in this too ,because as more people get educated more ways are put up to educate even more people, but how many can afford to actually get learning facilities on line ,or purchase technology devices to help aid their learning ,not many and as such ,this widens the gap between the computer literate and those who are not computer literate. Which means that there is an education whole there is been created in a country’s development.
Growth of the organization,
The concept of organizational development has been an important research
Agenda for decades. This portion of the article looks into the benefits and identified disadvantages that IT OR IS has on the growth of an organization.
Throughout the business world information technology has proved its self to be a catalyst in the growth of organizations. There is proof of organizations that have boomed to the top because of the induction of information technology or IS into the daily operations of the organization.
Advantages
Cost effectiveness – When business processes become cost effective an organisation is able to grow because all the costs being saved are spread out into other areas of the organisation and thus contributing to its growth. Information technology has helped to computerize the business process thus streamlining businesses to make them extremely cost effective money making machines. This in turn increases productivity which ultimately gives rise to profits that means better pay and less strenuous working conditions.
Time saving: Information technology helps an organisation to save time, and saving time means that more processes are done in a smaller amount of time, this brings a rises to high levels or production in lesser time which will eventually lead to profit and as profit comes in this means more improvements and eventually tangible growth in the organisation structure in terms of management and also infrastructure.
Communication - With the help of information technology the gap in organisational communication has been bridged because now departments are able to communicate even more smoothly, It also helps to connect the departments making the flow of information faster and quicker thereby resulting in productivity of which in time will lead to organisational growth.
Disadvantages
High cost of implementation; The cost of implementing Information technology within an organisation is very high, for some organisations this can cripple the organisation’s growth especially if the technology implemented fails to deliver the expected results. This means that there are parts of the organisation that are hindered from growing because there is an insufficiency of funds where they are concerned.
High job requirements, for an organisation to really grow a change must be implemented and with this change comes the induction of advanced processes, in today’s world many organisations are lacking behind in terms of growth because they have posts for advanc3ede technological position which people do not have the qualifications to fill. This results in some departments being dormant and eventually hindering the growth of the organisation.
Need of expertise; Using information technology in n organisation means that experts have to be employed in order to help in the running of the systems and even training of the existing employees, all of this means more and more spending for the organisation which will result in a hindrance of growth.
Interpersonal Skills of an individual
According to my own understanding Interpersonal skills here refers to the skills that a person uses to get on well with others. So here we are dealing with the science of relation with other people.
Advantages
Finding an advantage for technology in a world crowded by the disadvantages especially to young individuals is indeed a difficult, so I will draw from my own experiences.
Learning of new vocabulary; Throughout the use of technology I have picked up a lot of useful vocabulary in terms of English language which has helped me be able to communicate better with others and in situations where required I have been able to communicate formally in the English language too.
Learning of new languages; the ability to communicate in someone else’s language is a great thing according to me. With using technology especially the internet I have been able to pick up some basics in different languages, this has helped my interpersonal skills in a great way especially when it comes to relation to people from different countries especially because I am studying in a foreign country. I find that I am less anxious around other foreigners because when I say a basic in their language it is able to start a conversation which later ends in a friendship.
Disadvantages
Depersonalisation of relationships
Information technology has seemingly brought information closer but at the same timer for some people it has totally annihilated the aspect of communication with other people. With the rise of the use of IT comes the isolation of people from the society ,in today’s world of blogging and online chat and social networking people become more isolated living virtual lives which brings about a depersonalisation of relationships due to a failure to effectively communicate with other people.
Gives rise to interpersonal disorders; This may sound bizarre but yes because of the increased use of online communication there have been proven research of such disorder which have been detected because o this ,for example some for the disorders that affect a person’s interpersonal skills are Avoidant personality disorder is a psychiatric condition in which a person has a lifelong pattern of feeling extremely shy, inadequate, and sensitive to rejection. And Schizoid personality disorder (SPD) is a personality disorder characterized by a lack of interest in social relationships.
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