Reading: Lesson 4 - Information Technology Fundamentals

6.4.A - Information Technology Fundamentals

1. MANAGING IN A TECHNOLOGY WORLD

1. Managers have always taken advantage of new technologies to drive their businesses toward greater efficiency and competitiveness. Few inventions in recent years have had a greater impact on business than the computer, the Internet, the World Wide Web, and wireless communication. These tools have profoundly affected the personal and work lives of Mia Herrera and millions of other workers. New technologies have made dramatic changes in the way people live and work, and the pace of change is unlikely to slow in the years ahead.
   
2. The modern business is an information center operated by people who work with information—knowledge workers. Managers, supervisors, and workers at all levels can be knowledge workers who handle data and use information to make decisions. Data, the facts and figures that businesses generate, must be collected, processed, stored, and retrieved. Data are turned into information when processed in a meaningful way. Decision makers can then use the information. The key to effective management is turning vast amounts of data into meaningful information to support the planning, organizing, staffing, leading, and controlling functions.
   
3. The technology change that has allowed for an information revolution was the move from centralized computing to widely distributed computing. Electronic digital computers were developed in the 1940s during World War II. From the 1950s to the 1980s, a mainframe computer was often the center of a business’s computer system. Information processing jobs needed to be run through that central point. With the introduction of the personal computer and PC software in the early 1980s, individuals began to enter and process their own data. This helped managers process data into useful information more quickly. In the mid 1990s, the Internet developed into a tool that allowed people and businesses to communicate with each other and gain access to information. Recent changes in technology make high-speed wireless Internet accessible through a variety of devices. Managers can have access to the entire Internet’s resource base—anytime, anywhere.
   
4. Advances in computer technology occur at an ever-increasing rate. The cofounder of Intel Corporation, Gordon Moore, predicted in 1965 that the amount of data that a computer chip could process would double about every 18 months. Moore’s Law, as this prediction is known, has proven to be rather accurate. The Figure below shows the accelerating pace of change over the past three decades. According to Moore’s Law, a computer bought three to four years ago will be obsolete this year, as computer chips would now have four times as much processing power. As processing speed increases, high-tech companies are constantly producing new and better software to take advantage of the technology’s capabilities. 
   

   
   

5. Wireless networks are evolving through a series of generations. The newest is the fourth generation, or 4G. The 4G networks allow 100 megabits per second for high mobility communication such as in cars or trains and up to one gigabit per second for fixed locations. This bandwidth allows for streaming video and video conferencing on a cell phone. A new standard, 5G, is expected to be implemented before the end of the decade.
   

2. THE INTERNET PLATFORM

1. The Internet, or Net, is a worldwide network of linked computers that allows users to transfer data and information from one computer to another anywhere in the world. The Internet includes a technology platform to move electronic information with an open set of standards governing how that information is encoded and used. This allows multiple companies to develop equipment and systems that consistently work on the Internet Protocol (IP). People can use the Net to send email, visit websites, exchange files, and communicate with other devices that use IP.
   
2. The Internet permits businesses to work together electronically and for managers and employees to communicate at any distance. Consumers can research products and services and then buy online. They can also sell personal belongings, products, and services online. Other sites allow individuals with common interests to text, chat, join a social network, or compare products. The Internet can transfer digital information including text, images, audio, video, and computer files. Internet users read magazine articles and newspapers; make phone calls and listen to music; watch movies and television shows; download files to use; and update computer software. Data transfer over the Internet is virtually unlimited.
   
3. The World Wide Web, WWW, or Web consists of a set of standards that have made the Internet accessible to the average person. Early in its history, the Internet was based on mainframe systems and required sophisticated technical knowledge to use. At first, researchers and the military were the sole users. The Web brought graphical user interfaces (GUIs) and web browsers to the Internet, allowing individuals with minimal computer skills to use the Internet. Through the Web, the Net grew rapidly after 1995. Currently there is little distinction between the Internet and the World Wide Web in the minds of most people.
   

3. DISTRIBUTING INFORMATION

1. Employees are constantly using computers to record, process, send, store, and retrieve information. Telecommunications is the movement of information from one location to another electronically. Information moves electronically through physical lines or broadcast transmission. Physical lines include fixed telephone lines and fiber optic and coaxial cables. Wireless and satellite communications are examples of broadcast transmission.
   
2. A business computer system must be set up to allow workers to share information easily and quickly. These systems are a combination of hardware and software. A local area network (LAN) is a network of linked computers that serves users in a single building or building complex. In a LAN, a computer that stores data and application software for all workstations is called a file server, or, more commonly, a server.
   
3. Firms with multiple locations need to allow for communication with employees who are geographically dispersed. A wide area network (WAN) is a network of linked computers that covers users in a geographic area such as a city, state, or country. LANs, WANs, and their servers connect through routers to other systems or to a mainframe computer. The servers are also channels through which individual workers can use their computers to communicate with others inside and outside the organization. Wireless cellular networks are a form of a wide area network. Wireless cellular networks are so prevalent that they are becoming the network of choice for many people. Data storage for businesses and individuals is also shifting to WANs. Information can be stored on the cloud, which is the name given to the data storage systems over widely dispersed Internet networks.
   
4. An intranet is a private company network that allows employees to share resources across various locations. An intranet works like the Internet. Users access information through a browser, navigate with hyperlinks, and send email through the intranet. Usually the intranet connects to the Internet, but security measures are put into place to protect company information from being available to the general public. Intranets enable employees to accomplish many tasks electronically. Groups of employees working on the same project can discuss, share, plan, and implement ideas without having to leave their desks. These same employees can use company records stored electronically to aid in performing their tasks. Workers may use their computers to check employer-sponsored events, such as training programs, learn about health care benefits, or see the balance in their retirement account. The easy accessibility of information on an intranet reduces the time spent finding and looking through paper documents.
   
5. Another type of network that operates similarly to the Internet is an extranet. An extranet is a secured, private network that companies use to share certain information with selected people outside the organization, such as suppliers and major customers. For instance, a merchandise supplier for a national retailer can benefit from tracking the company’s daily inventory balance. When inventory gets low, the supplier can deliver its goods just when the company needs them. An extranet enables the supplier to see the company’s inventory records without allowing access to other company data.
   
6. Internet protocols allow access to information by entering a URL such as www.usps.com to access the website for the United States Postal Service. As an alternative, search engines allow Internet users to find URLs and other information. A search engine is a program that helps users locate information on networks. After you type in one or more keywords, the search engine displays a list of sites that contain information matching those keywords. Some of these sites may have the information you want, but others may be advertisements or may not provide appropriate results for your intended search. A mouse click will take you to the sites that look promising. Search engines may also look for information over the wider Internet or within a company’s intranet or extranet.