Like traditional time pressure, the number of new inventions is also changing the way and speed at which business decisions are made.
The first and most significant change is the advent of information technology, which allows people anywhere in the world to communicate much faster. The other significant impact is the ever-increasing pace of change in the business world. These two phenomena are strongly linked and feed each other. The ability to communicate with anyone anywhere in the world at any time leads to the creation of a global marketplace. This in turn makes speed of response to market demands a key element of competitiveness.
The impact of information technology on the way we do our work can be measured by a special study. It confirms that we now spend more of our working time in front of a computer screen than ever before. But the ubiquitous computer does not only dominate our desk, increasingly it dominates our lives as a way of communicating. Its role is also increasing in decision-making.
At the same time, 57% of all external communications are enabled by information technology, which is completely changing the way certain types of businesses interact with customers and suppliers.
Information technology is having a significant impact on the traditional patterns of communication between companies, their suppliers and their customers.
A director of an information technology company put it this way: “E-commerce has done more than pass judgment on the letter carrier because it is more than just a new way of communicating. The fact that anyone, anywhere, anytime can communicate removes the old constraints that associated all control with the central office. I note that now anyone can produce your product and every workplace can function as a control center.”
E-mail and snail mail
Imperfect in terms of modern collaborative software, e-mail is still one of the most widely used forms of electronic communication. It is the ability to send messages directly from one computer terminal to another, bypassing the telephone handset.
Proponents of e-mail praise its speed in comparison to traditional e-mail – the latter they call snail-mail. However, many researchers believe that the full potential of this and other forms of communication enabled by information technology (IT) is only just beginning to emerge.
In more traditional companies, e-mail simply duplicates the traditional hierarchy, passing messages up to management, who in turn will pass them even higher or drop them back down to the person who will directly do the work.
The impact of information technology is a significant factor in the increased pressure on companies to better respond to customer needs. And this translates into shorter product life cycles and the need for quick decision making to get new products to market as soon as possible. Many researchers are convinced that agility and speed of reaction are now the main sources of advantage in such a competitive struggle.