Chapter 12: Technology, Organizations, and Society

Chapter 12Technology, Organizations, and SocietyCopyright © 2014 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.McGraw-Hill/IrwinCh. 12: Key Learning ObjectivesDefining technology and its characteristicsRecognizing the evolving phases of technology throughout history and what fuels technological innovation todayExamining how technological innovations have changed the way organizations operate and interact with their stakeholders around the worldAnalyzing the emerging social networking phenomenon—texting, instant messaging, tweets, blogs, vlogs, spam, and phishing—and the challenges they create for businesses and government policymakers Recognizing socially beneficial uses of technology in education and medicineEvaluating recent efforts to address and narrow the digital divide12-*Technology DefinedTechnology – A broad term referring to the practical applications of science and knowledge to commercial and organizational activities Change is the dominant feature of technologySometimes the pace of change is so fast and furious that it approaches the limits of human tolerance and people lose their ability to cope with it successfully Technology’s effects are widespreadRipples through society until every community is affected Technology is self-reinforcingActs as a multiplier to encourage its own faster development 12-*Phases in the Development of TechnologyFigure 12.112-*Fueling Technological GrowthGovernment:Government investment has helped launch many new technologies, including the Internet, and these trends continueIn 2012, President Obama unveiled his Big Data R&D Initiative and committed more than $200 million in new funding to “improve our ability to extract knowledge and insights from large and complex collections of digital data” Private investment:Venture capitalists are investors who provide capital to start-up companies that do not have access to public fundingThey have long targeted technological innovation, with the aim of making outsized returns12-*Fueling Technological GrowthBusiness investment:Business firms have invested directly in technology through their research and development (R & D) operationsThese investments have often benefited the business, as well as produced innovations that have moved their industries forwardThe combination of government, private investor, and business investment in technology has continued to drive innovation forward. But, ultimately, technology continues to evolve because of people’s insatiable desire for it12-*Technology as a Powerful Force in BusinessThe InternetOne of the most visible and widely used technological innovations over the past decade has been the InternetSpringing to life in 1994, the Internet is a global network of interconnected computers, enabling users to share information along multiple channels linking individuals and organizationsIn 2008, China surpassed the United States with the most Internet users by countryWhile opportunities to use the Internet are growing quickly, some limitations have appeared, such as in China when the government attempted to convert all identification records to their digital database systems12-*Top 20 Internet Users by Country (2008)Figure 12.2 12-*Technology as a Powerful Force in BusinessE-businessConsists of buying and selling goods and services between businesses, organizations, and individuals electronically via Internet-based systemsDuring the past few years, e-business revenue has increased at a faster pace than that of traditional, or non-electronic, businessOne controversial area where e-business has made a significant impact is online gambling12-*Technology as a Powerful Force in BusinessM-CommerceCommerce conducted via mobile or cell phones, provides consumers with an electronic wallet when using their mobile phonesGiven the significant increase in smartphone users, businesses have looked for ways to reach out to these potential customers QR an abbreviation for “quick response,” consists of a square made up of black and white spaces that when read by a cell phone transmits information to the use 12-*Social Networking – Tools and ThreatsA system using technology to enable people to connect, explore interests, and share activities around the worldIn 2011, 1.2 billion people worldwide used social networking sites at least once per month Examples of the more popular social networking sites on the Internet include Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, and TwitterEach of these popular social networking Internet sites have their ethical challenges12-*Blogs and VlogsBlogs – web based journals or logs maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions, or accounts of events 156 million blogs counted by BlogPlusEthical questions about blogs emerged – For example, according to a Los Angeles Times report, thousands of bloggers were being paid by marketing firms to promote or attack various products on the marketNew generation of blogs, called vlogs, or video Web logs appeared in mid-2000’sAll that was needed was access to a digital camera that could capture moving images and high-speed Internet access12-*Threats from Technology – Spam and Unsolicited Commercial E-mailSpam refers to unsolicited commercial e-mails (UCE or junk e-mails) sent in bulk to valid e-mail accountsHas become big business and big headache for businessOrganizations and individuals have adopted use of spam blockers, but sometimes difficult to sort out bad emailsGovernment has attempted to monitor, control and prosecute spammers using Internet for illegal activityU.K. and the U.S. have anti-spam legislation 12-*Threats from Technology – PhishingPractice of duping computer users into revealing their passwords or other private data under false pretensesThe Anti-Phishing Working Group, a U.S. industry association, reported in 2012 that 39 percent of the world’s personal computers were infected with some type of malwareIn 2012, fifteen companies, including e-mail service providers (Google, Microsoft, and AOL) and financial service companies (Bank of America, Fidelity Investments, and PayPal), created DMARC.org (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting and Conformance) to promote a standard set of technologies intended to lead to more secure e-mail 12-*Threats from Technology – Government Censorship of the InternetMany people believe that information on the Internet should be universally accessible. Some people believe that restrictions should be placed on some categories of informationSome countries have imposed censorship on broad categories of online informationThe Chinese government operates one of the most sophisticated systems of Internet censorship in the worldIt requires all China-based Web sites and blogs to register with the government and blocks access to many kinds of information, including material critical of the government12-*Socially Beneficial Uses of TechnologyTechnology and EducationEnables students in poor and remote communities to access the world’s best libraries, instructors, and courses available through the InternetMedical Information via the InternetThe abundance of medical information available on the Internet was welcomed by medical practitioners and the public in generalSome warned that this easily available information might create a group of cyberchondriacs, a term referring to people who leap to the most dreadful conclusions while researching health matters online Another emerging issue focused on digital medical records, or how a patient’s medical records should be stored and linked to other health care providers12-*Special Issue: The Digital DivideGap between those that have technology and those that do notRecently, some evidence has suggested that the digital divide in the United States is becoming smallerProgress in narrowing the digital divide in developing countries has been slower, but still evidentResearchers found that the world was becoming more “hyper-connected,” fostering greater global trade and interpersonal communications online 12-*