Deck 13: Communication and Information Technology Management

Question 1

Using New Information Systems
Form groups of three or four people, and appoint one member as the spokesperson who will communicate your findings to the whole class when called upon by the instructor. Then discuss the following scenario.
You are a team of managing partners of a large firm of accountants. You are responsible for auditing your firm's information systems to determine whether they are appropriate and up-todate. To your surprise, you find that although your organization does have an email system in place and accountants are connected into a powerful local area network (LAN), most of the accountants (including partners) are not using this technology. You also find that the organizational hierarchy is still the preferred information system of the managing partners.
Given this situation, you are concerned that your organization is not exploiting the opportunities offered by new information systems to obtain a competitive advantage. You have discussed this issue and are meeting to develop an action plan to get accountants to appreciate the need to learn, and to take advantage of, the potential of the new information technology.
Discuss how you might make it easy for accountants to learn to use the new technology.

Answer 1

To make the accountants learn the new information technology the company can conduct extensive training programs focused on making the accountants aware of how the system can be used to make effective decisions which can help in achieving the organizational goals.
Also they can form groups which can help each other to learn the system effectively. Training programs focused on the usage of information system can be used effectively to make accountants learn the information system.
This will help them to interpret data and provide information which is relevant timely and accurate to help managers to take effective decisions for the organization.

Question 2

Which medium (or media) do you think would be appropriate for each of the following kinds of messages that a subordinate could receive from a boss: (a) a raise, (b) not receiving a promotion, (c) an error in a report prepared by the subordinate, (d) additional job responsibilities, and (e) the schedule for company holidays for the upcoming year? Explain your choices. [LO 13-3]

Answer 2

An information system can be described as software that helps in analysing and organizing data. This system helps in solving problems related to the organization's mission.
The medium for below kind of messages would be as follows:
• A raise: Through a phone call.
• Not receiving a promotion: An email should be written to the manager of the department.
• An error in the report prepared by subordinate: Notify it through a phone call.
• Additional job responsibilities: Must be provided to the employees with the help of memo.
• The schedule for company holidays for the upcoming year: Should be notified through an email.

Question 3

Diagnosing Ineffective Communication [LO 13-2, 13-3]
Think about the last time you experienced very ineffective communication with another person-someone you work with, a classmate, a friend, a member of your family. Describe the incident. Then answer the following questions:
How could you have handled this situation differently so communication would have been effective?

Answer 3

Effective managers must strive to perceive other people accurately.  Accurate perceptions, in turn, contribute to effective communication. To be effective communicators, managers must select an appropriate communication medium for each message they send. They must also make sure that errors have not occurred during the encoding or decoding stages of the communication process.
AACSB standards: 1, 3, 5, 6, 10

Question 4

BE THE MANAGER [LO 13-2, 13-3]
A Problem in Communication
Mark Chen supervises support staff for an Internet merchandising organization that sells furniture over the Internet. Chen has always thought that he should expand his staff. When he was about to approach his boss with such a request, the economy slowed, and other areas of the company experienced layoffs. Thus, Chen's plans for trying to add to his staff are on indefinite hold. Chen has noticed a troubling pattern of communication with his staff. Ordinarily, when he wants one of his staff members to work on a task, he emails the pertinent information to that person. For the last few months, his email requests have gone unheeded, and his subordinates comply with his requests only after he visits with them in person and gives them a specific deadline. Each time, they apologize for the delay but say that they are so overloaded with requests that they sometimes stop answering their phones. Unless someone asks for something more than once, they feel a request is not particularly urgent and can be put on hold. Chen thinks this situation is dysfunctional and could lead to serious problems in the near future. He realizes, however, that his subordinates have no way of prioritizing tasks and that is why some very important projects were put on hold until he inquired about them. Knowing that he cannot add to his staff in the short term, Chen has come to you for advice. He wants to develop a system whereby his staff will provide some kind of response to requests within 24 hours, will be able to prioritize tasks, identifying their relative importance, and will not feel so overloaded that they ignore their boss's requests and don't answer their phones.
As an expert in communication, how would you advise Chen?

Question 5

How can information technology help in the new product development process? [LO 13-3]

Question 6

Diagnosing Ineffective Communication [LO 13-2, 13-3]
Think about the last time you experienced very ineffective communication with another person-someone you work with, a classmate, a friend, a member of your family. Describe the incident. Then answer the following questions:
Why was your communication ineffective in this incident?

Question 7

Many companies have reported that it is difficult to implement advanced management information such as ERP systems. Why do you think this is so? How might the roadblocks to implementation be removed? [LO 13-4]

Question 8

FAST COMPANY CASE IN THE NEWS [LO 13-1, 13-2, 13-3]
How Google Humanizes Technology in the Workplace, and You Can, Too
Technology keeps us from interacting face-to-face more often, but Google is changing the way we adapt to this new era of communication.
How does using the same form of communication with employees hinder a manager's ability to maintain a strong working relationship with direct reports?

Question 9

Ask a manager to describe the main kinds of information systems that he or she uses on a routine basis at work. [LO 13-1, 13-2]

Question 10

In organizations today, employees often take advantage of their company's information systems. Email abuse is increasing, and so is the amount of time employees spend surfing the Internet on company time. Indeed, statistics suggest that approximately 70% of the total amount of time spent surfing the Internet is company time.
Either by yourself or in a group, explore the ethics of using IT for personal uses at work. Should employees have some rights to use these resources? When does their behavior become unethical?

Question 11

Using New Information Systems
Form groups of three or four people, and appoint one member as the spokesperson who will communicate your findings to the whole class when called upon by the instructor. Then discuss the following scenario.
You are a team of managing partners of a large firm of accountants. You are responsible for auditing your firm's information systems to determine whether they are appropriate and up-todate. To your surprise, you find that although your organization does have an email system in place and accountants are connected into a powerful local area network (LAN), most of the accountants (including partners) are not using this technology. You also find that the organizational hierarchy is still the preferred information system of the managing partners.
Given this situation, you are concerned that your organization is not exploiting the opportunities offered by new information systems to obtain a competitive advantage. You have discussed this issue and are meeting to develop an action plan to get accountants to appreciate the need to learn, and to take advantage of, the potential of the new information technology.
What advantages can you tell accountants they will obtain when they use the new information technology?

Question 12

What is the relationship between information systems and competitive advantage? [LO 13-1]

Question 13

Diagnosing Ineffective Communication [LO 13-2, 13-3]
Think about the last time you experienced very ineffective communication with another person-someone you work with, a classmate, a friend, a member of your family. Describe the incident. Then answer the following questions:
What stages of the communication process were particularly problematic and why?

Question 14

FAST COMPANY CASE IN THE NEWS [LO 13-1, 13-2, 13-3]
How Google Humanizes Technology in the Workplace, and You Can, Too
Technology keeps us from interacting face-to-face more often, but Google is changing the way we adapt to this new era of communication.
What are some advantages and disadvantages of Google managers making themselves available live and in person to employees on a weekly basis?

Question 15

In organizations today, employees often take advantage of their company's information systems. Email abuse is increasing, and so is the amount of time employees spend surfing the Internet on company time. Indeed, statistics suggest that approximately 70% of the total amount of time spent surfing the Internet is company time.
Some companies keep track of the way their employees use IT and the Internet. Is it ethical for managers to read employees' private email or to record the sites that employees visit on the World Wide Web?

Question 16

Using New Information Systems
Form groups of three or four people, and appoint one member as the spokesperson who will communicate your findings to the whole class when called upon by the instructor. Then discuss the following scenario.
You are a team of managing partners of a large firm of accountants. You are responsible for auditing your firm's information systems to determine whether they are appropriate and up-todate. To your surprise, you find that although your organization does have an email system in place and accountants are connected into a powerful local area network (LAN), most of the accountants (including partners) are not using this technology. You also find that the organizational hierarchy is still the preferred information system of the managing partners.
Given this situation, you are concerned that your organization is not exploiting the opportunities offered by new information systems to obtain a competitive advantage. You have discussed this issue and are meeting to develop an action plan to get accountants to appreciate the need to learn, and to take advantage of, the potential of the new information technology.
What problems do you think you may encounter in convincing accountants to use the new information technology?

Question 17

Why is face-to-face communication between managers still important in an organization? [LO 13-2, 13-3]

Question 18

Diagnosing Ineffective Communication [LO 13-2, 13-3]
Think about the last time you experienced very ineffective communication with another person-someone you work with, a classmate, a friend, a member of your family. Describe the incident. Then answer the following questions:
Describe any filtering or information distortion that occurred.

Question 19

FAST COMPANY CASE IN THE NEWS [LO 13-1, 13-2, 13-3]
How Google Humanizes Technology in the Workplace, and You Can, Too
Technology keeps us from interacting face-to-face more often, but Google is changing the way we adapt to this new era of communication.
Describe the characteristics of a Segmentor and an Integrator. Which type of employee are you?