Workplace Change Over the Last 1015 Years Essay

Workplace Change Over the Last 1015 Years - Essay Example In addition, 63 percent of the executives also said that technology is also the future enabler of working styles in the future. Nevertheless, technology ranked fourth among the priority list of these executives in as far as the driving of businesses is concerned; after better productivity, culture, and cost reduction. According to these executives, VoIP, wi-fi, and ultra-mobile PC's are some of the technologies that will greatly impact on the workplaces in the next five years (Carr 2006). In this regard, flexible working is slowly becoming a common culture in some of the technologically-oriented companies. Whereas close to 91 percent of these organizations let their employees to work from home, a further 67 percent are still reliant on office attendance. For the latter group, 55 percent of the executives interviewed were optimistic that this trend will soon change (Carr 2006). Only just about 50 percent of the respondents believe that in the next five years, their workforce will still be commuting from home. Information technology has proved to be of fundamental importance in as far as organizational change is concerned. The business landscape will always have to change in line with the technological innovations in the workplace, pressure from competitors, and consumer preferences. As such, a lot of companies are now embracing information technology to streamline operations, improve business processes, increase profitability, and cut costs. The impact that information technology has had on organizational change cut across all the sections of an organization. Thus, the structure of the organization, process change, employee skill base, product delivery, and methodologies in marketing, all have to change as a response to information technology. Weber, Taylor and Fayol, as well as a couple of other theorists were of the opinion that there does exist a single and best way through which organizations can be structured. Nevertheless, organizations still vary greatly with regard to structural attributes, and this has led to the carrying out of numerous researches with a view to understanding the determinants of such variations. A lot of organizations are now becoming aware of the need to have relationships and social interactions at the workplace (Klein et al 2001). The understanding of such a phenomenon and the implications that it will have at the workplace is already proving to be a challenge to many organizations. Today, a lot of organizations struggle to keep pace with changes in the economy and the marketplace, while at the same time also seeking out for ways through which they can best enhance their financial profitability, while also enhancing the performances for their employees. Lin (2001) has described the theory of social capital in reference to the investments that organizations make in social relations, while also expecting to make returns in the marketplace. Such organizations usually embrace the culture and ethics of