Communication Strategies Essay

Technology is something we all use every day. It could be your cell phone, laptop, tablet, or anything else you prefer. Sadly to say, we also become dependent on these different types of technology. If you have dealt with technology enough in your lifetime, you know that it will fail you at some point in time. It is always at the most inconvenient times as well. Having an effective communication strategy to use while your technology or network isn’t available is very important. Should something happen to your network, you should have troubleshooting steps or a communication strategy readily available. It is the responsibility of the organization or business to make sure there is a communication strategy available. According to our text, an organization is a stable, formal social structure that takes resources them to produce outputs (Laudon & Laudon, 2012). The technical definition focuses on three elements of an organization. Capitol and labor are primary production factors provided by the environment (Laudon & Laudon, 2012). I’m not familiar with many organizations, so the organization that I am most familiar with is the military, the Air Force to be exact. Working in an office setting and also being a technical administrator, I constantly dealt with communication issues. When I think of a digital firm, I think of a firm in which nearly all of the organization’s significant business relationships with customers, suppliers, and employees are digitally enabled and mediated just like the text states (Laudon & Laudon, 2012). The internet is also the first thing that comes to my mind and I will be the first to admit that I use it for everything. I have become very dependent upon Google. I can think of millions of digital firms. Digital firms sense and respond to their environments far more rapidly than traditional firms; giving them more flexibility to survive in turbulent times (Laudon & Laudon, 2012). Digital firms place an emphasis on the digitization of business processes and services through sophisticated technology and information systems. Technology adoption has been increasing as digital firms continually look to achieve greater levels cost savings, competitive advantage, and operational performance optimization. The organization I choose to discuss is the United Services Automobile Association (USAA). It is a Fortune 500 financial services company offering banking, investing, and insurance to people and families that serve, or served, in the United States military. I became a member of this organization early 2009 and I do not ever see myself leaving this organization. I rate them five stars on their technology resources and systems. USAA uses technology in various areas within the organization to provide such a good â€Å"Customer Relationship Management† system. They provide to their customers online banking, mobile banking, the option to deposit checks from home, pay home or car insurance online, pay bills, submit insurance claims, and these are to just name a few. Whenever I call their 1-800 number, I rarely have to speak to a human unless I absolutely need to because almost everything is automated with them. Information systems or technology is very important in organizations today because more than 23 million managers and 113 million workers in the labor force rely on information systems to conduct business (Laudon & Laudon, 2012). That is a good deal of people. It is no wonder that Information Technology is such a growing career field with excellent salaries. Also, because of information systems, more people have the option to work from home. Information systems are essential for conducting day-to-day business in the United States and most other advanced countries, as well as achieving strategic business objectives (Laudon & Laudon, 2012). Doctor offices, retail stores, travel agencies, and many personal services use technology every day. Many business firms invest heavily in information systems to achieve six-strategic business objectives: products, services, and business models; customer and supplier intimacy; improved decision making; competitive advantage; and survival (Laudon & Laudon, 2012). Information systems are also the number one reason global marketing is so successful today. For example, many people choose to do online shopping during the holiday’s because it is less of a hassle, less stressful, and you can choose your own shopping hours. I have become a fan of online shopping as well because the sales are just as good as in-store sales. Internet service firms, such as Google, eBay, and Amazon, are able to replicate their business models and services in multiple countries without having to redesign their expensive fixed-cost information systems infrastructure (Laudon & Laudon, 2012). My personal favorite with USAA is their mobile banking. It is great having your banking information at the tip of your fingers. With so much identify theft and fraud in the world today, it is great to be able to see your account information in detail. If you look around, almost everyone owns a cell phone and most of them are smart phones. It is best to use these gadgets to their full capacity. I don’t always have time to stop by the bank or call to speak to a representative to have them make a transaction for me. I even have the option to schedule transactions’ so I will not have to remember to do it each day or month. It is more convenient to do it myself from my phone or computer versus doing it in person. I cannot recall the last time I actually paid any bills in person or mailed a payment in. I don’t think I will ever go back to that method if I can help it because I am all about saving time and making things simpler. As with everything, there are advantages and disadvantages and technology is no different. Although I feel that technology has made the population a bit lazier, we all have to admit it did make things in life a lot easier. I can recall being a technical administrator in the United States Air Force. Sadly to say, whenever we had power outages almost everything shut down. My fellow employees always thought that this meant go home for the rest of the day. Many times it did mean that. I tried not to fall victim to this because I am one of those people who feel like there is always work to be done. It was those times when I realized how heavily we depended on technology. I often wonder how advance technology will be 10 or 15 years from now and will everyone be able to keep up. I also worry about our senior citizens and I sympathize with them a great deal. My young nieces already know how to work computers, smart phones, you name it. Sometimes they teach me things about technology. While it made things simpler for the younger generation, it made things a lot more complex for our senior citizens. I often see my grandmother struggling to keep up with any assistance she may get because to renew or apply for it, she has to do it on the internet. Without any of my family’s assistance, she would never be able to do this. Most of our senior citizens are used to buying stamps and sending their mail off to the post office. Hopefully things don’t get too advanced for them. We must not leave them struggling to keep up. No matter what you’re viewpoint is on technology, we have to face the fact that it’s not going anywhere. References Haltiwanger, J., Lynch, L., & Mackie, C. (2007). Understanding Business Dynamics: An Integrated Data System for America’s Future. National Academies Press, Washington, 000000DC Laudon, K.C., & Laudon, J. P. (2012). Management Information Systems: Managing the Digital Firm. (12th ed) Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall