The world has changed tremendously since the turn of the 20th century. When man mastered the science of transportation and communication, technological breakthroughs came one after another at a dizzying pace. He is now able to cover long distances in such a short time in terms of travel and sending or receiving messages. To think that it took Magellan a number of years before he was able to circle half-way around the globe; and less than 500 years later, it will only take supersonic jet to accomplish the same feat in half a day or even less. But in the past few decades it is in the area of telecommunications and the Internet where man’s genius has really served him well. Information Technology has changed everything including the art and science of leadership and management.
This proponent of this paper will attempt to get a better understanding with regards to the link between advancements in Information Technology and how the modern day leader will lead and manage the quintessential 21st century organizations. This can be achieved by taking an overview of how Information Technology is changing the way business leaders are solving problems especially when it comes managing resources and using it to achieve organizational goals.
Modern Marketplace
There is no need to elaborate that today’s modern marketplace is totally different from the one that came out from the Industrial Age. The major difference is not only about the design and quality of the products but also on how these are being delivered to the paying customers. The typical scenario used to be characterized by huge assembly lines where a product is assembled then moved to warehouses waiting for delivery to authorized dealers. From here the product will find its way to stores where it will be sold in retail.
The management of such enterprises is in turn managed by a hierarchical system where the CEO is on top and below him is a pyramidal structure composed of various managers, line managers, supervisors, and then finally the ordinary workers. It is apparent that for an enterprise to be successful there is no other way to do it than to deal with a cumbersome structure especially when it comes to managing data coming from day to day operations. One could just imagine the nightmare of sorting through a mountain load of paperwork prior to the coming of computers. As a result there used to be a very high barrier to entry for those who wanted to compete against giants like Coke (food and beverage), Sony, (music/entertainment), Barnes & Noble (publishing), CBS (media), or Wal-Mart (supermarket chain).
But with the breakthroughs in Information Technology small players are now able to put up a brave challenge to industrial behemoths and they can easily take a slice of their market share because now they can reach more customers without having to spend millions of dollars in marketing, sales, and inventory. Take for instance the innovative way of selling music records through the Internet. It used to be that music is delivered through tapes or CDs, but not anymore. This means that leaders and managers of the aforementioned industrial giants are facing steep competition from other players and this in turn is transforming the marketplace.
Information Technology
After the computer was invented – and following closely the Internet – the world was turned upside down. These twin inventions revolutionized all aspect of human existence. The world became smaller in terms of communication via instant messaging systems and business transactions that are being done through the Internet, without the use of traditional methods that usually accompany the exportation and importation of goods. In all these, the managers of 21st century enterprises are facing increasing pressure to understand the requirements needed ensure that their particular businesses are both competitive and at the same time maintaining their management information system to be one step ahead from becoming obsolete.
Thus, aside from dealing with fierce competition from start-up companies, established corporations have to deal with another aspect of Information Technology – the ever changing nature of computer systems, computer software, and computer hardware. A good manager is someone who is skilled in dealing with constant innovation and at the same time able to adapt the changes into the larger context of the enterprise. The following will explain the challenges that a modern day manager will have to deal with.
Management
The Internet is always changing, making it more and more difficult to fully define as the years go by. It is at its basic form a means of communication, a medium that can be best described as an efficient means of sending messages halfway around the world in a fraction of a second. But the computer and the Internet is certainly more than a high-tech messaging device.
Even though instant and cheap messaging is a significant feature, when it comes to the Internet this is merely scratching the surface. The Internet can also be an online library. The Net can be an online repository of digital documents, pictures, maps and many more. It can also be a means of sending orders to shops and suppliers. At the same time it can be used to track the orders that were previously made. The Internet in tandem with a major bank’s servers can be used as one huge virtual bank where people can send and receive money and where tycoons can move huge amounts of money from one continent to the next without having to travel around the world.
Based on the above description of the awesome capability of the Internet one can easily perceive the Internet to be some sort of a portal that one can use to connect to other networks all over the world. This complicates the problem of managers even more because instead of simply looking after the facilities and other assets there is now another kind of company assets that needs guarding and protecting. The many uses of computers coupled with the rapid development of computer related technology, it is not surprising that many managers and corporate leaders are having a hard time trying to keep up. This led Walter Einstein and John Humphreys to conclude that, “…advancing information technologies have forever changed the management landscape.” (2002).
Leadership
Corporate leadership is different from managing day-to-day operations. A leader points the way. A manager maintains the status quo. These statements are not new. But in the Information Age this idea takes on new meaning. A manager needs only to understand how a particular system – in this case management information system – and then the CEO will be assured that the competent manager will simply follow the rule book and ensure that everything will go on smoothly from hereon. But the problem is a manager will continue working even if the world around him has changed. One wonders what happened to the manager of the factory that used to manufacture typewriters. Did they realize that one day their product will become obsolete?
But who would have thought that typewriters, black and white Television sets, and telegrams will become obsolete. In their heydays these products and services dominates their respective industries. And yet things change; a good leader sees the wave coming before it crashes into shore. It will not be easy to predict the future and in the case of IT the problem is exacerbated by rapidly advancing technologies. Business leaders will have to contend with the following problem posted by experts who predicted a most unwelcome trend in corporate governance, “Organizations will operate in a state of continual transformation, leaving managers to struggle in a changing environment of ambiguity and uncertainty (Einstein & Humphreys, 2002).
And yet a good leader will be able to steer the company to greater heights or prevent a calamity by doing the necessary steps required to improve operations. Cavaleri was right when he remarked that knowledge is different from information (2005). True leaders will know the difference. With regards to Information Technology, business leaders must be able decide which software or what IT company needs to be consulted in order to break-away from the pack. This kind of knowledge requires a lot of digging and to those who are willing to do the hard work, to them the reward will be great.
Conclusion
There is no need to elaborate on the fact that information technology is changing the way business is being done in the 21st century marketplace. Aside from knowing the obvious that a corporation needs to constantly evolve in order to compete and come up with innovative products to break-away from the competition, there is also a need to understand that there is a need to differentiate between leaders and managers.
It is understandable that a good leader has to have the ability to manage. But it must not be assumed that a manager will ultimately become a leader. There is a huge difference between the two roles. In the age of Information Technology the aspiring entrepreneur as well as corporate giants must be well aware that managers usually maintain the status quo while good leaders anticipate changes in the marketplace. An organization that does not have good leaders will slowly die from obsolescence while an organization without competent managers will never be able to establish management information systems that will harness the true potential of organizations including both human resources and other assets. A company needs to have both – leaders and managers – one providing the ability to see the whole picture and the other one the ability to implement new systems in a most cost-efficient way possible.
References
Cavaleri, S. (2005). Knowledge Leadership. MA: Elsevier Butterwoth-Heinemann.
Dowland, P. et al. (2005). Security Management, Integrity, and Internal Control in Information Systems. New York: Springer Science.
Einstein, W. and Humphreys, J. (2002). The changing face of leadership: The infuence of Information Technology. In E.J. Szewezak and C.R. Snodrass (Eds.). Managing the Human Side of Information Technology. PA: Idea Group, Inc.
Khosrowpour, M. (2006). Emerging Trends and Challenges in Information Technology Management. PA: Idea Group Publishing.
Tiller, J. (2005). Identity Theft. In H.F. Tipton & M. Krause (Eds.) Information Security Management Handbook. 5th Ed. Florida: CRC Press LLC.
Thierauf, R. (2001). Effective Business Intelligence Systems. Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing.