Handbook of Principles of Organizational Behavior - Soltanieh ...

USE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY FOR ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE
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without losing the quality of services. Consequently, individuals can conduct voice and
video conferencing over the internet. A key development in the internet is the development
of a new internet protocol, called IP V6 (internet protocol version 6). An important
significance of IP V6 is the large number of unique IP addresses that can be assigned.
Theoretically, the new addressing scheme allows up to 3.4 10 38 unique addresses. This
can be translated into approximately 5 10 28 for each of the 6.5 billion people alive in
2006. It will be more than enough to assign a unique IP address for everyone on earth
and many of the objects that they possess, not to mention their computers. This opens up
unlimited possibilities of connecting various tools and equipment to the network, which in
turn opens up many novel business opportunities.
Wireless technology
In the past, users had to go to a specific location in order to use computers. Increasingly,
however, computing services will follow users when and where they are needed. This is due
to the explosive growth and developments in wireless communication technologies and
mobile handheld devices. The speed of current wireless technologies easily exceeds the speed
limit of fixed line internet connection of just a few years ago. Furthermore, the development
of global positioning systems (GPS), sensors, and RFID (radio frequency identification)
which can be embedded into small devices enables completely new ways of
organizing resources.
Mobile devices
The increasing miniaturization of computing resources and increasing mobility gave birth
to various small handheld devices that can perform powerful computing services. Various
mobile devices, including mobile phones, PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants), Blackberries
and portable media devices (e.g. iPods), provide convenient mobility with increasing computing
powers to the mobile users. These devices increasingly liberate users from the past
limitations of space and time so that they can use computers anywhere and anytime.
Organizational implications of technology trends
The aforementioned developments in various areas in information technology can be
summarized in three characteristics: mobility, digital convergence, and mass scale. First,
computing services have become increasing mobile, following where users are and providing
services when it makes most sense. At the same time, we will see increasing convergence
toward digital signals. For example, so - called “ triple - play ” (combining broadband
internet, phone, and TV services) or “ quadruple - play ” (adding mobile internet) has resulted
from rapid digital convergence in media content, storage, and distribution mechanisms
which have created major disruptions in media and communication industries. By utilizing
the quickly converging digital platforms, companies in these industries can and must
explore new media products and services that combine, for example, internet services and
mobile communications.
While the technological developments reviewed in this section are breathtaking and
impressive, managers need to think about how to leverage such new technological capabilities