MS 07 IGNOU MBA Solved Assignment- It is said Information and communication are most of the time complementary and sometimes supplementary to each other

Question. 5)It is said,” Information and communication are most of the time complementary and sometimes supplementary to each other”. Elaborate!. What do you understand by competitiveness of ICT? Highlight the impact of ICT for the developing nations with respect to the economic activities.

Ans :

For the first time in the history of ICTs, consumers are utilizing technologies at home that are more advanced and accessible than those typically used in the workplace. This shift, in which people suddenly have significant knowledge of the use and benefits of ICT tools and services, is driving social change. This, in turn, is having a direct impact on how companies are organized and how they relate to their clients.

Paradigm shift

Social networks, smart phones, Big Data and the cloud are key components of this new digital era. Moreover, the capacity to process information is advancing at an unprecedented pace, he said. Technology is also blurring the line between professional and personal life.

“This is taking us to a new paradigm. Without knowledge of the possibilities that new technologies offer, executives cannot set out a viable strategy for their companies,” he said.

Consumerization is altering flows of information, as well as specific social norms. Zamora stressed that companies need to leverage the benefits that ICTs offer so they can move ahead of rivals and increase competitiveness.

He went on to describe how tools such as email, Google and its multiple applications and Facebook have now become a fundamental aspect of the future of many firms. “Have we seen the full potential of social networks? I believe we will also see the rise of corporate social networks.”

The post-PC era

New technologies and the vast possibilities offered by Web 2.0 facilitate bidirectional communication, in which customers have the chance to express their opinions directly to companies during every interaction. He noted that society has entered the post-PC era, when mobile platforms are gaining ground over traditional PCs.

“This means that we are giving greater decision power to customers and employees, and it implies an atomization of business processes and an increase in competitiveness,” he said. In this context, “digital natives” – people who were born after the advent of ICTs – are gaining greater importance. This new generation will soon transform into new customers and employees, and therefore have a greater impact on business activities.
What will be the consequences of the consumerization of ICTs? Zamora noted that the consumer will have greater capacity to make decisions in real time; employees will look for greater participation and control in business processes; citizens will seek greater interaction with politicians; and clients will use social networks to adopt brands.

The power of ICTs is unquestionable, he said. While the radio took 38 years to reach an audience of 50 million people, the Internet took just four years to reach this number. Facebook did it in just two years. Today more than 1 billion people use the network founded by Mark Zuckerberg. Against this background, a key challenge for executives is to identify ways to manage cultural changes and adapt their organizations accordingly, Zamora concluded

The economic benefit of telecommunications is enormous, both as a growing industry in its own right and in terms of its influence on economic development. Telecommunications is making the world a smaller place and creating new information highways of high speed electronic data exchange. The economic implication of ICT are far-reaching; mobile telephones, satellite television and automatic teller machines are just a few examples of the way in which ICT is changing how people communicate, become informed or do business.

The relation between ICT and economic development and benefit has been a topic of numerous studies. And all agree that there is a close relation. In a landmark research by Ifidon, (2002); Adoni, (2008); Ochai, (1996/87) and Eyitayo, (1980) on rural economic development implications of ICT in Nigeria in particular, the research found an interdependent relationship between economic activity and ICT infrastructure investment at state and country levels. With the advent of Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) as introduced by the Fourth Republic and a democratic government in power, the problems of inefficiency in telecommunication are now to some extent solved.

The federal government issued a Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) operating license. The telecommunication companies that got the operating license were: Zain (Econet) wireless and MTN communications, M-Tel, the NITEL counterpart was given an automatic license while in 2003 GLOBACOM was granted operating license. The findings of the various research works including this study support the conclusion that ICT investments affects economic activity and that economic activity affects ICT investments. And there is a serious reduction in Nigeria business costs resulting from telecommunications. Moreover, telecommunications brings about important technological change: openness, connectivity, decentralization and accessibility. It brings people together, links like minded groups, saves cost of transports, business transactions take place without crossing the border, promotes self employment such as phone booths and business centres to mention but few.

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) network is the basic facility through which information needs of industry, commerce and agriculture can be satisfied. Industrial development requires the coordination of a series of operation, including the acquisition of supplies, recruitment of labour, control stocks, processing of materials, delivery of goods to buyers, as well as billing and record keeping. Information technology is vital to the effective development and control of many of these operations. Commerce is essentially on information processing activity, effective buying, selling and brokerage rely on the continual supply of up-to-date information regarding the availability of prices of goods and services. Farmers on the other hand, must not only grow food but they must sell effectively and buy seeds and fertilizer. They also need information on weather conditions, disease outbreaks and new agricultural techniques.

Social Benefit of ICT Policy

The social benefit of ICT is completely invaluable and cannot easily be listed. Notwithstanding, a good number of the social benefits can still be discussed. And these benefits include social interactions. Keeping in touch with friends and relations is one of the major social benefits of ICT. Igyor (1996) also declared the same view that ICT has changed the way transactions are conducted, the way in which information is circulated and the way in which we educate and inform ourselves.

ICT has also reduced inequalities of opportunity between rural areas and the Urban Centres with the introduction of Internet Services, which delivers educational programmes to remote locations. Educational institutions are becoming more dependent on telecommunications to access super computers and broadcast instructions. This has paved way for the introduction of distance learning, which can improve educational achievement in rural areas (Davidson, 1991). Significantly, ICT policy which has given birth to Open Air University in Nigeria has led to population declines in cities and demographics shifts and pressure on rural libraries.

ICT policies and implementation has also helped to reduce costs and improve efficiency in health care delivery. Patients’ records can also be stored and transmitted electronically so that doctors can call upon specialist as the case may be. Other telemedicine applications include connecting remote supper computers to lasers for precision, focusing, transmission of digitized X-ray photographs, etc (Davidson, 1991).

Conclusion

From the context of this study, a sound conclusion can be drawn with emphasis that ICT policies in its economic and social development role, are just catalyst meant to aid national development. The benefits of ICT policies to a national economy should be measured as an input to other economic activities. And more importantly should also be considered as complementary to other sectors. ICT development is linked with and complements the development of industry, trade, farming, education, housing, health and financial institutions. It is this complementary role of ICT that makes it appropriate to link ICT planning to a national economic and social planning.