Managing The Information Environment Discuss Tele Essay

Managing The Information Environment: Discuss Tele Essay, Research Paper

Introduction: Information Age and its Implications Human history is divided into periods and some periods are named after the main economic resource of the era. We have the Iron Age and the Bronze Age, both named after the metals men had discovered for making tools and weapons. We also have the Industrial Age, during which scientific method has given people a new framework for thought. It also brought a new technology that mechanized production and replaced human or animal energy with steam. Soon after the discovery of steam, a British mathematician Charles Babbage conceived the idea of the computer. He believed that he could produce a mechanical device that would be able to perform a string of related calculations. Babbage believed that information could be manipulated by a machine if it was first converted into numbers. We can call Charles Babbage the father of Information Age. Today, information seems to be becoming the most important economic resource, even more important than natural resources. We can see a move from analogue to digital data in every aspect of business and private life. The emergence of the Internet has brought along electronic commerce, which seems to be the main business of the not so distant future. In my paper, I am attempting to outline the importance of the Internet and its impact on business, show the current developments and the position of telecommunication providers, and give some examples of electronic commerce and point out some of its major problems. Transition from Traditional to Digital Communication Traditionally, business was conducted through paper communication. For example, if a shoe retailer ABC wanted to order some shoes from the producer XYZ, there was a long process of communication involved before the goods were received at the shop and paid for: First there was an order from ABC, which had to be typed and sent to XYZ. When the order was received, it had to be entered into XYZ system. A sales order was typed and sent to ABC, where it was entered into their system. When the goods were dispatched to ABC, a dispatch note had to be signed, returned to XYZ and again entered into their system. Then an invoice was sent to ABC, and the payment would be made. This system was slow and it involved a lot of links, which means that there was a lot of room for an error. Paper communication has evolved into Electronic Document Exchange (EDI). EDI involves an electronic link between the companies that have contractual relationships. This link is often a proprietary network and it allows the companies to execute specific kinds of transactions automatically, thus making the paper communication redundant. Together with paper, there is also a need for fewer but more skilled employees. EDI is highly structured, so it is suitable for reordering products, checking the status of shipment or other prearranged forms of communication. However, it is unsuitable for ad hoc communication. EDI systems are usually proprietary, which makes them limited to certain companies and their contractors. One of the pioneers of Electronic Document Exchange was General Motors and other big users include Burger King (which became more competitive as a result of integration of ordering and payment functions through EDI), General Mills and Pillsbury. A problem with EDI is its proprietary nature. While big companies like General Motors and Ford can dictate their suppliers and customers to use their version of EDI, it can create a problem for a company that deals with more than one version of EDI. For example, if a small company supplies all the big car manufacturers with a highly specialized product (for example, a Traffic Master), it has to have a separate EDI with each of them. This might make the business even more confusing than the traditional paper-based communication. Today, EDI is being complemented by Internet-based electronic mail, which brings flexibility and low cost. We do not know whether EDI will evolve further or whether it will be replaced by new standards, but it is becoming clear that the Internet will be the network used for business communication. The Evolution of the Internet The Internet is an international computer network. The core of this network consists of computers permanently linked through high-speed connections. These computers are called servers and in order to access the Internet, you have to connect your personal computer to one of these servers. The Internet was invented in the USA in 1960s and it was first called the American Defense Department network (ARPAnet). Its purpose was to act as a nuclear attack resistant method of exchanging scientific information and intelligence. In 1970s and 1980s several other networks (for example, the National Science Foundation Network – NSFNET) joined and linked together research agencies and universities. As the Cold War finished, the Internet became more publicly accessible and within the last few years it has spread faster than anybody ever predicted. The growth rate of the Internet use has greatly surprised even Bill Gates. He recently realised the potential it has for business and personal use, and Microsoft Corporation has concentrated its efforts into developing the applications for the Internet. The main problem with the Internet today is bandwidth. Bandwidth is a measure of the bits that can be moved through a circuit in a given time