4.4. Information Technology in Administration

The power of computing

The operation of administration systems has been greatly assisted by the development and widespread availability of personal computers (PCs). The introduction of new technology can affect the following:

Workload: Information technology can increase the quantity and quality of work that can be carried out by employees in a firm. This is because computer systems can speed work up and do not make mistakes other than those caused by human error. However, a great deal of effort is required immediately following the introduction of new technology to transfer existing files onto computers and to set up computerised procedures. Initially, therefore, the introduction of new technology can increase the workload of employees before long-term reductions are realised.

Stress: Because change involves new methods of working and procedures, it can be a very stressful time for staff. The introduction of new technology may not only change working methods, but may also lead to redundancies and therefore even greater stress. Stress can be reduced through training in the use of the new equipment and by good communications between management and staff to discuss the new methods and keep people informed.

Productivity: If less inputs are required to produce the same or more output in a firm, then productivity has improved. Information Technology can improve productivity by increasing the speed at which administrative tasks are undertaken, thereby releasing labour to work on other tasks.

Efficiency: A computerised system rarely breaks down and makes mistakes. Information Technology can, therefore, help to increase the speed, accuracy, and efficiency with which administrative tasks are carried out.

Computer hardware

Computer hardware is the physical equipment used by the system. Typically, hardware consists of one or more computers, each possessing a visual display unit (VDU), or monitor, and a keyboard with which to enter information and control the software and information output. Use of a mouse, joystick, light pen, and/or touch-sensitive VDU screens, are both alternatives and complements to the keyboard. A printer will be required if information displayed by the VDU is to be output to paper or overhead slide transparencies.

The hardware is driven by one or more central processing units (CPUs). The CPU interprets and processes information and commands. The speed and power of CPUs is growing all the time, with 486 and Pentium processors, produced by the American Intel Corporation, being the most common kinds of processor in use today.

Software

Computer software refers to predesigned packages or programs which give instructions to the computer to process information. A great number of packages are available for business use, including word processing, spreadsheets, databases, graphics, and accounting software.

The tasks software can perform are continually expanding with new developments in processing power, which has also increased the speed at which tasks are completed. For example, desktop video conferencing, whereby staff in different locations can see and talk to each other on their computer screens and work on the same computer files, is now possible using software developed for the Pentium processor.

Multi-tasking

The majority of computers used in business today are IBM compatible and will usually run a program called Microsoft Windows. Windows allows different software packages to be used simultaneously and for information from different applications to be combined. For example, information from a database can be imported into a word processor or into a spreadsheet and turned into a graph, which can then be imported into a word processor to support a report on trends in sales figures. This is known as multi-tasking.

Computer network

To allow different parts of an organisation to share software and exchange information, computers must be linked in some way. Within an organisation this is usually done by creating a local area network (LAN). Networks are either ‘wired’ together or connected via ‘wireless’, using radio waves to transmit information between PCs. Increasingly businesses are networking their computers to speed the transfer of information and assist communications. Access to the LAN can be protected by using a password which users must enter before they can log-on.

At the centre of a LAN will normally be a powerful computer which acts as the file server to all the computers – or workstations – linked in the network. A LAN file server will provide:

• storage space for software programs;

• software applications to workstations on request;

• storage space for files created on workstations;

• temporary storage for files held in a print queue.

Some LANs do not have a file server. Instead, individual workstations use their own hard disks to store software applications and work files which can be made available to the other workstations in the network. These are called public files. Microsoft’s Windows for Workgroups is a software package which can be used to operate this type of network with up to 10 users.

Computers linked through telephone lines form wide area networks (WANs). Computers are able to talk to each other using the telephone system. WANS can be used to link different parts of the same organisation, or even different organisations, at different sites, including those overseas.

To create a WAN, both the sender and the receiver of information must possess the following facilities and equipment:

• a computer (either a mainframe or PC);

• a telephone socket;

• a telephone line;

• a modem (MOdulator/DEModulator);

• communications software to operate the modem.

Central to the creation of a WAN is the modem. This is a device which can change digital signals to analogue signals and back again. Telephone lines were designed for transmitting audible sounds which are transformed for transmission into electrical ‘analogue’ waves. Computers, however, send and receive digital signals made up binary code – a series of 0s and 1s. The combinations of 0s and 1s is infinite and can represent an infinite array of different words, numbers, and pictures when converted.