Conf.dr.Ion Paunescu

Lect.dr.Roxana Stefanescu

Now and in the near future, the success of a business –whether it becomes the market leader in design and quality, the low-cost producer, or the successful innovator- will increasingly depend on the quality of its information systems and technologies. In turn , the quality of a business’s systems and technologies will depend largely on the people working in that firm.They are expected to perform functions like: suggest new uses for information systems, participate in the design of systems, purchase information systems equipment, solve problems using information technology and understand the limitations of information technology.These new roles of people working in firms require a much deeper understanding of information systems and information technology than ever before.

One solid discovery of the past years is that information technology alone is not sufficient to bring changes in productivity or personal effectiveness. We need to redesign organisations,create new roles for people, and develop new ideas about how to use information technology wisely in order to achieve higher levels of productivity.From this point of view , a firm’s procedures, values, and plans, as well as the training it provides its employees , are equally as important as its technologies.

Regardless of size, organisations must rethink what they are doing and adapt.The challenges posed by new customers, competitors, technology, political relations ,economic conditions , government regulations,and labor force characteristics call for many kinds of changes, such as improved production technics, new products and services, new administrative systems and new employee skills.All these imply a need for ability to identify problems and opportunities and how to use information systems to help business manage change.We can see here the strategic significance of the new information technology.

More and more,most of the companies are engaged in a global economic competition for resources, markets and incomes .To compete successfully and effectively in such conditions they will need  apropriate information technology.

Even if a person works in business, science, education or government he will be expected to assimilate information about a dizzying array of new hardware,software, and telecommunications developments.He has to keep up with the rapid pace of change for tomorrow that means to prepare for the twenty-first century.Moreover this becomes more and more difficult as long as information technology has changed so rapidly.

Information technologies are also giving individuals new tools for improving their lives .In conclusion, whether you are a grafic artist,professional musician,lawyer,business manager or small business owner, you will have have to  work with and through information technology.

In today’s system environment ,it is important to understand that information is more than just computers.The computer is  one of many technical elements in a network of devices that may include”smart”printers, facsimile machines , personal digital communicators,and a host of other devices.Host of new functions have appeared:multimedia, image processing, graphics, desktop publishing, communications, and group support to name only a few.

In the future it is believed that in order to achieve breakthroughs in productivity and to gain a competitive advantage we must redesign, rethink and reconceptualize how to produce and deliver products or services.For example ,I  will discuss several activities reshaped by the information technology.

1.The New Library: No Books

How can this be a library if there are no books?The answer lies in new computer technology.A computer scans the pages of each book and stores them in digital form so  that they can be retrieved by computer.The card catalog is gone, too.Instead patrons can search for book titles, authors, and subjects on the computer.The electronic libraries will transform knowledge acquisition and research.When people “go to the library” they won’t have to go anywhere.With new communications technologies,the library will come to them via a desktop computer.People will be able to sit at home browsing catalog and shelves.

            To obtain original documents from different universities, tap in a request and the material you want will appear on your screen – text, pictures ,graphs.You will even be able to hear oral history collections through earphones.Computerized libraries eliminate redundant effort.If computerized information could be sent cheaply from one library to another, there would be little need for libraries to maintain the same collection of books,articles, or documents. If one university kept a particular documentation , there would be no need for other universities to keep their own copies.Libraries would no longer have to keep dozens of copies of items on reserve for many people, since many readers could read them simultaneously on the computer.

            Without the need to shelve hundreds of thousands of books, it is likely that electronic libraries will be much smaller than those of today.It may take decades before all libraries are electronic, but the move is on – many libraries are running out of space.

The money planned for building new storing places can be used instead  to scan and store old books.This frees up enough shelf space for all the new material the library acquires yearly – at far less cost than new buildings and bookshelves.

2.The Bank becomes a High-Tech Boutique

Banks have been traditional and conservative institutions, but they too have been affected by the winds of change.The Bank branch of the future has a new look :posters in the window have been replaced by the by free-standing triangular advertising kiosks.Tellers are still present,in a smaller number.Instead the number of automated teller machines is double.The system can rapidly provide customer records and print out application forms and issue bank cards within minutes.The new system also lets tellers  balance their books within minutes at the end of the business day, a process that previously had taken an hour or more.The Bank uses the time saved to expand branch hours.Eventually the bank expects the new technology to do away with deposit slips.

Branches of a Bank  has its own customer files.Many customers appear many times and in multiple locations in these customer files.When a large client with international holdings asks for a quick picture of its current investments, that customer does not want to wait while the Branch collects data from various customer files around the globe.

Another hot emerging computer technology with banking application are neural networks.Banks can use a neural network system to detect credit card fraud.A Fraud Detection System is taught to recognize irregular charge card patterns and to rate the situation on a fraud possibility scale.Here is how it works:suppose Mr.X routinely uses his credit card twice a month, once at a restaurant and once at a supermarket.Suddenly someone who has gained acces to her credit card and card number runs up for five purchases in one week’s time.The next time Mr.X presents his card to a shop the Fraud Detection System matches the current buying patterns against his charging patterns and returns either a denial or asks for positive identification.Investigators can usually follow up on suspicious transactions in less than 2 hours. 

3.The Hotel of the Future: It’s here

When you arrive at the hotel you introduce yourself by slipping your smart card into a doorway slot. The smart card looks like a credit card , but its tiny embedded circuitry can store and record information such as a person’s name , purchase transactions , and bank account .Forget about the check-in desk.You can go straight to your room, which was assigned earlier by computer.The door to your room opens when you say your name.After you unpack, you open the TV and hold a videoconference with your colleagues 2000 km away.After the meeting you switch to another channel to shop for a gift. Just before turning in, you use the videophone to see how the family is doing while you are on the road.

When a guest makes a reservation, an information system collects pertinent information such as the credit card number and time of arrival, reducing dramatically check-in time.

Information technology will help the hotel to personalize customer service in new ways.Rapid advances in computer hardware and software make customer service easier – and more fun.Voice recognition technology will allow customers to speak into a computer when opening a room at the hotel of the future instead of pushing buttons or typing.This technology has matured and is predicted to be widespread soon, at banks,restaurants, hotels,libraries, and mail-order houses.The voice and personality of the “personal servant” could be designed to mimic Marilyn Monroe or Madonna or anyone the guest choses.

4.The Birth of the Virtual Office

Many companies are today in the process of eliminating its offices.Its information workers are being using laptop computers with modems plus digital car phones,printers and  sofisticated software. But where do they work if their offices disapears?They can work at home, or at the client’s office,  in the car ,in hotel lobbies and airport terminals.Frequently refered as “virtual mobile office” -for some employees, this is the realization of a dream, flexibility and control over one’s own time.For the company it usually means reduced office space and thereby reduced costs. Also another motivation for companies to built virtual offices is to force  sales staff to spend more time with customers,and  to make salespersons more strategic marketers ,more involved in the business.The sales force will be able to  download inventory status and order information faster while forecast details will be quicker uploaded .The key is the sofisticated IS. 

All these examples illustrates how effective information systems and information technology can be if they are deliberately designed to fit business needs .To do this, both business and technical specialists must have a clear understanding of the nature of the business in which they work and and how information technology can be used to make the business more productive and competitive.Business people need to became more aware of the potential offered by information systems, and computer and information technology experts need to became more aware of the business environment.

Bibliografy

1.Bulkeley M.William “ Libraries shift from books to computers” The Wall Street Journal

2.Bylinsky Gene “Computers that learn by doing” Computerworld

3.Laudon C. Kenneth, Laudon Jane Price – “Information Systems – A problem solving approach”

4.Lochhead Christopher – Field force Automation

5.Porter E. Michael and Victor E. Millar – “How information gives you competitive advantage” –Harvard Business Revue

6.Rice Faye –“The new rules of Superlative Service” Fortune