I.

Module Number: 9

II. Module Title: Technology Issues

III. Brief Introduction of the Module:

This module covers understanding of the nature of technology,

technology influence on the economy, technology’s influence on the

economy, technology’s influence on society, and strategic

implementation of responsibility for technology.

I. Module Outcomes:

Upon completion of this module you must be able to:

1. to examine the nature and characteristics of technology

2. To explore the economic impact of technology

3. To examine technology’s influence to the society, and to provide a

framework for the strategic management of technology issue.

Lesson No: 1

Lesson Title: The Nature of Technology

This topic will discuss about the definition of technology, its

characteristics of technology, and effects of technology.

LESSON OBJECTIVES:

At the end of this lesson you will be able to:

 To define technology.
 To know the characteristics of technology.

 To assess the effect of technology.

Discussion:

Technology relates to the application of knowledge, including the processes and

application to solve problems, perform tasks, and create a new methods to obtain
desired outcomes. It include intellectual knowledge as well as the physical systems
devised to achieve business and personal objective.
The evolution of civilization is tied to developments in technology. Through
technological advances, human have moved from a hunter-gatherer existence to a
stable agricultural economy to the Industrial Revolution. Today, our economy is
based more on information technology and services than on manufacturing. This
technology is changing the way we take vacations, have dinner, do homework,
track criminals, know where we are, and maintain friendships. Technology has
made it possible to go to work or attend meetings without leaving the house. Our
new economy is based on these dynamic technological changes in our society.

CHARACTERISTICS OF TECHNOLOGY
Some of the characteristics of technology include the dynamics, reach, and
self-sustaining nature of technological progress.

1. Dynamics
It relate to the constant change that often challenges the structure of social
institutions. The automobile, airplane, and personal computer all created
major changes ad influenced government, the family, social relationships,
education, the military, and leisure. These changes can happen so fast that
they require significant adjustments in the political, religion, and economic
structures of society.
Some societies have difficulty adjusting to this rate of change to the point
that they even attempt to legislate against new technologies to isolate themselves.
In the past, China tried to isolate its citizens from innovations such as the
Internet and social trends that result from the application of new technology to
music, movies, and other carries of culture. But even China responded to
the new Internet technology by issuing online advertising licenses in a country
where advertising has not been widely accepted, allowing the Internet to used
for market research purposes, and permitting the establishment of over 100,000
cybercafes. Since then, Internet use in China has grown, with the number of
ranks number one in the world. However, the government utilizes a number
of strategies for reminding Chinese citizens and monitoring their behavior when
 they are surfing on the Internet, including the use of “cybercops” who are able
to have real-time, online discussion with Internet users.
The future dynamics of technology are challenging many traditional products,
including books. E link and Xerox, for example, have developed thin paper
and plastics films that can function as screens with digital ink. Users of the
technology are still able to turn the pages as with a traditional book or
newspapers, but the pages can be reloaded with a new article or best-seller
through wire transmission. Ultimately, Amazon.com introduced the Kindle in
2007, a hardware device that utilizes E Ink and allows the user to download and
read books and other materials. As this example demonstrates, new models in
contrast to traditional ways of receiving information are accelerating change in
every aspect of life. In many cases, a new technology may become obsolete
very shortly after its introduction. Thus, the dynamic characteristic of
technology keeps challenging society to adjust.

2. Reach
Reach relates to the broad nature of technology as it moves through society.
For instance, every community in both developed and developing countries has
been influenced by cellular and wireless telephones. The ability to make a call
from almost any location has a positive effects, but negative side effects include
increases in traffic accidents and noise pollution as well as fears about potential
health risks. Through telecommunications, businesses, families, and
governments have been linked from far distances. Satellites allow instants
visual and voice electronic connections almost anywhere in the world. These
technologies have reduced the need for in-person meetings via business travel.
Web conferencing and video conferencing are becoming more popular
alternatives, although it may be difficult for technology to fully replace the
nature of face-to-face encounters. Even though collaborations technology
continues to grow in lieu of business travel, companies recognize that some
occasions demand the face-to-face interaction, such as meeting a new client for
the first time, dealing with certain cultures, and discussing significant
financial and legal transactions.

3. Self-Sustaining Nature
Relates to fact that technology acts as a catalyst to spur even faster
development. As innovations are introduced, they stimulate the needs for
more technology to facilitate further development. For example, the Internet
has created the need for broadband transmission of electric signals through phone
line (DSL), satellites, and cable. Broadband allows connections to the
Internet to be fifty times faster than thought a traditional telephone modem,
allows users to download large files, and creates the opportunity for a rich
multimedia experience. As broadband continues to reach more businesses and
households, other technologies will have to advance to keep up with the ability
to access so much data quickly. In the future, it could be possible to have
 broadband transmission to computers through electric lines. This means that
users could have a broadband connection anywhere that a computer can be
plugged in.
The invention of the personal computer (PC) resulted in changes in personal
financial management related to banking, insurance, taxes and stock trading.
Technology starts a change process that creates new opportunities for new
technologies in every industry segment or personal life experience that it touches.
At some point, there is even a multiplier effect that causes an even greater
demand for more change to improve performance. In the marketing sense,
technology is not really fulfilling a new need; it is simply filling an old need
more efficiently and effectively.

EFFECT OF TECHNOLOGY
Civilizations must harness and adapt to changes in technology to maintain a
desired quality life. The cellphone, for example, has dramatically altered
communication patterns, particularly in developing countries where there are few
telephone lines. Innovations can also change entire industries. Companies like
IBM are creating super computers that will be 2 million times more powerful than
today’s PCs. The computers are revolutionizing financial, markets, as stock
exchanges are now able to handle very large orders, electronically, perform
complex trading strategies, and manage many more transactions each days. Such
example illustrate how technology can provide new methods to accomplish tasks that
were once thought impossible. These advancements create new processes, new
products, and economic progress and ultimately have profound effects on society.
The global economy experienced the greater acceleration of technological
advancement that ever occurred, propelling increased productivity, output,
corporate profits, and stock prices over the last decade. At the same time, the
economic conditions that accompanied this period of technical innovation resulted in
increased job opportunities. The traditional work environment has changed because
telecommunications reduce the need for face-to-face interaction. Through online
shopping, the Internet can also reduce the need for trips to a shopping center and has
increased the amount of business done by UPS and FedEx. In addition, the ease
and number of business-to-business transaction have expanded.
However, there are concerns that dramatic shifts in the acceleration and
innovations derived from technology may be spurring imbalances not only in the
economy but also in our social existence. The flow of technology into developing
countries can serve as a method to jump-start economic development. On the other,
a failure to share technology or provide methods to disseminate technology could
cause a major divide in the quality of life. Limited resources in underdeveloped
countries and the lack of a technology infrastructure will lead to many social,
political, and economic problems in the future.
Although information technology can improve the quality of life for society,
there are concerns about the negative consequences of the reduction of privacy and
the emergence of cybercrime. At some point, abrupt adjustment could occur from
changes in their our economy, and members of society could become unhappy about
changes in their lifestyles or the role of business and government in their lives.
Public advocacy organizations are helping by participating in charting the future of
computer networks to integrate these technological innovations into the way we live.

Lesson No: 2

Lesson Title: The Technology’s Influence on the Economy

This topic will discuss about the economic growth and employment,

and economic concerns about the use of technology.

LESSON OBJECTIVES:

At the end of this lesson you will be able to:

 To know the economic growth and employment

 To identify the concern about the use of technology

Discussion:

ECONOMIC GROWTH AND EMPLOYMENT

Over the past fifty years, technology has been a major factor in the economic
growth. Investments in educational technologies, increased support for basic
government research, and continued commitment to the mission of research and
development (R&D) in both public and private sectors have become major drivers of
economic growth. Through deficit reduction, lower interest rates, tax credits,
and liberalization of export controls, the government established the economic
infrastructure for using technology partnerships among corporations, governments,
and nonprofit organizations has also been a key component of growth.
For example, the ability to access information in real time through the
electronic data interface among retailers, wholesalers, and manufacturers has
reduced delivery lead times as well as the hours required to produce and deliver
products. Likewise, product design times and costs have declined because
computer modeling has minimized the need for architectural drafters and some
engineers required building projects. Medical diagnoses have become faster, more
thorough, and more accurate thanks to access to information and record over the
Internet, hastening treatment and eliminating unnecessary procedures.
 The relationship between businesses and consumers already is being changed by
the expanding opportunities for e-commerce, the sharing of business information,
maintaining business relationships, and conducting business transactions by means
of telecommunications networks. Business-to-business e-commerce involving
companies buying from and selling to each other online is the fastest more growing
segment of e-commerce. It has facilitated supply chain management as more
companies outsource purchasing over the Internet business, and trade securities.
The forces unleashed by the Internet are particularly important in business-to-business
relationship, where the improved quantity, reliability, and timeliness of
information have reduced uncertainties.

ECONOMIC CONCERNS ABOUT THE USE OF TECHNOLOGY

Despite the staggering economic growth fostered by technological advancements,
there are economic downsides to technology. Small businesses in particular may
have difficulty taking advantage of the opportunities surrounding the Internet and
other information technology (IT). The ability to purchase other types of technology
may affect the nature of competition and the success of various types of businesses.
Experts recommend several solutions to IT problems in small business:
1. Focus on core competencies while seeking to explore outsourcing options.
2. Take advantage of free software and other offerings.
3. Explore the benefits of “cloud computing” where applications are utilized and
maintained on subscription basis.
4. Consider IT infrastructure alternatives to capital expenditures through hosted
hardware, software, and services.

A key concern today with advancing technology is the digital divide that occurs
when certain groups have limited access to the latest technology, especially
high-speed Internet services at home, and therefore derive fewer benefits from it.
The divide, however, is grounded in a much more basic concern: Who can
afford to purchase a home computer and the access services? While the early debate
on this issue centered on the gap between rich and poor populations, it is now
framed as the gap between those who are information rich and information poor.
Also debate is access issues to for certain population, such as persons with
disabilities and people who are barely literate, whether the latest technology is
available mainly in affluent neighborhoods, and accommodations for senior citizens.
There are several ways to address these problem that are the inevitable
consequences of accelerating change in the technology drivers of the new economy.
One way is to examine the outcomes associated with the attempts to use technology.
Another way to address the negative consequences of accelerating new technology is
to assess problems related to its impact on competition. Restraining competition,
domestic or international, to suppress competitive turmoil is a major concern of
governments. Allowing anticompetitive practices, price fixing, or other unfair
methods of competition would be counterproductive to rising standards of living.
Lesson No: 3

Lesson Title: Technology’s Influence on Society

This topic will discuss about the Internet, privacy, intellectual

property, and health and biotechnology

LESSON OBJECTIVES:

At the end of this lesson you will be able to:

 To know about internet, privacy, intellectual property, and health

biotechnology.

Discussion:

Information and telecommunication technology minimizes the borders between

countries, businesses, and people and allows people to overcome the physical
limitations of time and space. Technological advances also enable people to acquire
customized goods and services that cost less and are of higher quality than ever
imagined.

THE INTERNET

Year Event Significance

1836 Telegraph The telegraph revolutionized human (tele)
communications with Morse Code, a series of
dots and dashes used to communicate between
humans.
1858-1866 Transatlantic cable Transatlantic cable allowed direct instantaneous
communication across the Atlantic Ocean.
1876 Telephone The telephone created voice communication,
and telephone exchanges provide the backbone
of Internet connections today.
1957 USSR launched Sputnik was the first artificial Earth satellite and
Sputnik the start of global communications.
1962-1968 Packet switching The Internet relies on packet-switching networks
that split data into tiny packets that may take
different routes to a destination.
1971 Beginning of the People communicate over the Internet with a
Internet program to send messages across a distributed
network.
1973 Global networking Ethernet outlined-this is how local networks are
became a reality basically connected today, and getaways define
how large networks (maybe of different
architecture) can be connected together.
1991 World Wide Web User-friendly interface to World Web
with text-base established.
menu-driven
interface to access
Internet resources
1992 Multimedia The term surfing the Internet was coined.
changed the face of
the Internet
1993 World Wide Web Mosaic, a user-friendly Graphical Front End to
revolution begins the World Wide Web, made the Web more
accessible and evolved into Netscape
1995 Internet service Online dial-up system (Computer/Serve,
providers advanced America Online, and Prodigy) began to
provide Internet access
2000 Broadband Provides fast access to multimedia and large text
emerged files.
2002 Wireless expanded Devices for wireless linkages to the Internet
grew rapidly
2004 Broadband Media companies started selling music and video
expanded online. E-commerce continued to escalate
2004 Social networking At Harvard University, Mark Zuckerberg
began launched Facebook, which now has over 200
million users
2006 Social networking Twitter was created. Unlike lengthy blog posts.
transformed Twitter messages are limited to 140 character
2008 Google turned 10 The company that began with a search engine
also dominates online advertising and has a
leading presence in online mapping, webmail,
and online document collaboration
2008 Mobile Internet In the United States, there are 95 million
took off mobile Internet subscribers and 40 million active
users. U.S. mobile penetration is 15.6%,
compared to 12.9% in the UK.
2009 The ultimate tweet Actor Ashton Kutcher became the first person on
Twitter to have a million people subscribing to
his “tweets”
Source Adapted from “A Short of the Internet,” http.//www.sean.co.uk 2009
PRIVACY
The extraordinary growth of the Internet has generated issues related to privacy.
Businesses have long tracked consumers’ shopping habits with little controversy.
However, observing the contents of a consumer’s shopping cart or the process a
consumer goes through when choosing a box of cereal generally involves the
collection of aggregate data rather than specific personally identifying data. And
although some consumers’ use of credit cards, shopping cards, and coupons
involves giving up a certain degree of anonymity in the shopping process,
consumers could still choose to remain anonymous by paying cash.

The Fair Information Practices

1. Notice. Web sites should provide full disclosure of what personal information is
collected and how it is used.
2. Choice. Consumers at a Web site should be given choice about how their
personal information is used.
3. Access. Once consumers have disclosed personal information, they should
have access to it
4. Security. Personal information disclosed to Web sites should be secured to
ensure the information stays private.
5. Redress. Consumer should have a way to resolve problems that may arise
regarding sites, use, and disclosure of their personal information.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
Internet users and others are concerned about protecting their right to property
they create, including songs, movies, books, and software. Intellectual
property consists of the ideas and creative materials developed to solve problems,
carry out applications, educate, and entertain others. It is the result, or end
product, of the creative process.
Intellectual property (IP) is generally protected by patents and copyrights.
However, technological advancements are increasingly challenging the ownership
of such property.
There are many Intellectual Property losses in United State. Most cases involve
one of the following scenarios:
1. Inadvertent actions by current or former employees, such as oral seminar
presentations, discussions at an exhibit booth, and electronically misdirected fax
and/or email.
2. Deliberate actions by current or former employees, such as unauthorized
physical access to information and deliberate disclosure to unauthorized parties.
3. Deliberate actions by individuals/entities in trusted relationships other than
employee relationships, such as the exploitation of vendor-client relationships,
subcontractor knowledge, joint ventures, and relationships.
4. Deliberate actions or activities by outsiders - those without a trusted relationship,
such as data mining of open-source data and public information and the practice of
hiring away employees and placing them in a position where they must use trade
secrets from former employer.

Threats to Electronic Document Security

Type of Loss How Loss Occurs
Employee theft Employee with legitimate access to confidential
documents passes information to competitors,
journalist, or government agencies.
Accident distribution Email allows documents to be transmitted anywhere in
the world within seconds. A careless employee can
send documents to the wrong parties with virtually no
paper trail to follow.
Hackers Companies make a significant investment in firewalls
and other security software and system. Even so,
determined hackers can still cause security breaches.
No perceived value An employee may pass on information that he or she
considers valueless, not realizing the continued
sensitivity of the information
Change in trust An employee may who is planning to leave the firm
may take sensitive documents to a new job with a
competitor.
Lost devices There are countless stories of notebook PCs and storage
devices (floppy disks, fish drives, and zip disks) that
where stolen or mislaid in hotels or airports
Source: Edward H. Freeman, “Document Theft. Appropriate Responses.”

Facts About Copyright

 A copyright notice is not necessary to protect private and original work created
after April1,1989.
 Granting work to the public domain relinquishes all of the copyright holders
rights.
 The “fair use” exemption to copyright law allows for commentary, parody,
news reporting, as well as research and education without seeking the copyright
holder’s permission, but giving acknowledgment is appropriate
 Legal defense of a copyright is not necessary for maintaining the copyright -
unlike trademarks, which may be damaged if not defended.
 Derivative works, based on another copyrighted work, come under the control
of the original copyright holder. A notable exception is parody - making fun of
an original work
 Most copyright litigation is civil rather than criminal in nature, but criminal
litigation is possible with more than ten copies of an original work and a
valuation of $2,500 (representing a commercial copyright violation)

HEALTH AND BIOTECHNOLOGY

The advance of life-supporting technologies has raised a number of medical and
health issues related to technology. Bioethics refer to the study of ethical issues in
the fields of medical treatment and research, including medicine, nursing, law,
philosophy, and technology, though today medical ethics is also recognized as a
separate discipline. All of these fields have been influenced by rapid changes in
technology that require new approaches to solving issues. New genetic technologies
promise to give medical ethics an even greater role in social decision making. For
example, the Human Genome Project, a fifteen-year, $3 billion federally funded
program to decode the entire human genetic map, identified a number of genes that
may contribute to particular diseases or traits.
Because so many of our resources are spent on health care, the role of the
private sector in determining the quality of health care is an important consideration
to society. The pharmaceutical industry, for example, has been sharply criticized
by politicians, health-care organizations, and consumers because of escalating
drug costs. On the other hand, pharmaceutical companies claim that the
development of new lifesaving drugs and test requires huge expenditures in research
and development.

1. Biotechnology
The biotechnology industry emerged nearly forty years ago when Stanley
Cohen and Herbert Boyer published a new recombinant DNA technique, a
method of making proteins, such as human insulin, in cultured cells under
controlled manufacturing conditions. Boyer went on to co-found Genetech,
which today is biotechnology’s largest company by market capitalization. From
these insights, other scientists set out to map the human genome, a
fifteen-year project to discover all of the estimated 20,000-25,000 human genes
and make them accessible for further biological study. The ability to map the
human genome has spurred over 200 new vaccines and medicines and many more
are being tested in product trials. These innovations are changing the way that
cancer, diabetes, AIDS, arthritis, and multiple sclerosis are treated.
Biotech innovations in other fields, such as manufacturing, have led to
cleaner process that produce less waste and use less energy and water. Most
laundry detergents marketed in the United contain biotechnology-based enzymes
that combine better with bleach, are biodegradable, and reduce the need for
hot water. Law enforcement officials use DNA finger printing, biotech
process, to catch criminals, increase conviction rates, and forensic science.
The government and private sector often partner with academic researchers
and nonprofit institutes to develop new technologies in health and biotechnology.
Research range from mapping the human genetic code to finding drugs that cure
cancer to genetically modifying food products. Many of these collaborative
efforts to improve health involve scientists, funded globally by a variety of
sources.
Cloning the replication of organism that are genetically identical to their
parents, has become a highly controversial topic in biotechnology and bioethics.
Human cloning has raised unanswered questions about the future of human
 reproduction. Since Scottish scientists first cloned Dolly the sheep, scientist
have also successfully cloned mice, cows, pigs, goats, and cats but with
mixed reports about the health of the cloned progeny. While cloning human
would appear to be the final step of scientific reproduction, indisputable proof
of the first human clone will actually serve as a starting point for many years of
research. Like in vitro fertilization, human clones will need to grow up before
scientists know the effect that this process will have on a person’s physical,
mental, and emotional states. Cloning has the potential to revolutionize the
treatment of diseases and conditions such as Parkinson’s disease and cancer.
Cloning technology might also allow doctors to create replacement organs,
thereby lengthening human lives. Some scientists believe that cloning could be
used to re-create extinct or endangered species in a last-ditch conservation effort.
The ability to create and modify life processes is often generated through
business and government collaborative research; the results of such research
may contribute to life-altering products of tomorrow.
Despite the potential of this technology, many people have negative views
about cloning. Some contend that it is unethical to “meddle with nature,”
whereas others believe that cloning is wrong because every time is is used to treat
a patient, a clone human embryo is destroyed, one that might otherwise have
been capable of life. Some people argue that cloning of human beings should be
banned, and several bills have been introduced in Congress and various state
legislatures to do just that.

2. Generically Modified Foods

As many as 800 million people around the world don’t have enough to eat.
Increasing food production to satisfy the growing demand for food without
increasing land use will require farmers to achieve significant increases in
productivity. Genetically modified (GM) foods offer a way to quickly improve
crop characteristic such as yield, pest resistance, or herbicide tolerance,
often to a degree not possible with traditional methods Further, GM crops can
be manipulated to produce completely artificial substances, from the precursors
of plastics to consumable vaccines.

Genetically Modified Foods

Products Genetic Modification Purpose
Tomatoes, peas, peppers, Controlled ripening Allow shipping of
tropical fruit, broccoli, vine-ripened tomatoes,
raspberries, melons improves shelf life, quality
Tomatoes, potatoes, corn, Insect resistance Reduces insecticide use
lettuce, coffee, cabbage
family, apple
Peppers, tomatoes, Fungal resistance Reduces fungicide use
cucumbers
Potatoes, tomatoes, Viral resistance Reduces diseases caused
cantaloupe, squash, by plant viruses and,
cucumber, corn, oilseed because insects carry
rape (canola), soybeans, viruses, reduces use of
grapes insecticides
Soybeans, tomatoes, corn, Herbicide tolerance Improves weed control
oilseed rape (canola),
soybeans, wheat
Corn, sunflowers, Improved nutrition Increases amount of
soybeans, and other essential amino acids,
plants vitamins, or other nutrients
in the host plants.
Oilseed rape (canola), Heat Stability Improves the processing
peanut quality, permits new food
uses for healthier oils
Source Food Marketing Institute. “Bioengineered Food and You”

Lesson No: 4

Lesson Title: Strategic Implementation of Responsibility for Technology

This topic will discuss about the role of government, the role of

business, and strategic technology assessment.

LESSON OBJECTIVES:

At the end of this lesson you will be able to:

 To know the role of government, business, and strategic technology

assessment.

Discussion:
To accrue the maximum benefits from the technologies driving the new economy,
many parties within society have important roles to play. While the media and
public continue to debate the issues associated with technology, the government
must take steps to provide support for continued technological advancements and
establish regulations, as needed, to ensure that the benefits of technology apply to
competition, the environment, and human welfare. Various stakeholder,
including employees, customers, and special interest, as well as the general
public, can influence the use and control of technology through public policy
process. Businesses also have a significant role to play are developed, refined,
and introduced to the market through the research and development and marketing
activities of business. Businesses that aspire to be socially responsible must monitor
the impact of technology and hairness it for the good of all.

THE ROLE OF GOVERNMENT

With an economy that is increasingly driven by technology, the government
must maintain the basic infrastructure and support for technology in our society.The
government explores way that technology can improve the quality of life and they
also serve as a watchdog to ensure that technology benefits society, not criminals.
Computer crimes currently share sentencing factor is the amount of financial loss
inflicted, and addition points are awarded for using ID or ripping off more than
ten victims.
Cybercriminals, for example, many commercial users of the Internet are
implementing new technologies in ways that our existing legal system could not have
conceived of when our laws were framed. Hollywood film studios are concerned
that new technology will allow computer users to copy trade, entire videos on the
Internet, much like they traded music recording via Napster and other peer-to-peer
file-sharing services. The recording and movie industry saw the threat of this
technology when Shawn Fanning, the creator of the peer-to-peer file-swapping
service, was a child.
New laws related to breakthrough technologies that change the nature of
competitors are constantly being considered. Usually, the issues of privacy,
ownership of intellectual property, health, and safety, environmental impact,
competition, and consumer welfare are the legislative platforms for changing the
legal and regulatory system.

ROLE OF BUSINESS
Business, like government, is involved in both reactive and proactive attempts
to market and make effective use of technology. Reactive concerns relate to issues
that have legal and/or ethical implications as well as issues of productivity,
customer welfare, or other stakeholder concerns. Many large firms have suffered
public embarrassment, legal bills, compensation claims, and clean-up costs
when employees seek inappropriate materials online, send e-mails to people they
shouldn’t, accidentally circulate confidential information outside a business, or
spread a computer virus. Some companies are purchasing software that assists
employees in managing the Internet time they spend on personal activities.
Concerns about undesirable employee use of telecommunications equipment represent
reactions to changes in information technology that affect the work-place. Even
though companies may be legally within their right to monitor and control the use of
certain websites by employees, such control raises strategic issues related to trust
and the type of long-run relationships that firms want to have with their employees.
 On the other hand, a strategic, proactive approach to technology will consider
its impact on social responsibility. Proactive management of technology requires
developing plan for utilizing resources to take advantage of competitive opportunities.
For example, there is great demand for high-speed Internet connections including
modems, DSL, and other broadband connections, because computing speed and
power have moved beyond current bandwidth capacity. Many telecommunications
firms are racing to install and market the new infrastructure for broadband
connections to satisfy the demand. Today, new technologies like wireless
connections provides even greater connection speeds, and the opportunity for new
companies to provide broadband service will vanish. With competition increasing,
companies are spending more time and resources to establish technology-based
competitive advantages. The strategic approach to technology requires an overall
mission, strategy, and coordination of all functional activities, including concern
for social responsibility, to have an effective program. To promote social
responsible use of technology, a firm’s policies, rules, and standards must be
integrated into its corporate culture. Reducing undesirable behavior in this area is a
goal that is no different from the goals of reducing costs, increasing profits, or
improving quality that are aggressively enforced and integrated into the corporate
culture in order to be effective in improving appropriate behavior within the
organization.
Top managers must consider the social consequences of technology in the
strategic planning process. When all stakeholders are involved in the process,
everyone can better understand the need for and requirements of responsible
development and use of technology. There will always be conflicts in making the
right choices, but through participation in decision making, the best solutions can
be found. Individual participants in this process should not abdicate their personal
responsibility as concerned members of society. Organizations that are concerned
about the consequences of their decisions create an environment for different opinions
on important issues.

STRATEGIC TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT

To calculate the effect of new technologies, companies can employ a procedure
know as technology assessment to foresee the effects new products and processes will
have on their firm’s operation, on other business organization, and on society in
general. This assessment is a tool that managers can use to evaluate their firm’s
performance and to chart strategic courses of action to respond to a new technologies.
With information obtained through a technology assessment or audit, managers can
estimate whether the benefits of adopting a specific technology outweigh costs to the
firm and to society at large. The assessment process can help companies to ensure
compliance with government regulations related to technology. Remember that one
of the four components of social responsibility is legal compliance. Because
technology is evolving rapidly, even attorney’s are struggling to keep up with the
legal implications of these advances. Social institutions, including religion,
education, the law, and business, have to respond to change changing
technology by adopting or developing new approaches to address the evolving issues.
A strategic technology assessment or audit can help organization understand the
issues and develop appropriate and responsible responses to them.
Finally, the organization should focus on the positive aspects of technology to
determine hose it can be used to improve the work environment, its products, and
the general welfare of society. Technology can be used to reduce pollution,
encourage recycling, and save energy. Also, information can be made available
to customer to help them maximize the benefits of products. Technology has been
and will continue to be a major force that can improve society.