Learning and Technology

Why should IT’s impact on learning matter? January 23, 2008

We’ve met quite a few owners in the emerging markets of Eastern Europe and Asia, and many of their managers, who remain quite skeptical of the real impact of information technology on human productivity. in their companies. Sure, they feel that IT is necessary for administrative work; they grudgingly purchase applications to handle the company’s formal accounting, correspondence, and basic documentation. The possibility that information technology can help their employees learn about the business isn’t on their agenda, for they “know” that IT has little strategic value. Why should they see the interest of buying into web-based applications, collaborative technologies, or even social media?

Perhaps information technology isn’t worth anything more than the degree to which companies value their own employees. To begin with, many owners and managers feel that labor in emerging markets is both cheap and abundant. With so many people looking for work, whether it be for manual labor or more highly skilled jobs, why shouldn’t labor costs be kept to a minimum? Why invest in anything more than basic training when it’s so easy find substitute sources of labor for your current employees? Why pay them anymore than the market minimum when there are so many others that are willing to work for less? Information technology can do very little for a workforce that is unmotivated, disillusioned and even bitter with work.

Work itself in many companies is seen as nothing more than a series of manual tasks. People are paid to produce things and follow directions, not to actually innovate in the way they respond to customer challenges. In these firms information work is looked upon with distain : the work force is there to produce, while management is there to cut costs and institute best practices. Strategy isn’t based on information gathered from the bottom-up; company policies are defined by management and then communicated from the top down. In such cases, information technology is simply ciment for command and control.

In these organizations, there is little link between information and trust. Information doesn’t circulate freely within the company, people only need to know what they need to know to do their jobs. Decision-making is the job of top management, and is based on intuition, relationships, and/or privileged information. Customers learn little about company practices, and management learns little more about customers beyond how much they are willing to purchase.

In such companies information technology offers very little strategic value, and management has all the “proof” it needs. Computers are used to store data on products, machines and structures; whereas the knowledge of people; processes and networks is safely stored in the minds of the owners and a few trusted advisors. Current computer applications, or even those installed years ago, largely cover organizational needs without management having to figure a use for collaboration, synchronization, or social media.

Perhaps the key to using information technology to enhance business value isn’t found in the features and functions of technology, but in helping management invest in its own workforce. Investing in people can lead to a sense of purpose, motivation, and commitment to the organization. Focusing value propositions on information and services rather than bare bone products has proven to be powerful value levers in modern economies. Rethinking organizational structures to become more customer focused, if not customer centric may well be a key to success in creating an agile, profitable organization in the future. A new breed of information technology based on flexible approaches to collaboration, synchronization, and business practice correspond to this new mindset. Perhaps information technology is worth as much as the degree to which management values its own employees.