Information technology (IT), which includes computing and telecommunications technology, has revolutionized the way people communicate and work. Although IT is but one of the components in a telecommuting system, it is the enabling force of the telecommuting movement.
Depending on the types of jobs, telecommuting need not require sophisticated computing and telecommunications hardware and software. However, an increasing number of telecommuters are taking advantage of the latest computer, voice-mail, fax, e-mail, workflow systems, and Internet/Web technologies.
Web and Other TechnologiesThe potential of the Web as a universal front-end should further revolutionize the telecommuting movement. The Web technology is still evolving. Security and performance are two major issues that need to be resolved before organizations and telecommuters can fully take advantages of the Web technology. Nevertheless, many organizations have adopted an open distributed computing environment and are using the Web as their intranet. These intranet systems are enabling employees to use the Web to access corporate databases, send and receive e-mail messages, perform scheduling tasks, conduct teleconferencing, or simply telephone another employee. As long as the employee can access the Web, the physical location of the employee is immaterial.
Employees can also access corporate local area networks (LANs) and use groupware applications to perform needed tasks. Groupware software such as Lotus Notes, Novell GroupWise, and Microsoft Exchange includes functions such as e-mail and workflow systems. E-mail enables electronic communications while a workflow system automates processes and documents routing as well as facilitates collaborative work. Such a system is not subject to the confines of departmental boundaries. It allows a workgroup to be formed across departmental boundaries and allows members of the group to share information anytime and/or anywhere. It is questionable whether the Web can totally replace Notes or Exchange because groupware such as Notes provides robust applications development environment. Programmers can use Notes to develop applications that meet users’ requirement easily.
Advances in hardware computing and communications technologies have also contributed to the telecommunications movement. Integrated Services Digital Networks (ISDN), Asynchronous Transmission Mode (ATM), and Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) not only deliver high-bandwidth connections to internet users, but also increase the security, reliability, and performance of networks. On the other hand, advances in wireless technology have made mobile computing and communications an integral part of telecommuting.
ConclusionDespite these rapid advances in information technology software and hardware, human resources departments have been reluctant to embrace state-of-the-art information technology until recently. However, effective management of telecommuters requires both information technology literacy and knowledge of the characteristics of telecommuters.
These characteristics are discussed in other articles in this series:Managing Out of Bounds Telecommuting
Value and Telecommuting.
Other article(s) in this series:
Telecommuting
This article has been extracted and modified from Chrispin, B.R. & Fisher, D.M. (1997). Managing telecommuters: An out-of-bounds experience. "Proceedings of the 26th Annual Meeting of the Western Decision Sciences Institute, Hawaii, USA. March 25-29, 1997."