IT Reduces the Number of Middle Managers

IT makes managers more productive, and it increases the number of employees who can report to a single manager. Thus, IT ultimately decreases the number of managers and experts.

It is reasonable to assume, therefore, that in coming years organizations will have fewer managerial levels and fewer staff and line managers.

If this trend materializes, promotional opportunities will decrease, making promotions much more competitive. Bottom line: Pay attention in school!

IT Changes the Manager’s Job

One of the most important tasks of managers is - making decisions. A major consequence of IT has been to change the manner in which managers make their decisions. In this way, IT ultimately has changed managers’ jobs.

IT often provides managers with near-real-time information, meaning that managers have less time to make decisions, making their jobs even more stressful. Fortunately, IT also provides many tools-for example, business analytics applications such as dashboards, search engines, and intranets-to help managers handle the volumes of information they must deal with on an ongoing basis.

IT Impacts Employees at Work

Many people have experienced a loss of identity because of computerization. They feel like “just another number” because computers reduce or eliminate the human element present in non-computerized systems.

The Internet threatens to exert an even more isolating influence than have computers and television. Encouraging people to work and shop from their living rooms could produce some unfortunate psychological effects, such as depression and loneliness.