The Hindu Business Line : The Net impact on businesses

The 1990s were an epoch-making decade — one that not only closed down a millennium, but also brought into vogue a new technology that many believe will be one of the most revolutionary in human history. The workplace and working lives of people have been radically transformed by the Internet and also by other Net-centric innovations that came in sequel.

The Internet was an unknown phenomenon among business leaders till the late 1980s. Initially, it was confined to arcane academic and research domains. However, after the World Wide Web made its debut in the 1990s, the Internet set off a wave of change that caught on with businesses all around the globe. Since then captains of industry have been experiencing turbulent times as they experiment with various ways to exploit the Net to achieve competitive advantage.

The new gadgets that connect to the Net are, of course, part of the transformation, but they constitute only a minor component in a major change. In fact, this transformation may not be apparent from the physical layout of an office. Even the personal computer will not seem totally strange, because the keyboard looks so much like the typewriter of an earlier era. What constitutes the metamorphosis is the fundamental nature of the workplace — ranging from communication modalities to management styles, and from trendy patterns of teamwork to employer-employee relationships.

As the desktop gateway to the world, the Internet has changed the concept of work and business. It has become a catalyst for new business models, competitive strategies, and organisational restructuring. The Internet has brought to the surface a new business landscape, new pressures, and new rivalries. Many managers have not yet come to terms with these seismic changes.

Curiously, however, changes in the context of employment consequent to the advent of Internet have not received much attention so far. Net-centric technology has ushered in a host of new tools and techniques for the employees. When they open a window to the digital world on their desktops, or laptops, or better still, notebooks, lo and behold, they have an instant access to a limitless supply of information and business news. 24-hour access to employers, colleagues, customers, and vendors has become the done thing. Team members can collaborate with each other and work together, irrespective of how far their physical locations may be.

While the new competencies bring enormous advantages to the business world, how the Internet will influence the professional and private lives of employees is the flip side of the story causing serious concern. Constant connectivity blurs the line between work and leisure. The Internet has made the commercial climate intensely and incredibly competitive. It has made the workplace much faster and frightfully tense.

The advent of mobile phones and other wireless devices have introduced the 24/7 doctrine of management - a redefinition of what constitutes the workday. The balance between work and family has been assigned a different meaning and connotation in the context of a Net-centric contemporary economy. For many people the "always on" mode has become their second nature. Family life seems to be the casualty in this commercial cataclysm.

Another impact of the Internet is the access to and availability of enormous information in the workplace. The rider, however, is that more is not necessarily any better. On the other hand, new entrants to the company find the data — which is up to date and comprehensive — quite handy as it obviates the need for reinventing the wheel. Whereas marshalling the mass of information and converting it into useful nuggets of knowledge has not been that easy as initially envisaged — the challenges involve much more than technology, including organizational resistance.

The tempo of business transactions has increased significantly, because large chunks of information can be processed and transmitted quickly. Bill Gates made a famous statement that business will attain "the speed of thought" sooner or later. Equally important, the cost of transmitting information has dropped precipitously, making it possible to send it farther and wider, almost to any place on earth.

The impact that technology advances have on employment and job displacement has been a subject of debate for decades. Rapid growth of the Internet has indeed spearheaded a wave of dislocations and disintermediation. Astonishing and astronomical changes in employee compensation have come about. Many organisations are placing the IT personnel in special and privileged slots, because of the high demand for and short supply of those professionals.

While shortages exist in some sectors of employment, some other jobs and entire business units have become candidates for layoff and phase-out, thanks to the advent of the Internet.

Is the Internet a blessing, or a curse? Which way is the world going — Net-centric, or eccentric? Do we have a choice? Do we have a voice? Will it be good, or will it be bad? Will it be like what Charles Dickens wrote in "A tale of two cities," about another era in history - "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times?"

(The writer, a former HR director of a well-known auto components group, is a management consultant.)

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