Information Technology and Its Positive Effects On Bureaucracy

We live in a world where survival in today's extremely competitive environment is tough. An environment that boost of new and aggressive competitors where the demand is to meet the necessitates of organizations-- speed up decision-making and reduce costs. If you are slow in response to market needs and competitive pressures, your organization is at risk. The layers of bureaucracy are being eliminated by information Technology, making a positive impact in the growth of organization, streamlining the functionality and making it more efficient and flexible.

We are a part of technocratic society or follow technocracy. Our lives has been revolutionized by information technology and the effects are on government and business. This is effect is being termed as cyberocracy. It mean a bureaucracy changed by information technology. It forms into what is known as democratic, totalitarian, and hybrid governments or businesses.

Bringing the use of information technology in bureaucracy has redefined the relation between state and society, and between the public sector and the private sector. Whenever we look at the structure of any organization, what hold an organization is the span of control. With a lean organization control is less nimble and less efficient, with each additional organizational level slowing down decision-making and adding to the firm's costs. On the other hand, a flattened organization control span structure will speed up the decision-making process, shorten lines of communication and achieve savings. When it comes to the use of information technology, factors like job complexity, similarity,Amount of coordination required to complete task,Abilities of employees ,Degree of employee empowerment,Ability of management are utilized to widen the span of control of managers and thereby flatten the organizational structure, eliminating middle management.

Lets take an example an accounting firm which is able to reduced job complexity by allowing clients 24-hour access to current and past financial information through use of an Extranet. In this way, the number of clients expanded without having to increase the number of employees or supervisors. Another could be a DSS system where a low level employee can approve or deny mortgages, loans and credit lines. Even the most unusual and unique problems can be solved with IT.

Today organizations are restructuring or reengineering themselves into leaner, nimbler entities through the use of IT to improve communication, reduce costs and speed up decision-making. Information Technology is a catalyst that has changed the scenario of bureaucracy.