6-) Please read the article below and answer the question below. The Electronic

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6-) Please read the article below and answer the question below. The Electronic Cottage The Industrial Revolution shifted production from rural cottages to urban factories. But the Information Revolution spawned by the microchip and the Internet has decentralized the acquisition, analysis, and transmission of information. These days, someone who claims to work at a home office is not necessarily referring to corporate headquarters but to a spare bedroom. According to a recent survey, the number of telecommuters has more than doubled in the last decade. Nearly half the white-collar employees at AT&T work at home at least part of the time. Worsening traffic, higher gas prices, wider access to broadband, and even the threat of terrorism are pushing the trend. The average commute is 23 miles, and eliminating that can save about $1,000 a year in gas and can avoid putting more than 6,000 pounds of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. From home, people can write a document with coworkers scattered throughout the world, then discuss the project online in real time or have a videoconference (McDonald’s saves millions in travel costs by videoconferencing). Software allows thousands of employees to share electronic files. When Accenture moved headquarters from Boston to a suburb, the company replaced 120 tons of paper records with an online database accessible anytime from anywhere in the world. To support those who work at home, an entire industry has sprung up, with magazines, newsletters, Web sites, and national conferences. In fact, an office need not even be in a specific place. Some people now work in virtual offices, which have no permanent locations. With cell phones and Blackberries, people can conduct business on the road—literally, “deals on wheels.” Accountants at Ernst & Young spend most of their time in the field. When returning to company headquarters, they call a few hours ahead to reserve an office. Web-based software such as Think Free and Zoho Virtual Office keep files and software on a remote server so people on the road can access their files. These road warriors don’t even need a laptop, just a dumb terminal that accesses the Internet—the sort of access you might find at Starbucks or the public library. Chip technology is decentralizing production, shifting work from a central office either back to the household or to no place in particular. More generally, the Internet has reduced the transaction costs, whether it’s a market report authored jointly by researchers from around the world or a new computer system assembled from parts ordered over the Internet. Easier communication has even increased contact among distant research scholars. For example, economists living in distant cities were four times more likely to collaborate on research during the 1990s than during the 1970s. QUESTION: How has the development of personal computer hardware and software reversed some of the trends brought on by the Industrial Revolution? Briefly discuss.

Explanation / Answer

In today's business environment Information Technology plays a vital role in an organization's success. Information Technology has given another platform for conducting business activities and functions like accounts and finance, marketing and even operations. The most important enhancement that Information Technology has provided is that of seamless and uninterrupted communication through networks. The development of networks has enabled business to be conducted from anywhere in the world. It helps the organizational public internal or external to stay connected and motivates the employees to work collectively towards achievement of organizational objective. During the Industrial Revolution having a place of business was of atmost important, which now-a-days is of least importance as business can be conducted over a series of networks and the Internet. Physical check of stock and other fixed assets was encouraged during the Industrial Revolution however, now it is completed done by softwares and databases without human intervention. Need of professional to maintain compliance with the government rules and regulations was a growing trend of the Industrial revolution. Even today there is a need of professionals however, it is just to audit the work done, the softwares developed today are already in compliance with the recent amendments in the government rules and regulations.

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