Project Proposal on the Role of Information Technology in Human Resource Development

Introduction:

Information Technology has captured almost every business and different departments that business may have. That’s not all information technology’s influence can be found everywhere, politics, economy, relationship between countries, the entertainment departments everywhere one can see the boom which has been caused by the presence and dynamic advancement in the Information Technology. It is in addition involved in saving lives by enabling the specialists to diagnose and treat disease accurately with just few click and the patients are cured from illnesses that were difficult to diagnose and treat. (ASTD, 2002)

This piece of work is carried out with the intention of carrying out an in-depth research both qualitative and quantitative about the topic that is the role of information technology in the development of human resource. The researcher will try to come up with best possible ideas that will applied in order to carryout research in such a manner that it is not only attractive but at the same time holds relevant information about the topic and proves to be a fruitful resource about the topic.

Human resource is a department that can be classified as the backbone of any organization and or businesses as it is the responsibility of this department to make sure that right persons are hired for the right job at the right time. So if things go well and an employee performs well this department in addition gets praised for selecting such an employee which proved to be the right choice. Apart from that, this department in addition deals with all the departments from top to bottom, which makes it very much clear for the reader to understand the importance of this department and the role that it plays which is always crucial both in positive and negative sense. That is if the selection and the steps taken by this department were positive the results will be positive too which is a crucial for the organization and that is the kind of performance the business expect from this department at the same time if the department makes a mistake and may not perform according to the expectations may result in affecting the performance of entire organization which is again very crucial and the business would never want that to happen to it. So, in simple words many things and procedures related to the business basically floats around this department and it is the responsibility of this department to make sure that operations are taking place smoothly and things are going well as far as human resource is concerned. (Avgerou, 2000)

1.1 Aims and objectives of the Research:

One of the key aims of the research is to make sure that the topic is investigated genuinely and facts are provided after a thorough investigation of the researches that are carried in the past. This will enable the reader to understand the importance of information technology and at the same time will enable the reader to know what actually are the landmarks achieved by the human resource departments with the help of information technology and their impact on the business procedures.

Some of the objectives of the research are mentioned below:

To provide reader with true and latest facts about the topic.

To provide a detail discussion on the topic enabling the reader to understand what are the further ways in which the HR service can be improved with the use of information technology.

To provide definition, explanations for and against the use of information technology, and both the positive and negative aspect if there are any cause by the use of information technology in the second chapter that is the literature review.

To provide a neat and clean dissertation that is free from difficult vocabulary and confused sentences which may lessen the chances of it classified as a fruitful resource to read.

To design such a questionnaire that covers all the questions which may rise in readers mind so that they can be answered with the help of this research.

1.2 Research Limitations:

Research limitation may have different factors behind their occurrence. However, the researcher believes that most of them are caused by researchers themselves due to poor planning and unmanaged manner of working. However, one of the main limitations as far as this research is concerned is the lack of interest of participants which the researcher is aiming to interview. This is practiced by researcher in advance so that time can be saved in order to avoid delays and late submission which may result in deduction of marks and or even a failure. Time constraint is another issue which cannot be ignored as the researcher will have limited time in which the research will be carried out while the researcher plans to make sure that maximum is covered about the topic in the dissertation in a systematic manner so that all the information provided can fit well with in the allocated word count of the research.

1.2.1 Ethical Issues

As the dissertation is very much in the early stages and the researcher has jsut started carrying out research order to complete this task there for so far no such ethical issues has been faced by the research.

1.3 Structure of the dissertation:

The research will be divided in five main chapters. Chapter one will provide a detail introduction to the topic followed by chapter two that is the literature review. This chapter will discuss different researches that are carried out by researchers in the past. Chapter three will be the research methodology that will discuss various different techniques adopted by the researcher in order to complete the research. Chapter four is the discussion, findings and analysis where data will be analysed and discussion in detail in order to clear any existing doubts about the topic. Chapter five will be the concluding chapter of the research as this will offer reader with conclusions and recommendation followed by appendices and references.

Chapter 2: A Review of the literature

2.1 Introduction:

Literature review is one of the longest and very important chapters of a dissertation. It is this chapter which mainly concentrates on the different thoughts and ideas from different researchers in the work carried by them in the past. This work from different researchers is reviewed in this chapter and this is the chapter on which basically the success of the dissertation mainly relies. Therefore, the researcher will try to make sure that all the researcher and researchers that are discussed in this chapter are those who have done authentic and relevant research in the past on the topic so that this chapter can enable the reader to understand where the topic is standing now in the present world, have there been any advancement or not.

2.2 The IT Revolution:

According to Afuah et al., (2003) the ongoing revolution in the field of information technology (IT) is an unstoppable juggernaut that is impacting every aspect of human doings and endeavour. These technologies are completely furthermore swiftly redefining the way things are done in nearly every field of human doings. For instance, the spirited pressure of the worldwide economy is driving trades to rapidly adopt a wide range of computer structures to expand productivity, manage production, expand together internal and external communications, in addition to offer customers novel services. Nations see IT as decisive to their long-term spirited benefit and so continue to invest in it, even in the face of economic downturns. (Afuah, et al., 2003)

Ardichvili, (2002) notes that the world is embracing IT at a frenetic pace for spirited benefit, convenience, and excellence of life, affordability, creativity as well as several other factors. Experts often draw comparisons flanked by the impact that the machine age had on manual workers in the industrial and agricultural segments as well as the impact that IT are having on white-collar workers, or the whole class of workers further fashionably termed “knowledge workers”. The novel IT approaches are, however, readily distinguishable as of the earlier capital-intensive industrial technologies in two major respect: they are cheap in relation to the outlay of human labour, and their rapid spread is nearly impossible to control resulting in their ubiquity. (Ardichvili, 2002)

These factors have resulted in dramatic worldwide changes in employment patterns, required skill-sets plus the range of opportunities for employment and economic advancement. In particular, an unprecedented window of chance has opened up for budding nations. The chief to exploiting this chance lies in realizing that the souk for several kinds of human resources is increasingly fetching worldwide. Since technology is rapidly shrinking the range of human activities that require physical relocation of a person, chance is gravitating to those nations that offer the kind of human resources required by the worldwide economy. Chance in addition goes to those who discern emerging worldwide tendencies in human resource requirements and prepare for them. This is easier said than done, as the extremely rapid in addition to continuous changes in skills required necessitate constant reinstruction, thus compounding the complexity. (Afuah, et al., 2003)

The sheer pervasiveness of IT in the world of today in addition leads to a definitional complexity in the context of analysing its human resource implications. Who is an “IT worker”? Normally, the term is applied to one who creates or applies information/communication technologies. In the broadest sense, however, it can in addition include users of these technologies, who in addition requirement a significant degree of instruction and familiarity by means of the technologies. This broader definition includes data entry personnel, as well as workers using computers in manufacturing and services, transportation, healthcare, learning, administration and so on. The broader definition is relevant since several of the opportunities for budding nations arise in the area broadly termed “IT-enabled services” or computer as well as data routing services. (Ardichvili, 2002)

In mainly of the analyses furthermore statistics the narrower definition is adopted, even though, even in these cases, the actual definition can vary significantly as of one study or statistic to a unlike. Hence, all statistics requires to be appreciated in this light. For instance, the Information Technology Association of America (ITAA) defines (Mitchell et al. 1998) an IT worker in this context as a person involved in the “study, design, growth, implementation, support or management of computer-based information structures, mainly software uses in addition to computer hardware.” (Canzer, 2003)

Several studies, such as the one by the United Kingdom International Trade Commission on the spiritedness of the United Kingdom computer software and services industries, include just those individuals who have software-related skills that fall into five general categories. These are uses software expanders, structures software expanders, structures integration service providers, outsourcing service providers as well as custom programming service providers. On the other hand, the Bureau of Labour Standards (BLS) of the United Kingdom Subdivision of Labour classifies computer scientists, computer engineers, structures analysts as well as computer programmers as IT workers. Variations or inconsistencies in data gleaned as of unlike sources might be attributed to these differences. (Cascio, 2003)

Aside as of IT workers as defined above, there is in addition a huge shift occurring in white-collar jobs worldwide. Technology is redefining several of these jobs plus making them increasingly location-independent. Jim Clark of Netscape launched WebMD, which is squeezing hundreds of billions of pounds of waste out of the United Kingdom healthcare structure. While doing so, it is in addition moving a large number of health-segment support jobs to budding nations like India.

Several firms are establishing call-centres and service support centres in nations like Ireland, India as well as the Philippines where operational outlays are significantly lower. Tens of thousands of such jobs are shifting en masse across the globe, thanks to advancements by IT-enabled service companies. Michael Dertouzos, outsourcing expert of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, estimates that outsourcing might easily result in a shift of 50 million white-collar jobs as of the West to India in the next few years. At an average remuneration of UK£20,000, they might add a staggering UK£1 trillion to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP)! Several experts, like consultant Tom Peters, craft the dramatic prognosis that 90 per cent of white-collar jobs in the United Kingdom of America (in addition to perhaps in mainly expanded nations) “will either be destroyed or altered beyond recognition inside 10 years”. (Cascio, 2003)

There is thus a tidal wave of change taking place in employment patterns as well as opportunities for IT workers worldwide. The white-collar worker is following suit (through IT-enabled services), a little behind perhaps, however in vastly greater numbers. The IT worker is at present clearly a worldwide resource. Increasingly, the white-collar worker is in addition fetching one. For highly skilled furthermore highly paid IT workers, relocation is a possibility. However the tendency is towards outsourcing and offshore doings, together for white-collar workers and at advanced levels of technical competency for the IT worker. Demand plus provide are reckoned worldwide. The worldwide provide-demand scenario at present determines remuneration levels.

2.3 Rising requirement for IT expertise in all vocations:

Future work, a report authored by Leslie Eaton plus issued by the United Kingdom Labour Subdivision in September 1999, predict that in the United Kingdom inside a few years, “mainly workers will requirement basic computer skills to enter their chosen occupations in addition to additional specialised instruction in field-specific uses to advance.” 5 It was in addition estimated that “at least half the entry level jobs for people who have not graduated as of college involve computer use”. IT trade compensations were in addition rising rapidly, by means of an increase of 9-15 per cent over a period of just one year (1998-99). IT vocational by means of the hottest skills is often receiving base pay increases of 10-20 per cent per year against a national average of around 5-6 per cent. The remuneration levels of the IT workers were in addition significantly advanced than the national median income. Worker turnover rates ranged as of regarding 16 per cent to as much as 35 percent.

2.4 Failing tendency in conscription for IT in expanded nations:

While the expansion of IT employment opportunities in the United Kingdom and other expanded nations has outstripped provide, paradoxically there was a decline of over 40 per cent in the number of Bachelor’s degrees in computer science awarded by United Kingdom universities flanked by 1986 as well as 1994 – the number fell as of 42,195 in 1986 to 24,553 in 1994. There were, however, several increases in the number of Master’s and doctoral degrees. (Cascio, 2003)

An unlike tendency that has been noticed is that foreign learners craft up a significant share of computer science graduates in the United Kingdom. Foreign nationals comprise around 50 per cent of the learner population for advanced degrees and computer engineering. Asians have a disproportionately high share of degrees (Bachelor’s, Master’s as well as Ph.D.) conferred by United Kingdom universities in relation to their populations, by means of the disproportion being advanced for advanced degrees. Regarding 20-25 per cent of all Master’s and advanced-level degrees conferred by United Kingdom universities go to Asians.

Several of the causes for the reduction in offering of IT workers in the United Kingdom furthermore the declining number of United Kingdom learners earning degrees in computer and information sciences are shown in the figures. (Boudreau et al., 2002)

Chapter 3: Research Methodology

3.1 Introduction:

This chapter will provide reader with information about the different method and techniques used to collect data and how the date was used and analyzed after collection. A research can never be successful if the techniques used to carry out the research are not appropriate this is the basic fact that will be kept in mind by the researcher while carryout research for this piece of work.

3.2 Primary research:

The researcher will carry out a survey and a questionnaire is designed in order to collect the views of professionals that are at the moment working in the HR department of different organization, only if the researcher gets a positive response from the desired participants. However if the researcher fails to get the attention of the participants that different alternative tools like social networking sites and discussion forums will be used in order to discuss the topic with friends and colleagues so that maximum information can be collected about the topic. As far as the questionnaire is concerned, the researcher will try to find their answers in the researches that are carried out in the past.

3.3 Secondary Research:

Secondary research and or resource will be mainly newspapers, articles, researches carried out in the past, electronic journals, books etc. The researcher will try level best in order to make sure that maximum relevant resources are used in order to make sure that all the related areas about the topic are covered and there are no loop holes or weak links which may affect the standards of the research carried out.

3.4 Research questionnaire:

In order to obtain maximum information about the topic a questionnaire is designed which is given below:

In what ways do you think HR has been influenced by the boom of Information Technology?

Do you think that the changes caused by information technology to Human resource are relevant?

Has the emergence of Information technology and its impact brought the HR expenses and costs down or has it taken it up?

Where do you see HR and IT in the future together in relation with each other?

How effective has been the role of IT when it comes to save time and be efficient in operations?

How effective is the role of IT in the selection and recruitment procedures that are the main functions of HR?

Do you think that the introduction of information technology in HR has capped the number of frequently occurring huge losses or mistakes that takes place?

Will this role of information technology really affect the employment that is the systems will get automatic resulting in the less need of man power which off course will mean a rise in unemployment?

Are you personally comfortable with the changes that are taking place in the HR due to IT?

One a scale of 0 to 10, where do you think the performance of HR stands at the moment after the influence of information technology.

What are the main changes that are caused by the information technology to HR which you may have observed?

In what ways do think Information technology save the human resource department to avoid mistakes and have a strong grip on the costs especially in such a weakened market conditions facing threats like recession and credit crunch.

Chapter 4: Discussion, findings and analysis:

This chapter will provide reader with the outcomes of the research in an analyzed format and a thorough discussion will provided in order to make sure that the reader can get maximum answer to the question which he/she may have in his/her mind. The chapter in addition will in addition show and focus on the results if the researcher gets a chance to interview a couple of professionals. Whatever results will be obtained by the interviews and or finding the answer in the previous researcher the outcomes will mentioned and discussed in depth in this chapter.

Chapter 5: Conclusions and Recommendations

Information technology no doubt has captured the entire world and almost all its functions. This piece of work will prove to be an effort that will basically try to unearth some areas that are either ignored intentionally or missed out in a specific department that is the human resource where things can be made even better. Information technology has played a vital role in the development of this department. The question is how and to what extent this is the main question around which the whole study will float. This chapter will focus on the overall results and based on that results this chapter will offer reader with conclusions and some recommendation which may enable the reader to understand where the room for improvement is available which can be filled with the appropriate use of information technology and the department of human resource can be improved to a further better and advanced level where it can operate smoothly.

Appendices:

Research questionnaire: