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Learner and Organization Descriptions

This organization is very small with an average age of 29 with the average number of learners/ workers fluctuating between seven and eight people depending upon work-flow and the use of temps. The nature of its business is the creation of newspapers, magazines, and training manuals for local companies, including a flight instruction company. It's located in a central part of town, and the people working in the organization are 86% Caucasian and 14% Hispanic. It is a microcosm of the area which surrounds it. Most of the learners in the organization fall into the lower middle class range with the Administrators being solidly in the middle class category.

Organization Breakdown (Numbers Represent Average Age Vs the Actual Number of Learners):

Ethnographic Breakdown (Numbers Represent Percentages):

The ability to use technology varies mostly by job description and by age. Younger workers who have grown up with technology are more comfortable using it. Despite the reliance on technology to create the company's products, the company has more non-users of technology than users. This includes every aspect of the organization's work, including the training of workers to the production of the products to the services it provides. Additionally, the use of technology is hindered by budget, which in turn hinders some of the work that can be done; the budgeting for additional technology in the workplace; and restricts people's access to technology-related training. In terms of looking at this organization through a technology filter, the people who work in this environment fall into three groups that although they have separate job functions are very interdependent. Aside from using phones and faxes, one group does not use technology at all; they don't have computers in their offices. The second group is completely reliant on having up-to-date technology to perform their jobs, and the last group's use of technology falls somewhere in the middle. The last group is also the administrative branch of the organization, and as such is responsible for determining how technology is planned for and implemented with budget being the primary filter in the acquisition of new technology and training. For the purposes of this assessment, these three groups can be categorized as 1) non-technology users (NTU), 2) integrated technology users (ITU), and 3) reluctant technology users (RTU).

Office Technology Users Breakdown (Numbers Represent Percentages):

Learning Who Have Computers in Office (Numbers Represent Percentages):

These differences in technology use on both a day-to-day as well as philosophical level create considerable challenges to the efficiency of the learning environment. This affects how often and how well learners are trained on new technology. It also causes friction between learners at times because of misunderstandings caused by not only the allocation of technology resources, but also the amount of time it will take for the integrated technology users to complete their tasks. The lack of support for technology use and technology learning in the workplace is also now starting to affect the company's competitiveness in the workplace. As such, this purpose of this evaluation is to assess the technology problem areas and to make recommendations based upon the findings.

Rankings
Administrative Filter: Emergent Systems Stage /Islands of Technology Stage
Overall, the organization ranks between the Emergent Systems Stage and the Islands of Technology Stage of Development when looked at through the Administrative Filter. At the moment, there is no formal plan in place for learners to get additional training on technology nor is there one for the acquisition of new technology. There is also little organized formal support for the people who are required to teach and use technology to others in the workplace, although on occasion management will pay for the integrated technology users to attend one day training seminars. However, this isn't a regular occurrence. Additionally, there are no formal administrative plans to encourage and allow for the non-technology users nor the reluctant technology users to become more active learners when it comes to technology. As previously mentioned, this stems from budgetary issues and it is through the lens of budget that most decisions concerning technology are made. This hinders the growth of the organization and its ability to move to a higher level technological maturity.

Looking at technology acquisition through this lens fosters a continued level of technological dysfunction as learners try to compensate for the lack of technology, although their job performance requires them to regularly use it. The lack of understanding between the non-technology and reluctant

technology users and the integrated technology users also causes people in the former group to overburden those in the latter group, because they do not full understand what technology can and cannot do. Additionally, the jobs of the non-technology users would become more efficient and more profitable for the company if they had access to and learned how to use technology. They have no computer databases of clients and the addition of computers with Internet would open up the number of clients available to them as their research for new clients is limited to traditional methods such as old client files or the phone book, although occasionally the company will purchase client lists from the local chamber of commerce. The recommendations that I have for improvement in this area include regular meetings among the learners and the administrative staff and a revised assessment of the organization's budget. Because much of the overburdening of the integrated technology users stems from them being overextending by others in the organization, regular meetings to discuss technology issues, learning styles, ideas for new products will help bridge the gap between these groups. The reassessment of the budget will point out where the organization is overspending in terms of technology, because learners often work overtime because of the work-arounds. Money that has been spent on overtime can be diverted to training learners in the workplace how to use technology. PolicyBehavorial: Islands of Technology Stage Computers are regularly used by about half of the people working in the organization. They are used to create the company's product, which includes training manuals, although this is not the company's primary product. The use of the time and resources of the integrated technology users for this task places undue demands on these workers. PolicyResource/ Infrastructure: Emergent Systems Stage There is no formal plan in place to compensate for the disparities between the groups in the organization. Training additional learners to use the technology and providing this technology for them, which would free up the resources of the integrated technology users and alleviate this problem. BudgetBehavioral: Emergent Systems Stage There are no formal plans in place for the specific budgeting for technology within the organization. This issue is made more complicated by the fact that the people making decisions about the purchase of new technology and about technology training fall into the reluctant technology users or nontechnology users categories. BudgetResource/ Infrastructure: Emergent Systems Stage Because of the regular use of computers by the integrated technology users (who create the company's products), this rank is skewed upward. Most of the organization remains at the Emergent Systems Stage. Administrative InformationBehavioral: Emergent Systems Stage Administrators are made aware of the technical issues that face the workers and the learners within the

organization. There are challenges with encouraging this group to embrace the technology. The administrators are not formally trained on how technology works. Administrative InformationResource/ Infrastructure: Emergent Systems Stage This group is not fully able to realize the business's monetary potential because of its inability to use the technology. This causes those who work in this capacity in the organization to place unrealistic demands on the integrated technology users in the organization, and in the long run, the budget suffers as well.

Curricular Filter: Overall Rank Islands of Technology Stage


When looked at through the Curricular Filter, the organization rates at the Islands of Technology Stage overall. On the whole, there is no organized plan for learning as it pertains to technology in the workplace. Learners who wish to know more about the technology they use in their jobs do so independently. Occasionally, if there is an event sponsored by a local organization pertaining to the subject, the learners may take time away from their work schedules to attend all-day seminars. However, these seminars are infrequent and the people attending them fall into the integrated technology users category.

The Number of People Attending Some Type of Training Each Year (Numbers Represent Percentages:

As with the previous section, this area is hindered by the budget. Because there are more people in the organization who are reluctant technology or non-technology users, I would recommend some simple, but inexpensive steps to get more people in the organization up-to-speed with technology. First, I would recommend a company-wide subscription to the website Lynda.com. There are subscriptions available for the educational and business environments that are not cost-prohibitive. A subscription like this allows the integrated technology users in the environment to stay up-to-date on the technology they need to use in their jobs. Additionally, I would recommend that formal plans for technology use be put together with a systematic method for rolling these changes out. Because of the number of non-technology and reluctant technology users versus the integrated technology users in the learning environment, I recommend that the changes move at a slower but steady pace to not only allow for the budgeting of training for the learners, but also the integration of what they've learned.

Electronic InformationBehavioral: Emergent Systems Stage This area isn't integrate yet. Several types of files that all learners should have access to in order to do their jobs rests on one or two computers in the work environment instead of on the server where everyone can access the information. Electronic Information Resource/Infrastructure: Emergent Systems Stage There is no organization-wide system for organizing the records so that everyone knows how to find information. At the moment, learners needing information must obtain it through one or two people in the organization. AssessmentBehavioral: Emergent Systems Stage At the moment, there is no formalized system in place for the assessment of how learners use technology in the organization. Assessment--Resource/Infrastructure: Emergent Systems Stage No formal infrastructure exists to create a unified use of technology in the organization. There is no formal way to measure how well learners have mastered the technology that they use nor the effects of having new technology introduced into the environment. Curricular IntegrationBehavioral: Islands of Technology Several learners in the workplace use technology for learning, including for the purpose of training other employees and for writing instruction manuals. This includes the use of office computers, the organization's computer network, the Internet and resources like training videos on YouTube as well as more traditional resources like printed manuals. Curricular IntegrationResource/Infrastructure: Technology is not fully adopted by both the learners and the administrators in the organization. There are no training leaders in the environment, making the learning of technology a bit disjointed with pockets of conflicting information for how best to use it in terms of learning activities designed to promote technology use in the workplace. Teacher UseBehavioral: Integrated Systems Stage The trainers in the workplace also fall into the integrated technology user category. As such, they consistently use technology to train learners as well as to write training materials for learners to use. Additionally, they use technical tools like email and the Internet to communicate with and to create curricular activities. Teacher Use Resource/Infrastructure: Intelligent Systems Stage The trainers in the organization fully use what technology tools that are available in the workplace. They also work to create plans for using technology in the learning environment, including the creation of materials both digital and traditional in nature. The trainers are also working toward learning how to

use some emerging technologies in the workplace like mobile learning. Student UseBehavior: Emergent Systems Stage Most of the learners in the workplace fall into the reluctant technology and non-technology user categories. As such, they prefer learning tools like written manuals, seminars, and other modes of training that reflect a more traditional way of teaching. Student UseResource/Infrastructure: Emergent Systems Stage Not all learners have access to technology at this time. Within the organization, three people have computers in their offices with the remaining five or six having no regular access to teaching technology.

Support Filter: Emergent Systems Stage


Our organization is at the Emergent Systems Stage when looking at its technology use through the Support Filter. The total number of learners in the organization is seven or eight, depending on the flow of business. However, only a small portion of the learners within the environment actively use technology. Additionally, technology budgets pertaining to the use of and the training for technology in the workplace is determined by learners who do not fully embrace technology in the learning environment. When looked at through this lens, problems that arise in the workplace that could be solved simply by more up-to-date technology are not. As well, those working in sales for the organization sell services based on technology they do not fully understand nor use, which sometimes causes friction not only between the integrated technology users in the organization, but the company's clients as well. This is due to the fact that one group does not know what resources are available and promises more to clients than what can be delivered. Stakeholder InvolvementBehavioral: Emergent Systems Stage Stakeholders in the company are involved in decisions about technology, but are driven mostly by budget concerns. Stakeholder Involvement Resource/Infrastructure: Emergent Systems Stage At the moment, there is no quantifiable way to track the use of technology for learning purposes within the organization. Additional requests for technology by the integrated technology users is determined by budget and whether or not work-arounds can be created. Administrative Support Behavioral: Emergent Systems Stage There is no formalized training for the administrative staff with regards to technology. The staff must either come in with the knowledge required to use technology or pay for their own training. Administrative Support Resource/Infrastructure: Emergent Systems Stage Enough technology support exists for some, but not all workers to access technology as needed. Training Behavioral: Emergent Systems Stage Training for workers is conducted in a rather disjointed manner with no through-line existing in training models. Therefore, why technology should be used and how with regards to the overall function of the organization is largely ignored. Training Resource/Infrastructure: Island of Technology For those using technology on a regular basis, there are occasionally seminars and other one day classes they can attend. The organization will pay for these training events. Technical/Infrastructure Support Behavioral: Islands of Technology Stage

While learners may communicate problems with or ideas about technology, these are very often put off due to budget constraints. Technical/Infrastructure Support Resource/Infrastructure: Islands of Technology Stage Some pockets of resources exist for technology training. This function is performed by the integrated technology users as time permits.

The Number of Computers in the Organization and the Number of Learners/ Employees in the Organization (Represents the Actual Number and Not Percentage):

Connectivity Filter: Islands of Technology Stage


This is one of the areas of the organization for which there is potential for the technology systems to be more easily improved. Both a Local Area Networking (LAN) and a District Area Networking (WAN) are already set up and it is possible for the integrated technology users in the organization to access files on the company network and to access the Internet. This filter represents one of the company's more less mature levels of technology integration with an overall rating of Islands of Technology Stage. There are some challenges, however. These have to do with the efficiency with which the network is connected. Currently, the main computer in the graphics department is also the brain of the network. This causes quite a bit of problems because of the nature of files being accessed by the user of this computer and by others in the office. The graphics computer requires quite a lot of resources on its own and because it is a less expensive model of computer not really made for the creation of high-end graphics, the computer freezes up quite a bit when it's accessed by its main user. This issue is exacerbated by the need for other people on the network to access more high-end programs as well such as ACT, a software program that keeps track of the organization's client database. When more than one user accesses the graphics computer for these higher-end functions, the graphics computer crashes more often. During peak times this can happen up to 10 times a day and to get the computer back into working order requires it to be completely manually shut down and rebooted. This process can take five or six full minutes for the graphics computer to come back online. All told these kind of crashes result in a time loss of an hour or more a day when added together. This is also an area that if fixed would result in greater productivity and profit in the long run, but is affected by budget. Local Area Networking (LAN)--Behavior: Emergent Systems Stage The three main computers in the office are networked together, although there are a few issues with the current set up. Local Area Networking (LAN)--Resource/infrastructure: Emergent Systems Stage There is an awareness of the issues with the LAN but due to budget constraints computer users in the organization are encouraged to find work-arounds for these issues. District Area Networking (WAN)--Behavioral: Emergent Systems Stage No WAN network exists to connect the office with other computers in the area. District Area Networking (WAN)--Resource/infrastructure: Islands of Technology Stage There is some planning for an FTP server so that learners and those working in graphics can share files with clients. It's some months out to being realized. Internet AccessBehavioral: Integrated Systems Stage Learners use the Internet everyday to do their work. Because it plays such an important function in client relations, all workers have company emails and regular contact with the clients. The Internet

service is high-speed. Internet AccessResource/infrastructure: Islands of Technology Stage Administrators in the organization have hired a consultant to advise them on how best to use this technology to work with clients. Some talk of integrating mobile technology use plans are in the works, but they are months from being realized. Communication SystemsBehavioral: Integrated Systems Stage The organization has nine phone lines coming into the office. These are regularly used by all learners. However, those working in sales use them the most to call clients and to send proposals via fax. Communication SystemsResource/infrastructure: Integrated Systems Stage Regular communication exists between the Administrators and the salespeople about the communication technologies in the office. Some tentative plans have been discussed about bringing mobile technology into the workplace and questions about how it can be used have been put into motion. However, this development is still only in the planning stage.

Innovation: Islands of Technology Stage


This represents an area of the organization that is poised for growth, but for the moment rates at the Islands of Technology stage, because it has not yet implemented some proposed plans for innovation that have been discussed. Despite some reluctance to deviate from the planned technology spending that exists within the organization, client requests for mobile technology as well as learner use of technologies like M-Learning have pushed this area into a growth area. Because much of what the company does relies on the creation of graphics, either for the three company newspapers or for the creation of instruction manuals, the graphics computers and the software are more up-to-date than the rest of the computers in the office. However, they are not fully up to standards. This requires the workers using them to find work-arounds for some of the elements that they are required to make for clients. That said, because this produces the income in the office, there is a more general understanding from a competitive standpoint that this technology must be up-to-date if the organization would like to stay viable for the clients it serves. This provides an in-roads for new technologies to be introduced. However, because the decision-makers in the acquisition process for this fall into the reluctant technology users group, these new technologies are not implemented very quickly.

New TechnologiesBehavior: Islands of Technology Stage Several workers in the organization own technologies like smart phones and tablets. Because they regularly use these technologies on a personal level and can see the benefit of them, they push for their use in the office. However, as to be expected, the numbers of people who own these devices is split. New TechnologiesResource/infrastructure: Emergent Systems Stage At the moment, no planned and packaged comprehensive technologies packages exist in the organization. Comprehensive Technologies--Behavior: Emergent Systems Stage Although organization Administrators have started looking at these technologies for organizational use, they have not yet laid down formal plans for their implementation.

Conclusion
The challenges this organization faces in terms of technology are many. The company's history of using old technology has somewhat clouded decisions about buying new technology as have budget concerns. In order to overcome these challenges, the organization would be best served by having a long-term goal for technology implementation worked out. While specific technologies cannot always be named due to the fact that technology itself changes rapidly, a plan with a look at the overall types of technology to be implemented would be useful. Additionally, training all employees to use technology would make the organization more profitable in the long run in spite of the short-term costs. As well, it may be feasible to train a few workers at a time, who could then train others in the organization doing similar job functions. It would also allow those not as comfortable with technology time to catch up. In order to work a plan like this, it may be wisest to start with those who are more comfortable using technology first and then adding training to the rest of those who fall into the reluctant technology and non-technology users categories. Finally, no technology plan will be completely successful without a philosophical change in the way that people look at the acquisition and use of technology. To compete in the modern business and educational worlds that this organization works with, the use of technology is not optional. The nature of the business demands that its technology be up-to-date and that the organization embrace emerging technologies in order to remain competitive. It is the fear of the unknown and the sometimes imagined costs of providing new technologies in the workplace that hinders this organization's growth.

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