MASTERS OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

ORGANIZATIONAL TECHNOLOGY
MRS. F.ONGOTAN
REPORTER
 Technology Definitions
• Technology - the means by which relevant
material, technical, procedural, informational,
cognitive and social resources are deployed to
achieve desired outcomes
• Core technology - the means employed in the
transformation activities that lead to the main
outputs of the organization (or unit)
• Material technology - the tangible aspects of
technology that can be seen, touched or
heard
• Social technology - the social and behaviour
shaping devices of structure, control, co-
ordination, motivation and reward system
 What the dictionary says about
Technology?
• The American Heritage Dictionary defines
technology as “the application of science to
industrial and commercial objectives or the entire
body of methods and materials used to achieve
such objectives”(1991)
• Webster’s Dictionary, online, offers the use of
science in industry, engineering, etc. to invent
useful things or to solve problems”and “a
machine, piece of equipment, method, etc., that
is created by technology.”
Winner (1977) identifies three general
applications of technology:
• Apparatus - the physical apparatus or materials
that are necessary for the achievement of tasks
• Technique - the purposive aspects of human
activity through the application of skills, methods,
procedures or routines as a means of achieving
objectives
• Organization - refers to social arrangements or
frameworks including factories, bureaucracies
and teams established to achieve particular goals.
Definition:
• Organizational Technology is
the sum total of man-made contrivances
or developed processes that alter, refine,
or create new goods and services
delivered by organizations. It includes
electronics, softwares, documents, new
techniques, or any combination thereof
used in the delivery of services.
 Blumer (1990) distinguishes between
industrialization and technological change:

• Non-industrial technological change - some

technological developments that have no
impact on the level of industrialization.
• Industrialization as one form of technological
development - Industrialization brings with it
many changes other than those based on
technology
• Transplanted industrialization - technology does
not automatically evolves as part of the process
of industrialization
• Causal relationships – there is a complex chain of
events involved in the relationship between
technology and society
• Ambiguity - technological development contains
a higher level of ambiguity in terms of its
interrelationship with social change than does
the concept of industrialization
Thompson – resource and technology
matching
• Task interdependence - the way in which tasks
differentiated through the division of labour
are operationally related to each other
• Mediating technology - this form of
operational technology mediates what would
otherwise be independent activities or needs
• Long-linked technology - the sequential
processes most obviously found in assembly
line factory operations
• Intensive technology - describes processes where
different units interact constantly with each other
during the transformation process
• Technical core - the central transformation
processes that need to work efficiently and
unperturbed by sudden changes and
uncertainties
• Boundary spanning units - buffer the operating
(technical) core from environmental uncertainty
The Aston studies in terms of technology these
studies utilized three categories:
• Operations– reflected the nature of the
transformation process, the techniques used
• Materials - the nature and characteristics of
the things that were being processed.
• Knowledge - the skill and ability required to
undertake the tasks necessary to achieve the
objectives.
 Revolutions
Computers
The desktop computer is still the number one
office machine , despite the advent of more
mobile electronics.
• Nearly every modern organization uses some
variety of desktop hardware primarily for
purposes of document and data management
(Center for Digital Government 2015).
• Word processing and database software manage
vast amounts of documentation needed by most
organizations.
• Spreadsheet software employs embedded
formula to extract meaningful information from
reams of data.
• Database management for large public and
private entities operate license systems,
benefit applications, school records, public
program data, building permits, taxes,
personnel data, building permits, volunteer
lists, profit and loss statements, budget data,
and meeting minutes, all stored in huge
electronic caches accessible in seconds with a
click of the fingers.
• E-mail has truly revolutionized the way
organizations communicate.
• Cellphones
• Skype – a virtual conference room, bringing
organizations half a world away together in
real time.
• Texting
• Voice over internet protocol(VOIP)
SKYPE
Voice Over Internet Protocol
The Internet
• The Internet is now non profits’ primarily
marketing tool through the use of social
media that has increased their ability to
attract donations and volunteers and to
generate awareness of their mission.
• Government offices use the internet in myriad
ways as shown in Table 1.
 Technology uses in US federal, state,
and municipal governments
Municipal State Federal
Service delivery E-government education Information management
and payment
Social media and blogs Customer service and Surveys about website
feedback
E-government-payments Consumer protection Public education and
awareness
Homeland security Telecom regulation-cable, Intelligence and analysis
phone
Information sharing Telemarketing regulation Inter-agency
communication
Public safety Electronic commerce
Emergency management Homeland security Procurement
Public education Emergency management
Social Media
 Social Media
• Social Media plays a part in most of the above
listed uses as it blends user access with public
service. It is an evolution of the technology
revolution.
• Social media is more than a communication
channel; it is an interactive tool through which
exchange occurs. It is a low-cost office space ,
open 24/7/365 with low maintenance and no
health insurance.
E-Government
 E-Government
• All US federal, state and most local
governments maintain a website through
which citizens interact with government
whether on a social media platform or
individually. Governments are leveraging their
e- government platforms to promote
economic growth and interoperability
between agencies and programs.
• Seventy percent of state governments use
social media to engage the public (Center for
Digital Government 2015).
• Governments can spotlight favored programs ;
call attention to community issues; collect
taxes, utility bills, and fines; manage job
platforms; and receive bids for government
contracts.
 Important but Unconsidered
Applications
• Global Grid and Military Systems
As of 2016, the US Department of Defense
DOD and allied partners are creating perhaps
the “next big thing” in computer networking
with their Global Information Grid (GIG) project.
Today’s military organizations run on and
survive via high-quality, well-managed
technology.
• Satellites , encrypted radio communications,
lasers, drones, robotics and now warfighter
physiological sensing have revolutionized the way
conflicts, large or small, are conducted, and
eventually, all of this information and capacity
will be embeded in the GIG.
• Much of the technology in use by governments
today for peaceful purposes came out of military
development from public agencies like the
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency,
DARPA.
 Surveillance
• Surveillance hardware and software is now in use
by every large nation state and city.
• Communication satellites surveil the globe’s
emails, conversation, text messages, and web
searches nearly in constant collection of bulk
data.
• Millions of cameras dot light poles in every major
city and together with GIS mapping have caused
law enforcement to remodel its operations.
WARNING THIS PREMISES HAVE…
 Applied Biophysical Concepts
• Organizational literature focuses on ICT, but
the government’s role in promoting other
technologies has changed and will change
society’s public and private organizations in
huge ways that must be considered for any
review of organizational technology.
 DNA Sequencing
• In 2000, the US government promoted a race
to sequence the human genome and created a
program to begin the effort.
• By 2003, Craig Venter, sequenced the human
genome.
• The knowledge that has come from unraveling
our DNA has revolutionized disease research,
medical care and law enforcement.
 Biometrics
• Biometrics represents a revolution in identity
management.
• Every individual possess their own, unique,
intimate markers, and biometrics are
becoming the identity management tool of
choice by a wide range of governments.
• Data stored in the huge databases described
above may in tuen become “Big Data”, able to
be exploited for a myriad of uses.
Biometrics
 Frequency
• Closely related to the biometric identity is a frequency
tool known as radio-frequency identification or “RFID”.
RFID was developed in World War II and used to track
movement of materials.
• RFID is now commonplace in industry and
governments in identification cards for access control,
parking tags, driver’s license and many other uses.
• A network of frequency- enabled appliances, termed
the “Internet of Things,” will combine data on home
appliance use with smart meter technology to allow
remote control and efficient utilization of electricity.
RFID SYMBOL