Question

1. Advances in the development of information and communication technologies is transforming business practices and creating opportunities for new types of entrepreneurial activities.

• Explain digital technologies
• Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Internet of Things (IoT) are two examples of digital technologies. Chose a business function like HR and explain the impact the two technologies is making on this business function (1000 words)

Answer 1

Information Technology refers to the use of computers for storing and sharing data. It started up with Intranet with a network of two computers and today it is a platform that has almost the whole world connected together on an online platform such advancement has made storing and sharing information a peice of cake. Not only people can store and share information they can connect together using the features called social media platforms. Millions of people are connected with each other on numerous online platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and much more. With the advancement in information technology there has been an advancement in our communication procedure too. Today we don't have to be physically present in front of a person to have a conversation or share ideas unlike the old times. In this century we can hold conferences, seminars, and in fact run whole businesses without actually meeting each other even once. Work from home is a rising sector of employment and in this the employer and the employees rarely come in live contact with each other and in some scenarios they never meet. All this is possible due to the advancement in information and communication. This helps the entrepreneurs to establish their business because they don't need to have a flashy ten floored glass Waller showroom to attract customers. In fact they can start up their businesses from their garage. For example the owners of Flipkart an online shopping platform made their application and started up their businesses from a garage and then eventually went on to becoming one of the most successful entrepreneurs in India. In the same way there are numerous ways in which new entrepreneurs are establishing their businesses using the advancement of information and technology.

Artificial intelligence refers to a machines capability to do things that a human mind is capable of doing like problem solving and learning. As the world is progressing more and more machines are made independent and they are designed to work on their own without giving them repeated commands. The machines or softwares are made with such algorithm that they work like an actual human would.

Internet of things is a system like that of a spider web. It refers to a setup of devices that are connected with each other using internet and there is no human to human interaction required to transfer the data. For example Google drive. If a person has the same account of drive logged in at his phone laptop tablet and the office pc then a file uploaded to drive through the phone will be available at all the places where the account is signed in. This is the blessing of Internet of things.

Considering the situation given in the question. The post of HR manager requires the person to manage the human resource in a company. Some of the obvious tasks of the manager would be to contact with many people in a day , look into issues maintain the work record and keep a track of everyone's problems and progresses and assigning then with work. The work of the HR manager will be lessened marginally using the system of artificial intelligence. She can have a system of biometric attendance which will free her from maintaing a long record on a daily basis. Connecting everyone with a network she can send and receive files irrespective of the place she is in. Even if she is not able to go to office she still can work from home. The digital technology makes her work easier at the same time efficient.