Icmt Basic Communications Technologies

Communications Technologies: ICMT

ICMT: Communications Technologies

Simplicity vs. Complexity

The term ICMT refers to the various tools used by organizations in the creation and dissemination of print, sound, still photos, and lives forms of media. The most commonly-used ICMT tools in the organizational setting today are email, instant messaging services, and social-networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter. These technologies increase the diversity of the devices and services that users have to deal with, resulting in an enormous burden of complexity. This complexity creates obstacles to acceptance and effective exploitation of such technologies. To prevent this, organizations need to come up with strategies for simplifying the use of ICMT. This they could do by developing a series of techniques and tools that enable users to customize and use devices with minimal effort (Salina & Salina, 2008).

For instance, a user may be interested in obtaining sales information from the sales' department located in a different floor on their device. In a non-simplified work environment, such a user would have to engage with their colleague in the sales department through either email or instant messaging to obtain the information that he or she requires. This increases the risk of time wastage and information getting distorted. To make such a procedure simple, the organization could simply introduce the virtual card or biometric identification system, where the user provides their pre-determined user name and password and is then given direct access to the organization's sales data. This helps to not only save time, but also ensure that unwarranted delays are avoided.

We could also take the example of a manager who wishes to share a helpful video on how to operate a new machine with his employees on their mobile devices. Rather than uploading the video for individual employees, the manager could simply use the Bluetooth feature on their device to share the video seamlessly across the organization. Simplicity is about making one's ICMT strategy easier and more convenient for users (Salina & Salina, 2008). It helps to save time and resources, and to make technology more manageable and easier for users to explore. It is crucial, therefore, that organizations strive to reduce the level of complexity in their ICMT strategies so that they are able to realize the full benefits of such technologies.

Part Two: Creativity and Innovation

Innovation can be defined as the creation of value through the development of solutions that meet new, undefined user needs in unique ways. In the context of ICMT, solutions could include new/advanced products or services that are readily available to users (Waber, 2013). It is these innovative solutions that differentiate an organization's ICMT strategy, and make it unique from those of other organizations (Waber, 2013). Things such as Bluetooth technology, sensing technology, and virtual card identification discussed in the preceding sections are results of innovation (Waber, 2013). Organizations could foster creativity and innovation in their ICMT strategies by creating an environment that fosters collaboration and risk-taking.

Collaboration refers to the art of consulting with employees, and sharing views and ideas on what needs to be done to make the ICMT strategy more effective and available technologies easier to use (Waber, 2013). This could help in the development of technological solutions that respond to the needs and preferences of users (Waber, 2013). Moreover, the organization needs to encourage risk-taking as a way of fostering innovation. The environment should provide room for mistakes, and those responsible for developing the ICMT plan should be able to try out new ideas without fear (Waber, 2013).