Page 176 - Using MIS

144 Chapter 4 Hardware, Software, and Mobile Systems

On the other hand, not all the news is good, at least not for many organizations. For
one, smaller screens means less room for advertising, a factor that limited the success of the
Facebook public offering in May 2012. Also, mobile systems increase the risk of organiza-
tions losing control over their data. In the past, employees used only computer equipment
provided by the employer and connected only via employer-managed networks. In that
situation, it is possible for the organization to control who does what with which data and
where. No longer. Employees come to work with their own mobile devices. Data leakage is
inevitable.
With more people switching to mobile devices and with less room for ads, online
advertising revenue may be sharply reduced, possibly endangering the revenue model that
supports most of the Web’s free content. If this happens, dramatic change is just around
the corner!

Procedures

Mobile systems are always on. They have no business hours. And people who use mobile sys-
tems are equally always on. In the mobile world, we’re always open for business. It is impossible
to be out of the office.
One consequence of always-on is the blending of our personal and professional lives. Such
blending means, in part, that business will intrude on your personal life, and your personal life
will intrude on your business. This intrusion can be distracting and stressful; on the other hand,
it can lead to richer, more complex relationships. For example, with mobility, Addison may find
herself discussing a problem with her daughter while talking at home to a seller at Fox. Their
business relationship can become more personal and hence stronger, but it can also become
awkward and weird.
Employees will expect to use their mobile devices at work, but should they? In truth, who
can keep them from it? If the organization blocks them from connecting to the work-related
networks, they can connect over the wireless networks that they pay for themselves. In this
case, the organization is entirely out of the loop. Could employees send confidential corpo-
rate information through their personal mobile devices? We will discuss these issues in more
detail in Q7.
Mobile systems offer the potential of just-in-time data, which is data delivered to the user
at the precise time it is needed. A pharmaceutical salesperson uses just-in-time data when she
accesses a mobile system to obtain the latest literature on a new drug while waiting for the doc-
tor to whom she will pitch it. She needn’t remember the drug’s characteristics any longer than it
takes her to walk down the hallway and make the sale.
Furthermore, some organizations will passively wait for change to happen, while others will
proactively reengineer their processes to incorporate mobile systems for higher process quality.
Either way, the need for business process change creates opportunity for creative, nonroutine
business problem solvers.

People

Mobile systems change the value of our thinking. For example, just-in-time data removes the
premium on the ability to memorize vast quantities of product data, but creates a premium for
the ability to access, query, and present that data. Mobile systems increase the speed of busi-
ness, giving an advantage to those who can nimbly respond to changing conditions and succeed
with the unexpected.
With the ability to be connected and always on, organizations may find they can be just as
effective with part-time employees and independent contractors. The increasing regulatory
complexity and cost of full-time employees will create an incentive for organizations to do
just that.