Information technologies have dramatically altered the way people do their jobs and the way companies are managed. The advent of facsimile machines, e-mail, voicemail systems, telecommuting, personal computers, cell phones, and the growth and popularity of the Internet has created a global work environment that is fast-paced and aggressive, and which is changing where, when and how people work. It is changes like these that also have an effect on how managers and leaders manage in this technological business environment. .
The management concepts and trends of the 21st century evolve around technology and the Internet. Computer systems and other advances in information technology are providing organizations and managers with virtual unlimited opportunities to collect, explore and manage information opportunities that were not available a decade ago and consequently making organization managers and leaders more competitive.
Information provides knowledge about the organization as well as insight into possible future conditions. The fundamental purpose of information technology is to monitor, process, and disperse information to assist in managing, decision-making and controlling the organization. Manager and decision-makers have become more dependent in this type of technology in order to implement their functions.
In order to facilitate good decision making, management must have useful information. Useful information has three primary characteristics. First, the quality of the information produced and distributed to the decision-makers must be very high. Second, the information must be delivered in timely fashion and last, it must also be accurate. All three of these characteristics are important to the ultimate success or failure of the organization.
Different types of information cater to different levels of management. The trend now is to utilize different types of information systems at each hierarchy level of the organization and thus support managerial decision making and control.