Contemporary Issues in ICT: Impacts on Business and Society (ISY10212)

This essay provides a comprehensive analysis of the impacts of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) on business, society, and culture. It begins by defining ICT and highlighting its role in enhancing communication and business performance. The essay explores the positive impacts, such as improved access to information, enhanced communication channels, and new job opportunities, while also addressing the negative impacts, including job displacement due to automation, reduced personal interaction, and security threats. The responsibilities of computer professionals in mitigating these negative impacts are discussed, emphasizing the importance of ethical considerations and the development of secure ICT networks. The essay concludes by summarizing the key findings and emphasizing the need for responsible implementation of ICT to maximize its benefits while minimizing its risks. It also discusses the ethical use of emerging ICT applications and highlights the importance of addressing privacy and security concerns.

Impacts of ICT on business and society

ICT 1
Table of Contents
Introduction.................................................................................................................................................2
Positive impacts of ICTs on business, society and culture...........................................................................2
Negative impacts of ICTs on business, society and culture..........................................................................3
Responsibility of computer professionals....................................................................................................4
Ethical use of emerging ICT applications.....................................................................................................5
Conclusion...................................................................................................................................................5
References...................................................................................................................................................7

ICT 2
Introduction
The term ICT refers to the information and communication technology which is mainly
used to control telecommunication, transmission networks and communication between
the computing devices. It is one of the best strategies which are used in the business
communities and government associations. ICT networks have the potential to improve the
performance of communications channels and networks and provide a way where
companies can enhance their performance and effectiveness (Avgerou, and Walsham,
2017). The goal of this investigation is to example the impacts of information and
communication technology in the context of business, society and culture. The utilization of
ICT technologies are increasing quickly in society and most of the companies are using
communication technologies for enhancing the performance business systems. This
research essay will cover various sections, for example, positive and negative impacts of
ICT on business, the responsibility of computer professionals and ethical issues linked with
ICT.
Positive impacts of ICTs on business, society and culture
A recent study identified that information and communication technology is an emerging
approach that plays a major role in the enhancement of businesses and reduction of
complexity from the systems. The major positive impact of ICT technology is that using
communication technologies business communities and society can access to information
in an effective manner (Beard, and Humphrey, 2014). Increasing the rate of communication
channels in the workplace may help the management to communicate with the consumers
effectively. The utilization of information and communication technology to access data has
brought new developments and opportunities with consumers around the world and ICT
networks are capable to gather goods and services from a large range of suppliers.
In the case of society and culture ICT networks and devices enhanced access to education
by providing e-learning and online tutorials to the students. With the help of ICT
technologies including mobile communication and wireless networks, the teachers are able
to deliver better education to the consumers and reduce the communication gaps between

ICT 3
the students and education systems (Beratarrechea, et al., 2014). New job opportunities
including flexibility and mobile networks also enhance numbers of jobs in the business
communities and communication sectors.
The second major impact of information and communication technologies is that it
provides access to new techniques and tools which did not previously develop in the
business communities. A recent study observed that such kind of technology may be used
for monitoring the communication between the developed systems and reduce errors from
the business systems. Moreover, information technologies may be utilized to support
consumers for reducing disabilities including screen magnification and screen reading
tools enable consumers to work in an appropriate manner (Bloom, et al., 2014).
Negative impacts of ICTs on business, society and culture
Burbules, (2018) argued that one of the biggest negative impacts of IC T network is that it
may increase the rate of job loss in the companies and society because most of the
consumers are using automation and wireless networks that do not require human
assistance. However, job losses can occur for various reasons for example manual
operations replaced by automation including robots and wireless computing networks. In
the business community’s numbers of consumers can be replaced by a smaller number
using ICT technologies which may produce negative culture in the society. While using
wireless networks and ICT based systems the companies may communicate with the
customers from any location but in society, it can reduce personal interaction and produce
conflicts between the consumers and family members (Button, Harrington, and Belan,
2014).
Most of the consumers in society and companies require some form of social
communication in their daily lives which may impact on the behaviours of their family
members and friends. From previous literature, it has found that the key negative impact of
ICT on society and culture is that it reduces physical activity which leads to various health
issues and disorders including obesity, diabetes and so on. Lack of security is a key issue
linked with information technologies that affect the personal information of consumers and
business communities (Wu, Straub, and Liang, 2015). Moreover, the rate of security threats

ICT 4
and attacks is increasing day by day which negatively impacts on the society and business
sectors and also produces financial issues and risks. Moreover, the privacy of data also
negatively impacts on the productivity of the business communities and reduce the
effectiveness of the computing networks and servers.
A recent article identified that the cost of utilizing information technologies and networks
may cause numerous issues for companies. Most of the computing networks and hardware
are more expensive in terms of purchase and maintenance which may lead to financial
issues in the workplace (Cheever, et al., 2014). It is observed that students in the society
can get hooked on the technology factors as compared with the subject content. However,
the utilization of ICT networks and devices lead the financial problems and ethical concerns
in the business communities and society due to which the users can suffer from the data
breach-related problems.
Responsibility of computer professionals
It is very important for companies to focus on the negative impacts of information and
communication technologies and identify the risk factors linked with communication
networks. Computer professionals are responsible for the threats and risks occurred by
information technologies and wireless networks. Moreover, from the perspective of
computer professionals, it is significant to provide proper training and education to the
consumers related to the ICT technologies and identifies the best ways to monitor the
performance of computing servers used by the companies. Recent literature argued that
computer professionals and engineers are responsible for the security attacks and risks
occurred by information technologies and computing networks because they did not focus
on the security of data which may produce ethical issues (Jin, et al., 2014).
Moreover, computer professionals have the ability to control and handle the rate of
security attacks and issues linked to information and communication technologies. From
the previous investigation, it is observed that computer professionals should ensure that
they develop and implement the effective and secure ICT networks which can help the
companies and society to effectively use ICT systems and devices (Kim, and Shin, 2015).

ICT 5
Ethical use of emerging ICT applications
It is observed that the use of ICT technologies produce various ethical issues and problems
in the companies that directly impacts on the performance and productivity of the business
communities. Lee, Thomas, and Baskerville, (2015) identified that the hackers send
unauthentic signals and spams to the ICT networks used by the companies and produce
security threats and attacks which also lead to ethical issues. Moreover, many hackers use
the collected data for illegal purpose and also demand money from consumers. There are
various kinds of ethical concerns linked with the ICT networks including privacy issues,
individual and community privacy, intellectual property rights, societal and individual
rights, values accountability for the consequences increasing by using information
technologies and computer networks.
In this advanced generation the use of ICT and communication networks due to which the
rate of cyber-crimes and attacks also increased but the attackers are capable to obtain the
sensitive data of consumers without taking their permission. Palaiologou, (2016) suggested
that the ethical issues and problems associated with the ICT networks include privacy, the
responsibility, social implications, values and professionalism. Moreover, the criminals
initially block the communication channels and gather databases of the companies by
transferring malicious signals and networks to the main server (Piotrowicz, and
Cuthbertson, 2014). After collecting the reliable data of consumers the attackers demand
money from the users and companies which may produce financial issues in the workplace
and society.
Conclusion
It is concluded that ICT is an emerging technology that has the capability to enhance the
performance and effectiveness of the business communities and also impacts on the society
and culture in both positive and negative manner. This proposed research provided an in-
depth analysis regarding ICT and their impacts on the business and society. It is observed
that ICT technology can be used in the business communities for controlling and handling
the efficiency of communication channels but security is a key issue which may negatively
affect the performance and privacy of the user’s data. Computer professionals are

ICT 6
responsible for the security threats and data breach-related issues for which they should
focus on the configuration and privacy of data while implementing ICT networks and
technologies in the business communities. This research provided a way where the
students can enhance their skills and experience in the era of information and
communication technologies and reduce the security risks linked with computing
networks.

ICT 7
References
Avgerou, C. and Walsham, G. eds., (2017) Information technology in context: Studies from the
perspective of developing countries: Studies from the perspective of developing countries.
Routledge.
Beard, D.F. and Humphrey, R.L., (2014) Alignment of university information technology
resources with the Malcolm Baldrige results in criteria for performance excellence in
education: A balanced scorecard approach. Journal of Education for Business, 89(7), pp.382-
388.
Beratarrechea, A., Lee, A.G., Willner, J.M., Jahangir, E., Ciapponi, A. and Rubinstein, A., (2014)
The impact of mobile health interventions on chronic disease outcomes in developing
countries: a systematic review. Telemedicine and e-Health, 20(1), pp.75-82.
Bloom, N., Garicano, L., Sadun, R. and Van Reenen, J., (2014) The distinct effects of
information technology and communication technology on the firm organization.
Management Science, 60(12), pp.2859-2885.
Burbules, N., (2018) Watch IT: The risks and promises of information technologies for
education. Routledge.
Button, D., Harrington, A. and Belan, I., (2014) E-learning & information communication
technology (ICT) in nursing education: A review of the literature. Nurse education
today, 34(10), pp.1311-1323.
Cheever, N.A., Rosen, L.D., Carrier, L.M. and Chavez, A., (2014) Out of sight is not out of
mind: The impact of restricting wireless mobile device use on anxiety levels among low,
moderate and high users. Computers in Human Behavior, 37(7), pp.290-297.
Jin, J., Gubbi, J., Marusic, S. and Palaniswami, M., (2014) An information framework for
creating a smart city through the internet of things. IEEE Internet of Things Journal, 1(2),
pp.112-121.

ICT 8
Kim, K.J. and Shin, D.H., (2015) An acceptance model for smartwatches: implications for the
adoption of future wearable technology. Internet Research, 25(4), pp.527-541.
Lee, A.S., Thomas, M. and Baskerville, R.L., (2015) Going back to basics in design science:
from the information technology artifact to the information systems artifact. Information
Systems Journal, 25(1), pp.5-21.
Palaiologou, I., (2016) Children under five and digital technologies: implications for early
years pedagogy. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 24(1), pp.5-24.
Piotrowicz, W. and Cuthbertson, R., (2014) Introduction to the special issue information
technology in retail: Toward omnichannel retailing. International Journal of Electronic
Commerce, 18(4), pp.5-16.
Wu, S.P.J., Straub, D.W. and Liang, T.P., (2015) How information technology governance
mechanisms and strategic alignment influence organizational performance: Insights from a
matched survey of business and IT managers. Mis Quarterly, 39(2), pp.497-518.