We all know that the daily commute can be very long and frustrating. Traffic can often cause long delays. These delays cause stress to you, your boss and the coworkers that have to cover for you until you make it into the office. Today there is a new highway that everyone can use to get to work. The delays on this highway are measured in microseconds rather than hours. It is the Information Superhighway. The Information Superhighway has the ability to connect together every computer in every part of the world. This kind of access allows individuals to do research, marketing, communications, sales and a wide range of other tasks normally completed at the office, from the comfort and convenience of their own home. This was the basic principle that started a new trend in business known as telecommuting. This paper will give you the information you need to have a good understanding of what telecommuting is and why it is becoming so popular. In addition, it will discuss how businesses design telecommuting jobs, how they work and how they are managed. Telecommuting involves letting employees of a company complete part of if not all of their daily work in the convenience of their own home. In some cases this may involve connecting to the companies computer network through the Internet via modem. In other cases it may just mean they complete work at home and then send the completed work back to the office through the mail or by delivering it themselves. Although many people bring work from the office home with them at night to complete before the next day they are not necessarily considered telecommuters. A schoolteacher, for instance, brings students papers home to grade. She then takes them back to school the next day. This does not make her a telecommuter for the simple reason that her compensation is based on the time she spends at school not at home. “Telecommuting occurs whenever an employee is paid for work done at an alternate worksite and total commuting time is thereby reduced” (Mariani, 2000). While being able to enjoy the comfort of your own home and still collect a paycheck may seem like a good reason, that is not what started the idea of telecommuting. State and federal government first began the research and promotions of telecommuting to help minimize traffic congestion, cut operating cost, and help protect the environment (Hawkins, 2001). The Clea... ... middle of paper ... ... beneficial to the company. References Sited: Coplan J. H. (2001, April 11). Making the Case for Telecommuting. BusinessWeek Online. Retrieved October 2, 2001, from http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/content/apr2001/sb20010411_216.htm Edwards, L. N., & Field-Hendrey, E. (1996, November). Home Based Workers: data from the 1990 Census of Population [Electronic Version]. Monthly Labor Review, 26-34. Hawkins, C. (2001, August). Ready, set, go home. Black Enterprise, 32, 118-124. Retrieved October 7, 2001, from ProQuest database. Kistner, T. (2001, September 10). Can counting keystrokes be good for teleworkers? Network World, 18, 38. Retrieved October 7, 2001, from ProQuest database. Lundstom, M. (1999, August 5). Do Right By Your Telecommuters – Pay for their Equipment. BusinessWeek Online. Retrieved October 2, 2001, from http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/news/coladvice/digman/dg990805.htm Mariani, M. (2000, Fall). Telecommuters [Electronic Version]. Occupational Outlook Quarterly, 10-17. Sandlund, C. (2001, March 20). Telecommuting: A Legal Primer. BusinessWeek Online. Retrieved October 2, 2001, from http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/content/mar2000/sb20000320_094.htm
Managers must realize the benefits from teleworking and ways to improve the effectiveness of telework. I believe characteristics of a good tele-managers have 1) flexible thinking and managerial skills, 2) the ability to work with the big picture, 3) knows how to fix problems quickly, 4) exceptional interpersonal and communication skills, 5) good rapport with workers/employees, 6) caring and supportive, and 7) earned the trust of their employees. (Global Workplace Analytics: Making the Case for Place, Lister & Harnish September
"Summary." U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, n.d. Web. 20 May 2014.
One of the most important things for telecommuters to consider is communication. More specifically: How will the telecommuter stay in contact with the company? There are several types of technology that telecommuters rely on. One, the Modem, allows remote computers to communicate, and transmit and receive data via telephone lines. Second, an Internet Service Provider (ISP) provides an account and a phone number to dial into and gain access to the Internet. Third, Digital Subscriber Line (DSL), uses existing 2-wire telephone wiring to deliver high-speed data services to businesses and homes. Fourth, Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) uses digital technology and is capable of faster data transfer speeds. Fifth, Instant messaging, supercedes the pace of email by allowing two people to communicate in real time
I found this article to be of great interest to myself because my work and life has revolved around telecommuting for the past several years. As the article indicates, “a telecommuter is anyone who works at least part of the time at home, in their cars, from clients’ offices, and/or in hotel rooms and telephone booths.” Although the article is somewhat dated (1995 to be exact), I feel that what Robert Moskowitz wrote about telecommuting back in 1995 still applies today. When I chose to go to work for ADP-Automatic Data Processing several years ago, I already had some previous work experience as a telecommuter. At the time, I had no idea that my current position would actually transition itself to a telecommuting position or as I would like to call it now, “a virtual office position.”
Berk, S. (1985). The Gender Factory: The Apportionment of Work in American Households. Plenium Press, New York.
Home telecommuting plugs into everything that is happening at the office, just as if they were at the office. By opening your networks to the public and allowing your information to be available to the internet, Co-Works will have access to your information available with many different types of home equipment needed for home telecommuting that can be a little expensive at first to get started. Some of the different equipment that is needed is a computer with fax and scanner so proper communications are available, phone, high speed internet connection, a desk, file cabinets, and a web camera with an internet messenger along with video conferencing software. There are many advantages for companies today to use telecommuters in their day-to-day business operations. This allows business’s to cut corners and save money so that way more money can be spent on other projects which will make more of a profit, and help reduce the costs of gas and travel expenses for employees who travel a lot.
In 1999, there were around 6000 telecommunications providers in the United States. Only 45 companies accounted for approximately 95% of the dollar value of the telecommunications service provider. Surveys revealed that many companies were dissatisfied with the providers billing practices. Many errors were being found that led to lost revenue and costly charges to the company. Telecommunications spending was forecasted to grow to 175 billion in the year 2000 and continue to expand to 350 million by 2005. With this outlook of potential revenue in this workspace, Teletron sees an opportunity in the area of providing services to handle billings of telecommunications services. This is what Teletron did throughout the early 1990's. Teletron targeted customers in the United States that spent between 10,000 and 500,000 per month on telecommunications services. They made money by charging the company 50% of the saving that they were credited back. They did not charge the company money if there was no discrepancy found in...
Explain that less office space will be needed and how employees of companies that offer telecommuting often have a better retention rate than companies that do not.
Effective use of ICT can make location dependant working a thing of the past. Home working capitalises on th...
The workplace today goes beyond just the walls and ceilings that surround an office environment or office building. According to the International Telework Association and Council, 44.4 million Americans worked from home at least part of the time in 2004, up 7.5% from just on year earlier (Earthweb, 2005). Though it may be very convenient to work from home, the choice can bring its own set of problems. There are financial reasons, efficiencies, and even managing time are just a few to name that bring about many challenges and issues that any remote employee would face in that type of work environment.
Studies show that the cost of setting up a potential telecommuting situation for an employee or employees is dependent upon the existing technology level of the employer and potential telecommuting employee(s), the type of security network required to safeguard the data transmitted between them and the size of the operation. If an employer has a preexisting computer infrastructure including base units and server capabilities it can decrease the startup costs of a telecommuting operation. For small businesses the investment could be as little...
The recent revolution of internet and dot-com boom has brought more people familiar to computers and the Internet. It seems like that we can hardly find our way through everyday life with out using or having an internet connected computer next to us. The way we think, live, and communicate was changed once for all with the invention of networked communication of computers. Computers are no longer a piece of machine that sits on top of our desk for us to admire the marvelous technology brought by the geeks and freaks of 80's, but for us to constantly use and put in to work. And in a way, environment which we live in, the society, schools, jobs, forces us to make friends with that technology. Just like when you don't have a telephone you will have hard time communicate with meeting with your friends, absence of instant messaging programs, or ability to use one, will place you out of the circle of events happening with the friends, or don't let you do the work as fast or as good as the one who uses the technology. This is one of the reasons why increasing number of people choose to have computers and internet as a prime communication tool not only between friends and for socialization, but for everyday life. People are increasingly finding new ways of getting things done not by the waiting at the other end of the phone line, but clicking the way through a certain web pages, or typing their message on emails and messenger program. On-line part of the business of almost all industries, not only limited to the dot-com companies but other 'traditional' businesses as well, has been increasingly finding it self positioning more valuable and growing in potential. We are all too familiar with the online shopping sites and class websites that we use almost everyday in a very handy way of getting things done.
Today, with businesses facing increasingly competitive markets and unprecedented customer demands for services, the employment of workers in shifts to cover a 24-hour day is increasing. In fact, one in five workers is hired to work outside the typical 9-to-5 time slot ("No More Nine-to-Five" 1998). Manufacturing companies have traditionally operated day and night, often to capitalize on equipment usage. However, many other types of companies are now offering their services around the clock, e.g., financial services, 24-hou...
But in the use of the term “technology” today, there is far more associated meaning than automobiles or washing machines. It has ushered in an entirely new way of working, and in increasing numbers of organizations, increased options of just where work associated with a particular job will be done. More employees than ever have the option of working at home yet still being employed either full...
Advances in technology have changed businesses dramatically, in particular the communication and information technology that are conducted in firms, which changed the appearance and pace of businesses over the past few decades. ICT in particular, has evolved a lot over the past 30 years; important information can be stored in computers rather than being in drawers enabling information to be transferred at a greater volume and speed (Guy, 2009). ICT has also expanded various forms of telecommunications and workload conducted in businesses, internet examples of this include: e-mails can be used to communicate with others...