Technology: Future of Technology & Human Needs Future of Technology & Human Needs: Technology

The Future of Technology in Organizations

Technology and social media have changed the way organizations conduct business, and how individuals associate and interact with each other. Based on what has been observed so far, one can expect the sphere of organizational communication to change significantly over the coming years. First, organizations can be expected to diverge widely in how they communicate. They will adopt a wide array of social media tools for communication, in the process creating different work environments and processes. There will be no unity in intra-organizational communication trends; organizations will differ widely in how they communicate internally. Secondly, email use will be replaced with social media use -- organizations will shift their projects into online spaces, with alerts for providing relevant updates. Skype, Facebook, and other platforms that allow for effective interaction will erode the significance of email as a tool for intra-organizational communication. Virtual meetings will become more prominent in the organizational setting as more and more organizations adopt teleconferencing facilities. Moreover, multiple formats, including quasi-3D, gesture recognition, voting, screen sharing and video will be generated to allow for better interaction in virtual meetings.

Social media and technology will make it easier for more and more organizations to operate internationally. Social media platforms will make...

As a result, more and more organizations are likely to expand their operational networks beyond their home countries. There are a variety of ways through which organizations operating internationally could use social media. First, they could use social media platforms to understand the cultures of the markets within which they intend to operate. Through social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, organizations are able to interact with people from diverse cultures (Sawyer, 2011). This provides ample opportunities for understanding diverse cultures, and is crucial for ensuring that an organization conducts itself, and designs its products in a culturally-sensitive manner when operating beyond its geographical borders (Sawyer, 2011).
Organizations could also rely on social media platforms to obtain insight on the dynamics of the markets within which they intend to venture. Likes and shares on Facebook, Twitter, and other platforms could provide insight on the likes and preferences of people in a potential market. This knowledge could in turn be used to design products and services according to the market's preferences and expectations.

Part Two: Needs and Media

Organizations respond to a number of human needs in their use of technology and social media. These include diversion needs, recognition needs, progression needs, learning needs, and relationship needs, among others. Of these, the relationship need is…