Hong Kong Has Long Been

Hong Kong has long been an exciting place to launch a business. Various industries have thrived in Hong Kong, including the property management industry. The property management industry in Hong Kong is amongst the most dynamic in the world. The uniqueness of Hong Kong combined with the opportunity that it presents to businesses in terms of being open to entrepreneurship makes it a hotbed of global activity. Many individuals and large corporations alike have properties in Hong Kong. As such it is vitally important that the property management industry in Hong Kong is doing all it can to keep a growing clientele content. To this end the issue of Information technology training is important to discuss.

Information Technology (it) has forever changed the manner in which businesses and organizations throughout the world operate. For this reason it training is vitally important within the context of maintaining the competitive advantage within any given industry. It is also true that productivity and morale are vitally important to ensuring that an industry is successful. Since this is the case, organizations and industries must make a concerted effort to provide it training to employees.

The purpose of this discussion is to review literature related to the impact of it training/investment on productivity and morale for workers in the Hong Kong property management industry. The research will focus on why the property management industry in Hong Kong is unique. The investigation will also address the correlations between it training and productivity along with morale.

Defining the Topic

Training in the area of information technology encompasses a range of topics. The type of training that one receives is dependent upon the job position. Some job positions within the property management field may only require an employee to understand basic computer skills such as the use of Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Power Point, Excel). However, other positions may require more in depth knowledge associated with specific programming languages, web development and even accounting programs. Although it training can be a complex endeavor, it is necessary if the property management industry in Hong Kong is to be productive and boost morale (Wu, 2003).

IT training is essential for both productivity and morale within the property management industry.

IT training impacts productivity because it allows employees to work more efficiently. It training allows employees to understand why information technology is needed and how to use it to complete the tasks assigned to them.

In addition to having a positive effect on productivity, it training also has a positive effect on morale. Morale is positively impacted by it training because as people acquire new skills, they are better able to perform their jobs, this leads to higher levels of confidence. The increased confidence boost morale and employees also take greater pride in the jobs they complete.

IT training in the property management industry in Hong Kong may prove essential to the development of a workforce that is more productive and has a greater level of morale. It training on a continuous level gives workers the skill and the confidence needed to be productive in the industry.

Additionally workers have a greater amount of morale because they know they have mastered the skills needed to meet the goals established by the organization.

Discuss the Research Problem

The property management industry on Hong Kong is quite different from the property management industry in other regions in the world. This difference is reflected in the topography of Hong Kong compared to the number of people seeking both commercial and residential property in Hong Kong. As a result of the challenges that the property management sector in Hong Kong is confronted with, firms must use all the resources available to them to make the management of property more efficient.

One of the primary ways in which this can be accomplished is through it training/investment. The proper implementation of information systems allows firms to satisfy the needs of customers while also increasing productivity. Additionally it training increases morale so that workers are ready and willing to perform the task assigned to them.

Taken as a whole, the research problem is how the property management industry in Hong Kong can reconcile the traditional strategies of property managers with the growing the demands and technology of the 21st century. If the industry is to survive and thrive there it must understand and embrace the role of technology within the industry as it pertains to both productivity and morale.

Literature Review

The following review of the literature will focus on the role of it training/investment in guaranteeing productivity and increased morale among workers in the property management industry. The review of the literature will contain information from journal articles, and books. The literature review will begin with a brief overview of the property management industry in Hong Kong.

The property management industry in Hong Kong

Property management is defined as the management of property on behalf owner of the real estate. Property management usually includes such factors as the collection of rent, maintenance and any other aspect of managing the property that might be necessary. Property management encompasses both commercial and residential properties ("Property Management").

By all accounts property management in Hong Kong is a remarkable industry. The dynamic aspect of the property management industry in Hong Kong lies in the fact that there is such a large population living in on an extremely small land mass. The practice of property management in Hong Kong follows traditional styles that can be observed in other developed countries. In the simplest terms it can be defined as the total care of the building during the operation stage; the extent of management service will vary according to the building's use, quality, size, location and age, the ownership profile, and the capability and strategy of the property management company itself (Baldwin, 1994, 18)."

Although some traditional ways of conducting business in the property management industry of Hong Kong are still useful, the property management industry must also consider the ways in which technology can improve the industry. Today there are many useful technological resources such as electronic maps and other computer programs that can allow property managers in Hong Kong to work in ways that are more efficient. It training is a major part of ensuring that the property management industry in Hong Kong can experience greater productivity and increased morale.

The importance of it Training

Life in an increasingly global world, that is dependent upon information systems and technology, demands the implementation of it training on every level. In Hong Kong it training begins at the elementary school level. According to an article entitled "Voices and Implementation of Information Technology in an Elementary School Classroom: A Hong Kong Case Study," it training is critical if students are to compete in the global community. The article asserts that Hong Kong has made a concerted effort to ensure that its students will be ready when the time comes for them to enter the workforce. One of the primary ways to prepare them is through it training. The author also explains that in Hong Kong "IT has become an integral part of the whole-school curriculum in Hong Kong. The government required all schools to teach at least 25% of their curriculum through it by the 2002-2003 academic year (Ngan,2003, 268)"

This need for it training definitely extends into the actual workplace. It training in Hong Kong does not end with the education system. Employers also have a responsibility to train employees in the area of information technology. This training is needed on a consistent basis because information systems change constantly. The information technology industry is constantly placing new programs and systems into the market that increase efficiency and decrease cost.

IT training in Hong Kong's property management industry is necessary because of the size and location of the clientele. Property owners regardless of whether they own commercial or residential properties are often located throughout the world. This sophisticated clientele wants the assurance of knowing that their properties are taken care of when they are not in Hong Kong. In addition, clientele residing in Hong Kong do not want to be overlooked and want their properties managed properly also. With this being understood, the property management industry in Hong Kong could greatly benefit from the implementation of it training and investment.

Productivity and it training

Within the context of business productivity is defined as a measure of worker efficiency, such as the number of units produced per hour ("productivity," n.d.). As it pertains to economics the definition of productivity is broader and encompasses the making of goods and services to create wealth ("productivity," n.d.) Within the context of property management, productivity is associated with the amount of clientele that can be serviced within a designated amount of time. Productivity in this industry can also be measured by the ability to maintain many properties over a substantial period of time.

According to an article entitled "The Political Economy of National Competitiveness: One Country, Two Systems' and Hong Kong's Diminished International Business Reputation," some of the economic and political freedoms that have come to be associated with Hong Kong have been diminished in recent years. Evidence of this can be seen in several industries in which Hong Kong is not longer as competitive as it once was (Edmonds, 2004).

There are several reasons for the diminished international business reputation Hong Kong has experienced in recent years. Like other countries Hong Kong has been affected by the problems present in the overall global economy. In addition, the political climate in Hong Kong has changed the level of economic freedom that allowed businesses to excel in the country. In addition to these reasons for the diminished reputation, there are industries that have failed to provide proper it training to employees.

Several studies have found a positive correlation between Information technology training and competitive advantage. According to an article entitled "Information Technology as Competitive Advantage: The Role of Human, Business, and Technology Resources "

IT creates advantage by leveraging or exploiting preexisting, complementary human and business resources. In the retail industry, sophisticated it users did not generally outperform less sophisticated users, but those that combined it with critical complementary resources did gain performance advantages (Poell & Dent- Micallef, 1997, 375)."

It could be concluded for this research that information technology is pivotal to the development of a competitive advantage. Acquiring and maintaining a competitive advantage is essential to making a firm or an industry profitable. Firms that possess a competitive advantage have high levels of productivity and employees at these firms have high morale.

With this understood it is important to understand the ways in which it training leads to productivity and boosts the morale of employees. As training relates to productivity "A relationship between training and productivity is fundamental to the existence of the vocational education and training system." Not only is vocational education built upon a foundation of training, training is the most important determinant in job performance and productivity levels. The author further asserts that Drawing in part on feedback from employees, the research has highlighted the importance, for operational personnel, of one-to-one, relatively informal, work-based learning in being able to apply skills within the context of a particular enterprise. Firms that have integrated on-the-job training with class-based teaching, and with assessment and recording of achievement against customized industry standards, tend to have benefited most from their investment in training. The research has also suggested that training must not be provided as an event, but as something which is integral to the business function by being built into everything that takes place (Maglen et al., X)."

This finding suggests that the training of employees makes a difference in their ability to be productive. It can also be concluded that on-the-job training should be ongoing if an industry expects to see improvements in productivity. This research also establishes that training is a type of investment that can yield significant returns when properly implemented.

Additionally as it pertains to the increase in productivity, it training simply leads to greater efficiency which increases productivity. An article published in the journal Management Science, asserts that employee training and investment in it have a positive impact on productivity. According to the article, nation's that invested in it training and technology equipment increased productivity.

The increase in productivity is due to the capacity of the employees to recognize and incorporate technology into the workplace environment. According to an article entitled "The Productivity Pay-Off from Effective Allocation of it and Non-it Labour," much of the increases in productivity that occurred during the 1990's in American can be attributed to large investments in information technology.

These investments in technology were inclusive of telecommunications, hardware and software. Companies used these new technologies to make business processes more efficient leading to improvements in profitability, productivity and market share. In addition, companies trained employees concerning the proper use of these new technologies which asl contributed to the improvements in productivity.

The article asserts that the companies that took an intensive approach to making their corporate infrastructure technological, many changes also occurred within the labor force. These changes occurred because the increase in the presence of technologies called for the hiring of highly skilled employees in certain areas of information systems technology. The article explains "the character of the corporate labor force then evolved into one combining individuals with it skills who could develop and implement software applications and build and maintain it networks; and employees with fewer it skills (Kudyba, 2004, 235)." The author asserts that in an effort to get the most out of the technologies a company must ensure that it has workers with it skills. These workers are not only important as it pertains to ensuring the information is operating properly, they are also critical because they are able to lend a hand in training employees without it skills. The author also reports that Economists have long been concerned with labour productivity. National labour statistics such as those published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in the United States are collected all across the world, enabling the estimation of labour productivity (Kent, Jablonski and Klarquist, 1995); and national productivity statistics are estimated as a function of output generated per unit of labour input. Management is also concerned with labour productivity in human resource management (Huselid, 1995: Barney, Feurst and Mata, 1995). These studies conclude that management initiatives which increase employees' skills and knowledge have a positive impact on corporate productivity, and that the source of organizations' sustained competitive advantages is their skilled employees (Kudyba, 2004, 235)."

The author further asserts that modern approaches in management theory have focused on "knowledge management" strategies. Such strategies are geared toward increasing organizational productivity by improving upon the skills employees already possess through the use of information technologies (Davenport and Prusak, 1998, Kudyba, 2004). The author goes on to state that various studies have found a definitive correlation between investment in high technology and need for skilled labor (Berman, Bound and Griliches, 1994; Autor, Katz and Krueger, 1998; Kudyba, 2004).

Although there is a positive correlation between it training/investment and productivity, increases in productivity are not guaranteed. Epstein & Buhovac (2006) explains that businesses must use the appropriate measures when determining the type of training and investment that is needed; if firms do not use the appropriate measures the wrong types of technological investments can be implemented. Likewise, firms must ensure that the appropriate training is implemented.

Overall the research suggests a positive correlation between it training/investment and productivity. The research asserts that it training/investment is critical because it provides employees and companies with the resources needed to ensure that tasks can be carried out efficiently. Proper it training/investment speeds up business processes, which means that companies can service more people in a shorter period of time. This results in greater productivity and increased profitability.

Morale and it Training

Morale is defined as the condition of the spirits of a person or group demonstrated by confidence, cheerfulness, discipline, and willingness to perform assigned tasks. Within the context of the business environment morale is what propels people to work hard and to meet the goals they are expected to meet. Every industry wants workers who have good morale so that the industry can be profitable and productive.

It has long been established that skills training is an essential component in guaranteeing a high level of morale. This is the case for any type of skill whether it be military training or it training. As it pertains to it training workers desire to have the skills to work in ways that will meet the goals of the organization.

In addition to productivity, morale is also boosted by the presence of information technology and training. According to an article entitled "6 Ways to Boost Employee Morale," not only is it training important for the morale of all employees, it is particularly critical for it workers. It workers are those employees that are specifically responsible for various aspects of a company's information system. This includes networks, security, help desks, programming and so forth. Morale is more important to it workers because of the frequency with which changes occur within the context of information technology. In order to properly carry out their jobs it workers must have the most current training. Having access to this continuous education provides it workers with an increased level of morale (Heller, 2003).

The article also explains that businesses should make a concerted effort to guarantee that it workers get the proper training. The author contends that of budget cuts must be made, training should not be sacrificed (Heller, 2003). One of the ways in which it training can be made more affordable is through state grants. Such grants are available to businesses from any type of industry and can greatly reduce the expense related to it training (Heller, 2003). For instance in New York a state grant can cover an estimated 50% of it training. Although this particular article focuses on grants available for American companies, similar grants exist in countries throughout the world. Such grants are used to keep businesses productive so that people can remain employed. In addition to it training grants available through the government, software companies such as Microsoft offer some free training sessions for businesses (Heller, 2003). This gives Microsoft the opportunity to demonstrate new products to companies and in doing so they are also advertising products that businesses ultimately purchase (Heller, 2003).

It is evident that morale is essential to ensuring that workers will be motivated to perform the tasks assigned and that the firm or industry will be able to meet established goals. Aforementioned research illustrates that morale can be dependent upon it training, this is particularly true of it workers. The investigation asserts that it training gives workers the confidence necessary to boost morale.