Information Systems and Technology Issues in Developing Countries

Information Systems (IS) and Technology Issues in Developing Countries

Technology has changed society in a manner much like the Industrial Revolution of the 17th century. The technology revolution started in the U.S. And the countries of Western Europe, in a manner similar to the industrial revolutions. The benefits of this revolution were immediately obvious in the improvement of productivity and the quality of life in the countries. Realizing the benefits that can be obtained by implementing information systems and technology systems many developing countries are looking towards using the technology to improve their standard of living and quality of life.

Technology is changing the way we live and work. Its influence is observed in all strata of population and throughout the world. The implementation and use of IS and technology in developed countries has existed for a number of decades. The developing countries are however, racing to catch up with their developed counterparts in this arena with varied successes at different levels. The Internet and Globalization has eliminated the geographical boundaries of the past. People and companies at one location on the globe have the ability to influence the economy in another section of the world. China, for example, is emerging as a manufacturing powerhouse; India, as a technology region; and, Brazil and Argentina as specialized manufacturing regions. Many globalization changes are driving the need for IS and technology updating in the developed countries. These are supporting technology needs of the industry and the economy of many countries. For example, the increased outsourcing of tasks and services requires state of the art technology infrastructures. Countries that have been able to set up these infrastructures in the shortest possible time have been able to reap the maximum benefits of information technology in recent decades. Using Information Technology (IT), companies and organizations are now able to understand salient trends and demands based on the quick analysis from the information.

1.2 Purpose and Objective of this study

The advantages of implementing an information and technology system in any country are numerous. There are however, many hurdles and constraints. These have to be overcome prior to the implementation of these systems. These issues are further compounded in developing countries, which might not always have the necessary supporting infrastructures such as telecommunication and supporting services (qualified personnel) needing for the smooth running of the entire system. The great strides made by China and India is recent times with respect to the advancement and development of IT systems however, are testimony to the fact that even developing countries with limited prior infrastructure can makes great leaps in their economies through use of information systems and technology.

The objective of this study to identify potential hurdles and problems that are associated with information systems and technology setup in developing countries. This study also identifies the current issues existing in many developing markets and the effects that these conditions have on information system implementation. "Studies indicated that politics, law, culture, economics, technology infrastructure, and the availability of skilled personnel have greatly influenced the difference of key issues in IS management between developed and developing countries." (Pimchangthong, Plaisent, & Bernard, 2003) It is considered important therefore, to understand countries' IS needs and requirements. The information gained though this study will help an individual review the conditions that exist in any region and review factors that have the potential to vary the results.

1.3 Limitations of the study

No data was collected for he purpose of this study, rather existing published material on this topic in scholarly journals and reputable magazines and periodicals. This thesis has been conducted as a secondary research study. It is assumed that personal opinions and viewpoints are an integral part of any printed and published opinion. Sufficient collaborative information was used. For any given point-of-view, information was verified prior (through more than one source) to introducing the concept in the thesis. The variables discussed in this thesis are not exhaustive. As this study encompasses a wide variety of developing countries without emphasis on any one country the recommendations and suggestions offered in Chapter 5 are generic and might require customization for any given country based on factors that are unique to that nation. Identifying all the issues affecting IS and Technology implementations is beyond the scope of this study but some of the more salient and important aspects will be discussed. This thesis is viewed as an introductory exploration into a complex and intricate area of study that depends of an infinite number of variables that are difficult to identify, quantify and define metrics for measurements. Social and political influences also play an important role in the understanding of the decisions that can be made in developing countries. With this in mind, the study should be used as a tool to start the process of understanding conditions that might exist in a country without depending solely on the results of the study.

Chapter: 2 Literature Review

Realizing the benefits of implementing technology and information systems in countries is encouraging many of the developing countries to race ahead with plans and programs for setting up the necessary structures within the country. One of the most significant hurdles encountered in this planning process is the lack of preparedness of countries in recognizing the importance of computerization and the technology infrastructure needed for this process. Many developing countries do not have the required telecommunication requirements needed to even set up the most basic channels for computerization. (Pimchangthong, Plaisent, & Bernard, 2003) Old, outdated and often, poorly maintained infrastructures exist in most developing countries around the world.

Developing countries are defined as those that "are in the process of becoming industrialized but have constrained resources with which to combat their environmental problems" or "countries in which the average annual income is low, most of the population is usually engaged in agriculture and the majority live near the subsistence level. In general, developing countries are not highly industrialized and are dependent on foreign capital and development aid." (Google, 2004) The per capita income of the population in a developing country is very low (generally below $1,890 GDP as defined by World Bank in 1986) and the population experiences a low quality of living (limited access to schools and education; medical facilities and opportunities for improvement and personal growth) and is very dependent on institutions such as the World Bank and the United Nations for many supporting benefits offered. It is worthy to note however, that the classifications of developed and developing countries does not enjoy support from all nations from both sides of the fence and this classification often becomes very controversial and biased.

"An information system provides a societal capability based on the use of information that encompasses its full context of people, institutions, policies, processes, incentives, data, information technology, and infrastructure." (World-Bank, 2004) IT encompasses design, installation and maintenance of computer hardware, software, and a forum for collection, processing, storage, presentation, archiving and retrieval of information. In this process, data (raw facts that are collected by observation or monitoring) are filtered out to identify trends and organized into information that is used for planning and decision-making. (Yahya & Goh, 2002) Information and knowledge get transmitted through networks. "National information infrastructure consists of both the telecommunications networks and the strategic information systems necessary for widespread access to communications and information services. Typical among the strategic systems are sector-wide information systems for education, health, public financial management, and transportation. Electronic payments, university and science networks, trade facilitation, disaster prevention and management, property and business registries, and national statistics might also be considered strategic systems." (World-Bank, 2004) The concepts of processing information collected using all the capabilities of a computer (hardware, software, databases and storage technology) and the networks linking the components of computers together to share information as and when needed is referred to as Information Technology. "Telecommunication infrastructure consists of fixed, wireless, and satellite telecommunication networks, telecommunication software and applications." (Okunoye, 2003)

It is clear that "the information system, based on information and communication technologies, constitutes the organizational memory and processes data and information to support operations (value chain, data bases), management and decision-making (management system, model and knowledge bases), as well as the relations between the organization and its environment." (Raymond, 2003) Information is the key to maintaining high quality standards. Every government and organization, no matter what size, requires some form of structure or formalized arrangement of relationships and work duties in order to survive and grow.

It is important to note that the GDP is not the most accurate metric for defining a developing country with respect to technology development. An ideal example is India, when compared to countries such as Kuwait and Saudi Arabia the GDP is substantially low, but the infrastructure and support personnel needed for IS and technology is very high in India. So much so that India has the potential to export "personnel" to different locations. Technology issues are more complex in developing countries however as little concern is offered to long-term strategic development in these regions when compared to the developed countries. "Issues that were of major concern among IS executives in developed countries are: building IT infrastructure, IS architecture, telecommunication systems and network, and data resource issues." (Pimchangthong, Plaisent, & Bernard, 2003) The U.S., Australia and Canada all ranked the development of IT infrastructure as their long-term strategic goal.

Developed country's economies are moving away from the manufacturing base to a more knowledge and intelligence base, thanks in part to the technology revolution of the past decade. And, developing countries are slowly becoming manufacturing and production bases needing higher levels of infrastructure. The developing countries have the advantage of learning from the mistakes made by the developed countries when they were initially setting up their infrastructures. In many situations, the capabilities and optimization of the IT infrastructures in the developed countries have reached their limits while the developing countries can "build smart and put in higher capabilities" into the new systems that they are designing.

A study conducted in 2001 by Digital Opportunity Initiative identified five core elements that can create an "enabling environment" for any developing country's IS and IT as:

"Infrastructure (the hardware and "pipes," physical and wireless)

Human capacity (skilled individuals who can maintain, adapt, train, and use the technology)

Government policies (telecommunication policies that facilitate the adoption of information and communication technology (ICT), along with sound governance and trained regulators more generally)

Content (applications geared to the specific need of developing communities, such as local language and tools for rural agricultural development)

Support for enterprise (much of the ultimate gains from employing ICT largely stem from a vibrant private sector, but the public sector too can improve productivity and performance through ICT)." (Steinberg, 2003)

There are generally six stages to the initiation of IT and IS in any region. These stages are identified as "initiation, adoption, adaptation, acceptance, routinization, and infusion." It has been observed that every countries implementing any of the change strategies pass through these stages. The length of any stage depends on the extent of interaction that the population offers with the process. People form an important component of any change process; and the intellectual capital that is present within the population is very significant to induce the desired change in the region. This capital is probably one of the most difficult to develop and maintain as the effort required to create this process requires time and long-term planning of educational needs. The role of the government in developing any IT and IS infrastructure also vary significantly among the developing countries. In some instances, governments are more active while in other the government relies on the efforts of private companies and international agencies to develop the required basic infrastructure.

It is observed that in reality developing countries focus their attention on "educating and training senior management, IS for competitive advantage, educating and training IS personnel, and data resources." (Pimchangthong, Plaisent, & Bernard, 2003) The technology infrastructure and systems development are constantly changing and individuals employed in the field need regular and periodic updating of skills. This becomes critical as the personnel at all times have to be able to use the equipment and the new technology that might be introduced during the implementation and then maintenance duration. The quality of education and training offered to potential workers in this industry is very important. In many situations the curriculum offered in many of the developing countries around the world are not up to the desired standard to support IT development -- slowing down the entire change process desired in the country.

Private companies operating in the region also can greatly impact the implementation of the necessary infrastructure for IS and technology. Governments are often, constrained by the extent of investment that they can make in the development of the supporting structured needed for these new systems. Many companies operating in India have their own technology infrastructure (McLuhan, 2004) and do not expect any support or help from the local or state governments. Companies in India bidding for foreign contracts often have to demonstrate the capabilities of having state of the art infrastructure and equipment on site. This factor has helped many Indian companies maintain their facilities at par with any of those set up and operating in the developed countries. There are however, many hurdles still facing developing countries like India in implementing IS and technology improvements. Poor roads and logistic channels increase the initial cost of operations as many of the private companies undertaking the jobs in India are forced to set up even the most basic requirements for the operation.

Many of the developing countries in Asia and Latin America as were subjected to sever economical crisis in the mid-1990s that seriously impacted their overall progress. In this environment, many governments and private companies began to seriously review the benefits that could be gained from understanding trends faster and using IT to streamline and improve the various processes and tasks being undertaken. This introduced the concept that governments and privately held companies had to align there is strategy with that of the long-term goals and missions of the company.

"Building IT infrastructure was the number one issue for the developed countries." (Pimchangthong, Plaisent, & Bernard, 2003) A tabulated list of issues that are considered important for developing countries is provided in appendix A. Developing the human resource for the IS and technology infrastructure is very important. Without human expertise, any program developed will be unable to sustain itself over a long duration of time. In addition the quality of the IS and the technology infrastructure will not be as desired if the human element does not have the desired level of expertise to handle the various demands and needs of the systems after they are implemented. Computer software required to support and IS system changes very rapidly and workers and employees in the IS field have to ensure that they constantly update and train themselves to keep pace.

Software obsolesce and redundancy is a common in this industry and as a result high levels of constant and periodic investments have to be made in the field to keep the various systems and technology levels at desired. This investment can be extremely high depending on the types of systems to be maintained and the level of sophistication that is desired. Often, developing countries are recipients of hand-me-downs of technology from more developed countries that have become obsolete in the developed world by are still more advanced that that of the developing countries systems. In this situation, individuals working on the systems will have to understand the caveats and modifications that were built into the original systems prior to them being transplanted in the new locations.

Observations indicate that the needs of the government and that of private organizations when it comes to developing their IT and IS infrastructure differ significantly. Private companies realizing that more sophisticated and state of the art systems can help them generate higher revenue are often more willing to make the initial investments needs for the business. Governments are often hampered by low levels of investments that can be made in setting up the entire system. There are other pressing needs that governments in developing countries might have to divert their resources to. Some of these are supplying their population with food and shelter, basic education and other pressing needs such as clean drinking water and access to medical help. In this environment, the population and the government representatives are often not very interested in implementing IT and IS plans that take away resources from where it is really needed. The region might also have low levels of understanding of strategic needs for the needs of infrastructure and network systems and as a result the decision makers might not always have the necessary information to make the most calculated decisions required for the process. In many situations poor decision-making is one of the most costly mistake that developing countries make during the initial stages of setting up IT and IS infrastructures in their countries. While it would be presumptions to assume that all the variables that affect the IT and IS infrastructure will be known from the start and planners will be able to plan for all of them is almost impossible and will result in making any project very expensive.

It is important that every system operator understand that no matter how well designed the IS or the IT is, there is the potential that there will be damages and disaster at some point in time. IS disaster recovery is therefore an important field that has to be also considered. This task becomes even more critical when data and information cannot be reproduced or the cost of reproducing the data is very high. As any IS grows and matures, the interconnectivity between the different applications also gets very intertwined and disaster or complete failure of one system might seriously impact systems in areas that were not directly linked to the original system subjected to the disaster. Understanding the risk associated with the various systems and the potential failures that could result are topics that have to be considered by any developing country that is interested in setting up the needed infrastructure for IS and IT.

There is a great of interaction between the level of IT and IS implemented and the level of education that is available in the country. Supporting the infrastructure requires that schools and colleges in the developing country have the capability to provide the industry will trained and qualified workers at all periods of time. Importance also has to be provided to the educational system. This ensures that the subjects being taught are current and relevant to the technology being implemented.

Developing countries emphasis improvements and changes of network structure needed for IS and IT in the major cities and towns in the country. Villages and remote regions of the country often however do not get the necessary attention when it comes to developing the networks needed. (Rao, 2003) Identifying a cost effective method for introducing the technology for all regions of the country is also very important. No segment of the developing country's population should feel left out and resent the changes that are being undertaken in a few areas of the country. Finding a new technology that is cheap and affordable can help a developing country implement the IS and IT procedure faster. An educational institution in India, for example, created a network system for telecommunication that was very cheap and easy to implement. Many developing countries such as Brazil, Argentina and Nigeria found the product developed suitable for their countries and have imported the technology to develop their individual countries.

Many of the more developed countries of the world are making a consorted effort to increase the exchange of information and technology that is provided to the developing countries. In many cases agencies like the World Bank, World Trade Organization and the United Nations is working hard to ensure that the benefits of technology is felt by citizen of all countries around the world. "In 1984, the Commission for Worldwide Telecommunication Development (the Maitland Commission) issued an influential report, The Missing Link, citing the lack of telephone infrastructure in developing countries as a barrier to economic growth." (Steinberg, 2003) This factor has become even more important for IT and IS infrastructure.

As stated earlier developing countries have more pressing matters to tackle and setting aside resources to develop networks and communication channels is not any easy choice to make. In some cases, citizens from the developing countries view the developed countries as holding back the necessary help and aid that is required, so that they can implement changes. The economies of many regions now depend on technology and computer related business interactions. Global supply chains for businesses and multinational corporations have created a business environment where companies operate on more than one continent. Coordinating the efforts and ensuring that communications of tasks activities and information exchange takes places in the shortest possible time is also important. The economies of countries like Thailand, India, China, Brazil and Argentina have also benefited tremendously in the past decade from the introduction of technology in the region.

Markets are also opening in countries all over the world. Many governments are embracing the concepts of free trade. Free Trade is theoretically defined as: "open trade between countries with no government regulation or restraint." By this definition, trade between nations is not restricted by quotas, licenses, taxes, safety concerns, inspections, or limits of any kind. Businesses and corporations in this environment can act without fear of repercussions. They can buy their supplies from the cheapest and most reliable bidder from any location around the world. They can also sell their products anywhere in the world. While concepts of free trade were developed in the 17th century, the practice of free trade between nations was only made possible after the advent of the Internet and the cheap and easy access to computers and telecommunication networks.

State and central government monopolies on telecommunication and systems network existed in many of the developing countries. Few private organizations were involved in the industry of telecommunications, energy and utilities. Deregulation of these industries is being observed in almost every country that is making attempts to improve their economic standings in the region. Many private organizations also realizing that they could save substantial amounts of money by setting up operations in developing countries (outsourcing) are also helping in developing joint ventures in these regions. Realizing the "digital divide" between the developed countries and the developing countries all efforts are being made to ensure that the necessary technology can be made available as and when needed. The fear that most developing countries have with respect to opening their markets to the world is the "dumping" of goods and services that might take place from more developed countries. In a closed market environment, regional companies are sufficiently buffeted from the competitiveness of the global market. During the initial stages of any market opening, the local businesses have to work hard to ensure that they indeed maintain the level of productivity and quality desired.

The need for most developing countries is to design an infrastructure that is not specialized but can be used for a variety of purposes. "The same network, server, and peripheral devices (such as PCs or cell phones) can help support distance education and remote health delivery and connect rural communities to global markets." (Steinberg, 2003) Populations in developing countries are generally much higher than that of the developed countries around the world. In this manner, even a small increase in use of the network could result in a substantial benefit for the developing country. IT and IS infrastructures can make it easier for individuals in these countries to find employment reducing the overall poverty level of the region. (Anonymous, 2001)

After installation and setup of IS and IT in developing countries, the main reasons for the failure (unused equipment like computers in schools, poor volume of telephonic exchange are often due to the lack of supporting activities needed for this industry. The failure to produce individuals qualified enough to teach the use of the equipment to others, the high cost of electricity and utilities and in some cases the lack of these services in the regions and inadequate and poorly planned government programs are some of the main reasons for failure of any of the IS and IT infrastructure in countries.

Language barrier is also another major hurdle that has to be overcome. As a rule most computer software and hardware require and use the English language for programming and set up. Countries with citizens not familiar with the language and lacking the ability to use the language can be at a serious disadvantage. Individuals in these countries will first have to be taught the language and then taught how to use the software and the hardware associated with the various systems being setup in the region. IT and IS concepts are generally technically and conceptually challenging for most individuals who work in the industry. When this is compounded with the lack or limitations in language the challenge can become even more difficult initially.

Agencies like the UN hope that technological development for any region will improve the opportunities for trade and commerce in the area. Exchange of ideas can help any society grow and develop. External stimulus provided through mediums such as the Internet can offer people all over the world access to knowledge and information that might have not been previously available to the region. An ideal example is the access that individuals in the developing countries have to online education from online universities in the more developed regions of the world. Other examples range from using the Internet to learn about medical problems and drug interactions to monitoring weather conditions so that farmers can identify the best times to sow crops or harvest them.

Any IS and IT endeavor is generally successful if the end users feel a sense of ownership of the new project and stakeholders of the project feel a sense of commitment and dedication to the project. Identifying the end user, determining the realistic needs of the end user and ensuring project results matches expectation or requirements. The end users for any IT and IS can differ drastically and it is important that all users at every interval are all actively involved in the planning and strategizing stage. The concerns and queries of the end users should be explained. Often, the end users can also suggest areas that the structures and systems being designed should address. For example, farmers might consider weather reports more critical for there IS rather than information from the national stock exchange, while business users for international markets and trade might consider currency rate information more critical. It is important that all those involved with an IT or IS project recognize that there is no perfect project plan. Every plan, no matter how well structured, has to be tweaked and modified at periodic intervals as the project progresses. Identifying the resources needed for any IT or IS project is also important. Resource identification for completion of project, resources include but are not limited to workers, capital, equipment, software, IT support, etc. Implementing these systems also make the developing country more attractive to foreign investments as international corporations are always looking for areas that offer cheaper operational and labor cost -- a factor that most developing countries provide.

Every developing country does not exhibit the same variables and internal and external features. Some developing countries might have access to natural resources while other might not. Countries in the Middle East have large reserves of petroleum products that are in high demand in all countries around the world, while China and India have trained and skilled manpower resources that are also in high demand. Designing IT and IS infrastructures have to understand these internal variables. The Middle East might focus attention on different areas in the IT arena, as funding issues might not be a major concern. The type of government in the region might also influence the nature of IS and IT structure built and the extent of access that the local population might be allowed. Some governments especially in communist and socialist states might restrict the access and availability of the information in order to solidify their control over the citizens of the country. In this situation, the government influence might become a major constraint in developing a sound infrastructure for the region.

IT and IS can be seen as important catalyst that can introduce social, political and economic changes in a country. Political and government leaders have a large influence on the manner and direction that IT and IS can have on a country. In many cases, the infrastructure needs also require other political and economic adjustments and changes within a region. Many of the changes might encounter resistance from the local population if they are not made aware of the critical importance of the change in advancements. Misinformation and fear of the unknown especially within populations that do not have prior knowledge of the IT and IS benefits might create social hurdles and cultural barriers that might be difficult to change or eliminate.

IS and IT studies of implementation in developing countries is also gaining tremendous importance as developed countries are also looking for ways to sell their technology and knowledge in the hope that it can generate revenue. (Checchi, Hsieh, & Straub, 2003) In addition, both academicians and non-academic entities both in the developed and developing countries are looking for ways to optimize the new technology that is being installed in many developing countries. Developed countries are also facing the fear that their existing infrastructure may have been optimized completely and little or no slack might be available in the infrastructures. It is very costly to install new infrastructures and resource sharing with lesser developed countries might help the developed countries get more from their own systems, if they move the less critical tasks to other infrastructure systems in less developed countries that might have more capacity and lesser utilization.

Governments of developing countries are often more than willing to allow international companies and agencies to set up operations in the region as they project that these companies will share a major portion of the developmental burdens. In many situations, the governments of the developing countries lack the technical expertise to even maintain the basic system after they have been installed in the countries making the task of hand over complicated and difficult. The lack of resources in many developing countries for research and development (R & D) after the system has been implement results in the entire system becoming obsolete due to failure to maintain the system. IT and IS need high levels of R & D. At all stages to extract the maximum benefits of the system. R & D. requires funding. Developing countries often find it difficult to identify the required resources for this process. It has also been observed that governments in developed countries take a proactive role in developing the required systems, while governments of developing countries generally adopt a reactive attitude to maintaining any system.

The strategy employed by governments of developing countries in the planning process is very critical to the success of any implementation process. Developing countries are more focused on "consumption" of the IT or IS-generated product rather than in the creation and generation of the product. (Checchi, Hsieh, & Straub, 2003) This over dependence on foreign assistance eventually erodes the population's confidence in the capabilities of the government to sustain the development of the infrastructure.

The type of market that the country supports might also determine the response that the population might display towards embracing new technology. In a free capitalistic and for profit market, efficiency is the key factor for proper operation of the organization. Deregulation has forced many organizations to evaluate their process and carry out addition research in the field to provide new and innovative technology to the end user. Deregulation also comes with its own problems. In the case of organizations and markets where profit and the bottom line is the only benchmark for evaluating the organization, managers with short-term goals may be prone to do more damage that good for the organization. Governments might have little or no control over the direction of the market due to internal governmental efficiency problems. The failure to link the technology and IS infrastructure with other aspects of regional development can also result in poor utilization of the technology. Governments are generally run in a very bureaucratic manner in most developing countries. And, as a consequence, the decision-making process and change implementations are often hindered by red tape and excessive paperwork for any change process.

IT infrastructure is very critical for the continued success of an organization in the present competitive world environment. (Okunoye, 2003) In many developing countries, it is often observed that organizations and corporations often enjoy better IT infrastructure when compared to public organizations. Companies and business see IT as a way to improve their productivity and therefore their profits. Public and non-profit organizations often do not have the same perception of the use of the IT infrastructure.

Organizations are increasingly looking for ways and means to attract the best (and optimal) talent for their operations. And managing knowledge is an important part of any IT or IS setup. Knowledge management can imply different needs to different people. And, as a result, using the generic term of knowledge management might not be appropriate for all situations. The knowledge needs for a public sector (governments) might have different requirements that that for a private organization's IT and IS infrastructure. Depending on the needs the architecture of the networks and the databasing requirements might vary significantly. Providing the required access and the level of access to the information in the databases is also an important decision that has to be considered and evaluated for any successful IT project. Different levels of workers and individuals in any population using the network have different needs from the IT and system network being designed and operated. A systems administrator for the network will require complete access to all the databases when compared to the end user of the entire system.

In developing countries, the end user often has limited knowledge about the system and might require a predefined set of information. Local government employees and users of the IT system might need records of births, deaths, property ownership and personal records. As such, it might be more beneficial to tailor some of the end user facilities to make the process of accessing these specific databases faster and user-friendlier. In this manner, the end user will feel confident that they will get the information they need as and when they need it at all times. This helps build confidence in the minds of the user that the system is reliable and dependable. Many developing countries also suffer from wide spread corruption issues and as a result the population is always wary of changes as they perceive that there will be a new "catch" associated with this change. In the bureaucratic governmental systems, there are also different levels of controls and consequently corruption often exist from the lowest level positions to the highest position in governments of most developing countries. At this point, it is still unclear if setting up IT and IS infrastructures will eliminate these issues or if they will create new issues of their own after they are operational.

Dealing with the social issues of change can also be very problematic for populations that are very homogenous and closely knit. Globalization and easy access to information has made populations of many developed countries very mobile. This trend is also slowly being observed in developing countries that are embracing IT and IS infrastructures. The younger population is moving to locations that can provide them with jobs and a better quality of life. In a trend similar to that observed during the industrial revolution in Europe and North America, populations of many developing countries are moving from rural and villages to cities and towns in the country. This movement of population is creating housing and facilities needs that are straining the country. Large-scale movement of population requires places for the people to life. Race to build new houses and apartment complexes with little or no regard for environmental hazards and concerns are being observed in most developing countries.

IT and IS infrastructure building does not directly impact the environment in the region. Supporting industries to this industry is however required. Developing countries have to build facilities to house the computers and network structures. Digging and building facilities for telephone and utility cables is required. Transportation needs arise, as the population has to get from their residence to their workplaces. This requires that roads and rail connections have to be set up to support this activity. Many governments of developing countries do not have the necessary laws and regulations that monitor the pollution levels and the guidelines that are required to ensure that environmental pollution does not occur. While developing countries do not generate as much greenhouse gases as the U.S. Or countries in Western Europe do the prevention policies that are put in place in many of the developed countries are lacking in the developing countries. Little or no thought is given to the compounding effect of pollution on other aspects of the region such as health and well-being and damage to the plants and animals in the region.

Technology infrastructure and systems development also require supporting structures such as the banking and financing industry to ensure that the funding needed for the projects can be obtained. When the government is responsible for the creations of the infrastructure it requires sound long-term planning and borrowing capabilities from the financial institutions both within the government body and from private lending agents. Developing countries very often have deficit budgets and the ability of the governments to borrow from private lenders might be restricted by their ability to pay back the loan amount. In many cases, private multinational companies are willing to fund many of the projects in the hope that when the project is up and running they will be able to use the systems for their own use.

With the development of IT and IS infrastructure, the modes of conducting business also gradually change. Developing countries are faced with attempting to balance the efforts of maintaining the traditional system of doing business while at the same time preparing the country for new forms of business operations. This is a very difficulty task and matters get further complicated as developing countries might not have the intrinsic knowledge and expertise to foresee the changes needed. Changes in financial markets are also required and banking law as and regulations might undergo changes and modification to incorporate the new system. IS and IT also introduce new systems such as electronic payment system (for banking and finance), medical informatics (for health industry) and poverty elevations (by taking product sales straight from the manufacturer to the buyer and eliminating the middleman), which are still new to the citizens of developing countries.

As any developing country moves towards modernization, redundancies of tasks and positions within the system might also occur and as such restructuring might be required. Process or business restructuring can be very demoralizing due to layoffs of workers. Handling the issue of morale can be challenging -- managers and supervisors will constantly have to convey to the workforce that changing technology will not impact their jobs.

Some important factors can also be made in the defense of developing countries. Training and education of the workforce is considered very important and many developing countries often send representatives abroad for training to developed countries. Individuals sent for training rarely return and even if they do they actively begin to look for employment opportunities with higher salaries as their skills are in high demand in the region. This constant "brain-drain" of the most qualified individuals in developing countries is very common. Employees that stay back are often individuals who are not motivated or driven to higher performance, thereby reducing the overall quality of the workforce. Motivated individuals are constantly looking for ways to improve their standard of living and their quality of life and as such government agencies constantly face challenges in offering the workers comparable wages and benefits as those that might be offered by private companies. This can be very difficult to do as in the IT and IS industries labor cost is the second most expensive cost after the equipment cost. Labor cost also constantly increases as skilled workers move up the ranks of the organizations and require higher incentive to perform. Developing countries have to frequently hire skilled labor from foreign countries to maintain their systems. (Okunoye, 2003) The imported labor has higher requirements when compared to the local labor and their might also expect the equipments and facilities to be comparable with that of their home country. Imported labor also displays less commitment to the job if they perceive that the task of developing and implementing the planned infrastructure is faulty and error prone.

"The information society represents both a challenge and an opportunity for the developing world." (Kamel & Hussein, 2002) Time will be the best judge to indicate if the implementation of IT and IS help change the society in the developing countries. It is however important to "aligned to a common goal: the economic, social, political and cultural development of the regions." (Scheel, 2002)

Chapter: 3 Methodology

Although IT and IS are relatively new when compared to other areas of study they have gained widespread attention from scholars as well as the business communities of the world. This study offers an overview of the existing information in the field with the hope of filtering the most important factors that affect this area of study. No new data was collected for this study due to time and financial constraints. In addition, it was determined during the initial stages of the study that it would not be feasible to collected data from a set of developing countries using one survey when it was well documented that internal variables can differ dramatically between developing countries.

China and India are the best example of these issues. China is still a communist state, while India is a democracy. China opened its markets in the 1980s while India did the same only in the early 1990s. The IT and IS infrastructure resulted in making China a manufacturing powerbase, while India concentrated on services and technology industry developments. Both countries in the past five years have enjoyed tremendous growth rates, China at approximately 10% and India at about 8% in spite of global recessions and the slowing down of the worldwide economy. China faces a language barrier, as the language in use in the country is still predominantly Chinese, while the India population is fluent in the English (British) language and is able to comprehend instruction and information faster than their Chinese counterparts. There are however, some similarities between both these countries. The governments realizing the importance of IT and IS introduced legislature that helped paved the way for these changes. The population in both countries was open to the change. High population density and low standard of living were drivers for the people to embrace the changes. The Chinese embraced the changes as they saw a way out from under a very autocratic rule of the government while the Indian saw changes as a way to move out from the socialist mentality of wealth to a more capitalistic wealth form of thinking.

This study realizing the vast differences that could arise if data was collected chose to review and analyze existing data for significant trends without setting up parameters and constraints of its own. The time constraint was also not considered critical as all the information on this topic that was reviewed was within the past decade and effects of globalization and information exchange on a worldwide scale were already observed in many countries around the world. Focus was placed on information from different sources -- journals, the Internet and newspapers and periodicals that have reputations for integrity and accuracy of news published.

As a first stage understanding of the process, this study hopes to offer the reader sufficient starting points for the understanding of the factor affecting the implementation of IT and IS in developing countries

Chapter: 4 Discussion and Review

Developing countries face tremendous challenges from many fronts. The population of developing countries often enjoys fewer benefits when compared to population in Europe, Japan, Australia and North America. Poverty and low-income levels often characterize developing countries and the governments of these countries often consider the development of IT and IS infrastructures secondary concern when compared to providing the population with food, shelter, health benefits and education.

It is also observed that developing countries incur higher cost of labor, as the availability of skilled and trained workers is much lower when compared to the developed countries. It is observed that the level of expertise of the workforce between developed and developing countries also differs significantly. The demand for trained and skilled workforce for IT and IS ensures that individuals who are knowledgeable and skilled have greater opportunities to advance and move and change jobs. The common perception is that computers are the areas where younger generations excel and experienced older individuals in developing countries display a higher resistance to learning new skills that computer technology demands. The older generation generally occupies managerial and supervisory positions in government agencies and public organizations due to the hierarchical structure of most government agencies in most developing countries. These individuals have little or no knowledge of managing technology workers and often do not understand the task themselves. Often, these tend to be complex tasks and this can demoralize talented and skilled workers in the IT and IS in the public sector. Talented workers might therefore look for ways to move to organizations in the private sector in developing countries that have more respect and knowledge about the tasks to be undertaken.

IT and IS also require more empowerment to the rank and file employees setting up the structure or working on the systems. Managers and supervisors might resent the power base that they have to hand over to the younger and lower ranked employees in the organization. Cultural and social issues are more difficult to handle than any technology change that can take place in an industry or society. Handling these issues especially with managers and supervisors who might feel felt out of the decision process due to them not understanding the needs of the system. At the same time new employees in field need supervision and guidance, which is not available in the existing environment in most developing countries where all levels of employees are equally inexperienced and unsure of the task ahead. Management attempts to exert a high level of control on operational strategies, even it there is no knowledge base to support the decisions. Employees are therefore expected to demonstrate intense levels of productivity even if they are unsure of the task to be undertaken. Soft people-management techniques are often more productive than strict and tightly controlled techniques that do not account for personal variability within the task to be completed.

The external market facing the company is also very different when compared to the past. Recent mergers, acquisitions and international collaborations have also resulted in more global organizations. Joint ventures and collaborations with organizations worldwide have created a new level of uncertainty in organizations. Companies are often faced with two types of uncertainties when undertaking collaborations -- the uncertainties of the future contingencies and the reaction of the business partner to the future contingencies that may occur. (Child, 2001)