Organizing paper: principles and practices

Technology is supposed to facilitate an organization's processes and development within an industry, even though training personel in technical application and support can prove quite difficult. Managers must make sure that all employees are cognizant of how to operate technology to its maximum level of efficacy. All individuals, both consumers and employees must be able to use an organization's technology correctly to ensure the correct organizational protocols take place. Yet the technology used by the organization on a continuing basis must also reinforce a sense of comfort with technical applications in general, so individuals are not resistant to the need for technological change and adaptation.

The organization I am currently involved with is a financial services college. It specializes in conveying various designations and levels of certification for its students, such as: CFP (Certified Financial Planner), ChFC (Chartered Financial Consultant), CLU (Chartered Life Underwriter), CLF (Chartered Leadership Fellow), RHU (Registered Health Underwriter), REBC (Registered Employee Benefits Consultant), and MSFS (Master of Science in Financial Services).

Like all colleges and educational institutions, it has proved particiulalry critical that students as well as the organization's employees are comfortable using the world wide web, as students at the college often study independently through distance learning technologies and earn their designation by passing a computerized examination. Employees, from teachers to staff, must be able to alleviate student confusion with regards to the specific technology used by the school. Also, gaining a level of proficiency with the technology deployed in the financial industry is critical to gaining certification for the students.

Keeping up with the latest trends is thus critical the college's success, especially as numerous online educational services have sprung up to compete with the college's core student body. In order to remain competitive, the college has re-arranged its online services to be user-friendly. It has also re-arranged its chat rooms so students are better able to communicate and immediately post responses and engage in dialogue about their studies. The new software package "Blackboard" has been key to creating such a user-friendly and student-friendly system. In addition, the college is working on expanding its computerized technology system of support from a software package known as "Peoplesoft." The installation process and training is scheduled for September 2005. The new improved software package will allow students to review and request his/her transcript, view financial records, and view available testing sites, so students can spend more time learning and less time trying to figure out the school's network of systems. Also, given that Blackboard and Peoplesoft are well-known technologies, deployed in other fields, this indirectly facilitates the student's education.