Impact of Digital Technology

Question 1

What is a cellular office layout?

Answer 1

A cellular layout consists of individual offices where people work on their own.

Question 2

What are the advantages of a cellular layout?

Answer 2

Gives individual privacy.

No distractions and allows individuals to concentrate on their work.

Ability to personalise the working space and regulate heating/lighting.

Status- allows people to feel important.

Question 3

What are the disadvantages of a cellular layout?

Answer 3

Wastes space.

Difficult to share resources such as printers.

Employees may feel isolated and does not promote team spirit.

Difficult to supervise with everyone in individual offices.

Question 4

What is an open plan office layout?

Answer 4

An open plan layout consists of individuals working in a large open space. Partitions can be used to create separate areas within the space.

Question 5

What are the advantages of an open plan layout?

Answer 5

Easier to supervise.

Promotes teamwork and team spirit.

Resources can be shared, which saves money.

Less space is wasted.

Question 6

What are the disadvantages of an open plan layout?

Answer 6

Lack of privacy, so meeting rooms may have to be used.

Can be noisy and lots of distractions.

Difficult to suit personal requirements such as lighting/heating.

Does not give an individual status.

Question 7

What are the benefits of ergonomics?

Answer 7

Higher morale and motivation.

An increase in productivity.

Question 8

What are considerations for a well-designed ergonomic environment?

Answer 8

Wall colours.

Lighting.

Noise.

Heating.

Equipment/furniture.

Spacious working environment.

Arrangement of desks and chairs/ease of movement around the office.

Question 9

Wall colours

Answer 9

Colours should be used which are relaxing and will minimise glare.

Question 10

Lighting

Answer 10

This should be non-glare and desk lamps should be used if appropriate.

Question 11

Noise

Answer 11

Consideration should be given to floor coverings and noisy equipment should be placed in a separate room.

Question 12

Heating

Answer 12

Good circulation should be provided, with opportunities to adjust heating temperature to suit individual needs.

Question 13

Equipment/Furniture

Answer 13

Desks and chairs should be provided that adjust to suit individual requirements and are suitable to carry out the work required.

Question 14

Spacious Working Equipment

Answer 14

Poorly designed working environments can make employees feel demotivated at work/decrease job satisfaction and productivity.

Question 15

Arrangement of desks and chairs/ease of movement around the office

Answer 15

Open plan layout can improve teamworking/staff morale.

Question 16

What are the different working practices?

Answer 16

Full-time
Part-time
Flexi-time
Job share
Homeworking
Teleworking
Hot desking
Hybrid working

Question 17

Full-time

Answer 17

Employees are required to work a set number of hours per day, five days per week.

Question 18

Part-time

Answer 18

Employees working basic weekly hours that are less than full-time.

Question 20

Flexi-time

Answer 20

Employees may vary their starting and finishing times so long as they complete a minimum amount of hours per month.

Employees must be present at busy or important times of the day, known as core times.

Question 21

Job share

Answer 21

Voluntary arrangement in which one full-time job is shared between two or more employees, each working on a part-time basis.

Question 22

Homeworking

Answer 22

Employees carry out duties of the job from home.

Question 23

Teleworking

Answer 23

When employees carry out duties of the job away from the organisation and use ICT to keep in contact.

Question 24

Hot desking

Answer 24

This is a bookable desk for those who don’t always work in the office.

Question 25

Hybrid working

Answer 25

Where employees work in the office and at home.

Question 26

What are the advantages of homeworking/teleworking?

Answer 26

Allows a better work-life balance for employees, which can increase morale and motivation, and thus increase productivity. Reduction in travel, which reduces stress among staff. Organisation can save money on smaller premises as they won't need to accommodate everyone in the office. Allow for the organisation to retain employees whose personal circumstances have changed.

Question 27

What are the disadvantages of homeworking/teleworking?

Answer 27

Staff may feel isolated and it is difficult to promote team spirit. Staff may find it difficult to discipline themselves to get the work done as there may be more distractions at home. It is difficult to ensure that staff are complying with health and safety requirements when they are working at home. It is difficult to supervise staff who are working from home.

Question 28

What are the advantages of technology advancements?

Answer 28

Meetings can take place around the world without people having to travel, which saves time and money. Using Skype or FaceTime is more personal than telephone calls and allows people to see each other, see people's body language and therefore help clarify points. Allow for demonstrations to be given and files to be exchanged.

Question 29

What are the disadvantages of technology advancements?

Answer 29

Some people may feel awkward in front of a camera and still prefer a face-to-face meeting. If there is a network fault or the system crashes then the meeting will have to be postponed.

Question 30

What is a local area network?

Answer 30

Use servers to connect computers and peripherals within small geographical areas e.g. within a building.

Question 31

What are the advantages of a LAN?

Answer 31

Easy to share peripherals such as printers and photocopiers, which can reduce costs. Make it easier to share files and information with employees. Networked software such as databases and electronic diaries allow users to access centrally stored information at their desks. Back-ups can be taken on a regular basis, which reduces the chance of losing files. Security can be set to restrict access to certain areas of the network (access rights). E-mail has allowed fast communication without staff leaving their desks- documents can be sent between departments and meetings can be arranged and even held online.

Question 32

What are the disadvantages of a LAN?

Answer 32

If the network goes down, then no one can access files, which will slow down productivity. If the file server is damaged or stolen then all files could be lost. A virus can spread very quickly over a LAN.

Question 33

What is a wide area network?

Answer 33

Network that connects computers on a world-wide scale.

Question 34

What are the advantages of a WAN?

Answer 34

Data can be transmitted between branches very quickly. Gives easy access to the internet.

Question 35

What are the disadvantages of a WAN?

Answer 35

People outside the organisation could have access to your data so there needs to be tight security measures in place. There is no control over external websites- they can be removed or changed by the owner so some pages could become unavailable.

Question 36

How can an organisation protect electronic information?

Answer 36

Install anti-virus software. Password protect important information. Use read only files where appropriate. Restrict access to certain areas of the network where confidential information is held.

Question 37

What should file management procedures cover?

Answer 37

File locations File names/naming conventions Routine maintenance/housekeeping Back up procedures Version control Restricted access

Question 38

File locations

Answer 38

Information should be given on where files should be stored, e.g. on the server, in which location and whether an external storage device is required.

Question 39

File names

Answer 39

Files should be stored in named folders with appropriate file names that will make it easy to find files.

Question 40

Routine maintenance

Answer 40

Information should be provided to staff about deleting unnecessary files as storage may need to be freed up on the server.

Question 41

Back-up procedures

Answer 41

Back-up copies should be made on a regular basis and staff should know the procedure for this. Some servers may automatically back up data on a regular basis.

Question 42

Version control

Answer 42

Organisations should have a policy on how to name new versions of an original document.

Question 43

Restricted access

Answer 43

Procedures should be in place to ensure only those who are entitled to can access particular documents.

Question 44

What are the benefits of good file management?

Answer 44

Allows data to be shared by various users within an organisation. Allows data to be retrieved easily and used by a variety of users. Protects data to ensure accuracy and reliability.

Question 45

What are the consequences of poor file management?

Answer 45

Time will be wasted looking for files, which can lead to stress for staff. Relationships with customers could deteriorate as they may complain if information cannot be found. Computer systems could slow down as the server is holding too many files. Wrong management decisions could be made if out-of-date information is used. There could be legal implications regarding data handling.