08 chapter 1
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CHAPTER - I
INTRODUCTION
Two most powerful forces affecting each sector of the economy today are the increasing rate of globalisation and advances in information and communication technology. It causes companies to use their input resources as much as possible in an effective way. Information technology is a powerful force and perhaps the single massive drive, impacting global society during the past decade. No doubt, it has given a new meaning to the word
‘convenience’. Information technology has drastically changed the business landscapes and word information technology (IT) has become the catchword for the modern life today. It has become such an essential ingredient of one’s way of life that it is difficult to imagine a world without information technology. Under the saga of information technology, world economy has witnessed a massive technological change in the recent past. Technological change brings about an increase in per capita income, either by reducing the amount of inputs per unit of output or by yielding more output for a given amount of input. Technological change in an economy, therefore, refers to changes in the input-output relations of production activities [Mathur, P.N.
(1968)]. Consequently, as an economy moves from lower to higher stages of development, there occurs a shift from simpler to more modern and complicated techniques of production. Information technology is defined as the modern handling of information by electronic means which involves its access, storage, processing, transfer and delivery (Ige, 1995).Whitten et al.
(2004) stated that “information technology is an arrangement of people, data and processes that interact to collect, process, store and provide information output needed to support an organization.”
In the last decade, almost all the sectors have gone in for a massive investment in information technology. One of the major areas of economy that
2
has received renewed focus in recent times has been the financial
CHAPTER - I
INTRODUCTION
Two most powerful forces affecting each sector of the economy today are the increasing rate of globalisation and advances in information and communication technology. It causes companies to use their input resources as much as possible in an effective way. Information technology is a powerful force and perhaps the single massive drive, impacting global society during the past decade. No doubt, it has given a new meaning to the word
‘convenience’. Information technology has drastically changed the business landscapes and word information technology (IT) has become the catchword for the modern life today. It has become such an essential ingredient of one’s way of life that it is difficult to imagine a world without information technology. Under the saga of information technology, world economy has witnessed a massive technological change in the recent past. Technological change brings about an increase in per capita income, either by reducing the amount of inputs per unit of output or by yielding more output for a given amount of input. Technological change in an economy, therefore, refers to changes in the input-output relations of production activities [Mathur, P.N.
(1968)]. Consequently, as an economy moves from lower to higher stages of development, there occurs a shift from simpler to more modern and complicated techniques of production. Information technology is defined as the modern handling of information by electronic means which involves its access, storage, processing, transfer and delivery (Ige, 1995).Whitten et al.
(2004) stated that “information technology is an arrangement of people, data and processes that interact to collect, process, store and provide information output needed to support an organization.”
In the last decade, almost all the sectors have gone in for a massive investment in information technology. One of the major areas of economy that
2
has received renewed focus in recent times has been the financial