First you will answer this question using at least 100 words. The second part of this will be responding to people who already answered the same question, down below.
The topics discussed in this module will focus on Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology. This technology is having a major impact on supply chain management. Many manufacturing and retail organizations are in the process of implementing this technology. This week we will discuss its impact on broader aspects of an organization.
Your organization has recently become wireless and is considering a proposal to replace all desktop computers with laptops so that employees could take their laptops to meetings, conferences, home (at night or during weekends), and when they are traveling. Furthermore, the organization is considering installing an RFID tag on all laptops to track it in case it is lost or stolen. Would you support such a proposal? Why or why not?
Additional instructions highlighted below. Each of the following essays is in response to this essay question:
Your organization has recently become wireless and is considering a proposal to replace all desktop computers with laptops so that employees could take their laptops to meetings, conferences, home (at night or during weekends), and when they are traveling. Furthermore, the organization is considering installing an RFID tag on all laptops to track it in case it is lost or stolen. Would you support such a proposal? Why or why not?
Each response written is labeled “Essay Response 1, Essay Response 2. Write a response to each essay, adding additional insight/info they didn’t include or your own thoughts backed up with a textbook or other scholarly sources related to the topic. Do not respond to the initial essay, respond to these responses. Each reply should be 100 words and use at least 1 source; for one of the sources, use the attached pdf book, Chapters 1-5. Textbook reference info is: Turban, E., Pollard, C., & Wood, G. (2014). Information technology for management: Digital strategies for insight, action, and sustainable performance (10th ed.). Wiley. Please don’t throw in words like, However, Therefore, For Instance or For example or Foremost or Firstly, Secondly, In Conclusion or any other words that are pointless and unnecessary and meant to just add to the word count. Just write the responses as best as you can.
Essay Response 1 – Melissa
I would support this proposal. I feel that replacing desktops with laptops is something of the future. Since the pandemic many companies are now seeing the benefits in allowing their employees the option to work hybrid or even remotely. This allows for flexibility in day-to-day operation and helps the company to keep operations going even in the hardest of situations.
Closing the office for bad weather, emergencies, pandemics, vacations will be a thing of the past and companies will find themselves more productive in the long run. Moral will increase, employees will call out less, and the money companies waste on days with little to no productivity will decrease.
As for the RFID tags, I fell that although this is an expensive cost up front it can help save money in the long run. With employees traveling with the company’s laptops, you would want to make sure you could locate it if stolen or lost. The cost to replace a laptop can be high especially if you have several lost or stolen at the same time.
Essay Response 2 – Rachel
I would support half of this proposal. I certainly find the proposal of going wireless and replacing desktop computers with laptops to be a good idea. In fact, we have just done this at my current organization. I think especially with the onset of Covid-19, the use of laptops for work has become imperative. Here are a few positive things we have seen at my organization simply by switching all staff to laptops.
– Flexibility – the workplace instantly became more flexible. It is a nice feeling not being tied to your desk. This has increased productivity among teams and groups that we expect to work together. It seems the opportunities that the flexibility of laptops creates could be endless for our business.
– Work from home – This has enabled us to allow our staff to work from home on an as needed basis, something we never explored prior to the pandemic. While we currently have everyone back in the office on a full-time basis, during the pandemic, we had our staff work in 2-week increments. 2 weeks of home shifts and 2 weeks of in office shifts, in rotation. This helped keep everyone safe and more spread out when Covid was rampant. It also proved that we could still run a business this way, something we really never thought would be possible prior.
– Employee morale – something as simple as entrusting staff with a laptop and allowing them the flexibility to not be “chained to their desk” has proven to be very significant among our employees’ attitudes and morale.
– Productivity – we have found that in allowing employees to work from laptops they are more ambitious with their work. Not only are some employees brining their laptops into each meeting to take their own notes but some have taken the initiative to finish projects at home, or check in while on vacations etc. while we do not expect that, have the ability to do so has proved effective.
The half of the proposal I don’t feel like I would initially support or would require more information about is the use of RFID tags on all laptops. I find that this would be a wasteful expense simply because the reading indicates that RFID technology is a type of Near-Field Communication technology, which often only communicates within a limited distance. Yes, RFID can relay and identify information such as location, but a nearby reader is what captures that data. I don’t see how this type of system would work for laptop computers that are traveling beyond the office.
