Personal Computers in Business

Personal computers (PCs) play a crucial role in modern business environments by enhancing productivity and facilitating various workplace tasks. These compact devices, including desktops, laptops, tablets, and smartphones, allow users to perform essential functions such as word processing, data analysis, and communication. The widespread adoption of personal computers has transformed traditional work settings, enabling practices like telecommuting and virtual teamwork, which became especially prevalent during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Advancements in information technology, powered by personal computers, have also enabled instant communication across the globe, allowing businesses to operate more efficiently and engage with customers in real time. The flexibility of telework arrangements and virtual organizations has changed how employees interact and collaborate, often allowing them to work from remote locations while maintaining productive connections with their teams. However, teleworking is not suitable for every job and presents unique challenges, including the need for effective communication strategies and performance management. Overall, personal computers have significantly reshaped the business landscape, promoting innovative work practices and expanding global market access.

Published in: 2023

By: Wienclaw, Ruth A.

Subject Terms

Personal Computers in Business

Personal computers are relatively compact devices designed for hands-on use to improve personal performance for many of the tasks commonly performed in the workplace. Types of personal computers include tablets, mobile devices, notebook or laptop computers, and desktop computers. These machines increase workplace productivity and effectiveness. The use of personal computers in business environments, combined with advances in communication and information technology, has changed how workers worldwide do their jobs. Personal computers allow many employees the option of working outside the traditional office setting through telecommuting, virtual teams, and virtual workplaces; options that have advantages for both the individual employee and the organization.

Keywords Application Software; Information System; Network; Personal Computer; Telework; Virtual Team; Virtual Workplace; Workstation

Business Information Systems > Personal Computers in Business

Overview

Information technology in general has changed the way businesses operate with employees and consumers. Digital networks allow for instant communication via email, chat workspaces, text messaging, and phone, helping to bring the vast expanses of the planet together in a single global marketplace. Businesses can now implement precise inventory controls, offer around-the-clock customer service, and produce goods and provide services at lower costs to a larger market. All of these advancements have followed from the advent of the personal computer and the microprocessor.

Personal Computers

Personal computers are compact devices that are designed for hands-on use to improve personal performance on the tasks commonly used in the workplace. As opposed to larger mid-size, mainframe, and supercomputers, personal computers are tailored for individual use. The presence of personal computers in and out of the workplace became ubiquitous in the twenty-first century, turning any location with a power source into an office.

Categories of Personal Computers

There are several general categories of personal computers.

The desktop computer is the original form of the personal computer. The keyboard and display unit sit on top of a desk or table. These components are linked by cables to the processing unit, which sits either on or below the desk.
A second category of personal computer is the notebook or laptop computer. These devices are designed for portability, with the keyboard, display unit, and main processing components all integrated into a single unit.
Tablet personal computers are even more compact and lighter. These machines come in various shapes and sizes depending on their purpose. The iPad, manufactured by Apple, is a popular tablet computer model.
Another category of personal computers comprises handheld computers, including mobile devices. Also known as smartphones, they represent one of the most ubiquitous examples of personal computing. Advancements in mobile device technology have resulted in smartphones being able to implement all the functions of a laptop or desktop computer. They also function as phones, GPS devices, cameras, and video cameras—all helpful in creating a mobile workplace environment.

Personal Computers in the Workplace

In the mid-20th century, computers were large, cumbersome things that existed only in the realm of big business and scientific research. For the most part, correspondence and technical writing were hand-written or produced on electric or manual typewriters. This workflow was forever altered by the introduction of the word processor. These machines allowed documents to be written and edited electronically.

Evolving Business Capabilities

The capabilities of those early computers pale in comparison to the capabilities that are housed today within our personal computers. The introduction of the personal computer to the workplace has changed forever the way that we do work. Modern computer software is limited only by the imagination and is capable of performing innumerable tasks related to word processing, data analysis, photography, audio recording, and digital imaging.

Computer imaging and photography software enable artists to create more detailed drawings to illustrate a book or document. Spreadsheet applications can perform various types of data analysis. Personal productivity software can help people keep track of their calendars, schedules, meetings, and appointments. Project managers use software to track tasks and oversee complicated projects.

Networked personal computers allow colleagues worldwide to collaborate in real time. In the 2020s, computer software branched out into the realm of Artificial Intelligence, further altering the technological landscape.

Applications

The use of personal computers in business, combined with advancements in information technology, has changed how work is done around the world. As discussed above, today's information systems allow workers to do their jobs more efficiently and transmit information faster than ever before. In addition, this technology allows many employees the option of working outside the traditional office setting through telecommuting, virtual teams, and virtual workplaces. This phenomenon became commonplace during the COVID-19 pandemic and remained even when lockdown restrictions were lifted.

Telecommuting

One of the advantages of using personal computers at work is telework (also known as telecommuting). This is a situation in which employees work outside of the traditional office. In telework, the transmission of data and documents occurs via the Internet. Communication is conducted electronically through email, instant messaging, chat spaces, telephone, and teleconferencing.

The vast majority of office workers—and workers in numerous other industries—use some version of the personal computer. Most office employees use a personal computer to input data and information, create and manipulate documents, or perform other tasks. Dealings with clients often occur either over the phone, via email, videoconferencing, or instant messaging. These tasks can be done just as well from a home office as from a centralized organizational office. With a personal computer and access to modern information technology, it is not even necessary to have face-to-face meetings. Through the use of the Internet, voicemail messages can be delivered not only to individuals but also to large groups of people. Audio and videoconferencing capabilities combined with electronic document exchange capabilities can often eliminate the need for local or long-distance travel to meetings. Similarly, video teleconferencing allows the participants not only to be heard at remote locations but to be seen as well. This technology is often combined with electronic bulletin boards that allow users to post documents electronically, allowing group members to participate fully, sharing not only audio and visual communications in real-time, but sharing documents as well. Entire companies exist without physical headquarters thanks to advances in technology.

Telework has gained in popularity as an increasing number of employees are knowledge workers who do not need to be physically present on-site in order to do a job. According to Fortune, the more recently the company was established, the more likely it was to employ a remote workforce (Adamczyk, 2023). By 2020, 75 million workers in the United States alone telecommuted, and that number only rose with those who remained in the remote workplace after the COVID-19 pandemic (Global Workplace Analytics, 2023). The option to telework is attractive to many employees, particularly with traffic congestion and increasing commute times in many metropolitan areas.

Forms of Telework

Although the basic paradigm of teleworking is the lone employee working from a home office, there are other forms as well.

"Hoteling" is the use of workstations and meeting rooms in nearby hotels, allowing employees to focus less on the needs of the office and more on the needs of the customer. This approach has been successfully used by Ernst & Young in Washington, DC.
"Hot desking" is another form of telework in which an employer provides a permanent workplace, such as a desk or workstation, that are available to multiple workers if and when it is needed. This approach is successfully used by thousands of IBM employees, particularly in the areas of sales and service, each of whom — along with three fellow workers — has access to a workspace when it is needed. Similarly, Cisco Systems uses hot desking to allow several thousand people to share a variety of workspaces around the world.
The third paradigm for telework is through telework centers, miniature corporate office environments frequently located in residential neighborhoods that have more technology available than in the typical home office. Telework centers are used by small groups of employees who live nearby and commute to these centers rather than making a longer commute to the main company office. One company that has successfully implemented the telework center approach is Ontario Telebusiness Work Center outside Los Angeles, California. Ontario Telebusiness offers electronically equipped suites in suburban locations that help companies minimize the time wasted in long Los Angeles rush hours so that workers can be more productive.
Some companies take the approach of telework a step further and are virtual organizations where all employees work remotely from each other and their managers. Virtual organizations operate over multiple sites and may even involve multiple organizations. Virtual organizations typically consist of a group of businesses, consultants, and contractors that join forces to bring complementary skills to bear on a task or project.

Virtual Teams

It is not only the individual employee that can benefit from telework situations. Many organizations have also found that the creation of virtual teams can be advantageous, particularly when dealing with a specific project to which they can bring complementary skills. A virtual team is a team in which the members are geographically or organizationally dispersed. Virtual team members interact primarily through communication technology and may never meet face-to-face. Because the teams are virtual, team members do not need to be near each other to make meaningful contributions to the team. In many situations, virtual teams save time and expenses for the organization while giving it access to experts that it might not otherwise be able to afford (e.g., through the use of outside consultants or partners). By working together on a specific project on an ad hoc basis, organizations can expand their capabilities without incurring the expense of hiring additional people.

Appropriateness of Teleworking

As attractive as teleworking may sound in theory, it is not appropriate for every job. Sales, marketing, project engineering, consulting, and other service and knowledge positions are most suited for teleworking. In many cases, such employees are already working with customers by phone, so the shift in venue to the home office from the corporate office makes little difference. However, employees should be experienced in the requirements of the job before they make the shift to telework. In most situations, new employees require a period of orientation and adjustment during which they learn the corporate culture (the set of basic shared assumptions, values, and beliefs that affect the way employees act within an organization), the requirements of the job, and establish relationships with their managers and coworkers.

Advantages of Teleworking

For those jobs where teleworking is appropriate, there are a number of potential advantages (Cascio, 2000):

First, reducing the number of people who work from a central office means reduced real estate expenses for the organizations. In 2022, the research firm Global Workplace Analytics estimated that companies saved $11,000 for every employee remotely working two or three days a week (Kidwai, 2022).
Second, research on telework typically shows increased productivity from employees who work remotely as opposed to those who have to come into an office environment.
Third, teleworking tends to yield higher profits for the organization.
Fourth, teleworking allows employees to spend more time with clients rather than in the office environment, thereby improving customer service. Andersen Consulting found that its employees spend 25 percent more time face-to-face with clients than when they are working in a permanent office.
Fifth, teleworking gives organizations greater access to global markets and a great competitive edge. John Brown Engineers & Constructors—one of the world's largest engineering and construction organizations—used virtual work arrangements to traverse national boundaries and work with and present a local face to construction clients on a project site in India.

Challenges of Telework

From a management point of view, there are a number of challenges to telework and virtual work environments.

Managers and employees alike need to learn new approaches to communication styles that are appropriate to situations where one cannot "drop in" to ask a question or check on how work is progressing. Working at a distance can make employees feel isolated and not part of the team. Although email is invaluable for keeping lines of communication open, it is not very interactive. It is often helpful to add other communication media, including audio meetings, video teleconferencing, and face-to-face meetings as necessary.
The second major challenge to effective distance working is performance management. It is particularly important in these environments to set performance goals and criteria for teleworkers. The manager also needs to encourage the teleworkers in their jobs and ensure they do not become estranged from the social and professional infrastructure of the company.
In the 2020s, the virtual workplace became commonplace and personal computers remained an integral part of the business community. Especially following the COVID-19 pandemic, remote working, and telecommuting became the norm for many global businesses and institutions.

Terms & Concepts

Application Software: A software program that performs functions not related to the running of the computer itself. Application software includes word processing, electronic spreadsheets, computer graphics, and presentation software.

Information System: A system that facilitates the flow of information and data between people or departments.

Information Technology: The use of computers, communications networks, and knowledge in the creation, storage, and dispersal of data and information. Information technology comprises a wide range of items and abilities for use in the creation, storage, and distribution of information.

Network: A set of computers that are electronically linked together.

Personal Computer: A relatively compact, microprocessor-based computer designed for individual use. Business applications of personal computers include word processing, spreadsheets, graphic design, desktop publishing, database management, and personal productivity.

Telework: A situation in which an employee works outside the traditional office or workplace — typically at home or on travel. Transmission of data, documents, and communication occurs via telecommunications or network technology. Also referred to as telecommuting.

Virtual Team: A team in which the members are geographically or organizationally dispersed. Virtual team members interact primarily through communication technology and may never meet face-to-face.

Virtual Workplace: An organization in which employees work remotely from each other and their manager. Workers in a virtual workplace typically telecommute.

Workstation: A desktop computer that is connected to a network. Workstations are also sometimes referred to as clients or nodes.

Bibliography

Adamczyk, A. (2023, Apr. 11). If you want to work remotely, find a company that started in 2000 or later. Fortune. Retrieved May 25, 2023, from https://fortune.com/2023/04/11/remote-work-more-likely-offered-at-newer-companies

Cascio, W. F. (2000). Managing a virtual workplace. Academy of Management Executive, 14, 81-90. Retrieved August 31, 2007, from EBSCO Online Database Business Source Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=4468068&site=ehost-live

Dillow, C. (2013). Employees really want to use their personal devices at work. Fortune.Com, 1. Retrieved November 20, 2013 from EBSCO online database Business Source Complete with Full Text:http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=91598471&site=ehost-live

How many people could work-from-home. (2023). Global Workplace Analytics. Retrieved May 25, 2023, from https://globalworkplaceanalytics.com/how-many-people-could-work-from-home

Kidwai, A. (2022, Aug. 15). How much employers can save when they switch to remote work. Fortune. Retrieved May 25, 2023, from https://fortune.com/2022/08/15/how-much-money-employers-save-switch-remote-hybrid-work

Lucas, H. C. Jr. (2005). Information technology: Strategic decision making for managers. New York: John Wiley and Sons.

Senn, J. A. (2004). Information technology: Principles, practices, opportunities (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall.

Personal Computers in Business

On this Page

Subject Terms

Personal Computers in Business

Business Information Systems > Personal Computers in Business

Overview

Personal Computers

Categories of Personal Computers

Personal Computers in the Workplace

Evolving Business Capabilities

Applications

Telecommuting

Forms of Telework

Virtual Teams

Appropriateness of Teleworking

Advantages of Teleworking

Challenges of Telework

Terms & Concepts

Bibliography

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