WM #11 - Virtual Insanity

"Virtual Insanity"


(Partial Lyrics taken from Jamiroquai)


"Futures made of virtual insanity now
Always seem to, be govern'd by this love we have
For useless, twisting, our new technology
Oh, now there is no sound - for we all live underground"


On my walk this morning I was listening to this song. The lyrics seem so appropriate for an introduction to this blog. 


As a management scholar I get to look at others research mind boggling reveals some interesting insights about technology which many of us realize but don't seem to do anything about. While technologies like the Internet, Facebook, MS SharePoint, Blackboard and a inexplicable number of other software platforms are being developed, there are NOT enough qualified workers to maintain, secure, and administrate them. 


A good friend ('sup Charles) is preparing a study to explore this as it relates to Information Assurance (essentially computer network security) and his insights are facinating. What he has discovered is network security doesn't have enough people with experiential learning to equip them for this type of work. The current workforce for this field and often organizational spending is focused on technology rather than human resources. Those who do have the training and experience command such high salaries that only MAJOR corporations can afford to hire.


So what is going on  here? Why don't we spend more time helping people learn technology instead of just piling on more technology? This is what I think:


1. Organizational leaders love new gadgets (blame it on the Geeks from Wired Magazine).
2. Organizational leaders think technology can replace the work of two people (but need to be maintained by support desk "Betty" in India at $70/hr).
3. Organizational leaders think new technologies will eliminate or catch up with competitors (really - worry about the customers!).
4. Organizational leaders don't revisit their SWOT analysis and ask do we have the skill set within the organization to handle this new technology?


Stop the Virtual Insanity people - workers are having a hard enough time checking our three email accounts, linking our phones to our Outlook accounts, and programming our VCRs or DVRs to record reruns of Friends or M.A.S.H. Don't keep piling on new technologies on your employees in hopes that they will adapt - it needs to go the other way around!


Check out the Virtual Insanity Video - AWESOME!