Reference no: EM132898692

Look around. On the street, at restaurants, sports events, and stores, you'll find many people using their smartphones. And many people are starting to use these devices on the job as well. If almost everyone has a personal smartphone, why not use it for work? Employees using their own smartphones would allow companies to enjoy all of the same benefits of a mobile workforce without spending their own money on these devices, but IT departments need to overcome several logistical hurdles to make that vision a reality. Using personal devices for business poses difficult problems for companies, including security, inventory management, support, integrating mobile devices into pre-existing IT functions and systems, and measuring return on investment. In the past, companies tried to limit business smartphone use to a single platform. This made it easier to keep track of each mobile device and to roll out software upgrades or fixes, because all employees were using the same devices, or at the very least, the same operating system. Today, the mobile digital landscape is much more complicated, with a variety of devices and operating systems on the market. In order to successfully deploy mobile devices, companies need to carefully examine their business processes and determine whether or not mobility makes sense for them. Not every firm will benefit from mobility to the same degree. Without a clear idea of how exactly mobile devices fit into the long-term plans for the firm, companies will end up wasting their money on unnecessary devices and programs. One of the biggest worries that managers have about mobility is the difficulty of measuring return on investment.

(a) Explain FIVE (5) advantages of allowing employees to use their personal smartphones for work?

(b) Explain FIVE (5) disadvantages of allowing employees to use their personal smartphones for work?

(c) Allowing employees to use their own smartphones for work will save the company money. Do you agree? Justify your answer.

(d) Determine people, organization, and technology factors should be addressed when deciding whether to allow employees to use their personal smart phones for work.