The Impact of Information Technology Advancement on Intuition in Organisations:A Phenomenological Approach

Durrel Ramrathan* and Mabutho Sibanda ()
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Mabutho Sibanda: University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Journal of Developing Areas, 2017, vol. 51, issue 1, 207-221

Abstract: Technology has evolved at an increasing pace over the decades. This advancement in technology has compelled organizations to include technology as a key component in their overall strategy. The proliferation of information technology tools aimed at making decision making more efficient and faster has also impacted the role intuition plays in an organization. Intuition was once a core part of decision making however with the ease of access to information on demand, organizations have begun to shift to become more data centric in decision making. Research in the areas of intuition and information technology remains limited, with no research as yet connecting the two areas. This is largely due to the inconsistency in defining intuition and the difficulty in measuring it. Furthermore, understanding the role of information technology and its influences is a challenge due to the misunderstanding of where information technology actually fits. This study aims to establish a link between the advancement of information technology and its associated impact on human intuition. This investigation is accomplished through the use of eight in-depth interviews using the hermeneutic phenomenonology approach to develop rich textual content so as to understand intuition in this information age and how its use has been impacted. The resulting themes provide keen insight into how information technology has influenced the emerging workforce, priming individuals to be more analytical in nature. Individuals are being shaped by the changing dynamics of organizations to more collaborative and data driven by nature hence are conducive of analytical skills. While this is spearheaded by information technology the full effects are only evident in mature markets were organizations can take full advantage of their information technology tools. Finally, cognitive computing is seen to be the next break through era for information technology which is set to further reduce the need for human intuition due to computer's being able to mimic a human's brain to a certain extent. Organizations need to begin reskilling and redeploying their human resources in order to take advantage of these advancements in information technology. However, while advances in technology significantly reduce the use of intuition in the workplace, it will always retain some standing as long as people are involved because information technology alone cannot produce results, human begins need to be the guiding force enabled by it.

Keywords: Intuition; Information Technology; Phenomenonology; Decision Making; Hermeneutics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O32 O33 Y80 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:jda:journl:vol.51:year:2017:issue1:pp:207-221

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