10. Why does providing individual employees with the latest technology and training often cost more than it returns to the company?

Using New Technology Wisely Many companies adopt new technologies thinking they will receive a good return on their investment through reduced personnel costs and productivity gains. However, experience in many companies shows that getting a good return depends on the type of technology purchased and its use. If a company just purchases equipment and provides training to employees without changing how work is done, the result is usually a loss on the investment. If the company analyzes specific jobs to see how each job can become more efficient and then purchases the needed technology, the return is modest—10 to 20 percent. However, if an entire business process is reorganized and supported with technology, companies see returns of up to 300 percent. Just providing data entry workers with new computers and software gets little return. Automating the entire data entry and recordkeeping system will give the company a small return. A comprehensive process integrating financial management with planning, operations, and customer service using technology will be expensive initially, but will give the greatest return on investment in the long run.