Keywords

Technology, College, Sustainability, Management, COVID-19.

Introduction

In this era of digitization, when all the academic activities are going online, it is mandatory for administrative staff to understand the importance of technology. Technology can be a game-changer for administrative activities. All the colleges and educational institutes are looking to reduce the cost of organizational activities and improve the overall efficiency of the system. Technology not only reduces the overall cost, but it will help in improving the overall efficiency too. During this COVID-19 pandemic, all the academic institutions realized that technology adoption is not a choice; it is mandatory for all the institutes to shift their processes to technology (Arabshahi et al., 2021).

Technology adoption in administration will reduce the usage of papers, and it will also add to the skills of the staff members (Kumar & Ayedee, 2021). In India and abroad, initially, all the teaching fraternity found it challenging to shift them towards technology. Few were not acquainted with technology, and others were not comfortable in using it. We are advocating that administrative staff should also start using the technology for their daily academic and non-academic activities, but the main roadblock in the usage of technology is the technical deficiency of the staff members (Ammenwerth, 2019). The college authorities need to train the staff members to effectively use the technology. More than specialized training, mental training is required for the staff members. They should start believing that they can use technology effectively and have the capability to use it. They should understand the advantages of technology adoption.

1. Technology adoption will take the administrative activities towards sustainability
2. It will reduce the daily consumption of paper.
3. It will also reduce the overall cost of the management.
4. The employees can work effectively from any remote location.
5. Employees will be more technically efficient.
6. It will improve the overall operating system of the administrative activities.
7. It will enhance productivity as well.

The whole world is debating on the burning issue of sustainability. We need to understand that either today or tomorrow, all the processes will be technology oriented. We should try to adapt ourselves as early as possible. Otherwise, it will be too late. There is saying too those 3000 pages are equivalent to one tree, so if we reduce the consumption of papers, then there is a possibility of contribution towards achieving the goals of sustainability. The author has discussed the usage of technology in administrative activities and the advantages related to that. We also need to understand the barriers to the adoption of technology in organizational activities. The author himself is working as administrative staff in one of the reputed B-Schools located in Delhi, India. From the author’s perspective, a few barriers to the adoption of technology are mentioned below (Whitelaw et al., 2020).

Firstly, the stereotyped nature of the administrative staff is a barrier to the adoption of technology in organizational activities. Most of them are in the senior age group and believe that their old processes are much more reliable than shifting towards technology (Su et al., 2021). It is the prime responsibility of the colleges to work the mental stereotype of the employees working in the administrative segment.

Secondly, colleges need to improve the technical infrastructure and internet on the premises. The usage of technology depends upon the technical infrastructure and internet usage in the premises (Varabyova et al., 2017).

The schools have already understood the importance of information and communication technology in managing administrative tasks. There are many e-learning companies that provide different types of technology-based setup to the school authorities for improving their administrative work (Forbes Technology Council, 2022). Information and communication technology has made it easy to manage records and maintenance at the school level. The college authorities can also improve its cumbersome record keeping by using technological platforms. The staff members working in administrative activities need to forgo their stereotype behavior and be ready for the technological changes. It will reduce their overall work pressure and make them future-ready. Technology has proved its importance by enhancing communication with parents and students in a prolific manner during the lockdown.

It is true that staff members have some reservations against the usage of technology. Here, leaders need to play a vital role (Sabharwal & Kumar, 2021; Khatwani & Kumar, 2021). Educational leaders need to encourage and motivate the staff members on the usage of technology for record-keeping, establishing communication, library, bookkeeping, daily infrastructural requirement, etc.

References

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Received: 07-Jan-2022, Manuscript No. BSJ-22-11001; Editor assigned: 08-Jan-2022, PreQC No. BSJ-22-11001(PQ); Reviewed: 22-Jan2022, QC No. BSJ-22-11001; Revised: 25-Jan-2022, Manuscript No. BSJ-22-11001(R); Published: 29-Jan-2022