ABSTRACT
The prolific use of information and communication technology (ICT) in the workplace allows users inside and outside organizations to use devices and networks over the Internet to consume and produce information. Increasingly, users have the autonomy to conduct transactions in the Internet of people, things and services (IoPTS). ICT has also has imposed problems on users—notably, disassociation in organizations, a lack of information quality due to information inaccuracy and equivocality, and a deteriorating effect on social skills resulting from overreliance on ICT. These three problems may be alleviated by a shift in focus from devices and things (the IoT) to the people using them (the IoP), leading to enhanced interactions and transactions in the IoS. One prescription, centered on making devices, networks, systems, and applications more user friendly or “human-like,” does not fully consider the human user’s role and responsibility essential to maximizing interactions and transactions in the IoPTS. A human-oriented approach, featuring Mary Parker Follett’s concepts of circular response, integration, and the law of the situation, is proposed to assist users’ role and responsibility in enhancing their communications via ICT. Overviews of organizational implications related to trust, user processing of feedback, employee satisfaction, organizational attitudes toward time, and promoting democratic, innovative communities conclude this chapter’s exploration.
