The Impacts of Technology on Different Culture - Lab Report Example

Worksite Sustainability Insert (s) Worksite Sustainability Introduction Technology isgenerally defined as the application of scientific knowledge to solve particular problems or invent useful tools in both commerce and industry. On the other hand, international development is a holistic context of global improvement of the quality of human life, particularly through good governance, economics, poverty reduction, disaster relief and humanitarian aid. Sustainability is defined as the general capacity to support and maintain conditions under which human development and nature can harmoniously co-exist to ensure continuity. According to Daly (1996, p.78), many worksites are increasingly adopting the use of new technologies and innovative corporate practices to reduce consumption and achieve sustainability. This paper discuses my voluntary worksite experience at Red Cross with particular focus on the aspects of technology and international development as they relate to sustainability. My worksite experience My chosen worksite for volunteer field work experience was Red Cross, and I spent twenty hours working in the organization as a sales team research assistant. American Red Cross was established in 1880s as an independent and neutral humanitarian organization which was dedicated to helping people across the United States. Clara Barton and the other prominent founders of the organization were particularly inspired by the need to help people and save lives following the American Civil War (Moorehead, 1998, p.134). As an affiliation of the international Red Cross movement, the American Red Cross is a non profit organization whose primary humanitarian mission is to provide emergency assistance, disaster relief as well as protect the lives and dignity of victims of violence and wars. According to Gilbo (1987, p.36), American Red Cross currently boasts a nationwide network of nearly 650 chapters and 36 blood donation centers, which are dedicated to protecting and saving lives as well as helping communities to prevent, respond to and prepare for emergencies. Being one of the largest volunteer based humanitarian organizations in the world, Red Cross has adopted a number of technologies and international development strategies that ensure it achieves sustainability in its goals to improve humanitarian standards, saving lives and guaranteeing disaster preparedness. I performed a number of duties during my twenty hours of work at Red Cross as a volunteer sales research team member. My worksite setting not only provided me with an opportunity to work with different technologies but also enabled me to appreciate the importance of international development as well as the need to achieve sustainability in the contemporary social, industrial and commercial activities. For example, my job description involved searching, analyzing and presenting data related to supporting lifesaving programs and provision of emergency assistance or disaster relief. The sales research team used humanitarian publications, the Internet and other important resources to gather information related to the services provided by Red Cross Society, such as how to improve financial and blood donations and the number of volunteers needed to advance the mission of the non profit organization. Generally, the data we collected during the voluntary work was analyzed and tracked to help find solutions as well as guide the future programs related to humanitarian assistance. The major challenge about my project was spending much of my day at my desk working on the computer. I was not particularly at ease completing solitarily the huge volumes of data intensive tasks, analysis and documentation. Apart from gathering data from the relevant publications and the Internet, I was also required to analyze the data regarding the potential victims of disasters and the statistics on blood collection, donation and distributions to different parts of the country. It was, however, exciting translating the complex findings into written and graphically illustrated reports. As a sales team research assistant, I was expected to share my thoughts as well as the data I had collected and analyzed with the rest members of the team. My project enabled me to learn the importance of listening to others and improving workplace communication skills. I, therefore, took a number of steps to improve my communication skills not only to improve my future job satisfaction but also to enhance by ability to achieve worksite success in my future career. One of the steps I took was to improve my ability to listen to other people at work and understand the real facts they intended to put across. Another important step that I took was to enroll for a communication skills course and improve my public speaking skills. Lastly, I realized the importance of motivating colleagues at work by giving a positive feedback and acknowledging them whenever they do something right. The impacts of technology on different cultures as well as subcultures There are a number of ways through which technology has impacted different cultures as well as subcultures within our contemporary society. As it has been noted earlier, technology is the application of scientific knowledge to solve particular problems or invent useful tools in both commerce and industry. According to many analysts, the relationship between societies and technology is not only destroying some cultures but has also resulted in the creation of nascent subcultures. This is particularly attributed to the friction that is usually experienced between technological development and the need to preserve cultural values thereby leading to the formation of sub cultures (Stewart, 2008, p.5). Additionally, technology has also been known to significantly influence the cultural identity and the course of both social and cultural changes. The contemporary societies are largely governed by mass culture. Consequently, any introduction of technologies has an important influence on the cultural values of different cultures. For example, technological innovations are generally regarded as the key driving force behind various factors for social and cultural changes and their relations. Another important aspect through which technology has impacted the cultures and subcultures of our society is that the development policies in any country are often dependant on the particular society. In this regard, the transfer and adoption of technology can only be effective when such technologies are in harmony with the cultural and social conditions of the target societies. On the other hand, there are also a number of positive impacts of technology on the contemporary society. In the modern times, technologies have increasingly been used as important tools to promote human development and give rise to robust economies. The issue of sustainability in organizations Organizational sustainability refers to the activities of an organization that demonstrate environmental and social concordance in its operations and daily interactions with the stakeholders. In order to achieve sustainability, an organization is required to design its goals and approaches in a way that conforms to sustainable development. Sustainability is an important issue in many non profit organizations, such as the Red Cross. For example, as part of its sustainability goals, the organization has increasingly focused on improving disaster preparedness by improving the training of volunteers and members of the society, contingency stocking and development of effective early warning and communication systems. This strategy helps in the prevention of further losses, reduction of the impact of the disaster and improving the efficiency of the humanitarian assistance to the affected persons. Although the policies non profit organizations regarding sustainability are not designed to maximize profits, the implementation of sustainability strategies is important for their endurance and continuity because they provide them with a number of cultural and economic benefits. As a non profit organization, American Red Cross has always been dedicated to providing training as well as education on health and safety to potential disaster victims in different parts of the United States. Consequently, this strategy has significantly contributed to the development of a sustainable social system through improved disaster management and life saving programs and services. Generally, there is an important connection between technology, international development and sustainability. For example, in the contemporary global society, a sustainable approach to development usually involved the use of new technologies that help to improve production without dependency on the exhaustible or finite resources (Macy & Young, 1998, p.27). Additionally, sustainable technologies enable individuals and organizations to avoid using more natural resources than the environment and community can sustain, and therefore sustainability is currently one of the most important concepts in international development. Conclusion In conclusion, with respect to what I have learnt in this course regarding sustainability, there are a number of past practices and attitudes that I would change so as to live more sustainably. For example, I now appreciate the importance of cycling and walking more as opposed to driving. This is because walking or biking is not only healthier but also improves environmental sustainability by reducing carbon emissions to the atmosphere. References Daly, H. (1996). Beyond Growth: The Economics of Sustainable Development. Boston: Beacon Press. Gilbo P. (1987). The American Red Cross, in the Know Your Government series. New York: Chelsea House. Macy, J. & Young B. M. (1998). Coming Back to Life: Practices to Reconnect Our Lives, Our World. New York: Society Publishers, 25–37. Moorehead, C.B. (1998). Dunant’s Dream: War, Switzerland and the History of the Red Cross. New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers. Stewart, J. (2008). The Impact of Technology on Culture: Rant or Rave? Journal of Technology & Culture. 2(6), 4-7. Read More