New Technology has Changed the Workplace - Essay Example

New technology has changed the workplace. Over the last one hundred years what trends have emerged and endured, and what kinds of workplace might thenew technology lead to in the year 2028? It is a sure fact that new technology has turned the world in an upside down fashion. The workplace dynamics have changed and so have the ways and means through which man looked at the business processes, tasks and undertakings. Now everything seems to be based on the technological facets which are made available with the assistance of the computers, the Information Technology field, high-end processors and so on. The world has started to shrink because the distances are now being covered quickly. Inventions are hitting the workplace domains more quickly than anything else imaginable. The manner in which these changes have come to the fore has made man feel astounded and quite rightly so. Over the last century, the workplace manifestations have evolved in such a manner that if someone from the past arrived in the world of present times, he would feel like an alien, or perhaps he would see us as such. Looking forward to the year 2028, one can predict that there will be even more significant changes taking place than have come to know on our part (Cozzetto 1997). The world of science has made giant strides but what is about to come is amazingly unique and very, very different. One must understand that just like life, the world of business (workplace) is also on the move, and hence this evolution would involve quite a few drastic measures. Undoubtedly, new technology has brought with it issues that were deemed as incomprehensible and impracticable in the yesteryears. For example, the use of computers just a century back was never imagined by anyone. The workplace tasks were handled with the help of book-keeping measures, stationery and mere calculations done through hands. Now with the advent of computers, everything has changed. The workplace domains do not require the use of paper anymore. Gone are the days when book-keeping used to be the most reliant mechanism for keeping data and records. Now the same has been changed with the arrival of up to date and latest computer software packages. The availability of this data on a resourced location on the World Wide Web (or Internet for short) has helped solve the problem related with the stealing of these records. Now everything is safe, and more than ever (Newhagen 2004). This has happened because the computers have revolutionized the field of business like nothing else imaginable. The people are now more focused on getting their jobs done through the facilitation of computers. The dependence on paper has diminished if not entirely finished for that matter. However the reliance on computers has exceeded all expectations that one can think of. This is a good sign as far as technological manifestations are concerned, but over-dependence on these new technological tools is a bad thing as well. There must be a balance between the paper work and the usage of computers at the end of the day. The new technology has shaped up the workplace tasks in such a way that man has started to take a lot of things for granted. There is the usage of computers, the printers, the LAN connectivity, the scanners, the distributed application methodologies and so on. A lot of attention is now being paid toward acquiring state of the art machinery which will only complement the work ethos in the present times. High spending is being undertaken by the top management regimes to make sure that there are enough investments in place to look after the needs and requirements of the workplace business processes and undertakings. The wireless world of seamless connectivity has made employees sit in different corners of the office with their laptops on and link with the different offices of the world in one go. Similarly board level meetings have been equipped with projectors and pointing devices which require minimal input from the users. These have meant a greater deal of help and facilitation for the sake of the board members who really have a task of making adequate decisions for the sake of the company, its stakeholders, employees and the end customers. Now the processes are being undertaken in such a manner that the same thoughts were only seen as dreams in the past. The changes have been frenetic and no one has been able to keep a track of how the business processes have evolved over a period of time (Julien 1994). Looking forward to the future, one finds out that there are a number of things which will be given the time and space to make it big within the workplace realms. Some of them are real, others imaginary. However there are more which cannot be predicted at this stage because these will make their entry without any intimidation. Same has been the case with computers, where this new technological device made its entry into the world of business with a loud bang. Nearly all the business workplaces have been filled with computers far and wide. Such is the magnanimous effect of this technological tool, and quite rightly so due to a number of benefits coming with it. The new technological tools will come out in the happen in a huge way. They will make sure that nearly every field of business gets benefited by the bounties presented by these inventions. One must understand that the future holds pretty firmly within the strides of the employees. They can expect positive changes to happen their way, as they will see for their own selves how they will make the best use of these technological tools on a regular basis. Moving on towards a prediction for the year 2028, one can see that these new technology tools that are present now will be changed with more superior and up to date technologies in the future. Perhaps one can safely predict that the computers would be obsolete by then within the reigns of the workplace. They will surely be replaced by an even better tool. The workplace of coming times will be altered with a lot of changes. There will be boxes and cubicles of employees which would easily revolve around the office. The computers will be replaced by some new technological tools and the wires would cease to exist. There will be seamless connectivity with an even more advanced technology than WiFi. Similarly, the individuals at the workplace would have their work done in a quick manner. The element of sixth sense would come in at the workplace where the tools of getting in touch with the clients would be made faster and more secure. There would be real-time conversations and the element of touch would be embedded within the related technological undertakings. The employees would be able to order lunch and drinks through the Internet (an advanced one than the one used today) and by paying a nominal fee, they will acquire whatever they want to eat or drink. They would not be required to go out and have lunch from the closest outlet or retail chain (Halachmi 1992). The employees would get all of that in an immensely quick way and this method will be hassle free in essence. Thus in the year 2028, a number of different technological manifestations would dawn upon man and the workplace domains would be benefited with the same in a huge way. There is no doubting the fact that future is secure as far as work realms are concerned. The only thing required is to properly find out which inventions would suit the needs of the workplace employees more than others. This will solve the problems which exist in the present times for the employees nonetheless. In the end, it would be wise to suggest that man can only think of what he knows for now. What is going to take place within the workplace dynamics in 20 or so years is out of one’s imagination. It is a fact that in 1988 not many could have thought that man will make such inventions as a laptop which will make the computer users go from place to place. Similarly these related mechanisms will exponentially develop in a magnanimous way in the coming times. One can only hope that in 2028, the stress levels of individuals also decreases because with the advent of new technological tools and devices, man has also become stressed in a number of different ways (Meiksins 1996). All said and done, the workplace of tomorrow would be filled with a host of technological devices. Now it is up to the organizations as to how they adapt the same within their workplace regimes. It would be best for them to go slow and take a good understanding of how things will shape up for their respective work domains. Rushing up would mean disaster for all and sundry. However laggards would never achieve more in this rat race to move ahead further than the competitors. References Cozzetto, Don A. (1997). Privacy and the Workplace: Technology and Public Employment. Public Personnel Management, Vol. 26 Halachmi, Arie. (1992). The Brave New World of Information Technology. Public Personnel Management, Vol. 21 Julien, Pierre-Andre. (1994). Factors of New Technology Adoption in the Retail Sector. Entrepreneurship: Theory and Practice, Vol. 18 Meiksins, Peter. (1996). Work, New Technology, and Capitalism, Monthly Review. Vol. 48, July Newhagen, John. (2004). Media Access: Social and Psychological Dimensions of New Technology Use. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Word Count: 1,514 Read More