Importance Of Connecting Between Work And Technology

Importance of connecting between Work and Technology The feature of emerging postindustrial economy is computer and related information technology. The information revolution is changing both workplace and nature of work itself. Technology is a body of practical knowledge and equipment for enhancing the effectiveness of human labor, and altering the environment for human use. As we can see, the production of material things (clothing and cars) that defined the industrial age is quickly being replaced by the creation of ideas and images ( computer programs and television shows ). Not only is this trend altering the nature of work, but it is redefining the skills needed to find employment – working with one’s hand is steadily giving way to working with one’s head. Here, before getting into description about the importance of technology in these days’ work, we want you to look back through the early societies – to see the level of technology development from the Hunting and Gathering societies , and to see how work was changed by technology . Sociologists, Gerhard Lenski and Jean Lenski, observe how societies change over centuries as they gain greater ability to manipulate their physical environment. Societies with simple technology can provide for only a small number of people and offer few choices about how to live. Technologically complex societies – while not necessarily “

better” in any absolute sense – support large population who live diverse, highly specialized lives. The Lenskis also explain that the more technological information a society has, the faster it changes. In short, new technology sends ripples of change throughout a society’s way of life. When our ancestors first discovered how to harness the power of the wind using a sail, they set the stage for building sailing ship, which took them to new lands, stimulated trade, and increased their military might. Consider, as a more recent example, in how many ways our lives are being changed by the spread of computer technology. Now we will describe five general types of societies distinguished by their technology.

1. Hunting and Gathering societies The most basic human societies live by hunting and gathering, simple technology for hunting animals and gathering vegetation. With little control over their environment, hunters and gatherers continually search for game and collect edible plants. During this century, technologically complex societies have slowly closed in on the few remaining hunters and gatherers, reducing their landholdings and depleting game and vegetation. Because of the limited technology in Hunting and Gathering societies, people live depend

on nature. They neither produced nor preserved food. They used simple weapon – the spear, the bow and arrow, and stone knife – to search for food and shared with other members of the band. They often fall victim to force nature, and there is little they can do.

2. Horticultural and Pastoral societies Ten to twelve thousand years ago, a new technology changed the lives of

human being. People discovered horticulture, the technology of using hand tools to cultivate plants. Using a hoe to work the soil and a digging stick to punch holes in the ground for seeds may seem simple and obvious. They combined this new technology with traditional Hunting and Gathering. For the first time, human being became food producers. A more

stable food supply enabled people to settle down in permanent or semi permanent village. In especially arid regions, societies turned not to raising crops but to pastoral, the domestication of animals. With the greater productivity that come from domesticating plant and animals, these societies expand to 100 of members. There, the material surplus frees some people from food production to make crafts, engage in trade, or serve as full-time priests. Compared to hunters and gatherers, pastoral and horticultural societies are also hierarchical, with wealth concentrated among few families who operate as a ruling group.

This is because of the technology development.

3. Agrarian societies Five thousand years ago, further technological advances led to agriculture, largescale cultivation using plows harnessed to animals or more powerful energy sources. Agrarian technology first appeared in the Middle East and gradually spread throughout the world. So important to human culture was the invention of the animal-drawn plow as well as the wheel, writing, numbers, and the expanding use of metals – all appearing at roughly the same time – that civilization” (

historians regard this era as “ the dawn of

Lenski, Nolan and Lenski 1995.175). Farmer with animal-drawn plows can cultivate field vastly larger than the gardensized plots worked by horticulturalists. They can produced 10 times yield of hunting and gathering. Plows have the additional advantage of turning, and thereby aerating the soil to increase fertility. As a result, farmers work the same land for generation, which in turn, encourage permanent settlements. Large food surpluses, transported on animalpowered wagons, allow agrarian societies to expand their land area and population. As always, increasing production means greater specialization. Task once performed by everyone,

such as clearing land and securing food, become distinct occupation. Agrarian technology also afford a greater rage of possibilities as to how to live, which is why agrarian societies differ more from one another than horticultural and pastoral societies do.

4. Industrial Societies By the mid-eighteen century, a second technological revolution was under way, first in England and, soon afterward elsewhere in Europe and North America. Industrialization occurred as societies replaced the muscle power of animals and humans with advanced sources of energy. Formally, industry refers to the production of goods using sophisticated fuels and machinery. Task once performed by humans are now performed by machines, on assembly lines, at a much faster speed and lower cost. With industrial technology, societies began to change faster. Industrial societies transformed themselves more in a century than they had in thousands of years before. Industry made the world seem smaller. During 19th century, railroads and steamships revolutionized transportation, moving people farther and faster than ever before. During 20 th century, additional waves of change followed the invention of automobile, radio, television, and so on. Work, too, has changed. In agrarian societies, most men and women work in the

home. Industrialization, however, create factories near centralized machinery and energy sources. Thus people started to work in the new work sites under supervision of strangers. Before the industrial revolution, most work involved growing and gathering raw materials such as grain, wood and wool. The industrial economy shifted that focus so that most people worked in factories to turn raw materials into a wide range of salable products. Industrial technology has raised living standards and extended lives. In the process, extensive schooling also become common, because industrial production demand a literate and skilled labor force.

5. Postindustrial Society (Information Technology) By the middle of this century, the nature of production itself was changing once again. Many industrial societies, including the United States have now entered a postindustrial phase of economic development based on new information technology. While production in industrial nations center on factories and machinery generating material goods, postindustrial production focuses on computers and other electronic device the create, process, store, and apply information. Automated machinery (and, more recently, robotics) reduced the role of human labor in factory production, while simultaneously expanding the ranks of clerical workers and mangers. Today, service industries – such as public relations, health care, advertising, banking, and sales – employ

most working people in this country. Distinguishing the postindustrial era, then, is a shift from industrial work to service jobs. Driving this economic change is a third technological transformation: the development of the computer. The information revolution is generating new kinds of information, new means of communication, and changing the character of work just as factories did two centuries ago. The information revolution has unleashed three major trends: A. From tangible products to ideas. The industrial era was defined by the production of goods; in the postindustrial era, work involves creating and manipulating symbols. Computer programmers, writers, financial analysts, advertising executives, architects, editors, and all sorts of consultants make up the labor of the Information Age. B. From mechanical skills to literacy skills. Just as the Industrial revolution required mechanical skills, the Information revolution requires literacy skills – speaking and writing well, and, of course, using computers. People able to communicate effectively enjoy new opportunities; people with limited skills face declining prospects. C. The centralization of work away from factories. Industrial technology drew workers into factories containing the machines and energy sources, but computer technology allows workers to be virtually anywhere. Indeed, laptop computers, cell phones, and portable facsimile (fax) machines now turn the home, car, or even an airplane into a “virtual office.” New information technology, in short, blurs the lines

between work and home life, bringing about a return of cottage industries in the form of home-based offices and small businesses. As part if a shift toward postindustrial societies linked within a global economy, telecommuting can even cross national boundaries, oceans, and continents. Telecommuting clearly facilitates communication between a company’s employees who work in different locations, including some who work at home. This offers many important benefits for individual employees and for the company as a whole, yet it is still important to encourage face-to-face communication in staff meetings and social settings. To sum up, technology is extremely important with work and it gives lots of benefit to people as the whole society because as we described above, technology: - In the early societies, with technology development, the productivity was increasing very fast. - It eliminates the demand for some types of workers, while increasing the demand for others. - It makes some jobs easier. - It increases centralized control through new technologies of management. - Presents new challenges. - It offers exciting new possibilities for sharing information and communication.

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