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The PRODUCTIVE HARDWARE
The world is debating the Solow Paradox. Named after the Nobel laureate in economics, it was stated by him thus: "You can see the computer age everywhere these days, except in the productivity statistics". The venerable economic magazine, "The Economist" in its issue dated July 24th, quotes the no less venerable Professor Robert Gordon ("one of America's leading authorities on productivity") - p.20:
"...the productivity performance of the manufacturing sector of the United States economy since 1995 has been abysmal rather than admirable. Not only has productivity growth in non-durable manufacturing decelerated in 1995-9 compared to 1972-95, but productivity growth in durable manufacturing stripped of computers has decelerated even more."
What should be held true - the hype or the dismal statistics? The answer to this question is of crucial importance to economies in transition. If investment in IT (information technology) actually RETARDS growth - then it should be avoided, at least until a functioning marketplace is there to counter its growth suppressing effects.
The notion that IT retards growth is counter-intuitive. It would seem that, at the least, computers allow us to do more of the same things faster. Typing, order processing, inventory management, production processes, number crunching are all managed more efficiently by computers. Added efficiency should translate into enhanced productivity. Put simply, the same number of people can do more, faster, more cheaply with computers than they can without them. Yet reality begs to differ.
Two elements are often neglected in considering the beneficial effects of IT.
The first is that the concept of information technology comprises two very distinct economic activities: an all-purpose machine (the PC) and its enabling applications and a medium (the internet). Capital assets as distinct from media assets are governed by different economic principles, should be managed differently and be the subject of different philosophical points of view.
Massive, double digit increases in productivity are feasible in the manufacturing of computer hardware. The inevitable outcome is an exponential explosion in c...
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...y owned mega-networks. Servers will merge to form hyper-servers run on supercomputers. The number of ISPs will be considerably diminished.
50 companies ruled the greater part of the media markets in the USA in 1983. The number in 1995 was 18. At the end of the century they will number 6.
This is the stage when companies - fighting for financial survival - strive to acquire as many users/listeners/viewers as possible. The programming is shallowed to the lowest (and widest) common denominator. Shallow programming dominates as long as the bloodbath proceeds.
In hindsight, 20 years hence, we might come to understand that computers improved our capacity to do things differently and more productively. But one thing is fast becoming clear. The added benefits of IT are highly sensitive to and dependent upon historical, psychosocial and economic parameters outside the perimeter of the technology itself. When it is introduced, how it is introduced, for which purposes is it put to use and even by who it was introduced - largely determine the costs of its introduction and, therefore, its feasibility and contribution to the enhancement of productivity. The CEE countries better take note.
despite the vanishing jobs Americans’ productivity is on the rise and Americans still lead the
This paper is briefing of book called “Race against the Machine” written by Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee. This paper focuses on the impact of technology on the current employment issues. Three explanations of current economic issues that is cyclical, stagnantion and “end of work” is provided (Brynjolfsson & McAfee, 2011). Then the idea of excessive progress in technology making man jobless is presented and to support it various arguments are put forward. Secondly the idea of technology development causing division of labor into high skilled, low skilled, capital, labor, superstars and ordinary labors is presented and explained in detail. Finally remedies for solving these issues are presented and explained. Major takeaways of this paper are mismatch between the productivity and job creation, interlink between Technology improvement and division of labor and importance of education in building stable skilled labors and in the developing a stable society. (Brynjolfsson & McAfee, 2011)
The evolution of Information Technology acted like a thrust in boosting the business. Many organizations invested lot of money to build IT infrastructure and analysis also indicates a rise in the percentage of amount that companies are investing in IT. IT acts as a bridge between companies and the customer’s and also brings together all the branches of an organization. The way IT is viewed has change over the time, earlier executives of an organization believed that computers, typewriters etc are meant for the lower level staff; but the trend has changed completely, managers of an organization emphasize about the value of using information technology to gain an edge over their competitors and are supporting the idea of digitizing business models. Many companies started hiring chief information officers and some of them are relying on strategy consulting firms. IT is viewed as a resource which has the potential to influence the economy.
Even though technology is seen to be a great advancement in history, it is also seen as a two sided sword; either way it could be bad. In the article “Is Your Job an Endangered Species?” Andy Kessler persuades his audience into believing with the advancement of technology, it could continue to take over thousands of jobs as the days go by. Kessler writes this article describing two types of workers that make up the economy today. Kessler mentions that if an economy keeps good skills nearby and stays open minded it will be useful as technology continues to bloom. Kessler is open to believing that new skills will help with job security in the future; however, Paul Krugman disagrees. Paul Krugman is the author of “Degrees and Dollars.” The author reaches out to his readers by making them aware of the world today and he also includes what the president had to say about job stability. Krugman’s drive to write this article is very clear. His drive is to make his readers understand that jobs are not a guarantee, just because of a college degree. Kessler try’s to make his audience aware that technology advancements are harming high educated jobs. While these two writings are different, there are points where they agree, such as technology is rapidly replacing jobs, jobs that use the mind are the key to success, and society will stand strong.
The computer has been one of man’s most influential inventions, paving the way for greater achievements with time. Today, they have become an essential component in fulfilling everyday tasks in both our professional and personal lives. Computers are used to store vast amounts of information, and even replace humans in factories throughout the world. We must now ask ourselves, is this reliance on computers aiding the human mind in achieving its full potential or rather replacing it and hindering our progress? Society is now too dependent on computers. Technology is frequently shifting, and it is altering us in the process. Society is slowly coping with the rapid changes which come with technology. Society cannot continue to remain ignorant of the negative consequences of computers or soon technology will ultimately obliterate us.
The problems Erik Brynjolfsson is trying to reach out to the audience is as machines take on more jobs, many people find themselves without a job or with a delay in finding a job. What I believe is the problem is that more adequate machines replace humans. We have machines that not only help humans but also replace them. If a machine can deliver 10 times as much, it still replaces 9 people completely, and many jobs literally disappeared with auto machines. Future machine/robots will be advanced enough to replace most manual jobs. Our problem is how do we raise employment at the same time as productivity.
thus shown to rely less on workers and shift to technology, which is able to produce goods and
More difficult to figure out are increases in productivity due to factors like increased efficiency of the labour market as employees become more skilled, or utilize better equipment or other resources to improve their efficiencies in the workplace. In industrialized countries, increased efficiency is also seen as economic development; specifically as technology enables surges in efficiency. We can look back on Europe or the United States after developments of steam power, the railroad or the gas motor and see majour advancements in productivity. Likewise, innovations in the 20th century, most notably the assembly line and computers, have lead to huge increases in productivity.
First of all, for the working peoples, the appearances of computer technology bring up a convenient
The recent studies have mostly found that change in technology has supported the requirement of new work practices and has raised a demand for skills through ambiguities between findings at the establishment level and the national level, has lead to two paradoxes. First is the mystery concerning productivity, in that, the technological impact on productivity is much high at the degree of establishment or firm level than it is at a national level (Bosworth, 2013).
Information Technology (IT) is a foundation for conducting business today. It plays a critical role in increasing productivity of firms and entire nation. It is proven that firms who invested in IT have experienced continued growth in productivity and efficiency. Many companies' survival and even existence without use of IT is unimaginable. IT has become the largest component of capital investment for companies in the United States and many other countries.
From classroom activities to space flight and everything in between, computers are a vital part of daily life. Everything we do and every aspect of our life is affected by modern technology like the computers. Computers let us dissect any sort of data. Computers makes us reflect, hence we develop. Because of computers and the Internet, we can talk with individuals from diverse nations, and even see them via webcam. Computers have their weaknesses like they have a negative effect on individuals' health. One of the risky parts of any machine is the screen. Computers make individuals dependent. Computers are hampering individuals' improvement in regular life. We don't read printed books any longer, since we can listen and read on the web. We invest more of a chance talking online than talking face to face. Overuse of machines has numerous negative impacts, for example, creating physical/behavioral sicknesses, harming family connections and diminishing scholarly study.
“Computers play a key role in almost every sphere of life” (Berry, Terrie). Without them, everything would be different. People all around the world own or used a computer. Whether you are a professional in technology or just an average person, computers are still very important in your everyday life. “No other technology has accessed the world like computers and the use of the Internet have” (Maddox, Amanda). Without computers, consumers would not be able to do half the things as quickly as we can. Advances in computer design have increased its use for different industries, especially in the medical field.
Computers have changed the way that the world works in many different ways. Some of these changes are positive and some of these changes have had negative effects on our lives. From an industrial standpoint most of these changes have been helpful to businesses and the economy. In the medical field computers have had an impact in many different areas, ranging from the way appointments are made to the carrying out of everyday tasks.
So, in relation the brief descriptions outlined above, it’s possible to say that there is already a certain connection between the two terms in that they are both involved in the transfer of information to some extent. However, this is a very broad description and so, for the purpose of this discussion, specified aspects of Media and Information Technology will be examined in order to discover any less tenuous relationships and any pros and cons discussed.