Advances To Computer Technology example essay topic

'The development of Information Technology has had significant effects on society, individuals and organisations. ' With the aid of specific examples discuss this statement. Include in your discussion: . The effects of Information Technology on society at large; . The effects of Information Technology on employment and work methods; . The effect of Information Technology on individuals Introduction Since the first computer was made in the late fifties, the technology has developed extremely.

Computers, which took the place of a living room then, are now being made in creditcard-formats. More and more areas are being taken over by the computer. The effects Information Technology on Society at Large There is hardly anybody around who can say computers haven't influenced their lives. Computers have taken over society, as we know it. Everywhere you look, computers have greatly improved our lives. It can be as simple as going through a carwash; a computer processes the information that we feed it and adjusts the machine accordingly to give us the particular wash we paid for.

Computers also play an extremely complicated role in one of the things that everybody uses in their everyday lives, our cars. If and when these cars break down, a mechanic will simply ask the car's on-board computer what is wrong, rather than having to go through a series of complicated troubleshooting tests. As I have clearly stated, computers have greatly improved something that most of us use every day. Many people in the world use computers to make their lives easier. Such advances to computer technology will benefit us all.

People use computers for research, organisation, writing, communication for personal or business matters and even to look up stock updates. Whether it is personal or business, computers can help make our daily life easier. Typing is quicker than pencil to write and to use folders and file cabinets to organise papers, it's also a lot neater than handwriting. Computers can also help with editing a paper; they can even check spelling and grammar.

Typing on a computer today is probably the most common way people write their research papers, reports and other documents for school and business Computers are capable of handling large amounts of data in a very short time; they are well suited for word-processing. It will not be long before all written work will be placed on this program. One example of this is email-taking rival to the Royal Mail system. However there are many disadvantages to Information Technology. The use of computers has lead to criminal actions. "Hacking" is one of them.

A "hacker" steals and manipulates information from other databases. These crimes can be very harmful. In The USA, hackers have managed to break into NASA's database. Another crime that often occurs in the ICT business is copying.

The computer-programmes, the software, are extremely high priced; sometimes they are even more expensive than the hardware. Therefore it is not unusual to make copies of these programmes. This is strictly illegal, but nobody seems to care, because it is difficult to control it. Software producers loose BILLIONS of dollars each year because of this.

We need to be sure that we stick with our values and make sure that technology doesn't get out of hand. A lot of people disagree on what exactly is too much technology. In my opinion we can always keep adding technology to our everyday lives as long as the technology isn't manipulated to the point that we have to take advantage of and exploit other people in order to get ahead. The effects of Information Technology on employment and work methods One big advantage of the computer is the role of the computer in the workplace.

One common advanced technology used here is merely punching prices and orders into a cash register. This is a huge example advantage for restaurants in particular as the orders can be twice as quick as there is no misreading the waiter / waitresses handwriting; it is printed out quite clearly. Other examples of Useful Technology in employment are Secretaries helping store and speed up the processes of work, hairdressers and retail shops with stock numbers / control, banks using ATM's and keeping control and count of peoples investments, security measures with automatic lock up and alarms in shops etc. Manufacturing products use ICT a lot throughout the process, this includes designing and processing right up to the point of sale. At the rate technology is growing before long there will be robots and computers waiting the tables, cooking the food, and mixing the drinks.

There would most likely be an organiser and manager but then the place would just run itself, while that person sits back and reaps the benefits. There is the chance that people would become lazy and the cycle of money would be uneven and so society would break down. An argument against this would be so long as there are people in this world who are interested in getting the most value for their dollar; they would rather be at a place where they are treated like a person, by a person. As far as computers in the workplace go, in this example of having computers put to use in a restaurant doesn't cause the workers to become lazy. It enables the business to operate more efficiently, and that is something that everybody looks forward to, including the owners, managers, employees, and most importantly the customers. As much as I have praised the presence of computers in a restaurant setting there are a few setbacks, of which are greatly outnumbered by the positive aspects.

The most prominent setback incurred by these computers is the training-in process. Every one of these computers is different, so even if you have had prior experience with computers in a similar setting, you will be basically starting from scratch when it comes time to learn a new computer. In today's society, the main issue of technology is ethics, people are afraid that technology can be corrupting, and with good reason. However, people feel this way because they are the generation that has to adapt to this technology. Tomorrow's generation will have a totally different attitude about the subject; they will be accustomed to technology in the workplace because it will have been there ever since they entered the job market. All in all, everybody will learn to use technology in each of his or her professions and it will make this world a better place to live.

The effects of Information Technology on Individuals Today many children have got video games. You could say these games are the present's answer to cards and monopoly. In a way, it is a great advantage that the kids are being presented to computers at an early age, because they will definitely have to use them later, when they start to work. In the future there will be few occupations, which won't use computers, one way or another. But videogames are often being presented as something negative, which hinder the kids from doing homework and other more useful activities. This is partially true, if they do much of it.

But generally the young people's contact with computers is positive. For decades now, television has been accused of contributing to the destruction of the minds of those who watch it. However, although the TV has been involved in this, the problem roots not with technology but rather the people who choose to let it run their lives. This is because it is parents, not TV sets, who choose to let their children sit in front of the television for hours upon hours, and it is the parents who do not intervene and replace TV time with quality family time. Technology has also been blamed for destroying the minds of adults who spend too much time watching it, but in fact, the blame should lie on what programs a person watches or the person who chooses to watch it continuously. This shows the television is only a contributing factor in family problems and mind destruction.

It is the bad judgement of the people who watch television or let their children watch it who should be blamed for these harms, not technology. Conclusion It seems technology has brought both useful and pointless things into our lives, which has contributed, to making them better as well as causing negative affects upon them. As we live in this information age with new products and discoveries coming to us everyday, we must remember to use our best judgement to decide what technologies are good and which could be harmful. We must also remember that whatever technology does to our lives, technology in itself is not to blame, but rather how we use it.