The Importance of Technology Within the Workplace

Introduction

Over the past few decades, technology has become quite influential within our lives. It has had a significant impact in our homes, recreational activities and the way we communicate. Technology has added more to our lives allowing life to be much easier. Within the schools we can see the importance of technology with e-books (using books online instead of purchasing hard copies) becoming a prominent use and has proven to be effective with students. Furthermore technology has advance knowledge and understanding not only with the educational aspect but also how we live our lives. We are more aware of our lifestyle due to the importance of technology and have provided structure. However, the evolution of technology has impacted the workplace significantly. According to Mitchell, P. G. (2007) the advancement of technology has had a dramatic impact on the way we communicate and more importantly, the way in which we work. Technology has propelled the working environment tremendously with the implementation of various technological devices such as computers, iPads, laptops, phones and a plethora of other devices.

Definition of Technology

What Is Technology? Technology is a frame of understanding devoted to building tools, processing movements and the removal of materials. The term ‘Technology” is extensive, and everyone has their way of understanding what it means. In today’s society we use technology to achieve several tasks in our daily lives, in brief; technology can be described as products and processes used to make things easier in our everyday lives. We utilize technology to extend our abilities, making people the most vital part of any technological system. Technology is also an application of science used to solve many problems. But it is extremely vital to know that technology and science are dissimilar subjects which work hand-in-hand to accomplish specific tasks or solve problems (Ramey 2018). Ramey 2018 further stated that we apply technology in almost everything we do in our daily lives; we use technology in the workplace, we use technology to communicate, transportation, learning, manufacturing, securing data, scaling businesses and many more. Technology is the human knowledge that involves tools, materials, and systems. The application of technology typically results in products. If technology is well applied, it is very beneficial to humans, but the opposite is true, if it is used for malicious reasons. Numerous of businesses are using technology to stay competitive in today’s society, they creating innovative products and services using technology. Businesses are also using technology to transport their products and services to their consumers promptly and within budget. A good example would be mobile phones companies such as Apple & Samsung, these mobile empires, use high-end technology to construct new smartphones and other electronic devices to stay competitive. This competitive edge is gained through hiring advanced technology. (Ramey 2018)

Different types of technology in the work place

According to Theme by F450C.org (2019) technology is a force to reckon with in the place of work currently and its impact has been the main motivation for most historic breakthroughs. It is evolving and transforming the way things are being executed in the world these days. Ranging from software that provides you with the ability to communicate effectively to smart conference tables that enables anyone to have a smooth control of their screen even while sharing with others, the impact of technology is just important in the offices today. For that reason, the modern day office must also evolve and travel along with this trend of technological innovation and improvement through the process of introducing modern technological tools and accessories to the workplace (F450C.org 2019).

The reality is that the design and technological efficiency of your office possibly will affect the productivity of your employee or employees; therefore, integration of modern tech equipment such as effective communication tools, adjustable desks, and good lighting would definitely boost their productivity and increase their work performance. (F450C.org 2019).

The journey to making your workplace an effective environment of productivity, here is the list of the types of technology in the workplace you should expect to see in a modern future day.

Wi-Fi Internet

Fang, Chan Brzezinski & Xu (2005) suggest that wireless communication or Wi-Fi allows for there to be an anytime, anywhere access to the internet.

As such, Wi-Fi internet is an important component of technology and it has also been a major drive towards moving the business forward today. Office structures and work ethics have shown that people need to be connected to each other and to the internet so as to work effectively. Research support this by suggesting that businesses who fail to adopt this structure and work ethics of the effective Wi-Fi technology will lag behind those who are in use this high speed technological modern day Wi-Fi (Mathur, Broeck, Vanderhulst, Mashhadi, & Kawsar(2015). Therefore having a dependable and high-quality Wi-Fi is pivotal to achieving this and it is as such an important instrument in sustaining the employees in the work zone. Furthermore, such achievement of high quality Wi-fi provides quick insight into the work environment. Such high quality includes proper connectivity, proper security options, ease of management reporting and report capabilities (Casteel 2019). With Wi-Fi being quite important to work place in providing productive and effective work for the employees, ensuring that these employees remain healthy within the workforce. One of these modernize health and pain free Technology within the work field is called a Standing Desk.

Standing Desk

It is imperative for employee to remain healthy within the work environment in order to produce quality to work. In workplaces, individuals spend a vast amount of their time sitting behind their desk which can be detrimental to their health. Standing Desk according to Mula (2018) this modern technology provides an empowerment for effective working and facilitates awareness of one’s own health within the working environment. Standing desks are modern technological innovations geared towards improving employee’s wellness while they get things done at their different workplaces. They are an indispensable technological tool in the workplace today because of their role in promoting better health and wellness.

Research has revealed that a highly sedentary life poses a great threat to the health of people and therefore, many organizations today now depend on standing desks to integrate wellness into their workstation. These desks are built to offer great ergonomics to employees as they can be accessorized with different add-ons and adjusted to provide a high level of comfortability (F450C.org 2019).

Electronic White Boards

An electronic white boards is an amazing technological tool in the office as they have the ability to store and print every information that is written on them. It is important that every office avail themselves of this electronic equipment as it saves time and is a perfect tool to help boost brainstorming and increase productivity. The electronic white board can simply be a touchscreen that is connected to a different computer or it can itself be fully one-piece without needing a separate computer. The beauty of this technology is that notes taken during meetings can be saved without needing to rewrite them again from the whiteboard thus giving a smooth note taking and writing experience (F450C.org 2019).

Benefits of Technology

According to Carroll and Bucholtz, a small number of people would debate that society has benefited from technology and innovation. We are living better lives today as employees, consumers, and members of the community due to technology. Technology has assisted us in gaining control over nature and to build civilizations. Through the boundaries, technology has benefited society in four ways. First, it has increased society’s production of goods and services, a benefit attributable chiefly to the business sector. Second, it has reduced the amount of labor needed to produce goods and services. Third, it has made labor easier and safer. Fourth, higher standards of living have been a direct result of labor-saving technology.

The benefits of technology are vast. Ian an excellent book, A culture of Improvement, Robert Friedel surveys the entire past millennium of technological advancement. He explains how we have moved from horsepower to jet engines, from Gothic vaults to skyscrapers, Gutenberg to Google. Friedel helps us see how society has benefited from technology innovation, but he also points out many of the flaws and entanglements that have a risen due to technology (Carroll and Bucholtz 2015).

Side Effects of Technology

Though technologies have benefited people in many ways, there have also been some unanticipated side effects as well – problems, issues, or effects not anticipated before technologies were designed and implemented before possible side effects, ethical problems, or downside risks are considered. Four categories of undesirable side effects of technology are worth nothing. First, there is environmental pollution. This ranks as one of the most undesirable side effects of technology. Second, there is depletion of natural resources. The rapid advance of technology continually threatens the supply of natural resources. Fuel and power shortages have become a way of life. Third is the issue of technology unemployment. The most common form for of technological unemployment occurs when machines take the place of humans, as we experienced in the automation phase of industrial development and now in the robotic movement. Fourth is the creation of unsatisfying jobs due to technology. Many jobs in the technological world fail to give the workers a sense of accomplishment. As jobs are broken down into smaller components, each individual worker is further removed from the finished product that might provide a greater sense of fulfillment and pride. Monotony and boredom can easily set in when jobs are significantly shaped by certain technological processes.

Challenges of Technology

New technologies present may challenges to managers, organizations, and society. Foremost among these is anticipating and avoiding the unwanted side effects. Some side effects cannot be forecast or overcome, of course, but much more could be done to alleviate them. Overcoming the technological determinism that seems to be driving society today would be helpful. Fore example, one of the most controversial issues today in the realm of biotechnology is that of human cloning. It is difficult to get the scientists and researchers to slow down and talk about them seem driven by the technological capacities for achieving it instead of asking the important questions concerning ethics and the side effects. One expert said “If we can clone a human, we will.”

Another challenge lies in spreading the benefits of technology, which are primarily restricted to the developed world. The developing nations enjoy few of the benefits of technology enjoyed in the developed world. The developing nations enjoy few of the benefits of technology enjoyed in the developed nations. Though there is trend towards U.S. business moving production operations back to the states, as multinationals invest in emerging economies the opportunities for technology transfer will remain. The challenge, of course, is to move technologies to other countries in socially responsible ways.

Technology and Ethics

Technology unquestionably has many benefits for humankind. Our perspecitive juncture, howeer, is to raise the ethical questions that may be related to business development and use of technology and innovation. To dod so does not mean that one is against technology. T simply means that one is concerned about the ethical use and implications of technology. Like management decision-making and globalization of business, the actions of the business community with respect to technology have ethical implications that should be identified and discussed. Managements need to ask “who will be hurt and in what ways” by technology. Management’s goal should be to avoid immoral and amoral practices with respect to technology and to move toward a morally sustainable posture with respect to this potent business resource.

Ethical Issues

There are two key ethical issues in the realm of technology that seem to drive everything. First is the idea of technological determinism. Technological determinism is the imperative that “what can be developed will be developed.” When someone once asked, “why do we want to put men on the moon?” the answer was always “because we can put men on the moon.” In other words, scientists and those who work with advanced technologies are driven to push back the frontiers of technological development without consideration of ethical issues or side effects. The second important concept is that of ethical lag. Ethical lag occurs when the speed of technological change far exceeds that of ethical development. Throughout our consideration of technology and ethic, these two phenomena are evident and influential.

References

1. Araujo, A. (2018, June 21). The Importance of Technology in the Workplace. Retrieved from https://n-o-v-a.com/blog/the-importance-of-technology-in-the-workplace/
2. Carroll, A. B., & Buchholtz, A. K. (2015). Business & society: Ethics, sustainability, and stakeholder management (9th ed.). Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning.
3. Casteel, J. (2019). WiFi for the Modern Workplace - Abel Solutions. [online] Abel Solutions. Available at: https://www.abelsolutions.com/wifi-modern-workplace/ [Accessed 9 Sep. 2019].
4. Mathur, A., Broeck, M. V. D., Vanderhulst, G., Mashhadi, A., & Kawsar, F. (2015, May). Quantified workplace: Opportunities and challenges. In Proceedings of the 2nd workshop on Workshop on Physical Analytics (pp. 37-41). ACM.
5. Mitchell, P. G. (2007). The effect of technology in the workplace: an investigation of the impact of technology on the personal and work life of mid-level managers of the Fairfax County Police Department.
6. Mula, A. (2018). Ergonomics and the standing desk. Work, 60(2), 171-174.
7. Ramey, Karehka. (2018, July 9). What Is Technology - Meaning of Technology and Its Use. Retrieved from https://www.useoftechnology.com/what-is-technology/
8. (2018, August 16). What Type Of Technology is used in the workplace Today? Retrieved from https://f450c.org/technology-in-the-workplace/
9. Fang, X., Chan, S., Brzezinski, J., & Xu, S. (2005). Moderating effects of task type on wireless technology acceptance. Journal of Management Information Systems, 22(3), 123-157.