Respond to discussions homework

Respond to discussion minimum 150 words

Computers and technology have greatly improved productivity in the business environment. In today’s world information and communication is available to us in seconds. Also many things that used to be done by hand are now completely automated. This lets a business’s get work done in a much quicker and efficient manner. This week’s lesson on the ability to create labels or to import a mailing list right into your document is a great example. This feature lets you create a letter for a large number of people without having to address each one individually. We also have the help of technology when sending those letters. In my job at a bank, some of my co-workers used to have to fold and put each customer bank statement in an envelope by hand. Now we have a machine that folds and stuffs them all in minutes. One of my favorite benefits of technology is eliminating the need for paper copies of documents. Banks legally have to keep documents and information for a long time. Most things are scanned and saved electronically now. It is very inconvenient when you have to find a document from the pre-scanning era somewhere in boxes full of paper.  

The biggest struggle with using technology to increase productivity is when it does not work. A lot of times when the technology we rely on stops working we are crippled without a proper back up. A great example is the recent computer glitches with big airlines. Thousands of flights were delayed and cancelled and it cost the companies a lot of money all because their computer was down.  Increasing productivity with technology comes at the cost of having a drastically crippled productivity with that technology does not work.

-Breana

Respond to discussion minimum 150 words

I think (and fondly hope) that we've fostered in a generation of more computer literate individuals who have dispelled the notion that computers could ever be anything other than amazing. I'm sure there are still a significant number of people who are not familiar with or capable of learning how to use computers, but another great feature of computers of today (vs. computers 25 years ago) is that they are much more intuitive and user friendly.

The only argument that I could see being made about computers reducing productivity would be the extra work that they have created. I think organizations have done a much better job of using them to capture metrics and require data calls to capture their total work effort. I think it's feasible to estimate that as much as 80% of my day is spent at a computer, when 25 years ago it would be face to face time with my subordinates (as a senior leader).

Another concern is those people who are not computer literate but get jobs in a computer reliant field... This probably doesn't happen too much in the "real world" since companies can use resumes to cull out those who have no experience, but in the military it's entirely likely that someone who has never used a computer ends up working with them regularly or whose job relies solely on computers on a daily basis.

Interesting topic this week ~ I look forward to reading everyone elses thoughts on this subject.

~Dan