Digitization and Automation

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Digitization and Automation

Digital technology has made a tremendous revolution over the globe for the past few years. The revolution has been characterized by the invention of sophisticated technological devices that to some extent has proved to be effective in shaping the human lives in the globe. In the current century, most of the productions have been automated implying that the human intervention during the production process has been limited and only the touches that the machines haven’t been able to work on have been left for the human professionals. The invention of sophisticated technology such as the smartphones, the computers and automated machines that are used in the production process has played a significant role in influencing the abilities of the human beings both positively and negatively. The reason behind is that they at some extent proved to be worth maintaining and as well encouraging the need for more improvements in other fields while at the same time being detrimental to the same people to whom the technology aimed at helping.

Digital technology and automation have had numerous benefits as the automated tools make an individual more efficient providing an opportunity for the person to concentrate on more important tasks as well as strategic directions. One of the main benefits of automation and technological advancement is that it aids in eliminating the manipulations of the paper documents (Vagia et al.). As the people go digital, they are able to store information on technological systems such as computers and at the same time save time and money. There is no printing needed as well as the space required for the storage of the documents. With the existence of technology, all of the above is made possible, less paperwork is needed, and that is when there is a need for a tangible document where all the individuals in the business setting are required to sign. However, signatures in the current technological era have been digitized, and therefore a form can as well be signed while still in the form of a soft copy. When the documents are stored in electronic means, there are minimal interactions, and only a limited number of personnel do come into contact with the documents, these are the people who are entrusted by the organization to keep guard and therefore, there are fewer chances of manipulating the documents as the computer storages are secured with passwords that are only known to particular people.

Automation and use of technology play a significant role in utilizing the employee time better (Goldin, Claudia, and Lawrence). The reason behind is that the automation provides people with the opportunity to use their talents and do what they are best at in the organization where they are employed. Some of the things that the employees can do are to develop ingenious business plans to eliminate the costs and make decisions. It is worth to note that, when the employees are fully engaged to provide their best for the company, they are encouraged to be creative and innovative at the same time, these aspects are only left for the humans to make decisions that affect even the functionality of the technology and therefore humans do still play a significant role in ensuring that proper decisions are made. Automation as well enables the employees to concentrate on the most critical tasks in the organization, and therefore it fosters better utilization of the employee time to the maximum.

The use of technology and automation aids in defining a business process in an organization (Chui et al.). An individual is required to identify what is implicated in the business process before they can configure the automation. Determining the process makes everything visible and provides the person with a clear idea of what is happening and make them aware of what is supposed to be done in the business. Making the person aware of what it is expected in the automation process means that they have to figure out before the final implementation of the idea to technological automation. The reason as to why a person is needed to develop the initial idea is that an automation process needs to be programmed and this cannot happen when the person has no idea of what they are expected to do in the business. It is therefore essential that the person initiating the business has full contemplation of the automation process and this can be termed as facilitating innovation and creativity within the business field. With enhanced creativity, the person is able to visualize to idea and identify the key components that need to be adjusted while at the same time scrapping off the areas that are not relevant making the process better and fine-tuned.

Automation in the business field helps it in making better projections as the business process automation provides the individual with all the tools necessary to monitor data at all the times (Harmon). The automation is significant as it provides the person with more precise projections and data concerning the business future in terms of needs and income as well as the probability of closing or expansion. The automation through making business projections makes the lives of people better as they are able to know the fate of their business and therefore make necessary arrangements to fix the situation and therefore, technology has greatly assisted in making the lives of people smarter and better. Technological advancements and automation have the ability to help the business personnel in the identification of unused resources. Besides making better projections in the future of the business, the automation also plays a crucial role in assisting the business owners in detecting the resources that are no longer used are consequently underused and therefore helps the organization identify the opportunity and at the same time re-effect the unused resources.

On the other hand, business automation has various disadvantages in shaping the lives of human. For one, the use of technology has prompted a large number of individuals to be lazy (Selwyn). The computers perform most of the activities being carried out in an organization while other tasks such as running errands have been simplified through the use of smartphones. People call distances away, and the goods are shipped through the same automated machines such as motor vehicles. With the presence of technology at hand, one can order anything at the comfort of their bed and have it delivered, and this has significantly increased the rate by which people have become lazy.

Technology has as well reduced the ability of people to read and write, and this can be as a result of the introduction of the social media and the visual devices that make communication easier (Collins et al.). It is worth to note that the use of cell phones and computers has not only had the positive side of making communication easier and as well as making connections but at the same time, the technology has continued to ruin the ability of the people to communicate primarily in the formal communications whereby shorthand are used. The use of shorthand has been facilitated by the use of messaging services where people don’t mind writing the full meaning of the words. Doing this for a prolonged time makes the person unable to remember the full meanings especially for the generations brought up in the era of technology. Use of shorthand has significantly affected the performance of the children at school as they write the same shorthand in their exams, and this affects their ability to write perfect sentences.

Technology and automation have led to the reduction in the employment opportunities, and this has been attributed by the automation process where machines have been used to perform the same tasks that people could have done (David). The use of machines implies that a large number of people will be sent home as their jobs have been taken by the machines rendering thousands of employees jobless. Lack of employment leads to poverty and increased crime rates as people need to fulfill their basic needs and therefore they are left with no option but to engage in crimes.

The use of technology has reduced the ability of people to think and as well make proper decisions in their lives (Klein). The reason behind is that all the functions are performed by the computers including the simple tasks that humans could have solved by themselves. For example, the introduction of calculators in the computers especially in the accounting field has made it possible for the accountants to only fill the transactions, while the rest of the analyses is left for the machines. This implies that the machine does the projections and most of the thinking and therefore decision in the people is no longer part of them. In the past, there was increased creativity that was enhanced due to the full engagement of people in performing tasks and this significantly promoted innovation. As time progressed, machines were invented due to innovation, but right then, only some modifications have been done to the systems by the current generation implying that we have reduced the innovations and creativity due to complete reliance on technology.

In my position, the introduction, as well as the use of technology, has contributed to making our lives smarter and better making it more capable. The reason is that, we don’t live in the same times like that of our forefathers where there was no technology and that they required to work harder to achieve what they wanted. They worked hard to be innovative and bring on board such decisions that led to the development of technology such as the computers and the smartphones and therefore played a significant role towards its automation. Consequently, we can compare the past and the present as they both exist in different time periods. Technology, therefore, has made life better and capable through automation as there are numerous benefits such as improved quality, security as well as increased production.

Work Cited

Chui, Michael, James Manyika, and Mehdi Miremadi. “Four fundamentals of workplace automation.” McKinsey Quarterly29.3 (2015): 1-9.

Collins, Allan, and Richard Halverson. Rethinking education in the age of technology: The digital revolution and schooling in America. Teachers College Press, 2018.

David, H. “Why are there still so many jobs? The history and future of workplace automation.” Journal of Economic Perspectives 29.3 (2015): 3-30.

Goldin, Claudia, and Lawrence F. Katz. “The race between education and technology.” Inequality in the 21st Century. Routledge, 2018. 49-54.

Harmon, Paul. Business process change. Morgan Kaufmann, 2014.

Klein, Gary A. Sources of power: How people make decisions. MIT press, 2017.

Selwyn, Neil. Is technology good for education?. John Wiley & Sons, 2016.

Vagia, Marialena, Aksel A. Transeth, and Sigurd A. Fjerdingen. “A literature review on the levels of automation during the years. What are the different taxonomies that have been proposed?.” Applied ergonomics 53 (2016): 190-202.