The Adverse Consequences of IT Innovations - Essay Example

Title page Your name: Your university: Introduction Innovations and inventions have become part and parcel of the world today. Many organisations strive to come up with product innovations in order to have a competitive edge. Many things that were operated or carried out manually can know be done in a matter of seconds by the use of technology. (Benbunan-Fich, R. and Hiltz 2003) There is no organisation that has not embraced information technology in this twenty first century. Innovations and technology in specific has infiltrated every area of our lives. It is evident in leisure activities, business and the entire society. The current technology language consists of emails, cell phones, fax machines, internet and personal PCs. (Drucker, 2004) The whole world seems exited about all these inventions and innovations. While all these aspects seem rosy, it is important for one to ask the question; do all inventions and innovations equate to progress? If the answer is no then what could be the adverse consequences of IT innovations? Positive aspects of innovations Innovations have definitely led to progress all over the world. Through technology, globalization has been enhanced. It has resulted in the entire world economy becoming a system that is interdependent in nature. Technological innovations have increased efficiency and effectiveness in organisational processes. (Drucker, 2004) A variety of products and services can easily be found in the market due to innovations. People have more options to choose from in terms of services and products than in the times when innovations didn’t exist. Inventions and innovations have played a great role in the GDP growth in many nations all over the world. This also means that the standard GDP per capita growth for the entire world has also grown due to technological change. All these factors or aspects are positive but this does not mean that all innovations equate to progress. Adverse effects of innovations Research cried out by Radzilowski, 2004 shows that innovations have also resulted in adverse effects. Technological advancement in military weapons has resulted in wars in some nations. It is very easy for someone to stage a bomb and kill thousands of people within minutes. Technology in military weapons has therefore resulted in deaths and loss of property. (Radzilowski, 2004) Many innovations have resulted in pollution of the environment. Analysis shows that innovations of motor vehicles produce harmful gases that pollute the air. Many industries have come up because of innovations. They have in turn produced gases that are released carelessly into the environment. This has resulted in air pollution. Propylene is one of the chemicals that are highly used in making filing systems and thermoforming products. (Alberts, 2003) This chemical has undergone many innovations in the twenty first century. Propylene factories are highly known for releasing very harmful gases into the air. These gases on the other hand negatively affect crop yields leading to poor food production. Many industries are currently located in areas where they are causing noise pollution. (Commoner, 2006) While many innovations are known to result in pollution, it rolls over to climate change and poor crop yields in the affected areas. It is quite amazing how one action can adversely affect many aspects in the ecosystem. According to Commoner, 2006 technological innovations in fishing and agricultural sectors also result in adverse effects on various aspects. Many technological products are not bio-degradable. This has resulted in adverse effects on the environment. (Commoner, 2006) Oil tankers have also been manufactured through the use of technology. They have in turn spilled oil in water bodies like seas, oceans and rivers therefore causing water pollution. Ships also spill oil and other liquids in water that are harmful to aquatic life. (Commoner, 2006) In his article, Commoner asserts that technology in the agricultural sectors have resulted in soil erosions. The use of some machinery in tilling of land has greatly encouraged soil erosion. Advancement of fishing technology has also played a great role in the diminution of oceanic stocks. Innovations and inventions in fishing technology have resulted in high eradication of natural habitats. This shows that the natural environment is at a great risk. This proves the fact that not all inventions equate to progress. (Commoner, 2006) While technology has made transport to be faster, it has also resulted in many accidents. Majority of accidents that occur when people are using aircrafts are fatal. Road accidents have resulted in people losing loved ones who were sole bread winners. Many accident victims lose parts of their bodies that are very imperative. This has made such people never to live a normal life and some of them to live in pain throughout their life. This therefore depicts the negative side of technology. Another area that has had innovations is the medical field. According to Valovic 2003, innovations in the medical field need to be taken with much care since they directly deal with human life. Research carried out in this field by Valovic, 2003 shows that technology in the medical sector has also resulted in adverse consequences. Innovation of different antibiotics has resulted in bacterial and viral restrain strains. (Valovic, 2003) Simple diseases like fevers no longer react to medicine. Some of the medicines that have been manufactured in the name of innovation have left people with very negative effects. For instance, while chemotherapy is known to help cancer patients, there are so many people that have had loss of hair which never grew again in life. This has negatively affected their social lifestyle. Other consequences of technological advancement in the medical sector are ethical and moral based. The issues of genetic modifications and test tube babies have made people to lack faith in a supernatural creator-God. Technology has played a very big role in promoting an unhealthy society. Children no longer play games that would make them physically healthy. They have turned to playing video games in the house or watch televisions. Research carried out by Drucker, 2004 reveals that many children in the United Kingdom shows that many children spend their leisure time watching internet pornography sites. This has resulted in a society with children who are not physically strong. Many of them actually suffer from obesity due to lack of exercise. (Drucker, 2004) Technological innovations have also resulted in loss of cultural diversities in societies all over the world. This has been affected by technological innovations in communication and media sectors. People have learnt to emulate other cultures which seem to be superior. In the long run, there has come up a generation of people who are dressing the same way, eating same food and speaking the same language. There is no longer any diversity in terms of culture, traditions and general way of doing things. There is so much social pressure that women get from the internet and media in relation to body image. The internet technology normally portrays that there is the need for the entire public or individuals to conform to the ideal body standards. This has even had adverse effects on some women’s health as they try to conform to these standards. All innovations don’t equate progress. This is because there are some innovations that can cost a fortune. Valovic, 2003 in his book concurs that innovations can be quite costly if not well checked. Many organisations use lots of money to pay experts to carry out innovation of products or services. Before long the product is all over the market. This results in these Companies selling the products at a lower price than that which had been planned. In the long run, the organisation incurs losses in the name of venturing on innovations. This proves the point that not all innovations equate to progress. (Valovic, 2003) Adverse consequences of information technology Information technology is part of inventions or innovations that have been embraced in the business world. This is not just about common computer knowledge but it is about making use of PC in processing information in an organisation etc. Information technology may therefore seem to have positive attributes only. Through IT, effectiveness and communication within organisations has been enhanced. Nevertheless, information technology also has adverse effects. One of the major adverse effects of information technology is unemployment. Many organisations have embraced information technology rendering the work of some people in unnecessary. Most of the work that could be done by many people manually is currently being done by one person by the use of a computer. In organisations where a lot of data had to be kept, there was a store keeper who kept the files and still a secretary who would link up with the store keeper. This has changed and a secretary carries out many functions. This is ensuring that all data is entered in the computer and he or she can still retrieve it. Through incorporation of information technology many organisations have carried out outsourcing of experts or skilled workforce that know how to handle IT systems. This leaves current workers within the organisation without a job description to carry out. In the long run such employees are laid off because their services are no longer required in by the Company. There have been increased redundancies of jobs. Many Companies have also carried out downsizing. As organisations embrace information technology, most of the middle rank jobs are simply done away with. This leads to a high percentage of people being unemployed. (Drucker, 2004) Another adverse effect of information technology is lack of privacy. It is quite evident that through IT, communication has been made more effective and efficient. This has however resulted in a situation where there is no longer privacy of information. Through information technology, cell or mobile phone signals can easily be intercepted. (Agre and Marc 2001) The person who intercepts the signals can know every thing that has been spoken through the cell phone. This means that there are no longer private family or business issues in the name of embracing technology. Emails have become the order of the day as the society continues to embrace information technology. (Kraut and Patterson 2005) There is however email hacking that can allow someone to access all emails sent and received. No wonder information that one thought that it was so private can be heard of in the press. It is very easy for someone to access another person’s information and even modify it. It has also resulted in end users of software being denied access to it. (Bradley, 2004) All this knowledge has made some people to carry out fraud by simply accessing an individual’s password etc. People’s money has been accessed from bank accounts through the use of information technology. It is still very clear that all business in an organisation can stand still because of computer virus which can destroy all data in a matter of seconds. (Drucker, 2004) Information technology has greatly resulted in a situation of job insecurity. This is because information technology is constantly changing and organisations are always on the look out for people with up to date knowledge on technology. This has made many people not to invest so much of their time and resources at their workplace because of fear of losing their jobs. (Dewett and Jones 2002) Information technology has adversely affected and tainted people’s names. Furthermore, families have also been broken just because of someone’s misuse of IT knowledge. This is considering the fact that through IT someone’s photograph can be changed to anything. It has been a common practice to find nude photographs of prominent people featured through internet. (Drucker, 2004) Some of these pictures are even forwarded to many people within the organisation that the featured nude person works. This has made people to be sacked for depicting poor morals. A wife gets nude photographs of his nude husband with another nude woman. This has caused stress to lovers and marriages broken yet the supposedly ‘guilty’ person could not even understand what was happening. (Nye, 2005) Information technology has greatly written off face to face communication. The latter communication allows someone to see facial expressions etc. With information technology, one cannot easily see the other person’s facial expressions. This is through the use of cell phones and emails etc. This has therefore contributed to a culture where people easily cheat each other because they are far and probably the recipient can’t know the truth. (Kranzberg and Terry 2007) This is the same case with using video conferencing to carry out a meeting within an organisation. One cannot even see who is concentrating or not. Mobile or cell phones have also been embraced by every Tom, Dick and Harry in the society. This has resulted in a situation where people are addicted to mobile phones. Current research carried out by Terry, 2007 shows that this is the biggest addiction of the twenty first century that is non drug based. If a person loses a mobile phone, he or she can even become sick. This is a very common trend among adolescents. Information technology has enabled students to cheat in examinations very easily. (Kranzberg and Terry, 2007) This is through sending answers through the use of mobile phones to their colleagues while in the examination room. Many users of mobile phones complain of headaches and earaches caused by radiations. Information technology has therefore resulted in social and physical problems that are not easy to solve. Conclusion In conclusion, many people have incorporated technology in literally all areas of their lives. This is in business, education and even leisure activities. Technology has enhanced life in way or the other. It has improved communication, increased globalization and generally increased options of products and services that buyers have to choose from. It is however very important to note that not all inventions equate to success. Many inventions have played a great role in the increased environmental degradation. This is because innovations like motor vehicles release harmful gases into the environment. Technology has played part in increased mortality rates all over the world. Technology has led to an unhealthy society. Many youths play computer games, watch TV and pornographic sites without taking time to play games like Badminton, hockey and football. Information technology has also resulted in adverse effects like lack of privacy. This is because emails and even phone communications can easily be intercepted. Many employees have been laid off because organisations incorporated information technology. The entire situation has resulted in employees feeling insecure at their workplace. It is therefore very clear that not all innovations equate to progress. Read More