Technology and Society
Historical evolution of technology and its impact on society
In society today, technology plays an important role in peoples lives and in businesses and
organizations around the world. “Most technologies existing today were designed to
expedite the way we manage, store, handle, analyze, and communicate information.” It has
evolved over many years and the beginning of it can be traced back to the Industrial
Revolution where machines began to replace the manual labor of skilled workers. Since
then, technology has brought about many changes that have affected businesses and people
both in a positive and negative manner. However, getting employees and managers to
accept it hasnt always been an easy task. “Even when employees think technology is a
good idea, many dont take to it naturally.” The reason that employees resist change with
technology varies from employee to employee. Whether they are concerned about how
foolish it can make them look, dont understand the need for it, or worried that it could be
replacing them in the future, theres usually some sort of hesitance. Nonetheless, many
accept and welcome the challenge because it can make many jobs and lives easier.
The evolution of technology has provided for faster communication methods, has made
storing data easier, and has made some jobs less complicated. Before the telephone was
invented in the late 1800s by Alexander Graham Bell, communication over long distances
could take considerable amounts of time. The process was usually very slow by way of a
messenger or through the mail. There was not the ease of picking up a telephone, sending
an e-mail, using pagers, or text messaging the way technology has allowed us to do so
today. An important factor in determining the success of a business is being able to
communicate information in a timely manner. “Clearly, nothing has changed
communication in organizations more dramatically than advances in technology.” Business
and organizations now use these technological advancements to their benefits and the
impact it has made has been enormous. In todays world, it is not uncommon to have
meetings or teleconferences as they are called, where managers and their field employees
can discuss planning and strategies from different parts of the world. It is crucial for many
organizations to have the information readily available to them so they can make the
necessary adjustments or implement a new process. This is extremely important when the
change has occurred pertaining to the business. This shows why having good
