Define The Information Technology Revolution And Critically Analyse Its Role In Creating The Network Society
Define The Information Technology Revolution And Critically Analyse Its Role In Creating The Network Society.The Information Technology Revolution is probably the most important force shaping communities today. While some of the key forces behind the IT revolution are universal, the impacts on any given community will be unique, depending on its individual make up, economic structure, attributes and responses. Technology proves us with the ability to create, process and store information. (Martin 1995, p 33)It can also be said that the world is experiencing a 'third industrial revolution'. This revolution is total, effecting all aspects of our lives. It is a move from collective to individual. (Castells 2000, p 28-35)According to Castells, we are currently experiencing an IT Revolution just as there was an Agricultural Revolution and an Industrial Revolution. He compares the two and then contrasts it by saying that the industrial revolution was slower and localised where as the IT revolution was faster and global. (Castells 2000, p30 ) There is a shift from industrialism (mass production) to informationalism (flexible production). Rather than companies producing in huge volumes, they are beginning to adopt techniq
He finds that between 1970-92 USA economy grew by 70% and the number of people in employment grew by 49% and in Japan, the economy grew by 173% and the number of people in employment grew by 20%. (Martin 1995, p65-83) The classic example of this is the relocation of back office functions out of high-cost urban centres to suburban locations-- or, more recently, to smaller towns or offshore locations. (Castells 2000, p267) Jobs generate demand for floor space and buildings. On the other hand, IT leads to the automation of routine activities in both manufacturing and the service sector, such as forms processing or data entry. In recent decades, the relative growth of managerial and professional occupations has grown. To the prospect of the jobless economy, we can add the phenomenon of the space-less job. As national and international companies take over various industries, a geographic redistribution of functions are expected to be seen over a wider area -regionally, nationally, or even on a global scale. (Castells 2000, p224-225) The transformation of work and employment has brought in the 'flexi-workers'. For example, electronic scanners are superior at many data entry functions, while automatic teller machines are replacing human bank tellers. The last 40 - 50 years of the 20th century has been marked by many changes. , the practice of acquiring goods and services from outside, specialist firms, rather than providing them internally) and strategic alliances -- trends enabled by reliable telecommunications linkages between companies and their supplier networks. In larger companies, routine administrative functions may be centralised in one location, manufacturing moved offshore, R&D performed in campus-like suburbs, and sales offices provided in each market area. His is not the same as a world economy, and is a new reality. But IT cannot perform functions that require creativity or the ability to respond to the complex or unpredictable circumstances that characterise many industries, or functions within industries.
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