Effects of Progess of It on Bussiness

Effects of the Rapid Development of Information Technology

On the Family and Business

Julian Phillips

Strayer University

Effects of the Rapid Development of Information Technology

On the Family and Business

In this paper, I will look at “the good, the bad, and the ugly” aspects of recent advances in information technology (IT). It is hard for me to believe that in my working life, which started in 1980, we have progressed from typewriters to handheld computers and from vinyl records through cassettes to CDs. We have gone from landline telephones and telex machines to cell phones and VoIP (voice over Internet protocol). The storage of records has shifted from paper to microfiche to CDs/DVDs and digital archives on the World Wide Web. Given the numerous beneficial developments in technology, one could well pose the following question: How on earth could there be a “bad” or even an “ugly” side to these astonishing technological innovations? In this paper, I will examine the numerous advances in IT that have benefited businesses, individuals, and families. I will then examine the other side of the coin. The majority of this paper will reflect my experiences and viewpoint; therefore, I will use few outside sources. However, when I refer to another source, I will mark it accordingly.

When I first started full-time employment in early 1980, large companies had computerized some of their functions, and medium to small companies were slowly going that way. However, these early computers were only capable of limited amounts of work, which was primarily restricted to the accounting departments in the medium to small firms. Communications were slow, at best, within the same country, let alone internationally. Communication costs were in many cases prohibitive, and the quality of phone calls was often extremely poor, with long delays. The fastest means of communicating in the early 1980s was either traditional telegrams, which, due to their extremely high cost,...