The impact technology has over our daily life is ever increasing and expanding. We use things they are now embedded in computer devices(IoT), enabling them to collect, send, and exchange data. We can now access the data anywhere in the world with the support of cloud computing. And with artificial intelligence(AI) performing human-like tasks that are equal to or even better than normal human computational ability in accuracy, capacity, and speed. Business meetings are now scheduled through emails and smartphones, tablets and screens have taken over the classroom, and rarely do we read news from newspaper when we can do it digitally. Technology advances continue to demand that businesses grow, shift, and adapt in order to survive and stay competitive in today’s rapidly changing marketplace.
Not only is technology changing how businesses operate, it also effects how consumer acts, how employees are valued by a corporation, and even society as a whole. In the past history, individuals were valued for his or her ability in labor and trade. With the Industrial Revolution, people saw their labor and trade value tremendously diminish as development in machines and tools were able to better perform their human tasks at a more efficient pace. The business atmosphere changed from labor value based to a knowledge-based economy. The new system of conducting a business, where employees are valued for their intellect to operate these machine that are changing ever so often. As technology continues to evolve, business must adapt to these changes in order to keep a competitive edge. As you may have heard “you have to evolve, or you die” and see it in action in the case of Blockbuster and Netflix.
Digitization has lowered barrier to entry and making many industries more competitive. In the case of Blockbuster, they ignored the big changes in the consumer behavior towards entertainment and ended up being sold in a bankrupt auction. Netflix, on the other hand, has continued to innovate and evolve, shifting their focus from movies by mail to streaming model and launching their own successful program, which allow them to flourish in contrast to Blockbuster (O’Neill, 2011).
These major technology advancements and greatest business strategies were the outcome of human intelligence and knowledge; however, as technology becomes more advances more intelligent, complex web of algorithms and system are being created and are increasingly responsible for a number of advancement as well. It is not only in the way the roles and values of human are shifting, but also how a business operates differently due to development in technology.
Devices, and its rapidly increasing capabilities, are also a major influence in how modern businesses operates. Nowadays, people can read news, keep themselves entertained, schedule a meeting within seconds using their smartphone, it has integrated into our everyday life whether we like it or not. And allowing us to connect to one another effortlessly. Additionally, in business perspective, it makes it possible for businesses to connect and communicate at all time with both, its employees and consumers.
Secretary or administrative assistance was once responsible for managing the time and schedule of personnel, but since we have developed artificial intelligence(AI) such as Alexa, Cortana, Google assistance, and Siri, these things can now do the exact same job with no hassle. Not only do technology help with planning and communication, they also allow for a company to stay presents and visible among its target consumers. Many large retailers offer websites for years in order to keep customers connected and updated on recent new products; however, with the advancement in technology these sites must do more than ever. Mobile responsive websites like apps are increasing in demand as consumers want to be able to access on the go. And it is vital for business to shift with consumer behavior in order to gain the benefits that advancement in technology have to offer.
Not only is it helping business, the advancement in technology can also help society that are poverish, as we can see in the case of “Golden Rice” in the Philippines (Mayer, 2018). These genetically modified(GMO) rice have the potential to save millions of lives in the third world. Through the innovation these vitamin A-enriched rice may ultimately find its way into impoverish community and help address the health issues associated with vitamin A deficiency.
With the technological advancement and increase in demand, unfortunate they don’t always have the potential to benefit mankind, and sometimes the opposite is true. There are plenty of people who would argue that there is no repercussion to advancement to technology, but it’s simply not true. As technology advances, we are facing total loss of privacy, permanent digital connection to the workplace, all data becoming digital, the death of human interaction, over-reliance on technology, technology related health issues, and much more. After many cases of possible sharing of your detail with third parties, like Facebook, Samsung, the fear that our home appliances may be spying on us is becoming less sci-fi paranoia and more a real concern.
And while technology undoubtedly had the ability to advance us as humans, becoming over-reliant on it may actually reduce our intelligence. There are numerous examples today of drivers blindly following GPS directions into rivers and ditched, people who cannot spell without the help of word processor, and those who don’t even know how to perform simple math problems without using a calculator. Eventually the human race may lose the skills it gained over the years; with almost every aspect of our life totally reliant on technology. The problem will arise if that technology ever fails, or turns against us.
Although technology transformation offers businesses boundless possibilities for growth and value creation, as demonstrated previously it comes with its own set of challenges and risks. Therefore, it is vital for oneself and the company to do research and develop a plan and working to implement the plan to significantly reduce any possible risk. New Technologies can be invigorating or intimidating to an organization; however, the risk factors can be controlled with a systematic process. Establishing clear goals, assembling the right team, and providing necessary resources are steps to manage the risks. And for government to raise concern as it is becoming a more prominent topic.