Working Knowledge Report Assignment: Report Preliminary Web News Database Research What tasks within the field of Information Technology are moving from humans to computers, and what are the implications of this shift?

Abstract

              Nowadays, Information Technology (IT) entails the application of computers in most of the operations and activities that are carried out by individuals and within organizations. This means that most the common work that was done manually by humans is now done through the use computers. This development has contributed in making work easier and quicker compared to the past. However, the development of Information Technology has also contributed in shifting most the tasks done by human to be carried through computers hence causing unemployment. This paper demonstrates some of the tasks that have moved from human s to computers within the field of information technology and the implications of this shift.

 

Introduction

                 Various tasks have shifted from humans to computers in this era of information technology. Most of the work done especially in organizations has completely shifted to the application of computers. This is because of the developments that the world is experiencing through the use and application of information technology. The shifting has resulted into various advantages and disadvantages. The following are some of the tasks that have moved from humans to computers.

Communication Planning

                Communication planning is a task within the field of information technology that entails determining the necessary materials of information that each stakeholder within an organization ought to know and understand (Schwalbe, 2007). Moreover, this task entails determining the most appropriate individuals to be trusted with certain piece of information. Through the task of communication planning, the management tends to make a layout on when the information will be distributed to the concerned stakeholders (Schwalbe, 2007). The plan also entails the means to be used in order for the information to reach to the concerned individuals. This task was in the past carried out by humans but now it has shifted to be enacted with the help of computers (Schwalbe, 2007).

Information distribution

             Information distribution is another significant task in the field of information technology of which its many roles has shifted to be enacted with the use of computers from humans as it was done some years ago (Schwalbe, 2007). Information distribution entails making all the necessary materials needed for the development of various projects within an organization available to all the stakeholders. It is necessary to distribute all the information intended to be known by the every stakeholder in the right time in order to for it to be effective (Schwalbe, 2007). Distribution of information is one of the main reasons that have contributed in most of the organizations to shift to using computers instead of relying on humans to enact this crucial and timely obligation. Some of the most common known activities under information distribution that were mostly carried out manually by human but now are carried out by computers include making of formal and informal plans. Other activities include making of various policies, producers and guidelines (Schwalbe, 2007).

 

Performance reporting

               Performance reporting is another task that has shifted from manual application by human to the use of computers. This task entails collecting and disseminating the performance information of the organization. Most of this information includes status reports and progress measurement (Schwalbe, 2007). Information about the forecasting of the company also falls under performance reporting tasks. The output of all the operations that takes place under performance reporting includes various reports and updates of how the organization is moving within a certain period of operation. Humans no longer carry out these activities manually but rather they are operated using computers (Schwalbe, 2007).

 

Managing stakeholders

             This is another significant task of which its activities have shifted from being enacted by human to the application of computers (Schwalbe, 2007). Managing stakeholders entails an organization being able to manage all the necessary and important information in order to satisfy the needs and expectation of all the stakeholders (Schwalbe, 2007). Managing of information also helps the organization to resolve various issues in the right time in order to minimize the occurrence of risks. This process usually took time when it was being done manually but the introduction of computers made everything easier (Schwalbe, 2007).

Implications of the Shift from Humans to Computers

Creation of new jobs

               It is evident that the introduction of computers in the information and technology field has played a significant role in the creation of new jobs (Eberts & Gisler, 2006). Some of the new jobs associated with the use of computers include hardware and software developers. Other jobs include web designer and system analysis. All of these jobs are new and interesting and they emerged with the development of computers in the field of information technology (Eberts & Gisler, 2006).

Unemployment

             Even though there have been introduction of new jobs, the level of unemployment has also been too high because of the shift of various activities from human to computers (Berg & Kalleberg, 2001). Most of the jobs that we being done by humans and taken away by the application of computers resulted in many people losing their jobs. The development of computers in the information and technology sector has played a significant role in redundancies of jobs (Berg & Kalleberg, 2001). Moreover, this development has also contributed in downsizing and outsourcing of jobs. Creation of new jobs in the field of information technology is one of the best advantages that cone with the development of computers (Berg & Kalleberg, 2001).

Conclusion

             The above information illustrates that the development of computers in the field of information technology has resulted in the shift of various tasks. Moreover, this shifts resulted in various impacts that has positively and negatively affected humans. The above information uses materials derived from books that can be easily accessed on the Internet. One of the advantages of using books as the best source of the required information is that they are secondary sources. This sources tends have reliable information that have been put together by other scholars and academics for scholarly use. The other reason that makes these sources to be reliable is the fact that they are entitled with bibliography information that tells about the author and place of publication.

References

Berg, I. E., & Kalleberg, A. L. (2001). Sourcebook of labor markets: Evolving structures and processes. New York, NY [u.a.: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers.

Eberts, M., & Gisler, M. (2006).Careers for computer buffs & other technological types. New York, NY [u.a.: McGraw-Hill.

Schwalbe, K. (2007). Information technology project management. Boston, Mass: Thomson/Course Technology.