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Example research essay topic: Industrial Revolution Mass Production - 1,919 words

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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, p 30) There is a shift from industrialism (mass production) to informational ism (flexible production).

Rather than companies producing in huge volumes, they are beginning to adopt techniques, which customise products for individual need. In the westernized industrial world, Castells believes that producers have moved away from mass production to smaller volumes of individual needs. With the flexible forms of production in the west, mass production shifts to the less developed world. (Castells 2000, p 166 & lec 3) As technology is advancing Castells states that technology is neither good, bad nor is it neutral. Its good in terms of that we have more technology, which is more advanced and better for us. Its bad in terms of, environmental groups such as Green Peace may see technology as the source of problem.

Reclaiming the streets will see cars / motor vehicles / refrigerators as a problem due to global warming, etc. And it is neutral in-terms that it has consequences on the way it is used. (Castells 2000, p 76) The information technology revolution emerged in the west around the 1960 - 70 s where the economic boom was coming to a close. It was a new form of capitalism, which had moved the base of society, industry into information. This new form of capitalism was not based on industrial products but it was based on the application of information, it exploits the potential produced by the IT revolution especially things to be networked.

Castells refers to weber and says that to understand capitalism we have to understand the culture of capitalism. (Castells 2000, lec 4) Castells argues that even though this form of capitalism is global, it is not planetary, many parts of the world are not connected. And it is not homogenous, as those who are connected dont have it the same way. The last 40 50 years of the 20 th century has been marked by many changes. Is a period of rapid upheaval and change. With the emergence of the IT Revolution Castells argues that capital needed to restructure itself and the IT Revolution gave it something t restructure around.

The IT Revolution has major impacts that effect local communities, central cities, suburbs and towns. It has profound impact on the kind of economic activity taking place, how it is organised, where it is located, and the kind of jobs it generates. There are key forces of change that has taken place. Firstly, the impact of the IT revolution on industries and companies vary from industry to industry. The globalisation of the economy and competition (enabled in large parts by IT) have brought about large-scale changes in the industrial makeup of the entire advanced industrial nation.

There has been the explosion of some industries (such as computers, communication, software and financial services) by enabling new products, services and efficiencies, while other industries have stalled or contracted. (Martin 1995, p 93 - 98) However to get a better view, what is going on within a given industry as a result of the IT revolution also needs to be looked at. Even in growth industries some functions are declining, while in declining industries, some functions are growing. For example, design functions in a traditional industry like clothing may still be performed domestically, while the manufacturing takes place offshore (outside the country. (Feather 1994, p 36) Generally speaking, the economic well being of the advanced industrial nations relies on a continual evolution toward value-added, high-productivity, innovation- and knowledge-rich activities. These are the kinds of activities that will also expand in the information economy: design, research and development, high-level management -- activities with high creative or intellectual content. 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. For example, electronic scanners are superior at many data entry functions, while automatic teller machines are replacing human bank tellers. (Feather 1994, p 48 - 52) IT is good at undertaking routine functions.

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. The degree to which a particular activity is routine or standardised (and therefore subject to automation and / or relocation to lower-cost locations) is a key clue to the potential impacts of the information revolution. (Martin 1995, p 24) IT has presented an unprecedented range of organisational options for companies and institutions by enhancing communications linkages through computer networks, phone, fax, modem, video conferencing, or e-mail. This allows different types of functions within a company to be optimally located in different settings: towns, cities, regions, or countries depending upon the specific requirements of that activity. (Martin 1995, p 65 - 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. 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. (Martin 1995, p 65 - 66) A similar distribution of activities can also occur between autonomous companies linked together by outsourcing (i. e. , 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. (Martin 1995, p 65 - 66) Ownership structures also play a role here. Smaller, independently owned, single-establishment firms are more likely to be tied to a given community.

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) As IT is transforming the economic landscape, the type of jobs available is changing. The impact of the IT Revolution, Some have suggested is that we are moving toward a jobless society. Castells argues with this and says that the evidence he finds is very contradictory, and can support both arguments, but he is very optimistic on this matter. For example Castells looks at the two most advanced (in terms of technology) countries in the world, America and Japan. He looks at whether it is true in these two countries that the more technology there is, the more the number unemployment.

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 %. However over the same period of time, the EC economy grew by 814 % and employment only grew by 9 %. Castells explains this difference by the different policies that the governments follow. On a global! level, Castells says, the decline in manufacturing in OECD nations is a European Problem. The problem of the political policies is that European nations Pursued.

He looks at a lot of data, and finds no link between more technology and the rise of unemployment but did see that jobs move around the globe. IT doesnt cause unemployment, however the application of IT changes the nature of work. (Castells 2000, p 280 & lec 7) The major change that Castells finds is polarisation, around those who have IT skills and those who dont. There is a dualism social structure. They are polarised around those who are IT rich and those who are IT poor. Its clear that IT is causing a major shift in the job market. In recent decades, the relative growth of managerial and professional occupations has grown.

Many analysts have noted that information technology is resulting in a more polarised occupational structure, consisting of highly skilled, well-paying jobs at one end and lower skilled, low-wage "Mc Jobs" at the other -- and fewer jobs in between. The implications for residential areas and housing preferences are particularly important. (Castells 2000, p 232 - 236) This means that the occupational profiles of individual communities are being transformed as well. Those with high concentrations of routine functions may by vulnerable to job losses, while those with creative or non-standardizable activities are more likely subject to growth. Moreover, as multi-locational organisations expand and seek out the best locations for individual functions, communities may become less occupationally and socially diverse, attracting a narrower band of occupations. All of this signals important impacts on communities -- socially, economically, and physically. (Castells 2000, p 267) Jobs generate demand for floor space and buildings. To the extent that jobs are displaced or created within an individual community as a result of the information revolution, there will be direct implications for the amount and kind of space required. (Freeman 1994, p 90 - 92) However, jobs are not translating directly into demand for commercial space the way they once did.

To the prospect of the jobless economy, we can add the phenomenon of the space-less job. In the information society, a smaller proportion of jobs will be accommodated in traditional workspaces such as downtown offices or suburban business parks. (Freeman 1994, p 90 - 92) A new range of IT-based strategies and options is becoming available to employers to lower costs, increase productivity, and serve customers better. Companies such as Ernst & Young and IBM have re-evaluated their office space plans and introduced smaller, more efficient workspaces, particularly in high cost locations. This sometimes involves "hotel ling, " in which workspaces are shared by employees who must book them in advance, like a hotel. Some jobs in some industries can be best done out of a mobile office (also known as a car), through the use of cellular communications and portable computing. (Castells 2000, p 255) A growing number of companies and agencies are setting up remote satellite offices or neighbourhood Tele-centres, providing computing and telecommunications connections from a location close to where workers live. Tele-centres enable employees to reduce their commute-to-work distance, while avoiding the isolation of home-based work.

Some Tele-centres are set up to serve a number of different companies. (Freeman, 1994) Another term used is "Teleworking" simply means conducting work -- be it during the workday, after hours, or on an occasional basis -- from a remote location (like a home office) using telecommunications technology. Telework includes "telecommuting, " which generally signifies a more formal arrangement under a company-organised program, in which an employee does some work at home instead of at a traditional office. Teleworking also includes the rising tide of self-employed...


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Research essay sample on Industrial Revolution Mass Production

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