Impact of Automation and Computerization on Jobs

Impact of Automation and Computerization on Jobs Table of Contents Introduction Impact of Automation and Computerization on Jobs Impact of Automation on Worker Skills 1. Skill Depth: 2. Skill Breadth: Decrease in worker wages Strategies to bargain compensation packages Conclusion Works Cited During the early 1990’s the processes of automation and computerization were changing the work place of corporations in the newly developing countries. Discuss how these processes had affected employees with low skills to bargain for their compensation packages in developing countries. Introduction Automation and computerization were the by-products of globalization in the 1990s. Due to increasing mechanization and industrialization of work activities, a technological boom started which had huge impacts on the role of low skilled workers within an organization. The task structure changed and so did the wages and incentives paid to the employees. As a result, the low skill workers tried to regain their power by developing strategies to bargain for compensation packages with the managers. The following paper is based upon this issue. It attempts to highlight the impacts of change along with worker’s role to deal with these processes of change. Impact of Automation and Computerization on Jobs Automation refers to the use of automatic machinery instead of manual labor to carry out factory work activities whereas computerization is related to the increasing use of technological change in the organizations. As technology grows, the methods to do manufacturing jobs are changed and as a result, the whole occupational structure is changed. Computerization involves numerical control (NC) technologies that change the staffing patterns and company structure (Cappalli, 1996). When tasks are transferred to automatic machines, job opportunities decrease as less people are involved in final creation of a product. But on the other hand, in some cases, more people are required to run those machines. But in the latter case, the workers get reduced wages. So, Computer integrated manufacturing systems (CIM) have developed easier application systems for the organizations but at the same time, it has increased the concerns of the worker labor class due to decrease in opportunities and wages (Krueger, 1993). Impact of Automation on Worker Skills Apart from change in structure of tasks, the nature of skills required to perform the job are also changed. Two types of worker skills are important to consider while exploring the impact of computerization and automation on low skilled workers (Juhn, Murphy, Pierce, 1993). Skill Depth: It includes two major areas: judgment and time proficiency. Low skilled jobs that require little time proficiency to master the work (e.g. filing or food servicing) as well as judgment have much lower wages as compared to those skills that are more complex and require more time to learn. Automation has reduced the proficiency time required for certain jobs therefore; it has also reduced worker wages. Skill depth is reduced because of transformation of complex manual labor to simple mental tasks. On the other hand, computerization might allow workers to have greater freedom in the distribution of tasks. NC technology is used to distinguish programming from machine operations. So, this CNC technology can facilitate in reducing proficiency time by combining programming and machine operation. CAD system were also developed which allowed low skilled workers to create faster and better output through easy learning and less effort. Skill Breadth: This concept was of importance for employees involved in manufacturing, maintenance and repair tasks. It involves the changing of job content as a result of technology. Although it reduces the effort of manual input but with regards to the compensation programs, this technique did not attract the low skilled laborers. Decrease in worker wages The above facts show how the dynamic world brought with itself a changing organizational pattern. The fast and easy work done by machines and computers used to leave workers in the lurch. Organization’s focus shifted towards profit generation by increasing productivity through the use of smarter machines. This had severe consequences on the overall economic structure of developing countries. The economic progress was hampered and unemployment was increased. The workers, who formed a major chunk of the population felt depressed because their sources of earning were severally impacted and they had to negotiate with the managers for their wages and compensation (Katz Murphy, 1992). Following analysis indicates how the workers in 1990s strived in the changing world of automation. Strategies to bargain compensation packages In the developing countries, automation and computerization created unemployment. Such impacts of technological change dispersed greatly across various geographical regions in manufacturing and service industries. Therefore, the dilemma of marginalized workers increased the topic of setting wages in the 1990s. When the workers felt that they are not in a power to negotiate wages with the managers, particularly in the middle class developing countries, they created unions whose sole purpose was to bargain worker wages according to international standards in order to provide increased benefits and fair incentive to the people for the amount of effort they put in (Hirshorn, 1984). This process was severely impacted when countries created minimum wage laws for low skilled workers. It further deteriorated the process because increasing inflation and minimum wage laws reduced the power of manual workers to such an extent that they remained nothing but merely a cog in the machine. In the developed countries, the power of individual bargaining is available to the workers but in developing countries this right is strictly curtailed, therefore; labor institutions are formed for this purpose. Research indicates that unnecessary wage legislation has increased the problems of low skilled workers in developing countries therefore; a proper system must be developed to protect the rights of workers, both economically and socially, in the technical global world (Zuboff, 1988). Conclusion The above analysis explains how the process of automation, computerization and technological change changed the job structure and the skills required. These changes increased unemployment in the developing countries and increased wage concerns of the workers. In order to receive equitable wages, unions were created to bargain prices with the managers. These unions have been successful in driving power for low skilled workers in some cases but the fact remains that automation and technology has changed the overall work landscape which is irreversible. Therefore, proper mechanisms must be developed to regulate wage laws in the world of computerization and automation. Works Cited Cappalli, P. (1996). Technology and Skill Requirements: Implications for establishment wage structures. New England Economic Review, 139-153. Hirshorn, L. (1984). Beyond Mechanization: Work and Technology in a pst industrial age. Cambridge Press. Juhn, C., Murphy, K. M., Pierce, B. (1993). Wage Inequality and the Rise in Returns to Skill. Journal of Political Economy, 410-422. Katz, L. F., Murphy, K. (1992). Changes in Relative Wages 1963-1987: Supply and Demand Factors. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 36-78. Krueger, A. (1993). How Computers have changed the wage structue: Evidence from microdata 1984-1989. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 33-60. Zuboff, S. (1988). In the age of smart machine: The future of work and power.

Barbed Wire By Mary Emeny

Mary Emenys poem, Barbed Wire, depicts war as a negative force, destroying every decent aspect of human existence. Written during the Vietnam War, the work displays Emenys negative views on war. In one way or another everyone experiences and identifies with the presence of war. Although some wars are fought for justifiable reasons, every war tears into the lives of those undeserving. The tragic effects of war consume the innocent creating an unconquerable path of entanglement. The physical effects of war overwhelm the nave causing pain and suffering. Initially, war entangles the lives of youth, destroying the innocence that they experience as an aspect of their life. The girl glid[ing] gracefully down the path (1) and the boy rid[ing] eagerly down the road (9) have their enjoyable realities striped by the harshness of war. Likewise, war enters womens lives creating turmoil. The woman who works deftly in the fields ( ) no longer is able to experience the offerings of life. The wire cuts, ( ) pushing her away from the normal flow of life. In addition, man undergoes tragic obstacles as a result of war. A man walks nobly and alone ( ) before the horrible effects of war set in on his life causing disruptions. War enters the life of man destroying the bond man shares with his beloved environment ( ). Although a great deal of physical effects exist in Emenys work, the spiritual consequences of war serve as the most devastating ones. The will and spirit of those amidst the harshness of war diminishes because of the seriousness of war. Prior to the complexities of war, the spirit flees gleefully to the clouds, ( ) illustrating the freedom one expresses without repression. As soon as the wire catches, ( ) or the war commences, and intervenes with the lives of innocent bystanders, the innocence is lost. Furthermore, the hearts of the untainted human beings experience demolition due to the irrationality of war. Before the tragedy of war enters the picture, a heart goes openly to the street, ( ) showing the freedom that one possesses until the wire snares, ( ) and the sense of innocence disappears. Significantly, as a direct result of the entanglement of war, mans mind suffers pain and misfortune. A mans mind grows in searching ( ) preceding the brutality of war, exhibiting the ability of man to explore his surroundings without interference. Wars hampering of the innocent limits man to certain life experiences that repress his potential. ). Barbed Wire illustrates how the severity of war detracts from the innocence within and surrounding humans. Men and women languish from the tangible results of war, encountering barriers when attempting to complete normal tasks. On the other hand, the spiritual consequences of war such as the repression of the mind, signify the tragedy involved when faced with war. Ultimately, war serves as an aspect of life that possesses the capacity to destroy human experiences and beliefs.

The Birth of Jazz

Jazz is a mixture of European and African music. The harmony is mostly European, the rhythm is mostly African and the melody is a blend of both. The pilgrims brought with them to the New World the folk songs and church hymns they have sung since childhood. Negro slaves from Africa brought their highly developed sense of rhythm which showed itself in their singing, dancing and drumming (Stearn 14). When the two traditions began to merge, a new music was born. The Negro slaves had no money and little opportunity to buy instruments or study music.So, they made their own instruments from animal bones, sticks, bamboo reeds and wooden boxes. The boxes became banjos and the all-important drums. The blending of the music was given a boost when white people and Negroes began to sing hymns together during the religious revival that took place in 1750. Each learned each other’s style of music. Then came the spiritualists when some Christian hymns were transformed by Negro rhythm and feel ing. Spiritualists were a great and immediate success in America and abroad. However, jazz got its big start only around 1870 in New Orleans.New Orleans was built on a curve of the Mississippi River which made it a major port and a hub of commerce and was settled by the French and Spaniards. In the days of slavery, the French and the Spanish had isolated plantations there, and they let the slaves do as they pleased on holidays (Stearns 19). Many slaves had adopted elements of the Catholic religion and mixed them with their own beliefs. Sometimes, they used Catholic holidays to celebrate their African gods. For instance, on Saint Patrick’s Day they played the drum rhythms of Damballa, a snake god, because they had seen pictures of Saint Patrick driving the snakes out of Ireland.In this way, many African rhythms survived in New Orleans and contributed to the beginnings of jazz. New Orleans was a brass band town. It had many marching bands modeled after the famous ones Napoleon had set up. In 1871, thirteen Negro organizations sent their own bands to the funeral ceremonies for President Garfield. Negro bands like these began to use their own ideas about rhythm and improvised melody so that the European music they played began to swing. This was the start of Dixieland jazz. Work Cited Stearns, Marshall W. The Story of Jazz. London: Oxford University Press, 1970.

Personal Narrative Visiting Cuba Essay - 786 Words

Personal Narrative: Visiting Cuba Getting ready for landing was a new experience this time. Although I have flown to many places on many different size planes, this landing was different. I could see the houses and buildings below. The cars and people were like ants moving around. This is actually the typical site from the window seat of any plane that is about to land. To me it was very different. We were about to touch ground in Havana, Cuba. The place where my parents were born, raised and educated. This was also the place where my parents were married and had their first child, and also, the place they had to flee from in order to continue practicing their beliefs. I was arriving to my roots. A place that my family hadnt†¦show more content†¦It was quite funny to see and hear people talking with the same accent and slang that I was brought up with. All I could think to myself was...my God, this is where it all comes from My wife was also intrigued to hear the Cuban people express themselves. Once we were out on the tour bus and heading towards our hotel, it suddenly hit us... we had traveled into the past. Every vehicle, building, street and sidewalk was either exactly the way it was forty years prior or in most cases, in a forty year deteriorated state. Nonetheless, it was amazing to see cars, trucks and busses of the 50s traveling all around us. It was like being in an old movie and we were the main characters. Once we arrived at our hotel, that image shifted slightly. Most touristic hotels are either new or refurbished to look new in order to attract tourism. The ironic... no... painful reality of all this, is that the Cuban citizens are not allowed to enter the premises of any hotel in Cuba. It doesnt even end there. 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