In the article Effects of Technology in Today’s Business World, Todd Pheifer
discusses the methods by which business has been altered by technology in
today’s world. Pheifer specifically
focuses on several manners in business that he believes have been greatly
effected by technology, which includes changes in daily and global
communication. According to Pheifer,
“technological communication has helped connect distant people in an efficient
manner, but critics still worry that people have lost that ‘human’ touch.” I, personally, agree with the aforementioned
critics and believe that technology is ending the “human touch.”
The human touch is that which
authenticates communication, and without this “touch” true communication cannot
take place. The ability to converse and
do business with another person half way across the world with the click of a
button has been made possible with advances in technology, making international
commerce a normality, however, with this growth of technology and its abundance,
fewer social interactions are taking place.
Pheifer briefly mentions this fact in his article when he states, “technology
is so entrenched…people will send an email to a co-worker who is sitting five
feet away.” The fact that individuals
prefer technology to face-to-face interaction is a very important occurrence in
the business world that Pheifer should have elaborated on.
As stated by Phefier, “technology
is wonderful, but humans are still social creatures.” Technology allows people to communicate in an
instantaneous fashion. Emails, instant
messages, and text messages now reach others in moments, allowing for quick and
simple communication. This form of
communication, although convenient, effectively disintegrates the human touch. Business itself is fueled by relationships
and a businesses success is dependent upon its owner’s ability to build and
maintain long-term relationships, allowing for lasting commitment and goodwill.
Technology may ease the process of
initially contacting individuals, however, face-to-face communication allows
individuals to form stronger relationships and build clear understandings of
who they are as people through these interpersonal interactions. Sending an email or a text message, does not
allow for such connecting to occur. A
greater understanding and sense of amity give a person a stronger likelihood of
maintaining a long-standing relationship with that other individual, which is
essential in creating opportunities for future business ventures.
Todd Pheifer ends his article with two
ominous questions concerning the development of humanity asking, “will they
continue down the road of technological addiction? Or will they have a reawakening where they
turn off their machines every once and a while…?” Technology is detrimental to the human touch,
and due to this I believe humanity will learn to “turn off their machines” for
true social interactions. The
interpersonal interactions that take place during a face-to-face interaction allow
for long-standing relationships with other individuals that are vital in
business, because given the opportunity everyone would much rather do business
with a friend.
http://www.helium.com/items/1464714-technology-has-changed-the-way-that-companies-conduct-business
I agree that technology has had an impact on the future end to “human touch” in the business world, but I believe the impact it has had on how businesses can communicate instantly with other businesses worldwide outweighs this drawback.
ReplyDeleteI agree that we may be taking too much advantage of the benefits to emailing, texting, and instant messaging, but these forms of communication do aid in a business persons “ability to build and maintain long-term relationships.” It may not have the form of “human touch” communication, but it helps businesses stay in contact with each other, and maintaining these long-term relationship has been made easier with emailing to touch base.
As far as face-to-face communication goes, video chatting has been a great form of technology created that has allowed communication amongst companies in different locations to see each other during a conversation. I understand video chatting doesn’t allow you to see a person’s body language during a conversation, but it’s the next best thing to communicating with someone.
To answer Todd Pheifer’s question, I believe businesses will continue down the road of technological addiction. I think our world has become too addicted to technology because it facilitates easy communication. It’s to the point where people cannot function if their phone isn’t working or if their computers are not connecting to the Internet. Business people are constantly on their phones emailing and communicating. Technology has become an essential aspect to how business people communicate. I feel as if people have forgotten the importance of face-to-face interaction because they are so consumed with the technology in front of them. Until these forms of technology are taken away completely, people will not see the importance of interacting with someone in your presence rather than over email.
Rey, I think you make a great point that the human touch is so important to communication, but that we, as a society are moving away from this through technology use. I also agree that we should take a step back from technology once in awhile, however I think that as technology becomes more necessary to everyday life, taking a break may become more and more difficult. I also have to agree with Amanda, the benefits of technology appear to greatly outweigh the negatives and that will not be changing any time soon.
ReplyDeleteTechnology has given the world such an advantage from a business perspective. Companies able to operate globally, making them so much more productive and allowing them to work with people halfway across the world that they have never met face-to-face. While this interpersonal relationship may be lost, video conferencing has been constantly improving, now making telepresence possible. Soon, people will virtually be able to walk beside someone in from across the world without physically being there. Technology has opened up so many opportunities for people that human interaction may not be able to keep up with this transition. Travelling to see a client or co-worker face-to-face takes precious time that could be used to be more productive, and the ultimate goal of businesses these days is productivity. Businesses, therefore, will seek to use whatever technology necessary to be as productive as possible.
I think that the generation holding corporate positions right now may be more inclined to keep face-to-face communication active in the workplace, but the generation to come will be so engulfed in technology that shutting off technology will have no benefit to businesses. I personally feel that human touch will always be necessary, but sadly it appears that it might not be possible to always seek this in business matters. On a positive note, I think that most people understand the need for the human touch, so they are doing whatever they can to incorporate some form of that into business communication, whether that be video-conferencing, telepresence, or the traditional face-to-face matters.