MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING THUONGMAI UNIVERSITY ENGLISH FACULTY DISCUSSION OF BUSINESS ENGLISH 2 1 TOPIC GOOD AND BAD SIDES OF APPLYING IT IN THE WORKPLACE Teacher Tran Thi Bich Lan Group 6 Cl.
MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING THUONGMAI UNIVERSITY ENGLISH FACULTY DISCUSSION OF BUSINESS ENGLISH 2.1 TOPIC: GOOD AND BAD SIDES OF APPLYING IT IN THE WORKPLACE Teacher: Tran Thi Bich Lan Group: Class ID: 2265ENPR5211 Course: 2022-2023 Hanoi, 2022 MEMBERS LIST NUMBER NAME ID CLASS 29 Nguyễn Thùy Ninh 20D170031 K56N1 30 Mai Thị Lâm Oanh 20D170275 K56N5 31 Nguyễn Thị Thu Phương 20D170097 K56N2 32 Lê Thị Nguyệt Quế 20D170038 K56N1 33 Nguyễn Thị Diễm Quỳnh 20D170099 K56N2 34 Đỗ Thị Thắm 20D170044 K56N1 TASK TABLE NUMBER TASK NAME 32 INTRODUCTION C GOOD AND BAD SIDES OF APPLYING IT IN THE WORKPLACE People 2.2 Cons of applying IT in the workplace CONCLUSION Lê Thị Nguyệt Quế 29 C GOOD AND BAD SIDES OF APPLYING IT IN THE WORKPLACE People 2.1 Benefits of applying IT in the workplace 2.1.1 IT increases operational efficiency a IT in Production Activities Nguyễn Thùy Ninh b IT in Product Consumption 34 C GOOD AND BAD SIDES OF APPLYING IT IN THE WORKPLACE People 2.1 Benefits of applying IT in the workplace 2.1.1 IT increases operational efficiency c IT improves Human Resource Management d IT automates customer care e IT helps marketing grow Đỗ Thị Thắm 33 C GOOD AND BAD SIDES OF APPLYING IT IN THE WORKPLACE People 2.1 Benefits of applying IT in the workplace 2.1.4 IT Increasesstorage capacity 2.1.5 IT reduces costs 2.1.6 IT improves communication 2.1.7 IT increasesdata security Nguyễn Thị Diễm Quỳnh 31 A THEORETICAL BASIS B INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN THE LAST YEARS (2020 – 2021) C GOOD AND BAD SIDES OF APPLYING IT IN THE WORKPLACE 1.The office D SOLUTION Nguyễn Thị Thu Phương 30 C GOOD AND BAD SIDES OF APPLYING IT IN THE WORKPLACE People 2.1 Benefits of applying IT in the workplace 2.1.2 IT Improves profit 2.1.3 IT reduces physical works Mai Thị Lâm Oanh TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS LISTS OF FIGURES INTRODUCTION A THEORETICAL BASIS Definition of IT Definition of workplace .6 B INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN THE LAST YEARS (2020 – 2021) C GOOD AND BAD SIDES OF APPLYING IT IN THE WORKPLACE The office 1.1 Good sides 1.2 Bad sides People 2.1 Benefits of applying IT in the workplace .7 2.2 Cons of applying IT in the workplace 17 D SOLUTION 31 CONCLUSION .32 REFERENCES .32 LISTS OF FIGURES Page Figure A factory using high technology Figure Report about E-commerce activities in Vietnam 2019( Datareportal.com) Figure Electronic data interchange and paper exchange Figure Effective communication tools Figure Paper documents and Electronic documents Figure Percentage of health problems in IT and BPO employees Figure 2018 Was A Record Year For U.S Workplace Suicide Figure The jobs most threatened by technological advancement Figure Unemployment rate remains historically high Figure 10 Top 10 industries most "inquired" by hackers Figure 11 Inflation trends for professional services, servers and storage Figure 12 Email and the internet top the list of the important digital tools for American workers 15 16 16 18 21 26 27 29 30 31 INTRODUCTION Since the introduction of digital tools, the pace of work and life has irreversibly changed When the first computers were introduced, many futurists believed that the human workforce would drop to 2% They believed that humanity would return to the Ancient-Greek Hellenic concept of leisure, whereby slaves did the hard work and the Greeks focussed on challenging their minds, in the modern version of the concept machines would the work There is no denying the achievements that IT brings in the process of production, consumption, and marketing However, IT also brings a lot of trouble in the workplace Therefore, this discussion will investigate good and bad sides of applying it in the workplace A THEORETICAL BASIS Definition of IT (Information technology) Information technology, widely known under its abbreviation (IT), is defined as “the science and activity of using computers and other electronic equipment to store and send information” Definition of workplace Workplace is the location where you are employed and where you go to work every day, such as an office or factory B INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN THE LAST YEARS (2020 – 2021) The world economy is in the midst of a rapid transformation Internet, Mobile technology, Social Media, and Big Data trends, have unleashed a wave of innovations that is creating thousands of new startups and job positions, and is reinventing the traditional industries Nowadays, we witness big technology trends that are transforming society as well as business and economy Every industry now is highly, if not totally, affected by the emergence of information technology trends, like Cloud, Social Media, Big Data that are redrawing the landscape of the global economy In the past years, information technology has been widely used in the workplace Some common information technology equipment can be mentioned as: Computer, Printer, copier, Monitoring system, Projector, Wifi system, C GOOD AND BAD SIDES OF APPLYING IT IN THE WORKPLACE The office 1.1 Good sides In order to achieve certain successes in business, most large enterprises and corporations in the world invest in office systems and attached utilities to create an ideal working environment for employees The installation and use of IT equipment in the office will help the office become a modern, youthful, dynamic space, bringing a professional working space Moreover, the use of information technology devices also helps to make the workspace more minimalist, spacious, open space, flexible transition between departments, creating more connection and cohesion With a modern working space, bold technology colors will bring a good impression to customers when coming to the office Helps increase brand value and image of the business in the eyes of customers 1.2 Bad sides Technology has high maintenance costs Technology affects the costing part Sometimes it becomes costly to maintain it Many workplaces cannot afford the cost of technical tools If the computers are not maintained properly then it can affect the performances of the workplace It can stop the work and bring a loss in the business People 2.1 Benefits of applying IT in the workplace Information technology( IT) plays an important role in society today It has positive and negative effects on the world and it impacts our daily lives It’s no doubt that technology is the driver of success for modern businesses From production activities, product consumption to Marketing and customer sevices, everything has gone digital All of the departments of a company or many areas in our lives applied technology to not only improve productivity, increase revenue and profit but also save time, save money and save manpower Technology also creates new ways of working and can open new opportunities for businesseses 2.1.1 IT increases operational efficiency a IT in Production Activities As the effect of technology in every aspects of our lives nowaday,We believe that Information Technology( IT) will shape the factory of the future And the manufacturing activity was no exception A production line that applied the advanced technology ( robotics, computers, modern softwares , automation, ) and everything is automated can produce more output but faster and more accurate Everything was run smoothly, from processing to packaging Figure 1: A factory using high technology With the support of modern technology, the factories can create high productivity and good procduct quality in a short period of time For example : Grape farm in France Is the best illustration for this Large grape farms in France apply advanced technology in processes: planting, tending and harvesting the grapes Farmers use autonomous robots to increase productivity while allowing them to focus on more important aspects Autonomous robots in Harvesting and picking due to the accuracy and speed that robots can achieve a large size of yields + Harvesting and picking: is the most popular robotics application in agriculture due to the accuracy and speed that robots can achieve to improve the size of yields + Drones: They fly over fields to identify harmful pets in grapevines Then , they will spray them with pesticides Drones can also identify grapevines that require water or pesticides and provide the plants that are in need of it + Other: automatic watering system, Self- driving vehicles , ⇒ By using advanced technology, France farmers can achieve a large size of yields with a perfect quality: about 20-40 tons per hectare or even more b.Technology in product consumption The retail industry is not exception when it comes to taking advantage of technology The best illustration of applying technology in product consumption is Ecommerce The history of e-commerces associated with technology development and the Internet In short, E-commerce is buying and selling goods or services through the Internet Nowaday, E-commerce becomes more and more popular in all over the world and Vietnam is not exception The latest research shows that there are now 59 million internet users in Vietnam, while 78 percent of Vietnamese internet users aged between 16 and 64 already shop online “Hard at work, or hardly?” The concept of “Mass production” was popularized in the late 1910s and 1920s by Henry Ford's Ford Motor Company, which introduced electric motors to the then-wellknown technique of chain or sequential production Mass production can create thousands or even millions of products simultaneously Large industrial companies and factories with hundreds of employees usually carry out the mass production process It is a demonstration that machines work effortlessly and more efficiently than humans The products can be produced in larger quantities at much greater speed with the help of machines That means employees have turned into a non-stop workshop to work with machines in which most people feel they can never stop to take a breather - IT causes an unbalanced workload in a team “Competent employees are given more work duties” (They are stressed about it) 19 There was an interesting article by Bourree Lam in The Atlantic (based on research) (2015, May 22) that indicates that competent people are assigned more work duties Bourbee points out that it often causes additional stress on high-performing employees Bourbee points out that the competent person is not always rewarded financially for those efforts and argues that managers should compensate their high-performing employees Moreover, when applying IT in the workplace, requires a lot of skills, so only qualified people can work with machines It leads to an unbalanced workload in a team, competent employees are given more work duties than the rest That means it is not fair that the competent one would always get more and more work than the others - IT makes business owners unrealistic expectations 20 The expectation is that more technology means more speed and output per employee – and when those results don’t always magically occur, the only way to produce them is to require people to work longer hour For example: The average full-time employee works about 44 hours per week, according to a 2021 Gallup survey, which also found that roughly 41% of employees work 45 or more hours a week A different 2021 survey from ADP uncovered that employees work, on average, nearly nine unpaid hours of overtime every week Remote and hybrid employees were found to clock even more, at 9.4 and 9.8 hours of unpaid overtime, respectively That would take them close to a 50-hour workweek That means more technology, higher expectations, and greater labor exploitation THE CONSEQUENCES: - IT causes of technostress for the employees (Technostress is the stress and negative psychological impact of introducing new technologies at work.) + Invasion: “Technology is taking over my life!” + Overload: “I can’t keep up with all these tasks!” + Complexity: “This technology is too complicated!” + Insecurity: “If I can’t work out how to use this technology, I’ll get fired!” + Uncertainty: “Wait, is this how this technology is supposed to work?” Technostress can cause a wide range of symptoms, such as: 21 + Physical: Headaches, sore neck, back, and shoulder muscles, an inability to relax, and hypertension are just a few of the common physical symptoms of technostress + Mental: Workers feeling overwhelmed by technology have increased errors, worse productivity, more difficulty concentrating, and low morale, and they can become depressed, mentally exhausted, and cynical toward technology + Emotional: Technostress can cause panic/anxiety attacks, feelings of isolation, and irritability It can also lead to less time for sustained thinking, work/life imbalance, reduced job satisfaction, and increased mental and time pressure Pair these with all the other things that can contribute to workplace stress and that new technology you brought in could be doing more harm than good These work-related factors contribute to suicide (Source: Bureau of Labor of Statistics) Figure 2018 Was A Record Year For U.S Workplace Suicide 2.2.2 IT makes the workplace more unhealthy competitions - IT erases jobs for people with no skills Total robotization of dozens of areas will take place in the next 15 years More and more industries are adopting artificial intelligence and robots, making some professions endangered Thus, World Economic Forum (WEF) predicts 75 million job losses by 20222025 due to technology and innovation There are the top professions that will disappear due to IT development: Drivers 22 According to the forecast of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in 5-10 years, unmanned trucks will travel on the roads of the United States Cabs, urban transport, and private cars will also become unmanned Cashiers Amazon Go has made several stores where you just go, select products, and the amount is automatically debited from your credit card Cashier robots will be able to work around the clock without showing any emotions or signs of fatigue Waiters at Cafes and Restaurants 23 Robot waiters can handle any stressful situation much faster than the best McDonald’s employee Builders (robot AI building SAM) Nowadays, using 3D technology, it is possible to build houses in 24 hours without involving a large number of people With this in mind, it is no wonder that a profession of a builder will soon become a thing of the past Stock Traders 24 The stock market is one of the places whose settings and flows can be easily automated Content Creators, Journalists, Editors It is expected that content writing and editing functions will be performed by computer programs soon For example, Bloomberg has replaced some of its news staff with a program that writes stock news faster than human journalists Another example is Forbes magazine, which already uses the services of robotic journalists to create and check annual reports And in the Big Ten Network, robots quickly write and publish the latest sports news 25 Travel Agents, Loan Managers, Bank Employees, Security Specialists Almost all banking transactions can be performed online, and money can be received from an ATM Even today, bank employees are needed only to serve people who have not been able to adapt to new technologies When it comes to loan affairs, you can apply for a loan online already today And in the future, you will instantly receive a bank decision, while the computer will check our pc against databases for the reliability of the client 26 Figure The jobs most threatened by technological advancement The youth unemployment rate of South Africa was around 64 percent in 2021, the highest of any G20 country Brazil followed with a youth unemployment rate of close to 32 percent In contrast, Japan's youth unemployment rate was the lowest at roughly four and a half percent (Source: Bureau of Labor of Statistics) 27 Figure Unemployment rate remains historically high THE CONSEQUENCES: Many employees risk losing their jobs simply because their professions will disappear And this can lead to: + Job insecurity + Disengagement + Unhealthy competition + Stress, depression, and a lack of mental fitness + Decreased productivity For example: When there’s a looming fear of job insecurity, your employees’ well-being is likely to take a hit Job insecurity can significantly impact your employees’ mental well-being and physical health Job insecurity can lead to prolonged anxiety, anger, and burnout Those impacts can show up in both physical and mental health manifestations This includes sleep problems, substance misuse, weight gain, depression, and more A recent study looked at job insecurity and employee engagement The study found that job insecurity negatively impacts employee engagement Gallup found some interesting data that backs up this stat Employees who are insecure about their job are 37% more likely to be disengaged in the workplace In a January 2022 survey, 27% of Americans report worrying about job security That’s still a significant number in an economy that’s just reached a record low unemployment rate amid a global pandemic Even though the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports strong numbers, things can (and do) change And while the unemployment rate is low, frictional unemployment is rising - IT creates unhealthy competition between companies: Moreover, IT also increases unfair competition between companies Every company wants to lead the market, no one wants to stay behind, and everyone wants to use IT to become a winner IT can drive man toward greed Far too often, greed comes with stress, exhaustion, anxiety, depression, and despair In addition, it can lead to maladaptive behavior patterns such as hoarding, trickery, and even theft In the corporate world, as John Grant wrote, “fraud is the daughter of greed.” For example, some companies hire hacks to drown out the image of other companies, such a chaotic, competitive society is like destroying everyone around to stand alone in an oasis Is this how we run the world? Another example is a product that has been designed, branded, or packaged to look exactly like that of a well-established competitor; a cheap imitation 28 2.2.3 IT poses risks - iCloud poses security risks to companies “Not even a complex, 16-character password guarantees that your cloud-based data and devices are secure.” "With the cloud, you don't own anything.” "The more we transfer everything onto the Web, onto the cloud, the less we're going to have control over it." By your account, a malicious hacker gained entry to your iCloud account and used it to remote wipe all of your devices, including your iPhone, iPad, and MacBook Air Those are potential threats pertaining to how much control one has over his or her cloud-stored data, but they aren't the only issues Part of the threat lies in just how interconnected data and devices and identities become in the cloud, all of which can become breached by bypassing a single password For all the benefits of the cloud, it creates new weaknesses in a company's security infrastructure A resourceful hacker could potentially dig up the correct answers to security questions through some research on Facebook, targeted phishing, and the like We can lose all information, or be changed, by a scary element named "Hacker" Figure 10 Top 10 industries most "inquired" by hackers - IT also increases the greed of businessmen 29 In the stock market investment world, we both know that “ the higher the risk, the higher the potential reward." Sometimes overconfidence costs him an arm and a leg Not only does he get no profit but also empty-handed, and bankrupt 2.2.4 Others - IT increases costs IT can also increase costs such as machine maintenance costs, website design costs, etc For example: Producer Price Index (PPI) data, which tracks prices paid to the producers of goods and services, reveals a steep year-over-year price hike for host computers and servers a 21% surge over pricing levels in June 2021 The Department of Labor's PPI update, released July 14, also shows a 4.7% price increase for computer storage devices and a 2% increase for professional services, IT technical support and consulting services Figure 11 Inflation trends for professional services, servers and storage - IT creates distance between employees Employees communicate via smartphones, text messages, virtual video conferencing tools or email This form of communication technology gets rid of face to face communication It is important to have interpersonal communications when it comes to building relationships in the workplace since employees get the chance of knowing each other better in person There are even times when they share information that is not related to work Communication technology tools can kill this type of interaction Employees tend to 30 become more self-centered and reserved They become buried in work that might be harmful to the business in the long run - IT causes distractions at work Figure 12 Email and the internet top the list of the important digital tools for American workers There are a lot of ways for technology to distract employees in the workplace Using social networks at work may result in distractions and affect the employees’ productivity This is why some companies have decided blocking off access to certain websites such as YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter since they divert attention Other workplace technologies that can cause disturbances at work include computers, smartphones, and virtual meeting apps Conclusion: These above are stoking concerns: + Are people happy in the workplace? + Is IT controlling us or are we controlling it? + Who pays the price for development? + Standing still, backwards, or forwards? D SOLUTION Managers must listen to staff and find out about their daily experience using the technology If staff are having struggles that negatively impact their experiences, managers must try to find out the reason why Insights on staff technology issues can be gained in multiple ways such as surveys, usability studies, employee interviews and tracking software 31 Managers should their utmost to simplify technology systems When you must use multiple systems, managers should help to ensure that integrations are as seamless as possible Finding the right IT devices for your business, be transparent when communicating the change and continuously train your employees Create an IT workplace that supports a range of work styles and personalities whilst following security guidelines and business objectives Don’t let the IT environment prevent human interaction, and ensure you create time for face-to-face interaction amongst employees such as weekly meetings, one-toones, quarterly socials and events days CONCLUSION Overall, it can't be denied that IT developed very strongly and has really applied in the workplace in Vietnam and over the world With the topic: Good and bad sides of applying it in the workplace, this essay was divided into main parts: the office, and people Each part has its good and bad sides In the process of implementing the topic, due to limited knowledge, group's discussion still encountered many shortcomings We hope to receive your suggestions to improve the discussion report of our group We sincerely thank you!! REFERENCES [1] Statista Infographics; Infographic: 2018 Was A Record Year For U.S Workplace Suicide; (2022) https://www.statista.com/chart/20483/total-number-of-workplace-suicides-in-the-us/ [2] The Century Foundation; Mounting a Response to Technological Unemployment; (2022) https://tcf.org/content/report/mounting-response-technological-unemployment/ [3] New Technology has created more jobs than it has destroyed, says 140 years of data – Stephen's Lighthouse: https://stephenslighthouse.com/2015/09/05/technology-has-created-more-jobs-than-it-hasdestroyed-says-140-years-of-data/ [4] Statista Infographics; The jobs most threatened by technological advancement (2022) https://www.statista.com/chart/3262/the-jobs-most-threatened-by-technologicaladvancement/ 32 [5] Master Intelligence Economique et Stratégies Compétitives; Impacts of information technology (IT); 2022 https://master-iesc-angers.com/impacts-of-information-technology-it/ [6] How can 'Cloud' technologies help reduce my ICT costs? https://youtu.be/kxx9LoPH_TE [7] What is Marketing Technology? https://youtu.be/zuf4NnRym0Q 33 ... 32 INTRODUCTION C GOOD AND BAD SIDES OF APPLYING IT IN THE WORKPLACE People 2.2 Cons of applying IT in the workplace CONCLUSION Lê Thị Nguyệt Quế 29 C GOOD AND BAD SIDES OF APPLYING IT IN THE WORKPLACE. .. APPLYING IT IN THE WORKPLACE 1 .The office D SOLUTION Nguyễn Thị Thu Phương 30 C GOOD AND BAD SIDES OF APPLYING IT IN THE WORKPLACE People 2.1 Benefits of applying IT in the workplace 2.1.2 IT Improves... Definition of IT Definition of workplace .6 B INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN THE LAST YEARS (2020 – 2021) C GOOD AND BAD SIDES OF APPLYING IT IN THE WORKPLACE The office