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Social Dimensions of Computerisation

This document discusses the social dimensions of computerization and how it impacts individuals, organizations, society, politics, and lifestyle. It identifies both beneficial and harmful effects. The key impacts discussed are: 1) For individuals, computers increase work efficiency but also risk loss of privacy and numerical skills. 2) Organizations see gains in management and production with computers, but also face risks of outdated skills, redundancies, and power struggles. 3) Societies benefit from increased resources and information, but computers may also cause unemployment, divisions, and potential for misuse. 4) Internationally, computers shrink borders for business while also increasing gaps between developed and developing nations and imbalances in weapons capabilities.

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gourav rathore
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943 views

Social Dimensions of Computerisation

This document discusses the social dimensions of computerization and how it impacts individuals, organizations, society, politics, and lifestyle. It identifies both beneficial and harmful effects. The key impacts discussed are: 1) For individuals, computers increase work efficiency but also risk loss of privacy and numerical skills. 2) Organizations see gains in management and production with computers, but also face risks of outdated skills, redundancies, and power struggles. 3) Societies benefit from increased resources and information, but computers may also cause unemployment, divisions, and potential for misuse. 4) Internationally, computers shrink borders for business while also increasing gaps between developed and developing nations and imbalances in weapons capabilities.

Uploaded by

gourav rathore
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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SOCIAL DIMENSIONS OF COMPUTERISATION

(It includes beneficial and harmful effects of computer technology to an individual,


organization, society, politics, lifestyle etc.)

Objectives:

In this topic, you should be able to :

• Identify major issues related to the use of the computer,


• Explain how the computer has affected the individual in his pattern of life habits
and thinking,
• Explain how computers can affect the society at large beneficially as well as
harmfully,
• Examine the impact of computers in the context of Indian society in a limited
way.

Structure
1. The Individual and the Computer
2. The Computer and Organizations
3. The Computer and the Society
4. The Computers and the International
5. The Computer and Politics
6. The Individual and the Impact of Computers on his Living Style
7. The Computer and the Individual's Work Pattern
8. The Computer and the Intellectual Capabilities of the Individual
9. The Computer and Employment Opportunities
10. Computers and Living Styles
11. Computers and India
12. Computer Industry is India
13. Computers and the Indian Society

THE INDIVIDUAL AND THE COMPUTER

Beneficial Impact
Some of the benefits which an individual derives from computerization are as
follows:

 At home, in the workplace, the drudgery of repetitive type of operations is


avoided.
 Speed of processing helps quicker, more timely decision making.
 To such professionals as 'researchers, scientists, engineers etc., the accuracy
provided by the computer is of immense value.
 As a customer he receives quicker service.

The computer combined with electronic communication devices makes life easier
for the individual in many fields such as reducing or even eliminating costly
travel, shopping from home, getting news from any part of the world
instantaneously etc., all of which are very valuable to the businessman and
industrialist.

Harmful Impact

 The individual's dependence on computer can cause untold miseries, if for


some reason the data which he had fed into the computer were to be lost
without a back-up,
 He may cease to use his brain for commonsense arithmetic so that, he may
lose his numerical ability.
 The individual becomes so transparent to the whole world through the
storing of information about every aspect of his life in many places thereby
losing his privacy.
 The individual may suffer from the use of inaccurate information kept
about him in the computer. There is also likelihood of such information
being misused to his disadvantage.
 Every individual becomes the potential victim for the consequences of
computer controlled decisions in such strategic areas such as use of atomic
and other potentially dangerous weapons and gadgets.
 An individual who is not inclined to learn about computers may find himself
treated as a second class citizen in certain contexts.
 Every individual who is a wage earner may find his services superfluous,
with the computer taking over his work and thus making him at least
temporarily out of job.
 The effects of radiation, harmful effects from the continuous exposure to
the V.D.U. etc., may also affect some individuals.

THE COMPUTER AND ORGANISATIONS

Beneficial Impact
All the benefits which a computer affords to an individual are available to
organisations also, perhaps several-fold.

 The management process, which tries to substitute rationality in decision


making using timely, relevant and accurate information, is greatly
facilitated by the computer.
 Tremendous gains in financial control, inventory control, market control
etc., are possible using the computer technology. In factory production
quality control, production planning and monitoring etc., are made more
effective and easy with the help of the computer.
 Organisations can move into higher levels of forecasting using such
techniques as simulation, and also benefit by the use of various O.R.
techniques with the help of a computer,
 The horizons of organisations themselves are widened with the help of
computers combined with modern electronic communication facilities.

Harmful Effects

 Many organisations have and continue to invest in the technology without


sufficient. Systems analysis, and without preparing the ground properly for
implementation. This results in various kinds of frustrations in such
organisations.
 The mix of skills needed in the organisation undergoes major change which
may create lots of tensions and may harmfully affect the human resources.
 When computers take over many items of work from human beings the
organisation may find itself loaded with unwanted manpower. This can lead
to a lot of industrial strife.
 The employees start living in continuous fear of being declared redundant
and lose morale and motivation.
 The distribution of power in the organisations gets altered with attendant
struggles for regaining power through unhealthy ways.
 The no computer skilled people may find themselves treated as second class
citizens in the organisation.
 New and devious ways of misuse of the computer technology may be found
to defraud the organisation.
 The organization becomes transparent and may suffer at the hands of
competitors.
 The dependence on computers for handling information can lead to several
embarrassments and even losses when there is a failure of the system.
 Large investments in hardware and software are required to use the
technology. which may not yield immediate returns.

THE COMPUTER AND THE SOCIETY

Beneficial Effect

 The harnessing of natural resources is facilitated in quicker and more


effective ways y the use of the computer technology.
 Public services can be made more effective with the help of computers
which is a perennial problem faced by every society.
 The flow of information and communication channels provided by
computers together with modern communications facilitates the removal of
barriers among different societies and can develop global brotherhood.
 Members of the society acquire many conveniences which take away the
drudgeries and tensions of living in metropolitan areas.
 The scientific advancements especially in the areas of medical science,
weather forecasting etc., are of tremendous value to society.

Harmful Impact
 The unemployment problem posed by the adoption of computer technology
compounds such other phenomena like recession and leavek the society in
great turmoil.
 New divisions in society based on the extent of knowledge and skills in the
use of the technology get created posing new problems.
 Hitherto unimaginable potential for misuse springs up leaving the society in
fear of such misuses and frauds.
 The use of computer in strategic areas like Defence, atomic science etc.,
leaves the society in fear of catastrophic consequences either due to program
errors or due to deliberate act of bias,
 There is fear that future children and growing children may lose all their
commonsense abilities, especially numerical ability by total dependence on
computers.

THE COMPUTERS AND THE INTERNATIONAL SCENE

Beneficial Effects
 The frontiers of nations and countries have shrunk a great deal by the
quantity and speed of communication that has been facilitated by computer
and communication technology.
 Computer conferences, tele conferences etc., using satellite communication
has changed the complex of business across nations and a new globalization
process has set in.
 The cause of research in scientific areas has been advanced.

Harmful Impact
 Computer technology has tilted the balance of weapon power in favor of
certain countries like USA through the use of computer and communication
technology.
 The gap between poor nations and rich nations has increased in one more
dimension, namely the computing power. At will or even by accident rich
nations can in a split second blast accurately several capitals.
 The long debates and pressures brought about on developed countries on the
question of super computers is evidence of how a technology can be used to
pressurize.

THE COMPUTER AND POLITICS

Beneficial Effects
 Data processing in census, elections etc., have helped a great deal in making
these operations related to political activities more data-based, quick and
efficient.
 The computer and communication technology has made election result
processing and its communication all over the country more effective.
 Even though still under debate the, use of computerized voting machines can
make 'the election process less amenable to muscle power interventions.
 The computer has helped many a parliamentarian to use information
effectively to support his contentions. The whole parliamentary process can
in due course be more data-based and less emotion-based.

Harmful Effects
 When the opportunity for processing information through computers is not
equally distributed and also when the awareness of the potentialities of its
use is also low some politicians can disinformation for various parochial
ends.
 Trade union leaders are opposing the use of computerized information
technology, especially in organisations which provide employment to a large
number of white collar employees.

THE INDIVIDUAL AND THE IMPACT OF COMPUTERS ON HIS


LIVING STYLE

An individual who is a professional say a doctor, engineer, architect, businessman,


consultant etc., undergoes a substantial change in his working pattern when he
takes to a computer. The computer helps him to process information more quickly
and effectively which in turn upgrades the quality of his work and makes him more
self-confident.
An individual who is a member of an organisation also can, when he is making
use of a computer, become more competent in his field.
In many public services like railways, airports, employment exchanges,
universities; libraries, hospitals, departmental 'stores, banks, stock exchanges etc,,
he can get quick and effective service in a computerized environment.

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