The working environment is the most important fact for every kind of organization so every company always try to improve their work environment. Now let’s gauge what will be the features of the future work environment.
Automation will have a far-reaching effect in the environment of both the office and factory floor. Office workers will have much more works to do with a computer and other electronic appliances.
Factory workers will also find themselves with large automated machines, themselves being more for less automated. A few of the possible features of office/factory environment may be thought of as:
Table of Contents
Future Work Environment
Automation will have a far-reaching effect in the environment of both the office and factory floor.
Electronic Office
Not to speak of advanced societies, even in the third world countries the large-size organizations would inevitably turn to be what we may call “electronic office”. By the term electronic office, we may refer to the use of computers and related technologies to electronically facilitate office operations.
Such an electronic office may be similar to the following: Even in the third world countries the large-size organizations would inevitably turn to be what we may call “electronic office”. “People work at a “smart” station supported by computers that allow sophisticated voice, image, text, and other data-handling operations.
Voice message utilizes the voice recognition capabilities of computers to take dictation, answer the telephone, and relay the messages. Databases are easily accessed to prepare and analyze reports.
Once finished, documents drafted via word processing are stored for later retrieval and/or sent via electronic mail or facsimile transmission to other persons. Standard filing cabinets are few, and little paper is found. Meeting notes are written on electronic pads or jotted in palm-held electronic diaries.
All are easily up-loaded into computer files. Mail arrives and is routed to its destination via computer, and it gets posted on electronic bulletin boards to be prioritized and acceded according to its importance.
Computer conferencing and video-conferencing are commonplace, and people work with one another every day over great distances-even around the world-without meeting personally face to face.” Such an environment of office/business is no fantasy. It’s real and possible.
Dynamic enterprises age trying their best to utilize computers and information technology (IT) to improve operating inefficiencies, streamline work, and make overall performance improvements. Modern organizations will be investing in technology in the quest for competitive advantage through lower costs, better quality, and improves customer service.
Those that fail to do so will be ill-prepared to act quickly enough to succeed in a highly competitive situation. Modern organizations will be investing in technology it the quest of competitive advantages through lower costs, better quality, and improved customer service.
Automated Factory
Although it is often said that the future is uncertain the fact that a modern factory, even in a developing commonwealth country, cannot avoid automation, is certain. The natural tendency is towards capital intensive rather than labor-intensive operations.
Automation tends to reduce the size but improve operations. Automation tends to reduce the size but improve operations. Improvement in both the quality and quantity of products will in turn help in improving the work environment.
Highly skilled and highly paid workers will tend to devote more to the development of themselves and of their factory as well. Automation tends to reduce the size but improve operations. Automation tends to reduce the size but improve operations.
Improvement in both the quality and quantity of products will in turn help in improving the work environment. Extensions of automation are expected to revolve around computer-assisted manufacturing (CAM) which relies on computers to design products.
The use of computers in the factory will also be rampant. Computer-aided design (CAD) is expected to be combined with CAM to ensure that the design moves smoothly to production. The production computer will share the design computer’s information to be able to have machines with the proper settings ready when production is needed.
A CAM system will be useful to quickly produce the desired product, prepare labels and copies of orders, and send the product out to where it will be wanted. CAD and CAM will work in close harmony and computers will adjust machine placements in layout arrangements and settings automatically to enhance both the complexity and the flexibility of scheduling.
Computer-aided design (CAD) is expected to be combine4d with CAM to ensure that the design moves smoothly to production. Computers will make fewer errors and this will tend to lessen the possibility of accidents and thereby widen the probability of higher productivity and profitability of the enterprise.
Quick and easy flow of communication
A modern organization will need a quick and easy flow of communication both within and outside the organization. Besides the use of telephone, Dictaphone, fax, etc., the use of computers has brought about revolutionary changes in the field of communication.
E-mail, e-commerce/e. business, voice mail, etc. have become so much of common use that in the future the whole of the universe will appear to be a small village. This will tend to reduce the gap between the working environment of industrially developed and developing countries.
E-mail, e-business, voice mail, etc. have become so much of common use that in the future the whole of the universe will appear to be a small village. Computer-aided communication (e-mail) and commerce (e. commerce), in conjunction with management information systems (MIS), is expected to bring revolutionary changes in making decisions and disseminating information.
MIS is a computer-based system and has already been used in advanced societies as a replacement of traditional management based on human memory and labor in the main.
However, MIS may be understood as being an organized method of providing past, present, and projection information relating to internal operation and external intelligence. It supports the planning, control, and operation and external intelligence.
It supports the planning, control, and operational functions of an organization by furnishing uniform information in the proper time frame to assist the decision-making process. Computer-aided communication (e-mail) and commerce (e-commerce), in conjunction with management information systems, is expected to bring revolutionary changes in making decisions and disseminating information.
An MIS will provide information on a real-time basis so that managers face no problem making an immediate decision. It will also provide information about external as well as internal events. For example, the manager of a garments factory wanting to make a decision about the next immediate shipment can obtain up-to-the-minute information about the progress in production made.
Impact on jobs
Although the impact of the wide use of computers on total employment levels is not clear at this point, yet it is clear that computerization will continue to have a definite effect on both the composition of the workforce and the manager in which work is organized.
The use of computers is likely to reduce clerical and secretarial jobs and increase the need for people with the skills to design hardware and software and interpret the output of sophisticated software packages. The Use of computers is likely the reduce clerical and secretarial jobs and increase the need for people with the skills to design hardware and software.
Impact on labor-management relations
Automation will have definite impacts on labor-management relations. Increasing dependence upon computers and other machinery will also necessitate the employment of very skilled employees/workers who will remain, at least for the time being, irreplaceable and thus the employer’s dependence upon the would necessitate increasing efforts managed to keep their motivation high.
Employees/workers, in their turn, would also rend to work their best since:
(i) they would have to keep pace with the machine speed and
(ii) they would always try to climb up the ladder of promotion by satisfying their employers.
The net effect is expected to be much improved labor-management relations in the developing countries which have, since long, been experiencing very stringent relations between the employers and the employees, characterized by frequent work stoppages due to strikes or lockouts, high labor absenteeism, and labor turnover, very low productivity and profitability, etc.
However, the fact that many of the employees of the automated organization may take the opportunity to work in their own homes, as indicated above, will have some negative impact on labor-management relations as well.
The unions will find it difficult to organize people who work in their homes. Moreover, working at home may affect the allegiance that people feel to their work organization. It would really be difficult to develop employees/workers’ loyalty to an organization when they would hardly know the other people who there or even what the factory/office building looks like.
Automation will necessitate the employment of very skilled employees/workers who will remain, at least for the time being, irreplaceable and thus the employers’ dependence upon them would necessitate increasing efforts from management to keep their motivation high.
Physical and mental concerns of employees
The increasing use of computers may cause concerns about both the physical and mental health of the people using them. There is every possibility of widespread complaints about eye strain to be caused by looking at a monitor for eight hours a day.
X-ray emission from computers may also have an adverse effect on the physical health of workers. Concerns about mental problems are most likely to arise out of job stress to be created by supervisors using computers to monitor exactly what employees are doing every minute of every workday.
That employees will find no scope of goofing or relaxing in working hours and that they will have to remain under implicit pressure for grater output, they are likely to be bored and frustrated in the long run.
That employees will find no scope of goofing or relaxing in working hours and that they will have to remain under implicit pressure for grater output, they are likely to be bored and frustrated in the long run.
Conclusion
Inspire of many advantages, the use of modern technology in office and factories will throw many people out of jobs in developing and under-developed societies. It is advisable that the emphasis is placed upon appropriate technology in relation to the needs and capabilities of the society concerned.
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