How new technology rewiring our "BRAINS"?
By spending so a lot time with e-mail, chat, text messaging, and other forms of communication where information is presented in short bursts but there is so a lot incoming information continuously, we are in fact training our brains to value the superficial and losing the capacity to concentrate and think deeper. Research study after research study shows that despite what people imagine about themselves, human beings grow to be worse cognitively after a life full of instantaneous communications.
This sort of simulation provokes a particular type of excitement to which our brains, addled by dopamine as well as adrenaline, become easily addicted. Yet despite the stress that all this excitement produces, we feel bored in its absence.
Juggling the constant influx of information undermines our capability to pay attention. Bursts of information play into a primitive impulse of our human psychology to immediately respond to threats and opportunities. It echoes our distant past when we were defenseless creatures continuously searching for food while simultaneously searching out for hunters that would eat us.
Thus starts a pernicious cycle whereby we find it harder and harder to concentrate while in effect desiring ever more the fact that we cannot concentrate!
Technology is literally rewiring our brains, because even after people give up all their computers and smartphones it's very tough to reset our brains. Still think you're a multitasker?
How gadgets are rewiring our brains and our behavior
“The technology is rewiring our brains,” said Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute of Drug Abuse and one of the world’s leading brain scientists. She and other researchers compare the lure of digital stimulation less to that of drugs and alcohol than to food and sex, which are essential but counterproductive in excess.
So fine, I did get side tracked yesterday while I was surfing the Internet and was late to a brunch. Maybe technology is so habitual that we are unaware of how much we depend on it. I must admit when I didn’t have a smart phone or Internet for 2 weeks, time went by more slowly and I read paperback books.
Now if you are wondering if you spend an unhealthy amount of time on the Internet, you might want to take a self assessment. No doubt, access to the Internet widens the range of temptations — so much so, scientists are finding that people who have a gambling problem also have a “problematic Internet” behavior.
Technology is a utility and we depend on it, so of course, it is changing our habits and our brains.
The NY Times also reports that experts think that this media overload makes us “impulsive, forgetful, and even more narcissistic.” Oh, and I just thought that was just a part of living in New York.
Saturday, August 14, 2010
case no.4
Disadvantages of Information Technology Outsourcing (ITO)
the Loss Of Managerial Control
Whether you sign a contract to have another company perform the function of an entire department or single task, you are turning the management and control of that function over to another company. True, you will have a contract, but the managerial control will belong to another company. Your outsourcing company will not be driven by the same standards and mission that drives your company. They will be driven to make a profit from the services that they are providing to you and other businesses like yours.
The Hidden Costs
You will sign a contract with the outsourcing company that will cover the details of the service that they will be providing. Any thing not covered in the contract will be the basis for you to pay additional charges. Additionally, you will experience legal fees to retain a lawyer to review the contacts you will sign. Remember, this is the outsourcing company's business. They have done this before and they are the ones that write the contract. Therefore, you will be at a disadvantage when negotiations start.
Threat to Security and Confidentiality
The life-blood of any business is the information that keeps it running. If you have payroll, medical records or any other confidential information that will be transmitted to the outsourcing company, there is a risk that the confidentiality may be compromised. If the outsourced function involves sharing proprietary company data or knowledge (e.g. product drawings, formulas, etc.), this must be taken into account. Evaluate the outsourcing company carefully to make sure your data is protected and the contract has a penalty clause if an incident occurs.
Quality Problems
The outsourcing company will be motivated by profit. Since the contract will fix the price, the only way for them to increase profit will be to decrease expenses. As long as they meet the conditions of the contract, you will pay. In addition, you will lose the ability to rapidly respond to changes in the business environment. The contract will be very specific and you will pay extra for changes.
Tied to the Financial Well-Being of Another Company
Since you will be turning over part of the operations of your business to another company, you will now be tied to the financial well-being of that company. It wouldn't be the first time that an outsourcing company could go bankrupt and leave you holding-the-bag.
Bad Publicity and Ill-Will
The word "outsourcing" brings to mind different things to different people. If you live in a community that has an outsourcing company and they employ your friends and neighbors, outsourcing is good. If your friends and neighbors lost their jobs because they were shipped across the state, across the country or across the world, outsourcing will bring bad publicity. If you outsource part of your operations, morale may suffer in the remaining work force.
The Implications of Information Technology Outsourcing (ITO)
1. Clearly, one of the most attractive impacts of HR outsourcing is a perceived benefit of staffing flexibility. Companies can add or cut staffing as needed or as workload demands without worrying about being entangled in messy employee terminations and long hiring processes. This assumption generally works with outsourcing as long as the function outsourced is fairly general and standardized. If the tasks involved are highly specialized and require unique training, then the company will find itself in a pickle with perennially under-skilled staff.
Waiting for Results
2. The areas impacted by HR outsourcing include some of the most transaction-heavy functions of personnel. This covers areas such as hiring, payroll processing, health benefits and retirement account management, collections, employee training, and IT areas that support the information and records needed by personnel.
Nimble Staffing
3. One of the more common misconceptions is that a company that begins outsourcing its personnel functions will see profit and gains right away. Frequently this does not occur. In fact, the opposite occurs where additional time and costs are realized getting the outsource provider to perform as desired. The benefits of efficiencies and moving redundant tasks outside are seen over a long-term period once the changes settle in.
Immediate Savings
4. As noted earlier, another immediate impact will be the expenses associated with getting the outsource provider started in supporting a client company. Few situations allow an outsource provider to just start up cold. There will be training, familiarization, travel, certification that new processes will be correctly followed, and more. Frequently, transition to outsourced personnel support takes about a year to complete, depending on the scope of the services transferred. Simultaneously, there is also the cost and time spent eliminating the home staff that have now become surplus.
Caveat
5. An immediate short-term impact is usually seen in the reduced cost of operation, at first. Many outsource providers will gauge what the cost of the functions are currently for the client company and price below them to be attractive. In the first years of operation this cost comparison will hold true, favoring the outsourcing option. However, as demands increase, specialization is desired, or workload increases, the cost for the outsource provider's services will go up.
Transition Expenses
the Loss Of Managerial Control
Whether you sign a contract to have another company perform the function of an entire department or single task, you are turning the management and control of that function over to another company. True, you will have a contract, but the managerial control will belong to another company. Your outsourcing company will not be driven by the same standards and mission that drives your company. They will be driven to make a profit from the services that they are providing to you and other businesses like yours.
The Hidden Costs
You will sign a contract with the outsourcing company that will cover the details of the service that they will be providing. Any thing not covered in the contract will be the basis for you to pay additional charges. Additionally, you will experience legal fees to retain a lawyer to review the contacts you will sign. Remember, this is the outsourcing company's business. They have done this before and they are the ones that write the contract. Therefore, you will be at a disadvantage when negotiations start.
Threat to Security and Confidentiality
The life-blood of any business is the information that keeps it running. If you have payroll, medical records or any other confidential information that will be transmitted to the outsourcing company, there is a risk that the confidentiality may be compromised. If the outsourced function involves sharing proprietary company data or knowledge (e.g. product drawings, formulas, etc.), this must be taken into account. Evaluate the outsourcing company carefully to make sure your data is protected and the contract has a penalty clause if an incident occurs.
Quality Problems
The outsourcing company will be motivated by profit. Since the contract will fix the price, the only way for them to increase profit will be to decrease expenses. As long as they meet the conditions of the contract, you will pay. In addition, you will lose the ability to rapidly respond to changes in the business environment. The contract will be very specific and you will pay extra for changes.
Tied to the Financial Well-Being of Another Company
Since you will be turning over part of the operations of your business to another company, you will now be tied to the financial well-being of that company. It wouldn't be the first time that an outsourcing company could go bankrupt and leave you holding-the-bag.
Bad Publicity and Ill-Will
The word "outsourcing" brings to mind different things to different people. If you live in a community that has an outsourcing company and they employ your friends and neighbors, outsourcing is good. If your friends and neighbors lost their jobs because they were shipped across the state, across the country or across the world, outsourcing will bring bad publicity. If you outsource part of your operations, morale may suffer in the remaining work force.
The Implications of Information Technology Outsourcing (ITO)
1. Clearly, one of the most attractive impacts of HR outsourcing is a perceived benefit of staffing flexibility. Companies can add or cut staffing as needed or as workload demands without worrying about being entangled in messy employee terminations and long hiring processes. This assumption generally works with outsourcing as long as the function outsourced is fairly general and standardized. If the tasks involved are highly specialized and require unique training, then the company will find itself in a pickle with perennially under-skilled staff.
Waiting for Results
2. The areas impacted by HR outsourcing include some of the most transaction-heavy functions of personnel. This covers areas such as hiring, payroll processing, health benefits and retirement account management, collections, employee training, and IT areas that support the information and records needed by personnel.
Nimble Staffing
3. One of the more common misconceptions is that a company that begins outsourcing its personnel functions will see profit and gains right away. Frequently this does not occur. In fact, the opposite occurs where additional time and costs are realized getting the outsource provider to perform as desired. The benefits of efficiencies and moving redundant tasks outside are seen over a long-term period once the changes settle in.
Immediate Savings
4. As noted earlier, another immediate impact will be the expenses associated with getting the outsource provider started in supporting a client company. Few situations allow an outsource provider to just start up cold. There will be training, familiarization, travel, certification that new processes will be correctly followed, and more. Frequently, transition to outsourced personnel support takes about a year to complete, depending on the scope of the services transferred. Simultaneously, there is also the cost and time spent eliminating the home staff that have now become surplus.
Caveat
5. An immediate short-term impact is usually seen in the reduced cost of operation, at first. Many outsource providers will gauge what the cost of the functions are currently for the client company and price below them to be attractive. In the first years of operation this cost comparison will hold true, favoring the outsourcing option. However, as demands increase, specialization is desired, or workload increases, the cost for the outsource provider's services will go up.
Transition Expenses
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