The Impact of Technology Insertion on Organisations

HFIDTC/2/12.2.1/1
Version 3 / 21 November 2007
3.1 <strong>The</strong> History <strong>of</strong> <strong>Technology</strong>
3.1.1 <strong>The</strong> Industrial Revolution
3 Studying <strong>Technology</strong>
When looking at the impact <strong>of</strong> technology upon organisations it is possible to look as far
back as the industrial revolution for useful lessons to be learned. <strong>The</strong> birth <strong>of</strong> industry and
the introduction <strong>of</strong> machine technology into the workplace meant that working people
found increased opportunities for employment in the new mills and factories. <strong>The</strong>
consequences for the workforce were strict working conditions with long hours <strong>of</strong> labour
dominated by a pace set by machines. <strong>The</strong> impact <strong>of</strong> technology on organisations was a
complete restructuring <strong>of</strong> the labour force and a massive increase in productivity and
output. A further consequence <strong>of</strong> the new technology <strong>of</strong> the Industrial Revolution was
that concentrated labour in mills, factories and mines facilitated the organisation <strong>of</strong> trade
unions, which advanced the interests <strong>of</strong> working people. An adjacent organisational
impact was a significant increase in worker wages during the period 1813-1913 [3].
<strong>The</strong> current study does not focus as far back in history as the industrial revolution, but it
is clear that the development <strong>of</strong> technology has a long history <strong>of</strong> impacting upon the
organisation. Instead ‘new technology’, as Arnold, Robertson and Cooper [4] put it:
‘usually refers to a particular set <strong>of</strong> changes that have occurred from the 1970’s
onwards… brought on by the development <strong>of</strong> microchips.’
This investigation focuses on the changes and impacts that technologies have had upon
organisations during recent decades.
3.1.2 <strong>The</strong> IT Revolution
Microchips have made it possible to build complex electronic systems cheaply and in
only a tiny fraction <strong>of</strong> the weight and size that would formerly have been required [5].
Although microchips have been around for some time now, what can be done with them
continues to advance rapidly, producing ‘a continuing high rate <strong>of</strong> technological change
in the workplace’ [6].
<strong>The</strong> literature shows what we know to be self evident, that investment in computers has
increased steadily and dramatically since at least 1971. <strong>The</strong>re was a tenfold increase in
Information <strong>Technology</strong> (IT) investments between 1971 and 1990 [7]. Despite the fallout
from the ‘dotcom’ crash in 2003 each <strong>of</strong> the major business sectors has shown the same
accelerating trend toward an increased use <strong>of</strong> IT.
Recently, ‘Moore’s Law’, a prediction that there will be a doubling <strong>of</strong> computing power
every 18 months has celebrated its 40 th anniversary and continues to be a surprisingly
accurate prediction [8].
Without microchips, which are continually improving their performance and shrinking in
size, many technologies which impact upon industry, military and modern life would not
be as sophisticated. Computer terminals would not be able to process data as quickly,
Network Enabled Capability (NEC) technologies would not be feasible and the remote
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