An Article Relating to Technology 2:

http://www.suite101.com/content/decline-in-facetoface-communication-at-work-a185839

This article is about computer mediated communication (CMC) replacing face to face communication, particularly in the world of business. It lists some of the advantages and types of CMC used in the workplace, such as Mega meeting and Skype.

Technology is very useful in the business world and in a short amount of time it has become very important in the workplace. It’s made communication quicker, easier and world wide, it’s now easy to connect with people in other countries.

According to the article there is a cost to our use of technology. People are so busy with CMC that they forget to make face to face connections with people they work with everyday. It asks the question is CMC used in the workplace simply because it’s more efficient or are people not bothered for the niceties and reactions of face to face reactions.

Research was done in companies in America in 2007 to look into employee’s decency on CMC and how it’s affecting their working relationships. People in the workplace are relying more and more  on CMC for everything e.g. share information, grow relationships etc. it brought up the question: is technology our new best friend?

CMC has created a new way of life in the business world; it’s no longer a nine to six day with CMC keeping us connected 24 hours a day.

 Some businesses even let their employees work from home via the internet. But is it healthy for people to be doing this, both physically and mentally. There's no need to get up and get dressed and we don’t get to see anyone that we work with. There are other disadvantages to working from home as well according to the same survey. Apparently people who work from home are less likely to get promotions than people who went to work everyday. Bosses tended to forget about the people working from home.

While different technologies can be a great help in the workplace, an over dependency on them can lead to “an impersonal and dehumanizing quality” in the workplace.