Collection of Information Barriers Specific Actions Timelines - Paper Example

The focus was to collect information on form the secondary sources about the impact of automation on employment. The main sources included the journals, books, newspapers, and magazines Access to some sources was not possible since books were not available in the library on the internet.

Certain sources are quite time-consuming due to the voluminous nature of the information contained therein.

Accessing certain sources is quite expensive due to initial cost and the logistical costs especially where travel to a friend or a distant library was involved Serious online search using approved search engines such as Google, or search in the approved scholarly sources such as Google scholar and Google books.

Use of online library was quite useful in this regard

Borrowing books from friends and classmates who had the material about automation

Visiting the school library on several occasions

Consulting with the course instructor The mentioned activities took close to three weeks to accomplish

Primary collection of data that involved interviews and administering of questionnaires to professionals in various fields including education, agriculture, and automobile manufacturing industries Accessing the professionals was quite difficult due to their tight schedules

Traveling to meet people consumes a lot of resources and time as well

At first, creating rapport with the interviewees was quite difficult

Retrieving the questionnaires was difficult since the respondents were scattered Travelled to various firms to interview the professionals

Distributed the questionnaires with the help of friends to various professionals in different industries

Collected the questionnaires and recorded the data The Activities took close to two weeks

Writing of the of the paper Time consuming

Distractions form home since most of it happened after the schooling hours

Since the work was voluminous sitting up late and staring at the computer was quite tiresome.

Typing was quite difficult

Recurring duties such proofreading are difficult Writing or typing the work

Drawing table

Analyzing and presenting data

Proofreading 2 weeks

Literature Review

The rapid advances in technology suggests that the world is on the verge of complete automation, n which artificial intelligence and machines will certainly graduate to perform routine tasks in industries and factory floors. In the contemporary setting, close to 40% of the American working hours could be automated if the current technologies are properly applied. It is worth noting that automation is an old practice that dates back to the Industrial Revolution era, when power looms in the textile industry replaced humans. The values of the machines hare quite positive, as they allow workers to take up more rewarding positions in the production chain, and the same time creating value. Naturally, the automation age will likely bring forth greater opportunities and create greater workforce. However, despite the notable potential, the future of the automation is somewhat uncertain, and business leaders and policymakers should understand it prospects in terms of extent and the pace of change with the aim of mitigating challenges and realizing potential benefits.

In the global job market, automation will certainly cause job losses, which depends on various factors such as the political climate, the pace of technological advancement, the investment capabilities, and the society capability to embrace the technology. As software and machines perform routine tasks there will definitely be a shift in labor towards task that hard to automate. It means that work force will have to shift jobs that require creativity, social and emotional capabilities, and systems and critical thinking (Qureshi & Sayed, 2014, 200). For example, in the public sector, the education and the police system there will be extensive use of extensive use of advanced algorithms and machine learning to perform certain tasks such as documentation and reporting. On the other hand, the technology could spare the artisans such as carpenters due to the physical demand of the job.

In the contemporary setting, a lot of arguments and opinions try to explain the impact of automation in the global employment or the job market. The debate is particularly heated in the developed nations where the major issue is the threat the seemingly increasing degrees of automation threaten the local populations job prospects. The main threats to the job in the developed countries are automation within the production and manufacturing sectors of the economy, immigrants, and the cheap labor made possible through outsourcing form the less developed nations. While the effects of the identified threats are quite extensive, most government, job agencies, and the advocacy groups normally fail to address the advances and the possible negative effects of automation to the global citizenry and the prospects to employment. As mentioned earlier, automation commence in the wake of mechanization in which simple office jobs were delegated to computers or computerized systems. At the time, the main objective was to supplement human labor and to standardize certain routine procedures. Nevertheless, the advancement of technology led to the unprecedented application of automation to the extent that it is currently a serious threat that definitely needs mitigation in order to ensure the survival of humans in the job market.

The fact that automation will lead to the loss of jobs on a global scale is quite evident owing to the fact that such trends are currently witnessed in various parts and employment capacities throughout the world. It is worth noting that technology portends various benefits in the lines of production, manufacturing, and the execution of routine duties in the offices. The benefits include but not limited to the improvement of quality of production, increased uniformity of various products, speedy production, and the reduction in the production cost. On the other hand, the major drawback in the application of technology is the fact that it reduces the number of individuals required to perform a give task thereby having negative effects on employment for people. Therefore, it affects conventional or traditional strategies such as the linking retirement schemes to certain jobs such s health care jobs will be adversely affected since it requires the development of new concepts in order to provide the mentioned services to displaced persons or workers.

It is worth noting that automation is quite enticing not only due to the perceived or proven levels of performance, but also due to the enticing nature of its overall economics. Generally, the use of automated systems permit people to perform certain duties with unmatched speed and the outcome are quite admirable since it reduces common errors. Moreover, it reduces the cost of production significantly, making it a more preferred method to human labor. In essence, automation allows firms to produce quality goods and services at relatively low costs, meaning that it improves the probability of wealth generation in comparison to the other methods available in the market. The discussed advantages make automation or the application of automated technology quite popular and in the process affects or reduces the propensity to employment of the global citizenry by significant percentages.

Notably, while most people tend to subscribe to the notion that automation affects human employment negatively, a group of experts that posits that automation supplements human labor and thus there is no need f for alarm. In other words, automation and human labor supplement each other hence the notion that it affects the employment rate sis false. As stated earlier, other experts believe that automation is currently a major cause of unemployment especially in the developed world where the use of machines is extensive. Another group of experts subscribe to the idea that increased use of automated technology is a prerequisite to job creation.

The argument that the use of automation in the firms, industries, and the offices leads to creation of more employment opportunities to the global citizenry is currently exceedingly popular. The argument is predicated on the fact that past automation endeavors did certainly lead to the creation of more jobs contrary to the popular beliefs and prevailing notions. In addition, business executives and managers agree on the fact that automation will lead to the loss of some jobs, but will also create some because some new ones will spring up in the process. While some may argue that robots and other forms of automation in the industries have the capability of working without ceasing it is imperative to not that such methods lack emotional intelligence and creativity, which are the main strong points of human labor in the current technological setting. The human are capable of adjustment and improvisation in the course of executing their duties and responsibilities, something that the robots and the automated machines lack completely. The stated qualities will make humans more suited to performing certain jobs that require leadership, responsibility, creativity, social relationship, and imagination. Such jobs include customer service, policing, management, design, fashion, politics, and nursing among others. The notion that automation will lead to mass unemployment is therefore not true since the human input is still a requirement in many sectors of the global economy.

The graph above summarizes the effects of automation in various sectors of the economy. It is evident that the effects are adverse in some sectors, the same automation creates more jobs in other sectors, meaning that people only have to adapt by changing careers to meet the demands of the economic growth. Automation in the agricultural industry led to decline in employment especially to those providing menial labor. However, employment in the other sectors of the economy soared despite the continued innovation and inventions, and the application of automation.

The graph above shows the growth of employment in Amazon, one of the companies in the world. It is clear from the graph that the rate of employment has been on constant rise despite the continued innovation and application of automation the companys operations. The graph therefore serves to disprove the idea that automation will lead to loss of jobs. In fact, the continued application of automation leads to certain of more jobs and job opportunities that will only serve to improve the economy (Linden, 2015, 127). It is imperative to note that Amazon is online shop that has all its departments fully automated, but still the demand of employees with the right set of skills is immense as shown in the graph.

Based on the discussion, it is safe to infer that automation ha both its advantages and disadvantages as far as employment goes. Automation will affect certain jobs while at the same time it will have a positive impact on some jobs since its function is merely complimentary and render human input obsolete. Ironically, humans design and produce robots en masses to aid in the manufacturing and the production goods and services, which is a form of new employment. Certain jobs are quite susceptible to automation. For example, Automated Teller Machines dispense money faster and with more accuracy that the cashiers in the bank or any other financial establishment. However, such does not mean that banks or the financial institutions do not need the input of the cashiers.

The use of automation is quite pronounced in the first world, and therefore any future inventions...