The changes being brought by computers have fundamentally changed the shape of working life. The biggest problem is that it has created an underclass that has fallen out of the bottom of the job market.

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Before the industrial revolution nearly everyone worked in agriculture. Communication was by word of mouth or paper. When the industrial revolution came, life became more complicated. People started to work in factories and the factories needed offices to deal with administration. The amount of paperwork needed to trade started to increase. As time went on, technology was used to develop machines such as the typewriter and telephone and eventually, the computer. We are now in an 'information age' and our society is very dependant on information storage and communication. What is the effect of new technology and the consequences of it on the work organisation is the topic that I will dicuss.

New technologies will make it easier for companies to manage and out source services. Hollywood is a prime example where a team of individuals, firms and skills is assembled to make every film. Out sourcing is not necessarily the correct approach or solution but it becomes easier to manage with new technologies. While work can be decentralised a reverse effect of new technology is to increase the power of the centre

Technological change can also change corporate culture. For many people work is a place to go and a place to enjoy a significant part of their social life. The future will see work as something to be done independently of location. This can lead to the curse of accessibility, being constantly available. Some activities need a physical presence but others can be conducted remotely

Telework can change an organisation’s structure, behaviour and culture in a range of ways. By imposing physical distance between individuals who otherwise would be likely to work in close proximity to each other, by interposing telematic systems into existing, usually face-to-face communication systems, and by altering the structure and pace of the work being done, telework has the potential to make dramatic alterations to the way in which individual tasks are perceived and performed.

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Also in the past, many people used to be employed in the fabrics industries making cloth and clothing. A factory could employ hundreds of workers operating looms to weave cloth. These days one person can oversee several dozen machines that are controlled by computer.More example, in the car industry, on the production, robots have replaced many repetitive jobs. These machines are more reliable than humans accurate, never needing a break or a holiday and they work at top speed 24 hours a day. They can work in total darkness, at low temperatures, thus saving on electricity bills. They can ...

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