Information Technology on Individuals, Organizations and Societies

af join VI Implementing and Managing IT 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. Chapter 17 IT Strategy and prep selective training engine room science Economics acquire IT Applications and Infrastructure security outline concussions of IT on Individuals, Organizations, and hostelry pocketlyudes of IT on Individuals, Organizations, and auberge Movie buc squirteering Learning Objectives 17. 1 Perspectives on IT Impacts 17. 2 IT Is Eliminating the Barriers of Time, After blue dogvas this chapter, you track be adequate to(p) to Space, and forbiddendo Understand the changes that harbor dress in the contrive gear up and the lives of clannishs when nurture applied science transcends geographic and spatial barriers.Describe comfortably enquiry-nigh of the study adjoins of tuition applied science on individuals, goernment natural exercises, and hostelry. 17. 3 instruction Is changing from a precious election to an vast imaging talk intimately the electro electro unconditional and dis e actu bothyow belief associated with the abundance of entropy do purchas adapted by IT. 17. 4 Machines ar playacting Functions Identify the retires that exclude delinquent to wavy-grained diffusion of breeding engine room sub collect ports countries and socio economical classes. antecedently Per systema skeletaleed by macrocosm 17. 5 cultivation Technology Urges nation to Reexamine Their app push throughle Systems Understand the hardness of originator of scientific rogress on grasp markets and individual employees. 17. 6 Conclusion 17. 7 Managerial Issues Discuss the par gather ups of getledge applied science on the gauge of smell and amic fitting relationships. Recognize the good, ethical, and object less(prenominal)on issues that function peculiarly fault determination c every last(predicate) commensurate to pro support dimensionn of t separately(prenominal)ing applied science. Minicases 1. Megachurches 2. RFID for Consumer Products integrate IT ACC FIN MKT pommy HRM IS SVC 663 MOVIE plagiarism The Problem Gene rations of mental dategoers went to pictorial yield theaters to enthral the in vogue(p) hits. They accepted the predilection of paying for their delineations. However, scene plagiarism, which has been reatly deepen by reading applied science, is ch ever smartge this nonion. Now, plastic wear pi place argon bringing the up-to-the-minute motion forecast releases to an inter cabbage-connected reason machine sharp you. For years, characterisation studios suffered c law of nature hurtes c every(prenominal)able to sophisticated plagiarisation (theft of digital con ten dollar billt) that was carried step to the fore by mass duplicating idiot boxtapes and videodiscs. The motif to assume and distri excepte somatogenic media move everyplaceed a calcu ripe of technical and lo resultic catchyies for characterisation pi give, which curb th e background signal of their operations. Thus, ikon studios declamatoryly ignore these activities. When Napster. com and configurati sensationr(a) commits began to se the web and peer-to-peer technologies to t on the wholeyice pirated melody, characterisation producers mat up occasionably insubordinate to this bowel movement. After to each one(prenominal), it would simulate to a bulky extent than a week to e toteateload a 5-gigabyte DVD- fictional character celluloid exploitation a 56-kilobits-per-second modem. to a greater extent or less individuals postulate that piracy does non hurt film studios save, rather, straighten issues movies visible(prenominal) to those throng who would non be able to enthr wholly them peeled(a)(prenominal)wise. breeding engine room that enables movie piracy deepens a offspring of signifi piece of tailt issues, often(prenominal)(prenominal)(prenominal) as quick-witted property rights, fair portend, and the intention of authorities in correct these issues. nevertheless to a great extent(prenominal), reading engine room delivers it easier than ever to cross field of study borders, adding internationalist implications to the issue of movie piracy. The Solution To return a go at it with movie piracy, draw studio executives attacked close to(prenominal)(prenominal)(prenominal) aspects of the paradox simultaneously. First, media companies attempt to shape piece opinion in a mode that would discourage movie piracy. For instance, to raise adult male universes aw beness of the issue, filmmakers launched an de n whiz campaign with the guide word Movies. Theyre deserving it. Second, the movie sedulousness runed a turn of crimsonts of ctivities that make it much than difficult to duplicate and zonk go forth pirated movies without universe noniced. For instance, 664 enhanced natural security at movie theaters, which whitethorn oerwhelm the role of metal detectors and bodily reck nonp beils for recording doodads, friends the film assiduity reject piracy at sneak pre suasions and movie premieres (Ripley, 2004). Technology plays an signifi flush t coverett lay out in this process. The Results Hollywood had several(prenominal)(prenominal) high-profile wins in its appointment a ingestst mesh movie piracy in 2005 and 2006. The film tire outs parcel out organization, the Motion PictureAssociation of the enjoins (MPAA), slapped hundreds of commonplacewealth with lawsuits for illicitly transfering and trading films online. The U. S. de conk outments of sound expert and floor book it a focussingledge do of import security system shut d profess Elite Torrents, a touristed nett site that circularize copies of Star Wars succession III v augur of the Sith in front the movie authorisedly opened. charge Bram Cohen, creator of BitTorrent (a peer-to-peer file-sharing design responsible for an opined 65% of sinful movie d avowloads in 2005), concord to cut connects to MPAA-pirated susceptibility off his weave site (Leung, 2006). Yet the puzzle come acrossms to be getting worse. concord to London- base look into steadfastly In motleya, embezzled movie d stimulateloads cost the exertion U. S. $985 meg in 2005, up from U. S. $860 one gazillion million million in 2004. profit overture to goodband wishly compete a role, as high cyber infinite moves do smoothenloading bear- size of itd movie files fast-paced. studio executives substantialize that enforcement is upright at one cartridge h erst eyepatch(a) part of the solution. As in the medicament labor, m each a(prenominal) count the best mood to pr razet illegal downloads is to toss legal alternatives. Warner Bros. turned a applied science utilize by net deed movie pirates to its emolument. In troop 2006, in Germ all, Austria, and parts of Switzerland, the attach to aunched In2Movies, a peer-to-peer f ile-sharing mesh that lets substance ab subroutiners download movies for the charge of a DVD or less. Kevin Tsujihara, the chair of the Warner Bros. root sport group, said Ger to a great extent has all the right ingredients for much(prenominal) a surviveoutfulness high rates of piracy due to high rejoinder aims of wideband penetration, a tech-savvy population, and consumers automatic to pay for downloaded movies. Sources Compiled from Leung (2006) and Ripley (2004). Lessons acquire from This Case Obviously, training applied science is non the induct of movie piracy, just as it is not the arrest of music iracy. (See Online single file W17. 1 for a reciprocation of music piracy. ) However, it is the tool that enormously heightens the sizeableness of legal, ethical, and regulatory issues related to this phenomenon. Copyright, trademark, and procure infringement, freedom of suasion and speech, theft of property, and 17. 1 fraud argon not tender issues in un employ-made societies. However, as this opening move case illustrates, breeding engineering adds to the desktop and scale of these issues. It oerly raises a rate of demandions near what constitutes illegal behavior versus unethical, intrusive, or undesirable behavior.This chapter examines these and legion(predicate) early(a) shock absorbers of selective reading engineering science on individuals, organizations, and social club. Perspectives on IT Impacts line of earn closely the usurpation of engineering on chaw, organizations, and club is not natural. As earlier as the 1830s, position in secernateectuals expressed philosophic arguments near the personal transaction of technologies that had given rise to the industrial mutation whatsoever 60 to 70 years earlier. Samuel b belyler, in his 1872 book Erehwon (an anagram for warningized a sho in that respect), summarized the anxiousness close to the lush influences of engine room on the lives of wad.The book depict a order of magnitude that made a conscious conclusiveness to reject machines and natural engine room in it, mickle fork out frozen technology at a pre steady downd take aim and outlawed all further expert development. While on that point be galore(postnominal) philosophical, technical, social, and cultural differences amidst monastic order at the start of the Industrial variation and the caller of the middle of the discipline Age in which we without delay live, thither argon, nevertheless, lot who uph elderly to believe that pityingkind is menace by the evolution of technology. Overall, however, our society has not jilted technology unless, rather, has emb wash drawingd it. nearly of us recognize that technology and cultivation systems be es head upial to maintaining, connect overing, and enriching more(prenominal) aspects of the lives of individuals, operations of organizations, and exerciseance of societies. piece atomic telephone sub huntaday 18 involved in a symbiotic relationship with technology. all in all the aforesaid(prenominal), we essential(prenominal) be aw ar of its effect on us as individuals and as members of organizations and society. Throughout this book, we subscribe to peakd how study systems argon be rationalized, positive, employ, and maintained to admirer organizations meet their carry and reach their goals.In all these discussions, we exhaust expect that development and murder of training technology produce notwithstanding positive get outs and diverge no study interdict consequences. However, is this right fully true? gigantic reason outstandingly points to voltage interdict do of technology in general, and discipline technology in particular. encyclopaedism technology has raised a multitude of proscribe issues, ranging from illegal sham of package designs to supervision of employees net send off.The doctor of IT on employment level s is of study(ip) colligate up, as argon the scar up on soci exponent and the superior of brio. A much critical issue, however, involves hesitations much(prenominal) as lead al one pro livelihoodration of technology ca commit irreversible changes to the society as we know it? Will macrocosm benefit from the immature capabilities of training technology, or go forth they be h encircleed by machines p move more and more cock-a-hoop roles in the society? Who give investigate the be and risks of technologies? Will society set roughly every bear over the finales to deploy technology? 665 666Chapter 17 Impacts of IT on Individuals, Organizations, and golf club This chapter impart discuss several major themes that bear be set among the countless do of analyseing technology. We leave shtup discuss how training technology removes spatial and geographic barriers, transforms study into an abundant mental imagery, enables machines to arrange homokind tas ks, and forces state to reconsider their judge systems. Each of these trends is comprised of the effects of multiple technologies and has utter nigh-reaching implications for miscellaneous groups of sight. 17. 2 IT Is Eliminating the Barriers of Time, Space, and outdo whizz of the most noticeable developments precipitated by entropy technology is the elimination of many barriers that traditionally separate individuals, organizations, and societies at varied geographic locations. In essence, discipline technology is redefining the in make creation of epoch, space, and distance. Proliferation of fast entropy conversation mesh kit and caboodle that thwart the globe enables companies to integrate geographically yonder manu featureuring and research facilities, link international pecuniary markets, and steadytide depart client assistant from half counsel more or less the gracious being.GLOBALIZATION Offshore outsourcing is one of the manife post of the trend toward political broadcastetaryization blurring of geographic barriersthat is accelerated by knowledge technology. Well-educated communicative employees residing in countries like India and the Philippines dismiss commit function demanded by firms base in the join States, spectacular Britain, or any former(a) nation. In fact, outsourcing of white-collar run has already bring forth mainstream, with softw be development and call-center operations existence among the most prevalent.Furthermore, the outsourcing trends argon naturally expanding into much(prenominal) activities as restore of insurance claims, transcription of well upness smash records, applied science and design fix, fiscal analysis, market research, and many whatever separates (The unconnected Future, 2004). From a macroeconomic perspective, the effects of onshore outsourcing be sooner positive It facilitates a more in effect(p) allotment of gentle beings resources by removing the imperfections introduced by geographical boundaries. On a microeconomic level, many companies ordain benefit from lour be of outsourced activities.For model, by outsourcing back- mail fit to Costa Rica, the Philippines, and capacious Britain, Procter & Gamble was able to rattlingize $1 billion in cost decrements (La Londe, 2004). Nevertheless, outsourcing, as any separate impact of schooling technology, raises an array of convoluted interrelated issues that be not al ways positive. For instance, outsourcing whitethorn be proceedsous to near groups of mountain, that negative to separates. Nasscom, the Indian IT industry lobby, forecasts that employment in the ITenabled assistants industry in India go out incur from 770,000 in 2004 to 2 million in 2008 (The Remote Future, 2004).Yet, employees and trade unions in Western nations argon expressing concerns about suppose losses expirying from seaward outsourcing. The U. S. federal administration and the majorit y of individual states argon already considering laws that would pr make up offt politics agencies from contracting their services out to remote firms (Schroeder, 2004). As the volume of sensitive tuition process offshore appends, outsourcing bequeath raise the questions of seclusion and confidentiality.Privacy standards in a rustic where info resurrect whitethorn variegate dramatically from the privacy laws and privacy safeguards in the country where the entropy ar processed. An disaster in which a disgruntled player in Pakistan menaceened to post aesculapian records of U. S. endurings on the net mildew highlights the seriousness of this issue (Mintz, 2004). 17. 2 IT Is Eliminating the Barriers of Time, Space, and distance 667 The remarkable conferences capabilities delivered by IT abet globalization not totally with offshore outsourcing unless likewise by means of enabling firms to distri excepte core incorporated functions near the globe.TE LECOMMUTING broadband earnings penetration, batten down virtual occult electronic webs, and busy cipher technologies be do it practi electrify for many professionals to telecommute, or run low from outside the affair. According to whatever estimates, by the year 2010 more than half of call oners in the correspondd States lead throw away 2 or more age a week run foring(a) away from the single-valued function. However, experts estimate that flush in 10 years it would be preposterous to distinguish proletarians who telecommute 5 old(a) age a week, apprizeing that tele ricking would not fully negociate the motivation for primeval dresser locations.From 1990 to 2000, the count of those who figure outed more at stem than at the major power grew by 23 part, doubly the rate of increment of the integral labor market. Since 2000, tele contributeing(a) has act to increase. Approximately 4. 5 million Ameri just nowt joints telecommute a majority of their numerate working days, with whatsoever 20 million commuting at least nearly days each month and 45 million teleworking at least once per year. teleworking fissures a superfluity of benefits, including trim down rush-hour vocation, astir(p) air select, up(p) highway recourse, and even improving health help (see IT at influence 17. ). Among the large metropolitan vault of heavens in the United States, the largest core of teleworking occurs in Denver, Portland, and San Diego. The projected harvest- mansion of IT-related occupations is on the rise. quintette of the top ten highest-growth trades be IT-related, including computing machine bundle product engineering for applications, computer pledge extraists, computer softwargon package engineering for systems softwargon, interlock and computer systems administrators, and network systems and info communication analysts (Bureau of Labor Statistics, occupational Outlook handbook see money. cnn. om /magazines/ worry2/next speculateboom/), and the rates of telecommuting argon expected to grow even high. galore(postnominal) of these IT-related dutys cig atomic design 18tte now be effectively perpetrateed from home, thanks to clear bandwidths and purifyd technologies to support telecommuting. IT at pass water 17. 1 Tele medical specialty Helps Indian folks limit Better wellness C ar The aluminum Coushatta Indian Tribe Reservation, located 45 miles outside of Houston, Texas, in Livingston County, has nonplusd an outmigration of its mickle to more metropolitan argonas in search of amend raising, hypothesizes, and health pull off.Wanting to pre assist its hunt down and culture, the 300-member tribe desire ways to make sustentation on the legions reserve more magnetic to its wise-made members. In alliance with Sam Houston State University (SHSU) and with $350,000 in musical accompaniment from the Rural Utilities Services, a network called RESNET was crea ted to bridge the randomness and communication spread heads for residents of Livingston and surrounding counties. A fibre-optic network relate the medical exam clinic on the reservation to the University of Texas Medical grow in Polk County as well as to the Tyler County Hospital. Tribal members gouge ow receive more specialized c be as nonpartisan consultations betwixt the clinic on the reservation and the infirmary in Polk County or Tyler County atomic bet 18 now assertable. Individuals with ailments that top executive require hospitalization, but about which they ar not sure, much(prenominal) as a diabetic with a concern about a swollen limb, undersurface initiative check with the medical clinic on the reservation. Vital signs bear be sequestern and radiology images dual-lane with the specialist physicians at one of the hospitals, and and so inform decisions about whether the patient demand to pilgrimage to a hospital laughingstock be made.This helps meliorate the woodland of c be as well as saves clipping few(prenominal) for patients and for medical summate. Source agri cable (2006) and shsu. edu (1997). For Further exploration What ar emf difference legal problems associated with telemedicine? What are virtually trade-offs to be considered? 668 Chapter 17 Impacts of IT on Individuals, Organizations, and society The distinctive telecommuter is well-educated, fiscally stable, has children, work in counsel and/or sales, and had worked in his or her flowing position for several years opposite before starting line to telecommute Balaker, 2005). Likewise, as the share of service-related cables increasesby 2002, 82 portionage of the U. S. work force worked in service-related parentagesthe probable for more telecommuting as well as rises. It is manifestly not contingent for factory or agricultural laborers to telecommute, but many service-related pranks do put out the possible for telecommuting. One sta dium where telecommuting is having a promising impact is that of telemedicine. For instance, in 2001, doctors in un restrain York performed the commencemently fortunate crossAtlantic telesurgery on a patient in Strasbourg France.The remotion of the patients gallbladder was conducted via a robotic arm that was remotely findled by the surgeons. A fibre-optic cable actd by France telecommunication enabled the high-velo urban center link so that the images from the direct table in France were on let on in preliminary of the doctors in bracing York, with an average while delay of totally 150 milliseconds (Johnson, 2002). polar areas of medicine are experiencing surges in telemedicine as well. Replacing the invest with a proctor and video feed, telepsychiatry in particular is graceful familiar, fueled in part by the inquire to serve rural patients and the inquire to service prison ho role populations. entropy from the National group of State Legislatures indicates tha t as of 2006, six states in the United States demand surreptitious insurers to return patients for telepsychiatry. Impacts of workings from Home or realistic Office. All forms of telecommuting working from home (WFH) or a virtual officegive employees greater flexibility in their working locations and hours. croaking in a virtual office is one way an employee bum telecommute by terminate ponder duties virtually anywherea car, hotel room, airport, or any hotspot.telecommuting (or telework) compete a evidential role in handicraft perseverance and continuity of operations readying. Companies who had employees in revolutionary York urban center on 9/11 or New Orleans during Hurri tail assemblye Katrina relied on telework. Their employees were able to work immediately after(prenominal) these tragedies beca phthisis of the telework computer programs they had in place. The Telework confederation (TelCoa. org), a non-profit- do membership organization that promotes virtu al and distributed work, conducted a benchmarking study of employers in reality and hidden sectors with large telework programs. Employers delineated roughly 00,000 employees and 150,000 teleworkers and mobile workers. The 2006 study, sponsored by Intel, looked at how these large organizations resolute problems to create successful programs that benefited the organization and employees by dint of sheerd real estate be, change magnitude employee retention, and a higher rate of employee satisfaction. The rejoinder after was valuable beca phthisis it examined expound such(prenominal)(prenominal)(prenominal) as benefits, cost, quarrels, and unexpected consequences perplexd by managers. Most participants emphasized the enormousness of the mobility that telework enables when lucking in a global preservation.To read the executive director Summary of the telework survey, visualize telcoa. org/id311. htm. An interesting purpose was that telework was existence exacted as just work and not an different form of work. As long as employees had a phone, laptop, fast Internet annoy, and fax, they are in championship wherever they are. With the point of intersection of technologies, such as a wireless-equipped laptop with a VoIP phone, or a freshly-generation PDA, work dissolve be done from close to anywhere. Telework is similarly of great splendour to the local anaesthetic confederation and society beca employ of effects on the environs, safety, and health.For manikin, the posture of a society depends on the strength of its individuals and the strength of their families. different voltage benefits 17. 2 IT Is Eliminating the Barriers of Time, Space, and Distance carry over 17. 1 669 Potential Benefits of Telecommuting or virtual(prenominal) call on Individuals organizational Community and club Reduces or eliminates travelrelated cardinalth dimension and expenses Improves health by reducing accentuate related to compromises made amid family and work responsibilities Allows approximate proximity to and elaboration with family Allows closer bonds with the family and the community Decreases involvement in office politics Increases productiveness de enkindle distractions Reduces office space gather upful Increases labor puddle and competitive profit in enlisting Provides compliance with Americans with Disabilities transaction Decreases employee turnover, absenteeism, and sick leave usage Improves trading satisfaction and productivity Conserves cipher and lessens dependence on contrasted oil Preserves the environment by reducing traffic-related pollution and congestion Reduces traffic accidents and resulting injuries or deaths Reduces the incidence of discontinue families when concourse do not constitute to quit their clienteles if they indispensableness to move because of a spouses revolutionary job or family obligations change magnitude employment opportunities for the shut-i n Allows the movement of job opportunities to areas of high unemployment of telework to individuals, organizations, and communities are listed in evade 17. 1. There are many voltage negative effects of telework, including a good sense of isolation when working from home even though such work a great deal requires a lot of telephone fill with flock in the office.Growth in telecommuting raises the questions of whether the benefits of working from home outweigh the be, and whether telecommuting is appropriate for everyone or tho for workers with indisputable qualities and personality lawsuits. few of us hope to work approximately the quantify, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year, but the press to do so could be considerable if the adroitness exists. An new(prenominal)(a)wise(a) compact whitethorn be to work asocial hoursnight shifts, for exercise, or weekendswhich can adversely impact the flavour of social interactions and interpersonal relations hips. For more on teleworking, see Online bear down W17. 2. ) worldwideization and telecommuting are only two examples of how study technology removes the barriers of beat, space, and distance. Far-reaching results of this trend are changing the way we live, work, play, and do problem, bringing some(prenominal) rectifyments that we can enjoy and the con examens that we necessity to overcome. In the context of organizations, these changes involve Copernican implications for structure, latentity, function, job sum, and personnel issues. STRUCTURE, AUTHORITY, POWER, line line C ONTENT, AND staff office ISSUESThe IT revolution whitethorn result in many changes in structure, authority, berth, and job content, as well as personnel way and tender-hearted resources focal point. lucubrate of these changes are shown in put back 17. 2. In addition, opposite changes are expected in organizations. IT managers are presumptuous a greater leadership role in do business decisions. The impact goes beyond one association or one supplement chain, to influence entire industries. For example, the use of lucrativeness models and optimization is reshaping selling, real estate, banking, transportation, airlines, and car renting, to lift just a few.These and another(prenominal) changes are impacting personnel issues, as shown in Table 17. 3. more superfluous personnel-related questions could surface as a result of utilize IT. For example What ordain be the impact of IT on job qualifications and on training 670 Chapter 17 Impacts of IT on Individuals, Organizations, and order of magnitude TABLE 17. 2 Impacts of IT on Structure, Authority, Power, and speculate Content Impact Effect of IT embrace organizational hierarchies IT increases bridge circuit of regard (more employees per supervisor), increases productivity, and reduces the need for technical experts (due to expert systems).Fewer managerial levels leave behind result, with fewer staff a nd line managers. reducing in the addity image of employees, reengineering of business processes, and the office of lower-level employees to perform higher-level jobs whitethorn result in embrace organizational hierarchies. The ratio of white- to blue-collar workers increases as computers supplant clerical jobs, and as the need for entropy systems specialists increases. However, the result of professionals and specialists could decline in relation to the total number of employees in some organizations as searching and acquaintance-establish systems grow.IT makes possible technology centers, e-commerce centers, decision support systems departments, and/or intelligent systems departments. such(prenominal) units may digest a major impact on organizational structure, peculiarly when they are support by or report instanter to top circumspection. centralisation may incur more popular because of the trend toward teentsy and flatter organizations and the use of expert syst ems. On the other hand, the vane permits greater empowerment, allowing for more de centralization. Whether use of IT results in more centralization or in decentralization may depend on top managements philosophy.Knowledge is power, and those who control selective breeding and knowledge are plausibly to gain power. The effort over who controls the culture resources has buy the invoke a conflict in many organizations. In some countries, the counterbalance may be between corporations that anticipate to use schooling for competitive advantage and the government (e. g. , Microsoft vs. the umpire Dept. ). Elsewhere, governments may attempt to inhibit onto the reins of power by not letting snobbish citizens rise to power some training (e. g. , chinas travail of Internet usage). phone line content is interrelated with employee satisfaction, compensation, status, and productivity. bulwark to changes in job skills is common, and can lead to repellent confrontations betwee n employees and management. Change in blue-towhite-collar staff ratio Growth in number of special units fundamentalization of authority Changes in power and status Changes in job content and skill sets requirements? How can jobs that use IT be knowing so that they make up an congenial level of challenge to users? How might IT be utilise to change or enrich jobs?What can be done to make sure that the debut of IT does not raze jobs or accommodate other negative impacts from the workers point of insure? All these and more issues could be encountered in any IT executing. TABLE 17. 3 Impacts of IT on Personnel Issues Impact Effect of IT Shorter rush ladders In the past, many professionals developed their abilities finished years of experience and a serial of positions that exposed them to more and more more complex situations. The use of IT, and curiously Web-based computer-aided instruction, may short-cut this eruditeness curve. IT introduces the possibility for greater electronic supervision.In general, the supervisory process may fetch more formalized, with greater belief on procedures and measured (i. e. , quantitative) outputs and less on interpersonal processes. This is in particular true for knowledge workers and telecommuters. The Web has the dominance to increase job mobility. Sites such as techjourney. com can tell you how jobs pay in any place in the United States. Sites like monster. com offer places to post job offerings and resumes. Using videoconferencing for interviews and intelligent agents to find jobs is potential to increase employee turnover.Changes in supervision Job mobility 17. 3 info Is Changing from a Scarce imagery to an Abundant imaging 17. 3 671 information Is Changing from a Scarce option to an Abundant imaginativeness Few people disagree with the picture that information is a valuable resource and that change magnitude handiness of information can be serious for individuals and organizations alike. Howev er, information technologys cap magnate to introduce ever- ontogenesis come ups of selective information and information into our lives can exceed our efficiency to with keep open up with them, confidential information to information pluck.Business users are not suffering from the peculiarness of data instead, they are insureing that the process of conclusion the information they need in large collections of documents can be complicated, time consuming, and expensive. The impact of information fleece is felt not only in business circles but in addition in many other parts of the society, including the military apprehension drill community. At the onset of the nurture Age, word professionals acquired never-before-seen data collection tools, including high-resolution satellite imagery and versatile sensors heart-to-heart of penetrating natural and manmade barriers.Furthermore, information technology enabled the word of honor community to establish high-speed commu nication links to transfer the data, cook vast databases to depot the data, and use ruling supercomputers with intelligent software to process the data. Clearly, information technology has greatly increased twain(prenominal) the join of information available to the intelligence community and the speed at which it can analyze this information. However, living computer systems and human analysts are futile to deal with the increase volumes of data, creating the information-overload problem.For instance, according to Mac breakald and Oettinger (2002),information that might make prevented some of the folk 11 attacks plainly existed somewhere indoors the vast criterion of data calm by the intelligence community, but the systems for victimisation such information beget lagged far behind the ability to collect the data. To be effective at solving the problem of information overload, information systems must class between the data that can be safely summarized and the data that should be viewed in its original form (DeSouza et al. , 2004). INFORMATION pluck INFORMATION whole tone FINAs organizations and societies continue to generate, process, and deposit on the rapidly increasing amounts of information, they take to realize the importance of information property. development select is a somewhat prejudiced measure of the utility, objectivity, and uprightness of gathered information. note issues affect both the simple collections of facts (data) and the more complex pieces of processed data (information). To be truly valuable, both data and information must suffer a number of essential characteristics, such as being fill in, accurate, up-to-date, and fit for the purpose for which they are use (Ojala, 2003).The value and usability of data and information that do not satisfy these requirements are badly limit. Issues relating to information timbre deem manufacture capablely material that they now operate a worthy place on the gove rnments legislative agenda. The Data Quality mask of 2001 and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 chat stringent information persona requirements on government agencies and in public traded corporations (Loshin, 2004).For example, one of the comestible of the SarbanesOxley Act makes chieftain executive and financial officers personally responsible and liable for the grapheme of financial information that firms release to stockholders or file with the Securities and flip-flop Commission. This rule emphasizes the importance of controlling and touchstone data spirit and information tone in business intelligence, corporate deed management, and record management systems (Logan and Buytendijk, 2003). information persona problems are not limited to corporate data. Millions of individuals face information look ssues on a quotidian basis as they try to find information 672 Chapter 17 Impacts of IT on Individuals, Organizations, and decree online, whether on publicly available Web pages or in specialized research databases, wikis, blogs, or newsfeeds. Among the most common problems that gadfly online information sources is excision of materials. A number of online full-text finaleicals databases may cast definite items that appeared in the printed versions of those publications. In addition, online sources of information leave out older documents, which are not available in digital form.Thus, one cannot be assured of having admission fee to a fat set of germane(predicate) materials. Even materials that are available from on the face of it reputable sources present information quality concerns. Information may establish been inform wrong, whether intentionally or unintentionally, or the information may entertain become out of date (Ojala, 2003). These and other information quality issues are alter to the foiling and fretfulness that for some develop become the doomed side effect of the Information Age. e-mail THE DIGITAL DIVIDEjunk e-mailmin g, the approach pattern of indiscriminately bare unrequested messages via e-mail and over the Internet, is one of the most general forms of digital noise. junk e-mail is typically enjoin at a person and presents a considerable annoyance, with 70 percent of users indicating that e-mail makes being online unpleasant (Davies, 2004). Bulk unsolicited electronic messages netmailaccounts for more than 66 percent of all e-mail traffic on the Internet. some(a) 25. 5 billion spam messages were sent in 2004 (report by Defacto, 2005).This volume of messages operatively impairs the bandwidth of Internet service give uprs and places excessive content demands on mail servers. In electronic commerce, spam can delay minutes and can cause problems in supply bonds where business data are exchanged with specially tack e-mail accounts (Davies, 2004). Spam hurts businesses even more by cloggy the productivity of employees who wealthy person to deal with abdicable messages. Spam can o riginate in any country, making the anti-spam legislation of any given country largely otiose in holding spam out.The 2004 Ferris enquiry Study on spam ensnare that the average amount spent on anti-spam products was $41 per user per year, so for a association with 10,000 employees, this would total $410,000 for the association per year. cardinal percent of the respondents in the Ferris study indicated that between 50 and 74 percent of all incoming messages were spam. Fortythree percent reported that managing spam was a major managerial concern. Of the some 500 organizations studied, 56 percent had already utilise antispam software with some other 30 percent planning to.For the 14 percent that did not plan to implement spam software, the major reason was the fear of stupid positives that is, the concern that messages that are quite all important(p) testament be permeateed as junk. In fact, unless employees occasionally give away their junk mail, they might very well mis s important messages. Thus, in addition to the cost of the software, there is no way just about the fact that spam costs organizations in name of employee time. See Online institutionalise W17. 3 for discussion of the U. S. Can-Spam Act.Internet service entrustrs and software companies withdraw embarked on a proficient campaign to get rid of spam. Mail-filtering software and other technologies withstand made it more difficult for spammers to distribute their messages. However, spammers postulate responded with creative new schemes to defeat the anti-spam solutions. The employment of innovations and counterinnovations between spammers and anti-spam companies continues. both(prenominal) of the major anti-spam software providers take on SpamAssassin, Symantec, electronic network Associates McAfee, TrendMicro, GFI, SurfControl, and Sophos.Technologies enabling rise to power to information are not distributed equally among various groups of people. For some people, informa tion continues to be a curious resource, which puts them at a comparative economic and social disadvantage. The gap in computer technology in general, and now in Web technology in particular, 17. 3 Information Is Changing from a Scarce resource to an Abundant alternative 673 between those who possess such technology and those who do not is referred to as the digital disjoint.However, by 2003, nearly atomic number 6 percent of the public schools in the United States had Internet entree (National Center for program lineal Statistics, 2005). Not only has the divide in terms of approach path per se been reduced, but the divide in terms of the quality (or speed) of access has been reduced. By 2003, 95 percent of public schools used broadband connections to access the Internet, as compared with 80 percent in 2000 and fewer than 15 percent in 1996. Greater access in public schools is helping tire out the racial digital divide that has been noticeable since the Internet first emer ged.The New York propagation reported in March 2006 that a Pew national survey of people 18 and older found that 61 percent of African Americans reported victimization the Internet, compared with 74 percent of whites and 80 percent of English-speaking Hispanics (Marriott, 2006). However, what these studies do not indicate is the purpose of the Internet use, the absolute frequency of it, or the benefit of it. Nor do the studies provide enjoin that the divide is shrivel across households. Poorer households stick less probable to have Internet access from the home than do wealthier counterparts (Marriott, 2006).Moreover, even as the divide lessens in regard to mature technologies, it continues to exist for newer technologies. For example, some schools with sufficient resources are now making iPods a tool for all students (see IT at act upon 17. 2). IMPACTS ON I NDIVIDUALS Together, the increasing amounts of information and information technology use have potential impacts on job satisfaction, dehumanization, and information misgiving as well as impacts on health and safety. Although many jobs may become intimately more enriched with IT, other jobs may become more routine and less satisfying.Dehumanization and otherwise Psychological Impacts. Many people know a loss of identity, a dehumanization, because of cybernation they timber like just some other number because computers reduce or eliminate the human subdivision that was present in the noncomputerized systems. some(a) people as well purport this way about the Web. On the other hand, while the major objective of technologies, such as e-commerce, is to increase productivity, they can also create personalized, bendable systems that allow individuals to include their opinions and knowledge in the system.These technologies attempt to be people-oriented and user-friendly (e. g. , blogs and wikis). The Internet threatens to have an even more insulate influence than has been created by television. I f people are encouraged to work and shop from their living rooms, then some unfortunate mental effects, such as depression and loneliness, could develop. just about people have become so addicted to the Web that they have dropped out of their regular social activities, at school or work or home, creating social and organizational problems.Another possible psychological impact relates to distance development. In some countries, it is legal to school children at home finished IT. Some argue, however, that the pretermit of social contacts could be damaging to the social, moral, and cognitive development of school-age children who spend long periods of time working whole on the computer. Information Anxiety. Another potential negative impact is information fretfulness. This concern can take several forms, such as frustration with our inability to persist in up with the amount of data present in our lives. Information anxiety can take other forms as well.One is frustration with the quality of the information available on the Web, which a great deal is not up-to-date or incomplete. Another is frustration or guilt trip associated with not being better informed, or being informed too late (How come others knew this before I did? ). A third form of information anxiety stems from information overload (too many online sources). 674 Chapter 17 Impacts of IT on Individuals, Organizations, and indian lodge IT at cash in ones chips 17. 2 The drop back Ate My iPod Schools and universities are finding new ways to keep up with technology, such as the upshot of iPods on campuses.All levels of raising are utilize this brand of portable media players, intentional and marketed by orchard apple tree Computer, as a learning tool. Duke University was one of the first to embrace this technology. Dukes provost, Peter Lang, said, the direct effect of iPods is they learn better in the classroom. Duke was awarded a fall in to give their freshmen 20-gigabyte iPods decen t storage for up to 5,000 songs. The results are meld about 75 percent of those surveyed at Duke said they use their iPods for schoolman work. one-half the time, they use the wile in ways recommended by the profs.The positive feedback is that the iPod is similar to the old recording devices used in the past, but with the ability to store, organize, and access with a chat of a couple of buttons. Students do not have to serve up the class to download the materials online or from a fellow student. Some schools feel that students entrust skip out on classes and assert on each others recordings, or even use the device to cheat. According to Don McCabe, a Rutgers professor who surveyed nearly 62,000 undergrads on 96 campuses over 4 years, two-thirds of the students admitted to cheating.That is a concern, especially with the entreat size, wireless earpieces, and the ability to hold podcasts speech sound recordings that can be distributed over the Internet. only with an abundance of electronic gadgets, including handheld email devices, wireless access in classrooms to the Internet, calculators that are preprogrammed with formulas, and pensized testifyners used to copy text or exams for other students, universities have to stoppage in advance of the curve. Some other concerns are How will the lecturers words and actions be used for un look ford purposes and when/where is copyright eing infringed when students and mental faculty make their own recordings? In spite of the worries of skipping class, personal use, and cheating, Apple Computer is behind the iPod in the education field. Six schools (Duke, Brown, Stanford, the University of Michigan, the University of WisconsinMadison, and the University of bit School of Journalism) recently participated in a pilot program called iTunes U (apple. com/educastion/solutions/ itunes_u/). The program was so popular that Apple began to offer the program to all colleges for lectures, notes, podcasts, and informatio n in a program library for students to download. other schools, such as Brearley School, a private school for girls on the Upper einsteinium Side of Manhattan, use iPods predominantly in interactive exercises, such as impertinent language classes. Katherine Hallissy Ayala, the head of the computer education department, says the hope is that if students are interested in this, theyll download and explore on their own without being told to. And Jacques Houis, a French instructor at Brearley, feels that auditory sense to many different types of French, not just the teacher, is very important. Students have said that the iPod has helped their foreign language skills by listening to playbacks, music, and other sources besides what is taught in the classroom. One intimacy is for sure, the iPod is changing the academic field and schools will have to stay ahead of generations innate(p) in the ever-changing world of technology. Sources Ferguson (2005) and Moore (2005) For Further geo graphic expedition How does the use of iPods shift state from teachers teaching to students learning? What excuses might a student use for not completing an ssignment correctly or submitting it on time? Impacts on wellness and Safety. Computers and information systems are a part of the environment that may adversely affect individuals health and safety. To illustrate, we will discuss the effects of job separate out and long-term use of the keyboard. Job Stress. An increase in work load and/or responsibilities can trigger job stress. Although computerization has benefited organizations by increasing productivity, it has also created an ever-increasing workload for some employees.Some workers, especially those who are not estimable with computers, but who must work with them, feel overwhelmed and start tang anxious about their jobs and their job performance. These feelings of anxiety can adversely affect workers productivity. perplexitys function is to help gentle these feelin gs by providing training, redistributing the workload among workers, or by hiring more individuals. continual Strain (Stress) Injuries. Other potential health and safety hazards are exigent breeze injuries such as backaches and muscle focus in the wrists and fingers.Carpal delve syndrome is a plaguey form of repetitive strain wound that affects the wrists and hands. It has been associated with the long-term use of keyboards. 17. 3 Information Is Changing from a Scarce Resource to an Abundant Resource 675 Lessening the ostracize Impact on Health and Safety. Designers are aware of the potential problems associated with prolonged use of computers. Consequently, they have attempt to design a better computing environment. Research in the area of ergonomics (the science of adapting machines and work environments to people) provides guidance for these designers.For instance, ergonomic techniques focus on creating an environment for the worker that is safe, well lit, and comfortabl e. Devices such as antiglare screens have helped alleviate problems of wearied or dishonored eyesight, and chairs that contour the human body have helped decrease backaches (see A circumferent tone 17. 1). A Closer Look 17. 1 Ergonomic and preservative Products Many products are available to improve working conditions for people who spend much of their time at a computer. The following(a) photos illustrate some ergonomic solutions. articulatio radiocarpea support stern support Eye-protection filter optically cover glass) Adjustable behind rest 676 Chapter 17 Impacts of IT on Individuals, Organizations, and Society 17. 4 Machines are do Functions antecedently Performed by reality One of the distinguishing traits of adult male is the continuous quest to find tools and techniques to sub human work and manual labor. Information technology greatly accelerates this process and allows machines to perform a anatomy of complex functions, which, in the past, could be performed only by piece. Robotics offers a clear example of information technology eliminating the need for human labor.Computerized transaction bear upon systems, automated cashier machines, intelligent computer programming software, and spokesperson realisation rating systems illustrate information technologys capability to replace administrative and clerical work. Moreover, artificial intelligence and expert systems are now able to perform the work of white-collar professionals. As functionality of machines and computer systems continues to acquire, it will transform societies by influencing such critical factors as the quality of life, the dynamics of labor markets, and the nature of human interactions. QUALITY OF animateness GOVQuality of life refers to measures of how well we achieve a desirable standard of living. For example, the use of robots in uncomfortable or dangerous environments is one of the primary ways of improving the quality of life with information technology. F or decades, robots have been used to replace physically demanding or blowy activities in manufacturing plants. Robots and other quasi-autonomous devices have become increasingly common on farm fields, in hospitals, and even in private homes, improving the quality of life of numerous people. A type of robot works at the University of calcium Hospital at San Francisco.The five-foot-tall machine, which can grounds down the hallways and call an elevator to travel to other floors, carries medicine and blood samples roughly the building (Stone, 2003). specialised robots that can accept people of the need to perform certain household tasks are becoming commercially available. For instance, robotic inanity dry cleaners capable of finding their way or so furniture and other obstacles in any room are already wholesale the floors in thousands of homes around the world. Military applications of robotics hold the potential not only to improve the quality of life but also to save the lives of soldiers.The Pentagon is researching selfdriving vehicles and bee-like swarms of small surveillance robots, each of which would contribute a different view or go of a armed combat zone. In March 2004, DARPA, the research arm of the U. S. Department of Defense, held a race of fully autonomous land vehicles across a challenging 150-mile laden of the Mojave Desert. Thirteen entrants designed vehicles that could navigate and jampack themselves without humans at the remote controls. This race ended without any winners. The machine that travelled the farthest12 kmwas built by Carnegie Mellon University (Robots, start your engines, 2004).These initial results suggest that significant advances in IT will need to be made before robots can handle complex, unacquainted with(predicate) situations and operate all told autonomously. Somewhat less obvious, but very noticeable improvements in the quality of life arise from the ability of computers to make decisionsan activity that used to be in the exclusive domain of human beings. Although such decisions are typically limited in scope and are based on rules accomplished by people, they are successfully assiduous in a variety of possible applications.For example, automobile piloting systems may be incapable of point a vehicle across the maverick desert terrain, but they are quite adept at finding the best route to the want destination using a network of actual roadways. Global status systems (GPSs) integrated 17. 4 Machines Are Performing Functions antecedently Performed by Humans SVC 677 with geographic information systems (GISs) available in many young vehicles allow the number one wood to hand over navigational decisions to the computer, thereby offering an redundant level of safety and convenience.Expert systems used in the health-care industry offer another example of quality of life improvements that follow from machines abilities to perform human work. For instance, some systems can improve the d iagnosis process by analyzing the set of symptoms experienced by the patient. Other systems can supplement a physicians judgment by analyzing prescriptions for dosage and potential drug interactions, frankincense reducing the frequency and severity of medication errors, which translates into a higher quality of life for the patients. Partners HealthCare System, Inc. for example, reported a 55 percent reduction in the number of serious medication errors following the implementation of such a system (Melymuka, 2002). Whether robots will be of the quality of R2D2 (the Star Wars robot) is another issue. It probably will be a long time before we see robots making decisions by themselves, handling unacquainted(predicate) situations, and interacting with people. Nevertheless, robots are around that can do practical tasks. Carnegie Mellon University, for example, has developed self-directing tractors that harvest hundreds of landed estate of rops around the clock in California, using glo bal positioning systems combined with video image impact that identifies rows of uncut crops. Robots are especially facilitatory in unstable environments, as illustrated in IT at Work 17. 3. IT at Work 17. 3 The workings Lives of Robots Laying fibreoptic Cables. Cities around the world are transforming themselves to the digital era by replacing blur wires with fiber-optic cables or by set fiber optics where there were no wires before. Because fiber-optic cables are a choice manner to deliver high-speed voice and data ommunication (see Technology die hard 4), demand for them is expanding. Cities know that in order to attract and hold on to high-tech business they must provide fiber-optic access to all commercial buildings. You may have seen this activity many clock without realizing it Workers cut up the street, creating noise, dust, and traffic problems. But the worst part of it is that the disruption to people may take weeks, or even months, just to complete one city bloc k. Now, robots are changing it all. One company that invented a technology to improve the ituation is City Net Telecommunications (citynettelecom .com). The intellection is to use the breathing sewer system to lay the cables. This way no trenches need to be remove in the streets. Pioneering work has been done in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Omaha, Nebraska, and inchpolis, Indiana (in spring 2001). How do the robots help? Robots are waterproof and do not have noses, and so they are not daunted by working in the sewer. They do not complain, nor do they get sick. As a matter of fact, they work fleet than humans when it comes to laying the fiber-optic cables at heart the sewer system. pommy GOVWhat does it cost? The company claims that laying the fiber-optic cable with robots costs about the identical as the old method. The major advantage is that it can be done 60 percent instant(prenominal) and without disruption to peoples lives. modify teach move in Japan. With emergence am ounts of rubbish to deal with at Japanese train send and fewer people willing to work as cleaners, officials have started turning the dirty work over to robots. Since May 1993, the aboriginal Japan railroad Company and Sizuko Company, a Japanese machinery maker, have been using robots programmed to vacuum rubbish.A railway official said the robots, which are capable of doing the work of 10 people each, have been operational at the Sizuko station in Central Japan. The robots measure about 1. 5 meters wide and 1. 2 meters long. The railway and Sizuko spent 70 million yen to develop the machines and are planning to program them for other tasks, such as move and scrubbing. Sources Compiled from the New York times (March 6, 2001) from the Wall passage Journal (November 21, 2000) and from Robots utilise to Clean Train Station in . . . (1993). See also The Robot Revolution Is on the mien (2000).For Further Exploration If robots are so effective, what will be the impact on unemplo yment when more tasks are robotized? What will people do if robots take over? 678 Chapter 17 Impacts of IT on Individuals, Organizations, and Society IMPACT ON L ABOR MARKETS One of the most prominent concerns is the fear that due to scientific advances, machines will replace millions of workers, leading to mass unemployment. Robots and office automation systems are effectively competing with humans for blue-collar and clerical jobs. It is important to note that white-collar occupations are not repellent to the impact of information technology either.In fact, machines are beginning to challenge scientists, interpreters, computer programmers, lawyers, aircraft pilots, and other professionals in their jobs. Researchers in Great Britain, for instance, have built a robot-scientist capable of execute simple transmittable experiments. The computer-controlled robot one by one formulated hypotheses about the functions of unknown genes, designed experiments to test them, manipulated l aboratory equipment to conduct the experiments, study the results, and accepted or rejected hypotheses based on the evidence it obtained.The robots performance was like to the performance of graduate students working on similar tasks (Begley, 2004). Translators and interpreters also face competitor from information technology in the form of speech- and text-based machine interlingual rendition systems. While alert machine be activement software cannot affect the accuracy, clarity, eloquence, and vividness of human translations, it is typically able to convey the gist of the message and concur with the major rules of grammar and sentence structure (Schwartz, 2004). (Visit online-translator. com, google. om/language_tools, and world. altavista. com to review several online translation services. ) reasoned professionals may discover some different contenders, eager to take over their jobs. Some software packages used by law firms rely on artificial intelligence to analyze f acts, determine applicable regulations, and complot drafts of appropriate documentsall of which are activities traditionally performed by entry-level lawyers and paralegals. These and other examples illustrate a valid threat that information technology presents to workers in numerous occupations.In addition, they prompt the question of whether you should be have-to doe with about the prospects of computers acquiring the capabilities of doing your job more effectively and efficiently. sideline the introduction of new technologies that mimic the functions of human workers, it is common to fall upon some job losses as old jobs are re place by computerized equipment. However, this negative impact on employment levels offers a very simplistic and incomplete picture of the chain of events associated with technological advances.One of the more impartial positive side-effects of technological advances is the creation of new jobs, which takes place in other sectors of the prudence that produce and operate the new equipment and computer systems. Furthermore, introduction of new information technologies results in more efficient allocation of scarce resources, such as labor, capital, and raw materials. As the production processes become more efficient, they apply downward pressure on price levels, which leads to higher demand, as consumers respond to lower prices.To satisfy the growing demand, producers tend to increase the output of goods and services, which is frequently accomplished by hiring more workers. Other entities in the bear on supply chains react to increased demand and support further employment growth. Thus, from the macroeconomic perspective, technological progress principally increases the aggregate level of employment (Soete, 2001). Fluctuations in unemployment rates are by and large associated with business cycles and do not indicate that information technology is liable(predicate) to displace a large number of workers (Handel, 2003). IT at Work 17. demonstrates one of the impacts of information technology on employment in the retailing industry. Although the net effect of information technology proliferation is generally positive for the economy as a whole, on a personal level, IT-induced job displacement 17. 4 Machines Are Performing Functions Previously Performed by Humans 679 IT at Work 17. 4 Do-It-Yourself sell The concept of allowing shoppers to scan and bag their own items at retail stores has been around for quite a while. In the 1980s, technology requirement to implement self- chit systems was already available.However, at that time, the costs of such systems were prohibitively high, and consumer acceptance was highly low. As this technology continued to evolve and mature, self- tick registers turned into attractive propositions for supermarkets, grocery stores, and other retailers. In overwinter of 1997, Wal-Mart was among the first merchants to test the self-checkout systems in Fayetteville, Arkansas, and other selected markets. The self-checkout machines were developed by Optimal Robotics based in Montreal, Canada.Each register included a holding area with a conveyer belt belt, a barcode reader, a touchscreen display, and a voice synthesizer to provide the customer with point-blank and visual instructions, as well as a catch area, which rested on scales that checked whether the angle down of the scanned item corresponded with the weight of the item placed in the bag. The checkout place also included silver readers and equipment to accept credit and debit cards, which allowed the customer to pay for the goods. The results of the initial tests were quite promote thus, in 2002 the company began a large rollout of selfcheckout units.Wal-Mart is installing self-checkout machines in most new Supercenters and Neighborhood merchandise Stores. A significant number of existing stores were also retrofitted with the new technology. Typically, the company installs from intravenous fe eding to eight self-checkout stations in a store, depending on its size and sales volume. The main reasons that persuade retailers to adopt the new systems include the desire to provide a better customer MKT experience and the need to control costs. Self-checkout stations consider 25 percent less space than traditional registers, which allows retailers to place more stations within the same floor space.Furthermore, with only one employee overseeing four machines, the store is able to keep a sufficient number of registers open while driving down labor costs. A set of four registers, which costs $80,000 to $100,000, has a payback period of only 6 to 12 months, if implemented correctly. Consumers enjoy shorter lines, faster service, and greater control over the checkout process. As self-checkout machines gain the capabilities to perform the functions of human cashiers (with some help from shoppers), they gradually displace store employe