Industrial Revolution and the Knowledge Revolution's social impact

Technology and Social Change

The Industrial Revolution completely changed the way that human beings live and work. Before the Industrial Revolution, society was dominated by agrarian economies. The Industrial Revolution created a new way of life in which an increasingly large percentage of the population either owned or worked in factories involved in mass production. Populations became increasingly concentrated in urban areas; fewer people worked on farms or owned farms. Instead of making their own goods and services, people now bought the majority of the items they needed in stores.

The current Knowledge Revolution is technologically driven, just like the Industrial Revolution. It is fueled by the Internet and radically expanded accessibility of information to everyone who has an Internet connection. In some ways, like the Industrial Revolution, it is extremely democratic -- just as many people made their fortune through capitalism, the knowledge economy of World Wide Web has fueled revolutions by creating connections where they did not exist before. Yet it has also created profound divides between the haves and the have-nots of the world.

The new revolution has fundamentally changed the ways in which we relate to others and to objects. The Industrial Revolution created the consumer and the phenomenon of the 'shopper' rather than the crafter. Suddenly, cheap goods were accessible to the masses. Just like the Industrial Revolution changed the sun-up-to-sundown model of agricultural labor, so has the Knowledge Revolution, fueled by the Internet. "Long established workplace conventions -- from defined office hours to physical office space -- are being tossed out the window" (Kaufman 2013). The Knowledge Revolution shifted the way in which we view value -- we are more willing to value their ability to connect us to one another (like cellphones) versus material toys

And just as the Industrial Revolution speeded up the dissemination of knowledge through innovations such as telegraphs and telephones, the Knowledge Revolution has changed the way we relate to one another. In earlier centuries, people thrilled to the idea that they could communicate with friends and loved ones far away; now we communicate with one another -- even people we know very well -- via an impersonal and distanced computer medium. Although the Knowledge Revolution was based in technology and thus an outgrowth of the earlier Industrial Revolution, it may have more fundamentally changed the way we view one another has humans. We are now online personas as well as our physical selves, and thus it is indeed a Communications Revolution as well.

Q2. Technology and Determinism

Ultimately, the main use of computers is to communicate with others, and this is the realm of human relations often characterized as female. The major shaping forces of the Internet today are companies like Facebook and Twitter, which facilitate the creation of social connections and create bridges between people. This could be characterized as a highly 'feminine' activity, even though it is powered by technology. Other aspects of the Internet, such as its commercial potential to encourage shopping, likewise facilitate what is commonly-viewed as a female pastime. "On average, women spend more time online per month, 24.8 hours compared to 22.9 hours for men...Nearly 56% of adult women say they use the Internet to stay in touch with people, compared to 46% of adult men" (How women use the web, 2013, Mashable). Thus, by definition, to understand the Internet requires a 'feminine' perspective, given that women are its dominant users. Women can gain prominence online by creating blogs, selling goods and services, and effectively avoiding patriarchal middlemen to get their voices heard and to exert economic power. The fact that so many companies are concerned about their web presence likewise underlines the power and influence of women on commerce today.

Strengths

Starbucks has strong name recognition and an increasingly dominant international presence. Consumers are comforted that they can get a decent cup of coffee or specialty beverage in so many locations and for many consumers; the experience of drinking Starbucks coffee is an 'affordable luxury' either at home or in stores.

Weaknesses

Other companies are selling coffee and encroaching into the specialty coffee drink market. Dunkin Donuts and McDonalds offer premium-branded coffee, but at a fraction of the price. There has been criticism of Starbucks' beverages as overhyped and not worth the additional money. Starbucks offers a kind of 'middle range' coffee drink -- neither high-end for luxury foodies, but not cheap enough for middle class consumers to be considered a bargain.

Opportunities

The developing world offers considerable potential for expansion for Starbucks, given that it has an untapped market of consumers hungry for 'American-style' products, even in nations that are not traditionally coffee-drinking nations like China and India. "Capitalizing on the favorable trends in same store sales, the Company will open about 1300 stores world-wide in fiscal 2013. About half of the stores -- around 600 -- will be opened in China" (Loeb 2013).

Threats

Saturation of the marketplace has caused a backlash against Starbucks in many areas. People are looking at cheaper fast food options; local (and presumably more ethical) options, despite Starbucks offering Fair Trade-branded coffee; and also there is a growing trend away from coffee in general into specialty juices.