The politics of technology and its global impact
The document considers several aspects of technology and project management by means of four questions focusing on factors like the project baseline, the influence of technology on globalization, and business communication. All the answers reveal one basic point; the world of business, although it probably never was "simple," is no longer a one-dimensional phenomenon. Project managers who understand this and how to manage the differences are likely to be most successful.
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Technology and Project Management
The Politics of Technology
Technology today is such an integrated part of life that it has become inseparable from everyday activity. Indeed, it affects all areas of life, including general public life, professional life, schooling, and politics.
In this regard, Cohen (2003) mentions that technology, when combined with politics, could become something of a double-edged sword. Terrorism, for example, could become particularly sophisticated. Enemies of the country, for example, could use technology to stealthily penetrate the United States and its important political, educational, and social systems. Technology could also be used against itself in terms of computer viruses and the like.
Even within the country itself, however, technology and its advancement also holds dangers. Politicians and scientists, for example, face the challenge of matching limited budgets to unlimited technological advancement needs and demands. Often, for example, critical judgments need to be made regarding the tax dollar allocation for specific advancements. These decisions are seldom easy. Indeed, Cohen notes that even superior expertise in a technological field does not guarantee superior judgments about how to implement, use, or fund such technologies. This is why the only way in which to effectively manage the myriad types of technological advancements that are possible today is by means of clear thinking. Such an awareness should be supported by collaborative efforts by politicians and scientific and technological experts.
2.Technology and Globalization
Like technology, globalization has become a fact of life. Indeed, technology itself has become a major factor in encouraging and furthering globalization across the world. Countries, business and individuals are now connected in a way that has never been possible before. Many, like Thomas Friedman, are in favor of this development, holding that globalization holds benefits not only for businesses and countries, but also for individuals.
Honestly, I am somewhat in favor of this view myself. From my personal point-of-view, globalization has benefited me by opening my eyes to ways of life vastly different from my own. This exposure has stretched not only my imagination, but also challenged my preconceived notions about the world and the things I believe to be fact. In general, it has benefited me as individuals.
For similar reasons, it also benefits businesses and countries, promoting a mutual understanding that, at the very least, there is not only one correct way to do or believe things. Indeed, narrow-minded views are increasingly challenged by globalization.
In this way, by affecting the way in which people connect with each other and the resultant changes in ways to view the world and other people, technoloyg has become a "socialized knowledge of producing goods an services" (Effects of Technology on Globalization, n.d.). Technology has become a social term and a political concept.
In my view, this is a good thing. Technology has become a phenomenon that belongs to the world and its people. There is no single entity that can say to have ownership of it.
4. Project Communication
Few human activities are as important as communication. Indeed, it affects all areas of life and all relationships. Not least among these is the business relationship. Project managers, specifically, need to communicate effectively with those working under them in order to ensure the success of a project (Kelly Project Solutions, n.d.).
Technology forms an important factor of such communication. E-mail and other forms of online communication, for example, has made it much simpler to communicate with project leaders across the world simultaneously. Project managers should, however, guard against defeaing the purpose of such communication by cluttering leader's inboxes with too much information. Furthermore, communicaiton should follow a two-way proceess, with managers and teams communicating with each other in an open, honest, and effective way.
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