Page 223 - Business Principles and Management

C HAPTER 8 A SSESSMENT

CASE IN POINT

CASE 8-1: Technostress
Carmen Alonso and Maria Corsi were on their lunch break at work
when a friend, Jan Bailey, joined them. As they conversed, each woman
expressed her concerns about trying to juggle home life with work, rais-
ing a family, and spending time with others. “It’s a crazy world,” Jan said.
“No wonder everyone tries to keep up by being glued to cell phones.”
Carmen was concerned that cell phones caused accidents. Maria added
that she spent a lot of time at home ordering things from the Internet.
“There’s almost no time for the mall or to grocery shop, let alone to spend
quality time with the children.” At that point, Jan launched the heated
conversation that follows:

Jan: The world’s gone overboard with all this electronic technology.
Yes, we use phones and e-mail to chat with family and friends,
but that’s not the same as seeing people in person.
Maria: I think these gadgets are aids, not obstacles. How else could we
both work if we couldn’t stay in touch, even if it’s not in person?
Carmen: Communication is too impersonal these days. Everyone’s rush-
ing to get things done. Few people stop to have an old-fashioned
conversation. I wish we could turn the calendar back 25 years
when people just sat around and chatted.
Maria: But you wouldn’t have all the luxuries we have today. You’d be
wasting time chatting. The Internet allows you to get so much
more done. I’ll bet my parents would have loved to have what
we have.
Carmen: Mine refuse to learn new technology. They’re very happy with-
out the gadgets.
Jan: I agree with Carmen’s parents. We have new problems, like
worrying about someone stealing our personal records, destroy-
ing our files, and crashing our computers. Those can be expen-
sive problems in terms of time, money, and invasion of privacy.

THINK CRITICALLY
1. Do you tend to agree more with Jan, Mary Ann, or Carmen? Explain
why. Which person most likes and which most dislikes today’s tech-
nological lifestyle?
2. What electronic equipment, such as cell phones, computers, access
to the Internet, scanners, digital cameras, or other devices, do you
personally have readily available to you seven days a week?
3. Which one piece of electronic equipment is most valuable and which
is least valuable to you? Explain why.
4. Use your library or the Internet to find information that deals
with the topic of how electronic equipment contributes to the
possible depersonalization of everyday life. Report the results
to your class.

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