A Fundamental Transformation of Socioeconomic Relations - Essay Example

02 November 2005 Is "Information Society" a fundamental transformation of socioeconomic relations or is it a continuation of already existing trends One of the most fundamental processes of a "Information Society" is to insure an accurate and well developed flow of informative, knowledgeable, and extensive resources to all four corners of the economic social structure. Though there are existing traditional trends in economics today, now, more than ever there is a new and improved technology evolving. This new trend is offering greater comprehension in industrial marketing information, telecommunications, computer networking information, human resources and a vast number of other areas in the socioeconomics of the country. These advancing developmental components, in the Information societies are making available a whole new area of "research and training" (Grzega, 2005). There are many growing examples of Information Systems diversifying and this can be seen happening as far back as in 1975. The information highway is one huge expansive network of systems, which runs in all directions, and is one of the most intricate resources ever incorporated into the business economics of the world. The new vision that is developing is one that is less focused on information technology, but one that is more attuned to attempting to implement a better understanding in regard to the nature of Information Societies (Salvaggio, 1989). Upon researching and reading the topic more thoroughly, it is duly noted that very few people understand anything about the meaning of the information society or what it is and how it came about. There is a huge gap in awareness when it comes to explaining the relevance of the sociological developments provided from information networks and of which are shared throughout the world in a mutually beneficial learning structure. Sociologists have provided many theories into the advancement of the information society. They have expressed them through many literary works, indicating how this information network can branch out into multiple areas of the sociological structure. There have been visual stimuli provided to emphasize how information society can better provide more improved cost-effectiveness in business and gain a more concise intuitiveness into the socioeconomic relations utilizing the many manipulative cognitive processes. Before this research attempts to go further into the workings of the economics of information society it will first fully explain how it evolved and where it initially came from. An "information society" or in other words, "information networking system" has been a sizeable factor in regards to businesses productivity and integrity for a number of years. Although there is not any substantiated evidence to provide a majority view of this, the relationship is never the less real and exists between the two (Encyclopedia Britannica, p.3, 2005). Information societies are considered to be networks or doorways into the world of shared knowledge. The information that is shared between the economic world and the social world is for everyone to borrow and implement not just into their businesses but their lives as well, to grow and expand in knowledge and venture. Normal, everyday citizens, who might not know a thing about the makings of a large corporation such as, "Martha Stewart Living" can still benefit from the information by reading about how it evolved and how it maintains a balance in the economic structure of business. As stated earlier, the information society has evolved at a remarkably fast pace especially with regard to the World Wide Web and the millions of informative pages on business opportunities, sociology relationships, and just a mass of general topic pages and sites offering a wealth of knowledge in just about any topic or economic area a person would want to explore. Fifteen years ago there was not information readily available like this but thanks to the implementation of information society technology there is no limit to what can be achieved. Although the information to be found and researched is full of rich resources there still are those negative factors that are ever present even here. Information systems also try to provide security protection for computer technological systems. The way this is done is by offering firewall protection to block hackers and also programs such as "Norton Antivirus" to protect the network system from a digital viral intruder. Once a virus enters an information system it can pretty much destroy every single piece of shared gathered facts that is vulnerable. Those who are known to do this are considered information pirates and their sole purpose is to destroy and eradicate any useful information databases so that the knowledge of various researches, which has been gathered, can not be shared with others around the globe (Zwass, 1997). How information society actually came into being was through a specific analysis into the service sector of the economy. This investigative report showed that a very intense movement, involving information activities was on a rise, utilizing many informative aspects of information databases. It was also noted that this had been markedly changing since the beginning of the 20th century. When 1975 rolled around, it was found that information activities had risen to involve half the work force in the United States alone. This lead to the formation of the "so-called" information society (Encyclopedia Britannica, p.3, 2005). Information systems have now branched out and expanded even more since the earlier stages in the 20th century. Now there has been an acquisition of two major "utilitarian connotations" in information society that offers two different and varying perspectives (Encyclopedia Britannica, p.3, 2005). These two new venues are in the consideration of economic structure and an emphasis in the area of individualism involving societal resources. Further, in regards to the economic workings of information in this area, the realization that developed is extremely sufficient in providing a more sound base structure for implementation of the information society. It was understood that if minor manipulation of the necessary information gathered occurred then a more persuasive form of physical and cognitive processes could be used in the socioeconomic relationship. By using this type of mentality perhaps it could sway who holds the most power in global information with regards to economic stability (Information Society Project, 2005). A great variable difference between Information and that of other resources is the fact that it is boundless. The only limits that can be imposed on knowledge are the ones within the human comprehension. Information is desired globally and there is a power struggle, on going, to see who can be the most intellectually powerfully and economically sound country around the globe. Information Society resources are multi-faceted and stretch out to include a gigantic amount of economic sectors. Some of those being: computer technology, manufacturing and productivity, software giants, reality corporations, entertainment companies, all the way up to huge businesses on Wall Street. There is no limit within an information society unless, as was already mentioned, an individuals mind wants there to be. Information resources have now advanced from solely traditional libraries and archives to enumerating "organizational, institutional, and governmental information" under the protection of management systems (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2005). Obviously it is clear that information society activities have become the most highly prioritized economic and cultural activities across the globe. It's almost as if a game of chess is being reenacted, just to see what country can get to check mate first, in an economic power struggle. At the same time great strides have been accomplished in the utilization of this technology as can be seen in the following paragraph dignifying its importance. Progress in information technologies and communications is changing the way we live: how we work and do business, how we educate our children, study and do research, train ourselves, and how we are entertained. The information society is not only affecting the way people interact but it is also requiring the traditional organizational structures to be more flexible, more participatory, and more decentralized (Tech Target Research Panel, 1999). The question has been answered somewhat as to whether or not information societies are transforming or are just reiterating passed information from the Industrial period. Well, if this research looks back on the Industrial Revolution era it will find that information was only available to those of specific social classes. If you were an employee with a manufacturing company and you were on the production line then the only thing that you would learn about would be just that, production. Any other information was not divulged and therefore was not shared whatsoever unless you happened to be one of the lucky employee's and where in the higher up of the corporation. Otherwise, the poor stayed poor and never had the opportunities that there are today to explore any other alternatives (Mind Jack Magazine, 2005). Now, in today's information age there are far greater opportunities than there was all of those years ago. Just because you are born into an environment that doesn't offer much does not mean you will be bound to it. Education is the key to basically everything and information societies do express this through promoting informative decisions on the pros of going to college after high-school, etc. It is an individual's choice really and there is no reason why they should not be able to take the information that can now be acquired and learn from it and adapt to it to improve upon their quality of life and the business that they might be working for. There is always room for expansion and promotion within a company and again the main reason there would not be would be due to the individuals own mentality preventing it. "Information is power in the same way that knowledge was power in the last century" (Mind jack Magazine, 2005). As progression of information societies continues, the main goal should be to insure continued developmental resources to continue to offer shared information. This should span out through all social and economic sectors, not solely fixating on one specific are in general. Also, information within corporations in regards to management, communication, organization, financial, software implementation, and various other areas should compile their resources and be willing to offer necessary information from different sectors within the company. It should not be used as a bargaining chip or in a situation to attempt to bribe someone to get individualized information. Equality should be the focus because after all, there is freedom of speech which has promoted communication so should there not be freedom of information as well to promote intellectual growth and expansion This process needs to continue smoothly, offering information into various areas where needed, but insuring it does not get caught in a loop-hole. Individual choice will guarantee this is something that, if it does get stuck then they will use their own individual power of personal knowledge to get it moving again. As we approach another new millennium, there is no question that the structure of information societies will progress as well. Reference Page 1. Encyclopedia Britannica (2005). 'Information System,' Encyclopedia Britannica Premium Service [online], Available from: URL http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-218077 [accessed 11.02.05] 2. Encyclopedia Britannica (2005). 'General Considerations: Information as a Resource and Commodity'(p.3) Encyclopedia Britannica Premium Service [online], Available from: URL http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-61651 [accessed 11.02.05] 3. Information Society Project (2005). 'The Global Flow of Information' [online], Available from: URL http://www.islandia.law.yale.edu/isp/Globalflow [accessed 11.02.05] 4. Grzega, Joachin (2005) 'The Information Society: Economic, Social, and Structural Issues' [online], Available from: URL http://www.1.ku-eichstaett.de/SLF/ENgluVglSW/ELiX/grzega-052.pdf 5. Mindjack Magazine (2005). 'The Struggle goes on: Class and the Information Age' [online], Available from: URL http://www.mindjack.com/howell/class.html 6. Salvaggio,Jerry & Erlbawm (1989). 'The Information Society: Economic, Social, and Structural Issues' p.ix-143 7. Tech Target Research Panel (1999). 'Chairs Conclusion From G-7 Ministerial Conference' [online], Available from: URL http://www.whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,,sid9_gci213588,00.html 8. Zwass, Vladimir (1997). 'Journal of Management Information Systems' Vol.14, No.2 (pp.3-4) Read More