Introduction
to technology
UNIT DESCRIPTION
Technology
is present all around us and influences our work, educational, social and
personal contexts. The mayor thrust of scientists’ efforts is to create
technologies which meet people’s needs and improve their quality of life. For
this reason, in school it is fundamental to know and decipher technological
language and workings in order to learn how to function in today’s society.
At this
level the student has already acquired basic knowledge about technological
processes and understands the advantages and disadvantages of technical
activity. For this reason, in this unit we highlight the main purpose of
technology, establish the difference between science, technique and technology,
analyse their importance in manufacturing products and business and reflect on
the role of technology in the society.
THEORY
- Analyse Maslow’s pyramid in order to understand the main purpose of technology.
- Clarify the difference between
science, technique and technology..
- The historical development of
manufacturing products and the resulting social change.
- Structure of a company. The
manufacturing process in technological companies.
- The four Ps of innovation.
- The role technology plays in
development and global balance.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
- Understand the main purpose of technology.
- Search for and analyse information about
technology.
- Recognise the difference between science,
technique and technology.
- Learn about a company’s structure.
- Understand the production process of a
technology company.
- Recognise the different applications of
innovation.
- Appreciate the importance of technology in a
country’s development.
UNIT OUTLINE
1.- Human needs driving technological development
Maslow´s pyramid
In 1943, US psychologist Abraham Maslow published his paper A Theory of Human Motivation. According to this theory, humans have a series of basic needs that must be covered. Moreover, as these needs are satisfied, other new needs appear. Maslow put all of these needs in a hierarchical order, creating a triangle-like structure known as Maslow’s pyramid.
2.- Science, technique and technology
The terms science, technology and technique are often thought of as synonyms. However, although they have a lot in common, they do not mean the same thing.
3.1. Initial concepts of work (1750-1880)
This period is known as the First Industrial Revolution.
These decades witnessed the mass population movement from rural areas to urban areas, which began to grow rapidly. This created a vicious circle since, as urban centres grew, inhabitants’ need for provisions, materials and resources also increased considerably.
In order to respond to this situation, the first factories with machines driven by steam were built. These machines made it possible to manufacture anything from metal parts to articles of clothing.
Capitalism was being shaped into an emerging economic current, controlled by large industrial companies and banks.
3.2. The era of scientific manufacturing (1880-1910)
With the productive momentum of the First Industrial Revolution, scientific thinkers like Gantt and Taylor applied science and mathematics to productive techniques. They began to study the best way to set up job posts in factories and to analyse manufacturing
processes.
Psychologist and engineer Lillian M. Gilbreth made notable advances in reducing manufacturing costs by studying ways to optimise the transportation of materials and labour costs in manufacturing.
3.4. The mass production era (1910-1980)
Although this period began with trade union movements and resistance of the working class in response to slave-like conditions in factories, the most significant events from a manufacturing point of view might well be the two world wars and the subsequent Cold War between the capitalist and communist blocks.
This is because, throughout this period, the production of goods increased in order to meet high demand.
At the start of this period, innovations such as mass production, implemented by Henry Ford for automobile production, were introduced, in addition to other, later production methods, such as assembly lines and programmed production.
3.5. The quality era (1980-1995)
Computers became an essential tool for controlling production during this era, making its way into technical offices and production lines.
Communication between factory lines and, likewise, between production centres, made production systems more efficient, which in turn led to the development of Total Quality Management.
Throughout this period, factories incorporated lean manufacturing systems, such as Just-in-Time, which improved quality considerably, while drastically reducing production costs, thereby making certain goods cheaper and more accessible for the general population, which could not previously afford such items.
3.6. Personalised mass production (1995-present)
In developed countries, modern day society is mainly characterised by the fact that it is so easy to access goods.
Cars, electrical appliances and items of furniture, etc., are now affordable for almost any worker. This is because production costs are constantly being lowered.
Globalisation and the creation of the Internet are the two main factors that have eased the manufacturing process. In addition, the workforce is now better trained than ever, therefore making it possible to optimise production processes by applying management techniques to the supply chain, in which manufacturers not only control their own production but also that of their suppliers.
Do you think bosses and managers should take the opinions and experience of workers into account when making decisions?
Do you think that bosses and managers believe it is beneficial to know the opinions of their workers when they are making decisions?
Explain your answer.
Science is based on observation and experimentation and aims to understand aspects of our environment and how it works. In order for an observation to become science, you must apply the scientific method.
Technology is based on scientific laws and may be applied to science in a practical way. In turn, both science and technology give rise to techniques, which may be defined as methods and resources. These techniques may improve as science advances and technology is perfected.
3.- Manufacturing products and social change
Up until the start of the 19th century, there was no one way to manufacture objects. Artisans built objects using different materials, such as metal and wood, etc. This technique is often referred to under the term arts, precisely because the artisans involved had mastered the art of their trades.3.1. Initial concepts of work (1750-1880)
This period is known as the First Industrial Revolution.
These decades witnessed the mass population movement from rural areas to urban areas, which began to grow rapidly. This created a vicious circle since, as urban centres grew, inhabitants’ need for provisions, materials and resources also increased considerably.
In order to respond to this situation, the first factories with machines driven by steam were built. These machines made it possible to manufacture anything from metal parts to articles of clothing.
Capitalism was being shaped into an emerging economic current, controlled by large industrial companies and banks.
3.2. The era of scientific manufacturing (1880-1910)
With the productive momentum of the First Industrial Revolution, scientific thinkers like Gantt and Taylor applied science and mathematics to productive techniques. They began to study the best way to set up job posts in factories and to analyse manufacturing
processes.
Psychologist and engineer Lillian M. Gilbreth made notable advances in reducing manufacturing costs by studying ways to optimise the transportation of materials and labour costs in manufacturing.
3.4. The mass production era (1910-1980)
Although this period began with trade union movements and resistance of the working class in response to slave-like conditions in factories, the most significant events from a manufacturing point of view might well be the two world wars and the subsequent Cold War between the capitalist and communist blocks.
This is because, throughout this period, the production of goods increased in order to meet high demand.
At the start of this period, innovations such as mass production, implemented by Henry Ford for automobile production, were introduced, in addition to other, later production methods, such as assembly lines and programmed production.
3.5. The quality era (1980-1995)
Computers became an essential tool for controlling production during this era, making its way into technical offices and production lines.
Communication between factory lines and, likewise, between production centres, made production systems more efficient, which in turn led to the development of Total Quality Management.
Throughout this period, factories incorporated lean manufacturing systems, such as Just-in-Time, which improved quality considerably, while drastically reducing production costs, thereby making certain goods cheaper and more accessible for the general population, which could not previously afford such items.
3.6. Personalised mass production (1995-present)
In developed countries, modern day society is mainly characterised by the fact that it is so easy to access goods.
Cars, electrical appliances and items of furniture, etc., are now affordable for almost any worker. This is because production costs are constantly being lowered.
Globalisation and the creation of the Internet are the two main factors that have eased the manufacturing process. In addition, the workforce is now better trained than ever, therefore making it possible to optimise production processes by applying management techniques to the supply chain, in which manufacturers not only control their own production but also that of their suppliers.
Understand, think, search (Team work - 10 minutes)
Do you think bosses and managers should take the opinions and experience of workers into account when making decisions?
Do you think that bosses and managers believe it is beneficial to know the opinions of their workers when they are making decisions?
Explain your answer.
Focus on English
Just-in-Time (JIT) production
consists of reducing inventory
to a minimum and making
production lines more flexible
in order to quickly change
products. It also implies
reducing factory space in order
to limit the distance materials
and staff must travel across the
factory.
Total Quality Management
(TQM) is a work organisation
strategy extended across the
entire company workforce,
designed to produce products
that fully satisfy customers’
needs. Everybody in the
company therefore aims to
achieve the highest possible
quality across all areas of work.
4.- Technology and business
Humans are social creatures, who therefore depend on others to live and work. We organise ourselves into groups in order to achieve our goals. Companies are the most common example of such organisations for coordinating work.
4.1. General structure of a company
There are many different types of companies, which may be categorised according to the number of workers, the places activities are carried out, the sector to which they belong, etc.
Companies are often structured into different departments or divisions. This structure is best explained in the form of a flow chart.
A flow chart is basically a block diagram, in which each block represents a different department. The blocks in flow charts are usually connected to one another by lines or arrows, which show the hierarchy of the departments or positions included.
Example: Telecomunication company
IT is an acronym for information technology.
R&D is the acronym for Research and Development, two cornerstones for the economic and industrial progress of a country.
Understand, think, search (Team work - 10 minutes)
The general structure of a company shown in the picture to the left is often modified in order to adapt to current needs and the resources currently available. Think about how you would organise you own company. Add or remove departments and draw your own flow chart to share your results. Make a note of the responsibilities each department must take on next to each box.
4.2. What is it like to work in a technology company?
Companies that produce cutting-edge technological products have a research and development (R&D) department, which is constantly analysing market demands, studying their current line of products and working to adapt it to their clients’ demands. In order to develop and manufacture a product, the following stages must be carried out:
Design: The best way for the entire team to have a clear idea on what will be produced is to create sketches, plans, blueprints and diagrams of all the components and where they will go.
Graphic information helps to prevent mistakes and makes large amounts of data. At the design stage, a substantial amount of the work carried out is done by engineers, who decide on the most suitable materials for a project. They must also define all parts of the product, in addition to specifying where each part will go and how they will be assembled.
Planning: All production processes must be completed within a certain time limit, working to a specific deadline. Limited resources, space, machinery and tools must also be assigned. An analysis must therefore be carried out in order to anticipate each stage in the manufacturing process.
Planning staff have to decide on the most efficient way to manage the time and resources available to the company’s workers. In the planning department, the act of planning is often referred to as methods and time engineering.
Production: At this stage, all materials and human resources are brought together, in order to put everything previously designed and planned into practice.
Production must be carried out in the best way possible. In other words, all deadlines must be met and workers should try to reduce costs as much as possible.
Quality Control: In order to ensure products are manufactured to a high-standard and in accordance with safety regulations, the quality control department must revise each product made and oversee each stage in the production process.
Nowadays, not only do companies aspire to improve the quality of their own processes, they also force their suppliers and distributors to maintain similar quality standards.
4.3. Technological innovation
Nowadays, innovation is considered to be a valuable asset to society. In other words, people believe that ‘any change based on knowledge generates value’.
Innovation as the driving force behind a country’s development
The graph below shows the growth in income per capita (earnings per inhabitant) in dollars over a period of three hundred years, for both developed and underdeveloped countries. You will notice that the differences become significant around the time of the Industrial Revolution, in the mid-19th century.
In the 1980s, Bairoch and other economists conducted studies in order to explain these differences using economic parameters such as purchases and sales, financial activity, imports and exports, etc. The study concluded that these parameters only accounted for 15 % of the differences. How could the remaining 85 % be explained? In the end, they found that the factor responsible was innovation in production processes, in the objects made and in the techniques implemented in developed countries throughout this period. They concluded that technological innovation should be considered one of the major factors for boosting the economic development of a country, given that it has such a strong influence on the growth of companies and organisations.
The four Ps of innovation
When innovation is put into practice, it does not always produce the outcome we expect. This is because results largely depend on whether or not the public accepts the new product or idea.The 4P model helps us to distinguish between different types of innovation:
Innovative products are perhaps most easily recognised by society, since the value or purpose of a new product is easy to identify. Example the ballpoint pen.
Innovative processes make manufactured products cheaper and more accessible to society. One example of process innovation is the Just-in-Time or JIT manufacturing method.
Innovative positioning is achieved when the image and the product are projected differently onto society. The product itself or the way in which it is produced may not be innovative, however society perceives it as something new. A significant example is the Wii video game console.
A paradigm in innovation means that an innovation brings about profound changes in the behaviour and structure of society. This has been achieved by shopping centres. In the past, families shopped in many different local stores found in their neighbourhoods.
a) Automated logistics centres;
b) Online education;
c) Theme parks;
d) Energy-efficient light bulbs.
4.2. What is it like to work in a technology company?
Companies that produce cutting-edge technological products have a research and development (R&D) department, which is constantly analysing market demands, studying their current line of products and working to adapt it to their clients’ demands. In order to develop and manufacture a product, the following stages must be carried out:
Design: The best way for the entire team to have a clear idea on what will be produced is to create sketches, plans, blueprints and diagrams of all the components and where they will go.
Graphic information helps to prevent mistakes and makes large amounts of data. At the design stage, a substantial amount of the work carried out is done by engineers, who decide on the most suitable materials for a project. They must also define all parts of the product, in addition to specifying where each part will go and how they will be assembled.
Planning: All production processes must be completed within a certain time limit, working to a specific deadline. Limited resources, space, machinery and tools must also be assigned. An analysis must therefore be carried out in order to anticipate each stage in the manufacturing process.
Planning staff have to decide on the most efficient way to manage the time and resources available to the company’s workers. In the planning department, the act of planning is often referred to as methods and time engineering.
Production: At this stage, all materials and human resources are brought together, in order to put everything previously designed and planned into practice.
Production must be carried out in the best way possible. In other words, all deadlines must be met and workers should try to reduce costs as much as possible.
Quality Control: In order to ensure products are manufactured to a high-standard and in accordance with safety regulations, the quality control department must revise each product made and oversee each stage in the production process.
Nowadays, not only do companies aspire to improve the quality of their own processes, they also force their suppliers and distributors to maintain similar quality standards.
4.3. Technological innovation
Nowadays, innovation is considered to be a valuable asset to society. In other words, people believe that ‘any change based on knowledge generates value’.
- Change refers to any kind of modification made to the way things have traditionally been done.
- Knowledge: refers to all data and ideas generated through science, technique and technology
- Value refer to economic profit, it also alludes to practical use and service to society as well.
Innovation as the driving force behind a country’s development
The graph below shows the growth in income per capita (earnings per inhabitant) in dollars over a period of three hundred years, for both developed and underdeveloped countries. You will notice that the differences become significant around the time of the Industrial Revolution, in the mid-19th century.
In the 1980s, Bairoch and other economists conducted studies in order to explain these differences using economic parameters such as purchases and sales, financial activity, imports and exports, etc. The study concluded that these parameters only accounted for 15 % of the differences. How could the remaining 85 % be explained? In the end, they found that the factor responsible was innovation in production processes, in the objects made and in the techniques implemented in developed countries throughout this period. They concluded that technological innovation should be considered one of the major factors for boosting the economic development of a country, given that it has such a strong influence on the growth of companies and organisations.
The four Ps of innovation
When innovation is put into practice, it does not always produce the outcome we expect. This is because results largely depend on whether or not the public accepts the new product or idea.The 4P model helps us to distinguish between different types of innovation:
Innovative products are perhaps most easily recognised by society, since the value or purpose of a new product is easy to identify. Example the ballpoint pen.
Innovative processes make manufactured products cheaper and more accessible to society. One example of process innovation is the Just-in-Time or JIT manufacturing method.
Innovative positioning is achieved when the image and the product are projected differently onto society. The product itself or the way in which it is produced may not be innovative, however society perceives it as something new. A significant example is the Wii video game console.
A paradigm in innovation means that an innovation brings about profound changes in the behaviour and structure of society. This has been achieved by shopping centres. In the past, families shopped in many different local stores found in their neighbourhoods.
Understand, think, search (Team work - 5 minutes)
Thinking about the 4P model,which type of innovation do you think best describes each of the following examples?a) Automated logistics centres;
b) Online education;
c) Theme parks;
d) Energy-efficient light bulbs.
5.- The role of technology plays in society
Twenty-first century society is characterised by an enormous dependence on energy and technology. Moreover, it is possible that both dependences are closely related. Technology has led human beings toward progress. Nowadays, a large percentage of humanity lives in cities. Thanks to technology we have been able to build networks and facilities to provide water, electricity and natural gas to our homes, without which it would be impossible to imagine life as we know it.
5.1 Global imbalance
Nowadays, the human population no longer depends on natural sources of water and food, because we have developed ways to transport and distribute water stored in reservoirs. In turn, we can use these reservoirs as sources of electrical energy. Our transport networks furthermore facilitate the transportation of people and goods and have reduced the time it takes to travel from one place to another so much that two hundred years ago, people could not even have dreamed of arriving so quickly.
However, although this is the case in developed countries, things are not so easy in underdeveloped countries. Almost half of the world’s population lives in underdeveloped countries, and often many basic needs, such as the need for food, drinking water and energy resources (biomass is their main source of energy) are not met.
Look the image below:
5.2 Can technology help to bridge the poverty gap?
Developed countries have enough technology and wealth to be able to tackle the problem of inequality in the world. Nevertheless, in order to achieve development in the poorest countries, there are certain restrictions that do not have anything to do with technology. The main difficulties in carrying out projects on a national level in underdeveloped countries are political problems and armed conflicts.
On the other hand, big corporations find certain underdeveloped countries an ideal opportunity for the extraction of their raw materials. Governments of these countries offer corporations licences to extract raw materials, and the returns for the population, if any, are usually very small.
When the political situation in these countries is stable the main ways in which to positively aid countries are:
- To establish fair trade rules, so that raw materials suppliers in underdeveloped countries are not subjected to unfair conditions.
- To encourage the local population to participate in technological projects: know-how and technology transfers.
- To promote education for young people.
- To develop infrastructure in these countries, in order to facilitate access to raw material sources.
- To create stable transport networks and to promote the construction of power stations using alternative and sustainable energy sources.
- To develop a culture of innovation.
Watch the video below:
6. Practise your reading comprehension
Read the following text and answer the questions.
