| As I sit and watch the national news and read the | | | | electronically. We use to do a projected cash flow |
| newspaper, I hear or read about the slow recovery | | | | every month. It would take about a week by hand |
| of jobs and rehiring. Many of those jobs are gone | | | | on paper, or cards, or ledger sheets. Every time we |
| forever. They did not go to China or some other | | | | had a revision because we forgot something the |
| foreign country. They are gone as we continue to go | | | | cash flow had to be reworked by hand and still had |
| through the technology revolution. | | | | errors in it. We started to use a spreadsheet to do |
| During the 18th and 19th century, we went through | | | | the cash flow and completed it in an hour. There |
| the Agricultural Revolution. There was an increase in | | | | were not any addition errors and if we wanted to |
| productivity and farm technology. We have much | | | | make a change it was instantaneous. These type of |
| fewer farmers producing much more food today | | | | items started accumulating and the office needed |
| than we did in the past. The large farms are highly | | | | fewer and fewer employees. We had four |
| mechanized and require fewer people. | | | | employees doing material requirement planning and |
| The industrial revolution overlapped the agricultural | | | | once we automated MRP, we were down to one. |
| revolution. The industrial revolution occurred between | | | | The same was true with many of the tasks in |
| 1820 and 1870 and changed the world forever. We | | | | accounting. We also could access more information |
| went from producing products at home, by hand, to | | | | more quickly and with fewer errors and in far less |
| factories producing products with the aid of | | | | time. |
| machines. The people hired to do this work in the | | | | The people that were laid-off in some cases will not |
| factories were the farmers who and immigrants who | | | | go back to their previous jobs because that job no |
| saw the basis for an improved quality of life could | | | | longer exists. Sadly, many who lose one job look for |
| not make a living farming. | | | | another one just like their last one. But their work |
| We are now experiencing the latest revolution: | | | | has been automated or included with another task. |
| technology. It started in the factory to help raise | | | | Managers have found information they thought they |
| productivity on the shop floor. As a CFO of a | | | | needed now get it another way or they discovered |
| manufacturing company I remember putting in a | | | | it was no longer necessary to effectively run the |
| machinery to assemble product previously done by | | | | company. |
| hand. The technology had improved so that we could | | | | These changes are good for the owners of the |
| automate what six people did with only one | | | | company and good for the economy. These changes |
| employee. We purchased several different assembly | | | | increase productivity which strengths the dollar and |
| machines which then allowed us to reduce the | | | | our economy. These changes can create complex |
| factory workforce by 20%. Not only was assembly | | | | and difficult situations for individuals and issues of |
| employee headcount reduced, but so was the | | | | self-worth but this is now the "real world" and can't |
| supervisory head count reduced. | | | | be ignored if our economy is to be viable and grow. |
| This revolution has now moved into the office. I | | | | People looking for the same type of job are finding |
| remember when every manager had a secretary | | | | those jobs no longer exist. I am not sure what will |
| take dictation, type letters and handle other tasks. I | | | | happen to those who find their jobs no longer exist. |
| now type my own letters, use spell check and turn | | | | My guess is that they will need to learn new job skills |
| out more in a day than my secretary ever did. In | | | | or be part of the permanently unemployed at a cost |
| today's world, I no longer need a secretary! | | | | to the rest of society. The truth is there are no |
| Communication with e-mail and mobile telephones has | | | | "quick fixes" or easy answers to these issues and |
| also sped up the communication process and | | | | the ever-changing factors that change how these |
| removed filing letters since we now do it | | | | issues evolve. |