THE TECHNOLOGICAL TIPPING POINT (TTT)

 Unlike animals, humans are technical beings. Our culture, beliefs, and way of life have all been affected and modeled by different advancements that have occurred throughout history. Technology has turned the world into a global experience, and it has become a primary driving force behind the development of new mobile, flexible, collaborative work practices and office design trends. By accident technical progress doesn’t happen. It owes a great deal to our forebears and their achievements, and knowledge transmission to the next generation allows human culture to continue to progress without having to start from scratch every time. The process accelerates, as time goes on. Technology progressed in a linear and regionalized manner. In recent years, however, knowledge has expanded globally and exponentially. The world has become a more connected place, and innovation has accelerated at a high speed, transforming our lives in new technologies and lifestyles.

In just a few months, the COVID-19 crisis has ushered in years of change in the way firms in all sectors and region’s function. Companies have reduced the time it takes to digitize their customer and supply-chain relationships, as well as their internal activities, by three to four years. In addition, the share of digital or digitally enabled products in their portfolios has increased by seven years. Companies have put in place at least interim solutions to fulfil many of the increased demands placed on them, and they did so far faster than they anticipated before the crisis. To stay competitive in this new commercial and economic environment, you must modify your tactics and strategies.

Technology's strategic function should be viewed as a critical component of a company's operations, not just as a cost-cutting tool.

 

TECHNOLOGY and Its Effect on CULTURE AND WORK

Every aspect of life, including the job, has been affected by technological advancements. Because we can access the internet from a variety of mobile devices, we can work from anywhere and at any time. Users may access apps, data, and corporate services from any location with an internet connection thanks to the cloud, recasting work as a mobile and flexible activity. We no longer need to be bound to a desk to complete our daily tasks because work may now join us wherever we go. The traditional idea of the office as a place where we sit for eight hours a day is giving way to a more flexible and dynamic model that allows for a variety of communication and collaboration options. Workers have more control over their jobs wherever they are because of the technological advances in these new work environments, which include anything from checking email and editing papers to getting real-time information on workspace occupancy and meeting room availability. People have control over the office's temperature and lighting, as well as videoconferencing and audio-visual equipment. As technology becomes more widely available, a new trend has emerged: technology consumerization. New technologies are more likely to appear in the consumer sector before making their way into the workplace, meaning that the average employee has better technology at home than at work. As new digital technologies advance, businesses must understand the five key factors that are responsible for the construction of a new technological future.

• The search for AI-assisted intelligent systems

• The requirement for more effective human-machine interfaces

• The growth of interconnected systems

• The need for improved communication technology

• The arrival of Quantum technologies.

 

GEN y and Z 

Generation Y (or millennials) and generation Z (or centennials) are predicted to account for 60% of the global workforce by 2020. As a result of technological developments and the admission of these new workers, change in the workplace has begun to materialize, and as millennials advance in their careers, this tendency will increase. Young people who have been exposed to technology since childhood have very different desires and ambitions than their predecessors. As a result, businesses will have to reconsider how they manage their workforce. To fulfil the requirements of a population that will eventually account for more than half of the world's active population, workplaces, human resource policies, and leadership styles must develop. 

One of the traits that divide millennials and centennials is that technology will be crucial in boosting productivity, expediting jobs, aid projects, and organizing social activities in current working environments. Organizations must employ technology to meet the needs of new generations, find innovative ways to execute daily tasks, and stay connected. 

 

CONCLUSION 

Amid the COVID-19 challenge, the concept of technology adoption at a high rate isn't new. It is a historic tipping point that will need even more adjustments as the economic and human situation evolves. Some key lessons can be derived from the steps that firms have already taken. One is the importance of learning, both tactically and organizationally, in the process of implementing certain organizational. Because the rate of change is unlikely to slow down in the future, both types of learning will be necessary. 

Technological capabilities stand out as crucial success factors during the crisis. The most significant differences between successful organizations and all others are talent, the application of cutting-edge technologies, and a number of other traits. In today's digital age, artificial intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT) are merging to make products and enterprises smarter, more responsive, and linked. Organizations must take care when implementing new technologies soon or late. Business executives must know when to examine and accept new technologies in order for the necessary investments to provide the best returns and competitive advantage in order to stay ahead of the competition. 

Businesses must execute three important projects to keep ahead of the technology curve:

· Newer technologies that have been identified as having a strategic impact on the business

· Pilot programs suited for adolescent, early mainstream technologies, regardless of their impact on the business

·       Adoption programs that will assist them in integrating relevant technologies into their business processes

 

Can Mars be Our Next Home?

 

Introduction

In the year 1610, on an astronomical day, Galileo Galilei’s curiosity was being fed by his scrupulous telescope. He had discovered a planet. Red, as it appeared but at a distance of 54.6 million kilometers from earth, was Mars. Famously known as the red planet, Mars is the 4th planet in our solar system and is the second smallest planet overall. It is said to have two moons namely called Phobos and Deimos, both moons were discovered by an American astronomer Asaph Hall in the year 1877. According to Greek mythology, Mars was the god of war and an agricultural guardian, and in various cultures, it is considered to represent masculinity and youth. 

It is said that in 2003 mars came so close to earth that it was visible to the naked eye and it is such a rare event that occurs once or twice every 60,000 years. Every 15 to 17 years Mars comes close to the earth and can be viewed by a telescope for a great view.  Scientists believe that life on mars is possible, from the past two centuries few scientists believed that they had sighted straight canals which meant the possibility of civilization but were proven wrong as it was mistaken for some geological evidence.

In the year 2003, NASA launched two rovers on Mars for research purposes, the rovers found evidence of the presence of water on the planet. A few years later more rangers were sent on mars which confirmed the presence of water.

Due to meteor showers, many martian rocks have fallen on the earth's surface allowing the scientists to study the planet better without leaving earth. One specific rock called ALH84001 was found to be containing a tiny piece of fossil in it, proving life on mars, but other researchers are dubious about it and the debate is still ongoing.

 

 NASA’s Mars rover named Curiosity

 Here are some amazing facts about Mars

●       Due to its distance from the sun, one year on Mars is 687 days and a day on the planet is 24 hours and 40 minutes long. Both earth and mars have the same day length but Mars takes 24 hours and 40 minutes to rotate around its axis in comparison to our home planet which takes 24 hours.

●       NASA says that Mars' atmosphere contains 95.32% of carbon dioxide, 2.7% of nitrogen, 1.6% of argon, 0.13% oxygen, carbon monoxide and some other chemicals.

●       Mars is said to have lost its global magnetic field about four billion years ago, yet some regions on the planet are 10 times stronger than anything on earth.

●       Mars has a mountain named Olympus Mons which is three times as tall as Mount Everest.

 

 

PROS and CONS of going to Mars

PRO

To our closest global neighbors, Mars is the best way to colonize. Venus and Mercury are found to be very hot and the Moon lacks an atmosphere which means people can tolerate the deadly bombings from the meteors. It's not fun!

History has proven that life on Earth is not guaranteed. We could look at the extinction of dinosaurs to understand that to secure human progress, we must become a ‘multi-planet species.

●       People on Mars can find objects much faster than robots. One of the key findings will be used to determine whether life exists on Mars or not. Further exploration of rocks, soil, and key features of Mars may help us to learn more about the lifestyle of the red planet and more insight into our planet.

●       People who live on Mars for a long time will have to make a living and look for special human settlements, grow their food, use solar energy and establish reliable water sources, just to get started. Developing these types of systems on Mars will translate into better technology here on Earth. New technologies, especially for ways of conserving water and maintaining efficient solar energy, are attainable.

●       The people who will live on Mars, without a doubt, will have robots and rovers that will help them in their search for a haven on this planet. Advances in robots and automatic navigation will be very complex and skewed in our daily lives here on Earth. To name just a few, we can see significant improvements in sensory energy in self-driving cars, perhaps nanobots working within our bodies, future medical techniques, and major advances in all forms of communication.

 

CONS

Mars is 54.6 million miles away and even though a spacecraft can travel more than 20,000 km / h, it will still take around eight or nine months, depending on where Earth and Mars are located to get there. Comparing this with a flight to the Moon will take only about three days.

●       It does not mean that it is perilous to send people to Mars. There are many things that might go wrong. People may freeze to death, starve, lose oxygen or be exposed to dangerous radiation, not to forget the catastrophic global storms which hit Mars for weeks together. Then there are possible mechanical failures of the rockets during the flight, crash crash, holes in the oxygen tanks, the list goes on!

●       It is an expensive job! The estimated cost of sending people to Mars is around $ 500 million. Although some analysts believe it could be more!

●       The connection between Earth and Mars can be very ‘long-winded’ negotiations, as the delay is between 7 and 24 minutes, depending on Earth's position in relation to Mars.

 

Conclusion

Mars is a place to explore because it is close to our Solar System, but there are many more reasons to explore the Red Planet. The scientific reasons for going to Mars can be summed up in a quest for life, understanding the surface and evolution of the planet, and preparing for future human exploration.