Download Technology's Impact on Communication & Finance: A New Era of Opportunities & Challenges - and more Papers Introduction to Business Management in PDF only on Docsity! Merzlock 1 Marcus Merzlock Peppers BA 301 February 23, 2008 A New Century of Changes Problem/Issue Definition In recent centuries, the world has changed in ways that have completely revolutionized the quality of life for society. The 1800s brought new light on electricity and how to control and utilize its power. The inventions of the automobile and airplane changed the way we perceive the ability to commute. Though we are only eight years into the new century, evidence leads many to believe that we are only in the early stages of a major advancement in communication. It’s hard to believe that just a few generations before now, signal corps used flags to send messages during the Civil War (“Communication in the Civil War”). In the 1800’s, a message being sent across the United States required the combined use of telegraphs, railcars, and Pony Express riders over a duration of several weeks and sometimes months depending on weather conditions. The days of sending mail on horseback are now a forgotten thing of the past. Recent developments such as internet, email, cell phones, and other devices have made the task of sending a world-wide message nearly instantaneous. The following is an excerpt from Friedman’s The World Is Flat: Pull off U.S. Interstate Highway 55 near Cape Girardeau, Missouri, and into the drive- through lane of a McDonald’s next to the highway and you’ll get fast, friendly service, Merzlock 2 even though the person taking your order is not in the restaurant – or even in Missouri. The order taker is in a call center in Colorado Springs, more than 900 miles, or 1,450 kilometers, away, connected to the customer and to the workers preparing the food by high-speed data lines (40). Exploring Alternatives/Interpreting Fast food is not the only industry undergoing a technological face lift. Major changes are also taking place in finance related occupations. I’ve decided to pursue a career as a financial advisor. One area of the field that has undergone changes due to technology is foreign currency exchange. Every day banks around the world have to “balance their books”. Because every country’s economy performs differently on a daily basis, the value of currency from one country may go up or down relative to other currencies. For example, every day an international bank in Japan has to calculate exactly how many Japanese Yen are equal to one US Dollar (currently 107.13). Investors or traders use this information to exchange currency. By selling the US Dollar, one simultaneously buys 107.13 Yen. In other words they are buying a piece of Japan’s economy with the expectations that it will outperform the economy of the United States (“The Skinny on Forex”). In truth, trades are made on a much larger scale than the example used. Hundreds of thousands or sometimes millions of dollars may be traded at one time. Before the use of the internet was available, calculating these currency rates was often a time consuming project. Information about the rates was limited to the banks themselves and a few other parties with enormous amounts of capital. Only those with millions of dollars could
