The Effects Of Automation In The Fast Food Industry

Automation describes the company’s reliance on robotic control systems rather than human capital. In other words, as automation increases, Andrews will use more machinery to produce its products. Therefore, labor hours will decrease, and, in turn, the lower labor costs will reduce expenses. There are different approaches that Andrews will take for automation in the low and high-tech markets.

Robots can effect employment in a negative way,as said by the author Kelly “It may be hard to believe… 70 percent of today’s occupation will likewise be replaced by automation...even you will have your job taken away by machines”(Kelly Page.300), this quote comes to show the negative aspect of robots taking over the world in the near

I agree with Ritzer’s explanation on how technology’s increased control over workers will help McDonaldized systems assure customers that their products/services will be consistent. However, it is still scary to think that technology is taking over in such a vast way, even over little things like cashier positions. Cashier positions are being swapped for scanning machines! Technology has become an integral part in our life that has provided us with many benefits. Technology improves the efficiency in education, medicine, transportation and even entertainment. Although the rise of this new technology has improved our daily lives by providing us with so many convieniences, it is also alarming at the same time to see how many jobs have been lost.

The debate over whether robots are helping or hurting the workplace is more heated than ever. Advances in technology are soaring thus making an increase in the use of robots in the workplace more and more commonplace. Some believe the use of robots in the workplace can never totally result in the loss of jobs, but due to the fact that robots have invaded the workplace environment, many people fear this indicates replacement of human jobs. Although advancement in technology of robotics and artificial intelligence may offer precision, productivity, efficiency and flexibility, the loss of human jobs will be devastating to the many people who depend on their jobs to make a living and provide for their families.

article Carr explains how machines are making humans lazy and are weakening our awareness and attentiveness. He gives examples about situations where humans relied on computer operated machines. One of those examples were about a plane crash that killed all 50 people on board. “It reveals that automation, for all its benefits, can take a toll on the performance and talents of those who rely on it.” said Carr. The pilot of that plane had training but the more planes he let be in auto pilot the less control inputs he remembered causing him to react in an adverse way and unable to safely land the plane.

This book discusses the fast-food industry and seeks to describe the impact of the industry on the U.S. economy and society. Also, it talks about the guys who has been investigating the fast food industry for many years. From his broad research, he has uncovered an abundance of little-known, frequently unsettling truths about the fast food industry.

Chapter one examines the various occupations at McDonalds's. Barbara Garson finds that most workers here tend to dislike their jobs. Due to the tremendous amount of stress created by automated systems such as timers and computer generated productivity statistics McDonald's has a high

Sheelah Kolhatkar begins her article, Amazon’s New Supermarket Could Be Grim News For Human Workers, with the beginning of Amazon purchasing Whole Foods which caused an outrage in society the article says that many people were questioning if this was a good choice since Amazon is an investor to robotics and modern technology. Kolhatkar continues her article by talking about how six years ago Amazon bought Kiva, a company that creates mobile robots, and with those mobile automatons they saved millions of dollars in more details, there would be less employment for many people. Sheelah Kolhatkar then introduces Daron Acemoglu, an economist at M.I.T. who studies labor market and automation, who says that automatons help retail workers do complex

We have already seen a decrease in jobs due to automation. Since 2000, the United States has lost 5 million factory jobs, while from 2006 to 2013, manufacturing grew by 17.6% (roughly 2.2% a year). 88% of those jobs were lost due to “productivity growth,” cites a study by Ball State University. The study also found that all sectors grew in terms of productivity by at least 32% from 1998 to 2012 when adjusted for inflation, with computer and electronic products rising 829%. In fact, the researchers found: “If 2000-levels of productivity are applied to 2010-levels of production, the U.S. would have required 20.9 million manufacturing workers instead of the 12.1 million actually employed.” In summary, due to companies’ expenditures in automation and software, the output per U.S. manufacturing worker has doubled over the past two decades. Indeed, “the real robotics revolution is ready to begin,” according to the Boston Consulting Group, who predict “the share of tasks that are performed by robots will rise from a global average of around 10% across all manufacturing industries

Increased automation is the result of a need to reduce cost, which in turn is driven by a company's need to become more competitive and grow market share -- a trend accelerated by pressures felt by the difficult economic situation.

We live in the age of constant technological innovation and endless information; in which we are so connected and dependent on the technology we use that we sometimes don’t even realize how much we’re relying on it. In The Glass Cage by Nicholas Carr, Carr defines automation as, “the use of computers and software to do things we used to do ourselves,” and argues that there are daunting consequences to our reliance on technology (Carr 1). In his book, Nicholas Carr sets up three arguments related to automation, tacit knowledge, and the idea of work. His main arguments throughout the novel are that humans are overestimating the benefits of automation, losing tacit knowledge through our reliance on technology, and

The main key points of the side that support the advancement of job automation is that AI will improve the standard of living, lower the prices of products, and encourage people to get higher education. As job automation progresses, so does the standard of living. The largest sector of the job industry that will be affected by job automation is the service sector, manufacturing, and many other jobs that do not require higher education. Since robots will replace these lower paying jobs that do not require much skill, the quality of life will increase. One negative effect is that there are numerous people that hold these positions in the lower paying industry that will lose

McDonaldization is becoming the new wave of job types where workers are being deskilled, dehumanized and exploited. Machines are taking over tasks which the employees used to do such as bank machines (interact). The McDonaldized jobs now instead of making the employee do all the work they have the customer working too, for example when the customer cleans up after eating. These jobs are becoming less interactive and personal because workers are becoming dehumanized and only allowed to follow a script, there is also the fact that fast food Company’s use drive through, where limited interaction occurs and are many restrictions. These types of jobs which the author George Ritzer labeled

Introduction: Humanity has always struggled with the concepts of automation because of its lasting effects on people. While most would argue against automation in this classroom, I suggest instead that we accept it and allow it to become part of our lives. I have family members whose jobs have been replaced by automation, and I honestly think they are living a better life because of it. It will affect humans well in both the long and short term by allowing us to continue to push towards an optimistic future. I understand that this is a long way off, and I understand it will be a hard road but it is worth it.

In a recent study(pdf), economists Daren Acemoglu of MIT and Pascual Restrepo of Boston University try to quantify how worried we should be about robots. They examine the impact of industrial automation on the US labor market from 1990 to 2007. They conclude that each additional robot reduced employment in a given commuting area by 3-6 workers, and lowered overall wages by 0.25-0.5%. (Kopf)