Literature Review

Much of the work done in industry is repetitive; this is a good reason for automation, argues Marquis, 2007. However he also argues that we, as humans, need to understand how the machines work in order for automation to be possible. This is because we can’t build something to do a job for us if we don’t know how to program it to do said job in the first place. Another downside to automation as pointed out by Goldsmith, 2010 is that the machines can cost millions of pounds which is money that could be better spent employing skilled workers. Alternately Geiger 2010 states “Human resources are pricy and, more often than not, consume a large portion of a company’s budget.” This is supported by Shunk 2010 who states that “The typical U.S. auto worker makes around $30 per hour, plus benefits. In China, a worker would be hard-pressed to earn $250 in a month.”

Geiger, MJ. (2002-2010) “Advantages of automation in a declining economy” [Internet] http://www.helium.com/items/1762309-manufacturing-automation-recession-recovery-economic-growth-jobs-cost-cutting-update-cost

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Goldsmith, O. (2010) “Is Automation Of Industry Good For Us?” [Internet] http://ezinearticles.com/?Is-Automation-Of-Industry-Good-For-Us?&id=5055470 [12/10/2010]

Marquis, H. (2007) “Automating ITIL” [Internet] http://www.itsmwatch.com/itil/article.php/3708941/Automating-ITIL.htm [12/10/2010]

Shunk, S. (2010) “Increasing Chinese labor unrest to spur faster automation?” [Internet, RSS feed] http://www.autoblog.com/2010/07/07/increasing-chinese-labor-unrest-to-spur-faster-automation/ [12/10/2010]