INFORMATION SOCIETY & KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT

Information Society & Knowledge Management

Information Society & Knowledge Management

There has been an 'information revolution', this will have and is having profound social consequences; " here are the sorts of impacts one may anticipate and which may already have been evidenced." (Webster, 2002,p264) Why are such views so prevalent, and why do Webster and other critics dismiss them?

Since the early days of the industrial revolution innovation and human endeavour have served to change industry, economics and society. The recognition of new and better ways of combining land, labour and capital to enable the production of goods, determining technological progress. Over the last decade however the third or tertiary stage of productivity, that is the service sector has become the focus of economic growth, outstripping the manufacturing sector. New kinds of work have replaced old, new regions expanding, often at the expense of the older industrial regions. "Growth implies change, a painful process for some" (Heathfield & Russel, 1992,p19). This turn to Informationalism at the expense of industrialism has led many to believe that there has been an information revolution.

In this essay I will identify and give evidence of some of the social consequences expected, the anticipated impact viewed by many as proof of an information revolution and thereby the advent of an Information society. Such views are prevalent, many believing the redefinition of society is based somehow on information. This essay will continue by attempting to show the rationale behind such views. The last decade has indeed seen unprecedented transformations in modern society, understandably providing evidence of a fundamental change in the world at large.

The advent of digitalisation, mobile telephony and networks, particularly the Internet, has led some authors to declare a new form of society - the 'Information Society', also referred to as the 'Knowledge Society' or 'Network Society'. These commentators believe that changes since the 1970's, particularly working patterns in recent years determine a revolution. There are however others that dismiss these views. This essay will discuss the arguments of Webster and other critics in their dismissal of an information revolution. There may be some evidence to substantiate the notion of an Information or Knowledge Society, but whilst the figures show an increase in employment within the service sector for example, many authors would argue that quantitative analysis is insufficient to characterise a new society.

The characteristics of society have been redefined according to some authors, among them Daniel Bell, by the rise of occupations within the service sector. Bell's approach based on dominant forms of production and work relates to a Post Industrial Society. He asserts that the transformation to a knowledge or information society is directly related to the diminishment of industrial labour (Bell, 1979). This new society is seen as an emergence from the 'old society' by Bell, with a shift in analysis from technology to people and the handling of information and related occupations. This focus on occupational change he claims emphasise the ability of information itself to reconstruct society, as opposed to ...