Running Head: TECHNOLOGIES EFFECT ON PRODUCTIVITY

Technologies Effect on Workplace Productivity

Arturo Chacon
The University of Texas at El Paso
February 25, 2015

TECHNOLOGIES EFFECT ON PRODUCTIVITY

Technologies Effect on Workplace Productivity

In todays technological world, there are many tools that can be of use to managers and
employees, but inappropriate use of these same tools can distract one from doing the most
important work. Technological tools are neither good nor bad. It is how we use technology that
determines if they are useful or a distraction. Productivity in the workplace can be greatly
affected by the use of technological tools. However, many argue over the benefits and
disadvantages of having this technology and how it impacts an employees performance. Digital
technology in the workplace, such as internet access and smartphones, increases worker
productivity and flexibility however workers often have certain interruptions. Interruptions are
distractions and can lead to billions of dollars in lost time and lost competitive advantage.
Scholarly Article: Audience and Purpose
The intended audience for the article are mainly adults who work at offices and are exposed
to technology and internet access. This is supported when the article states This article focuses
on the managers duty to facilitate personal and organizational success by identifying, removing,
and protecting against seemingly helpful endeavors, technological or otherwise, which in
reality are obstacles and distractions to core competencies. (Dance, J. W. et al..2013, p.35). The
authors obviously were reaching out to those individuals working in a technological
environment. Most likely the targeted audience could also be managers at an office trying to
avoid distractions on the internet. The audience may also include people exposed to technology
and internet at their workplace. The way the article is set up suggests that the audience is already
aware of the many distractions that occur while dealing with technology.

TECHNOLOGIES EFFECT ON PRODUCTIVITY

The author explains that Disciplined managers know how and when to interrupt or allow others
to do so. (Dance, J. W. et al..2013, p.35). What the author means is that a good and responsible
worker will have planning and time management skills to avoid distractions and improve
efficiency. The article is close to 20 pages long and it might take a person about an hour or two to
finish reading. The article is nicely separated into various main ideas making it easy to find
notable information. The audience could be moved by this articles main points and apply new
skills at work to avoid distraction and improve their performance.
The purpose of the article is to inform readers of what their internet distractions cause to
companies and to persuade them to stop abusing their access to the web and focus on work. At
some point in the article the author states Identify known and unknown distractions. Bring
awareness to these among your staff. Make empowerment agents to manage distractions on ones
behalf. (Dance, J. W. et al..2013, p.48). The author hopes to make the audience aware of the
distractions around them and to persuade them try to avoid these interruptions. The articles
language is formal the author uses concepts such as execution, time management, efficiency,
distraction, and planning. The paper was also structured in third person perspective. One of the
language feature includes the use of bullets to emphasize main ideas and points.
Scholarly Article: Rhetorical Appeals
There are three types of rhetorical appeals: logos, pathos, and ethos. Logos is the appeal to
someones logic or reasoning and use of data. Pathos is the appeal to a persons emotions,
making someone feel a certain emotion. Lastly Ethos is the credibility of an argument or facts.

TECHNOLOGIES EFFECT ON PRODUCTIVITY

This article establishes credibility by using many sources and providing a lot of
information. The articles wide variety of citations made it sound very professional. For example
the author mentioned Often quoted, Theodore Levitt, the former editor of the Harvard Business
Review, once said to sustain success, focus regularly on the right things, and make many small,
uncelebrated little improvements each and every day. (Dance, J. W. et al..2013, p.38). The
author uses many popular sources to establish credibility. Seeing as how informative the article is
there was hardly any pathos. The emotion the article emitted was guilt since it explains what
peoples procrastination causes to companies and their co-workers. The article explains why
abusing the internet is wrong and why distractions should be avoided. The article also mentioned
Make your focus attentively on intentionally and deliberately recognizing attractive nuisances,
and you will jump-start your success.(Dance, J. W. et al..2013, p.48). This creates a sense of
hope because it insists that accepting and following the advice provided in the article will lead to
a brighter future. The logos appeal to this article is that it contains plenty of research and
provides a lot of information. The author uses many sources to put this paper together. The
author stated The studies in this literature showed overall poor grade point average (GPA)
performance in students who use social media. These students study 30% less than nonusers and
have 20% lower grades. (Dance, J. W. et al..2013, p.44). This shows the author conducted
research and gathered results.
Scholarly Article: Structure and Delivery
This article is very well organized starting with an introduction explaining the main idea
of the paper and focusing on key points in much detail. It focuses on different points, it lets the

reader know more about what the author was trying to convey and allows readers to follow his
train of thought easier. The use of bullets helped explain the major points of the article
TECHNOLOGIES EFFECT ON PRODUCTIVITY

more clearly, because the article is associated with the use of the internet there was no real limit
as to what information could be used. The paper is eighteen pages long and has a thorough
explanation of the points stated. This genre in its entirety succeeded in conveying the message
effectively.
Newspaper Article: Audience and Purpose
The intended audience for this article is most likely workers who have access to the
internet and social media. The reason workers are the targeted audience is because the article
states Digital technology in the workplace -- e-mail, Internet access and smartphones -increases worker productivity and flexibility but possibly at a price: a longer workday. (Mike,
S., & USA, T., 2014). This implies that workers can benefit from using digital technology.
Another audience could be people that just want to know how using technology impacts the
workplace. The audience knows that technology and social media is used at the workplace.
However, the audience wants to know how workers benefit from using technology at work and
how it can affect them negatively. The article is very short so the information provided is very
straight forward. The audience will be affected after knowing that technology increases
productivity but results in more work.
The purpose of this article is inform. For example, it informs workers on just how much
technology benefits their productivity and how much more work is assigned, since there is an
easier and faster way to fulfill various tasks. The language used in this article is very formal as it

is a newspaper article. The specialized language used includes Facebook, Twitter, e-mail,
Internet access and smartphones.
TECHNOLOGIES EFFECT ON PRODUCTIVITY

Newspaper Article: Rhetorical Appeals

The ethos or the credibility of this article is the fact that it is from a news station (USA
TODAY). The article also establishes credibility by stating a lot of data made by experts in the
subject. The pathos appeals emit a sense of ease for the workers as the author stated Nearly half
of workers who use online and digital tools (46%) say they feel more productive, a new Pew
Research Center report says. And about four in ten (39%) say the Internet, e-mail and phones
give them added flexibility in the hours they work. (Mike, S., & USA, T., 2014). This shows
that workers are at relief that work is now easier thanks to digital technology. However, another
emotion that is evoked is stress as the article mentioned But almost as many (35%) say they are
working more hours because of digital tools. (Mike, S., & USA, T., 2014). The logos appeal is
the fact that it has various data and percentages. The article stated Compared to other countries,
people in the U.S. work 1,790 hours a year, higher than the average of 1,765 hours, according to
the Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development. About 11% of U.S. employees
work very long hours, higher than the OECD average of 9%. (Mike, S., & USA, T., 2014). This
shows that there was plenty of research involved and data was collected.
Newspaper Article: Structure and Delivery
The structure of the article was very effective for conveying the message regardless of
only being a page long. It is all information so it is very useful for someone searching short to the

point information. However, there could have been more explanation if it wasnt so short. It has
an introduction explaining the benefits of technology and then explains how there is more work

TECHNOLOGIES EFFECT ON PRODUCTIVITY

to be done due to how fast and easy it is to do tasks. It is nothing but text and it contains no
visuals at all.
Comparison and Contrast: Newspaper and Scholarly Article
Both genres were highly informative. However, the scholarly article had more
explanation to the research done for its information unlike the newspaper article where it just
provided information. Another difference between the articles is that the scholarly article was
about avoiding social media, whereas the newspaper article supported the idea of using the
internet at work. Despite being different in ideas they do however share a common audience and
both provide fair amount of information supporting their reasons as well as using the same
rhetorical appeals to convey their message.
Conclusion
The scholarly article The Attractive Nuisance: A Model to Prevent Workplace
Distractions and the newspaper article Employees' 'electronic leash' gets tighter both
presented their arguments well. However, the scholarly article is the better genre due to the fact
that it goes in depth into the research done and it explains results fairly well. Both articles lack in
pathos but make up for it with impressive logos. Genres are an excellent way to state arguments
according to ones targeted audience and purpose.

References
Dance, J. W., & Service, R. W. (2013). The Attractive Nuisance: A Model to Prevent Workplace
Distractions. Journal of Multidisciplinary Research (1947-2900), 5(2), 35-51.

Mike, S., & USA, T. (n.d). Employees' 'electronic leash' gets tighter. USA Today.