Are you cooperative? Are you a good team member? If so, the future may hold more for you than you think.
That' s happening in those areas of business and data processing where one person and a computer can replace a team of workers.
But, elsewhere, teamwork is very much alive. High technology has led to a new type of teamwork in a number of fields, including advertising, scientific research, engineering design, architecture and ocean exploration.
Through computer networking, scientists, engineers and technicians at different locations —often thousands of miles apart —can work on the same project at once.
Examples— An engineering team can now design and try out a robot system ?a new manufacturing process or an entire factory —before it is built. A medical team can simulate (模拟) a dangerous operation before performing it on a patient.
Of course, computer-assisted team effort doesn't end with investigation and simulation. "CAD-CAM —computer-aided design and manufacture—is breaking down barriers between traditional design and manufacturing functions," explains Dr. Prakash Rao, an engineering manager at General Electric." Interdisciplinary (跨学科的) teams and engineers follow a product from concept to production. Everything is interconnected like a network. "
Sometimes, a computer-aided effort can extend beyond production. A team that produces robots may use them to explore space and ocean depths.
A.They can exchange ideas, try out different designs and test their results. |
B.In the future, teamwork will be highlighted by the introduction of new technology. |
C.An architectural team can do the same with a building or a bridge. |
D.It ends in the products which are extensions of the traditional design. |
E. It now usually continues into actual design, manufacturing and testing.
F. High technology, some predicted, would make teamwork a thing of the past.
G. For high-technology teamwork, the future seems limitless.