Research says more and more business training and business meeting are taking place online. Do the advantages outweigh the disadvantages?
利大于弊
Recent advances in technology (particularly the rise in connectivity that the internet provides) have resulted in more and more business meetings and training courses taking place online. This change has allowed for a number of advantages, such as the ability for people to work remotely and even in different timezones to their business counterparts. However, there are some that would argue that these kinds of meetings also have many disadvantages when compared to those that are conducted face to face.
One of the major advantages of business activities that take place online is that the people who attend them do not need to be physically present. This means that a business can be made up of people from all over the world, which could be useful in ensuring that the company is always able to hire the best person for the job. Rather than having their choices limited by the people who live in the same city as them, a CEO could turn to the internet to find experts who may live in different countries, and who are better suited for the positions. Having meetings online also allows certain people to work from home. This could be a great advantage for many, including parents or other people who have to care for their loved ones. They can spend time with the people who are important to them, while still having a successful career. In the past this was not possible; many parents had to leave their jobs in order to take care of their families.
However, some would argue that there are disadvantages to the ability to work from home as well. One of the most compelling arguments is that it is becoming more and more difficult for people to find a satisfying balance between their personal and work lives. Having the ability to conduct business meetings online means that time at home, which traditionally would have been dedicated solely to your personal life, may become an extension of your work life. This makes it difficult to separate the two.
Overall I think the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages. This is because I believe the negatives are all things that people can learn to deal with as we develop new strategies for managing our lives in this changing world. The technology is still very new, so our use of it is still imperfect, but I think that this will change for the better over time.