Information Literacy Influences

Information Literacy Influences

Introduction

This paper will discuss the application of information literacy as it pertains to the manufacturing industry. Due to globalization, the world appears to be getting smaller, no longer are countries confined to certain segments of the world when it pertains to manufacturing or sales. In today's global market commonality to outsource components from numerous third world countries such as China, India, and Latin America. Today's manufacturing environment is changing at such a rapid pace that many people find difficulty keeping up with all the current technology.

Discussion

No other change in American society has offered greater challenges than the emergence of the Information Age. Information is expanding at an unprecedented rate, and enormously rapid strides are being made in the technology for storing, organizing, and accessing the ever growing tidal wave of information. (Ambach, Bainbridge,Breivi, Brown, Eaton, & Imig, 1989, p.1)The Presidential Committee on Information Literacy on July 10, 1989 places a considerable amount of emphasis on our country's lack of information literacy. The committee noted that the lack of information literacy is affecting our manufacturing abilities in this country because the average workers are not prepared to deal with the high-tech equipment.

Today the majority of the major U.S. companies and their suppliers work with their employees and train them in problem solving techniques such as Six Sigma. Companies like General Motors whose “Global Manufacturing System Division implemented five structural lean principles throughout every plant in North America to teach members to be lean producers and lean leaders.” (Sharrock, 2007, p.1) These lean principles have been very beneficial to General Motors by enabling the company to produce goods through the removal of waste and implementing a more efficient process flow to reduce there cost structure.

Ford and General Motors both concur with the Presidential Committee on Information Literacy as they promote their employee training programs and develop programs for anticipated future employees. In 1997 Ford promoted information literacy and opened the Henry Ford academy of manufacturing arts and sciences. This high school places an emphasis on applied mathematics, science, and communication and problem solving skills in a "real-world" context.

The Presidential Committee on Information Literacy also noted that students forget 50% of the content within a few months and only recall 17% of their lecture material. This suggests that American educational institutes have to start teaching our students how to learn properly.

Comments on an article pertaining in the Journal of Academic Librarianship 29, states that: Academic libraries should play a central role in developing more information-literate students; the author does not believe that mandated instruction is the solution. While the author concurs that the academic library should play central role in developing more Information-literate students, the author does not believe that mandated instruction is the solution. (Zabel, 2004, p.1)“Multiple studies have confirmed what many of us have observed: students rely on the internet as the primary source of information for coursework, neglecting library databases and print resources.” (Lombardo & Miree, 2003, p. 6) “Another study of undergraduate research ...