Dear members, on one of the WA groups of HR, the Administrator, Mr. Rajaram Thorve, raised a topic for discussion. The topic is Copy and Paste Culture. He posed the following questions:
Q. 1 Have we become accustomed to the COPY-PASTE culture in educational and professional life?
Q. 2 Do you seriously think that the information available on GOOGLE is authentic and true concerning Human Resource Management?
Q. 3 How does it impact our professional capabilities when we do not think OUT OF THE BOX to arrive at solutions?
I have provided replies to the questions below:
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Dear Mr. Rajaram Thorve,
The replies to your questions are as follows:
Have we become accustomed to the COPY-PASTE culture in educational and professional life?
Reply: In the past, typewriters were used to type documents. They had advantages over manual writing because multiple copies could be produced faster than writing by hand. However, making corrections on a typed document was not possible. To make corrections, re-typing the entire document was the only solution. When MS Windows and especially MS Office were invented, they solved the problem of re-typing. Before printing, one could make corrections and then print. Therefore, the need for corrections and creating multiple documents gave birth to the "copy and paste" activity. Over time, it became ingrained in our lives and became part of our culture, both professionally and personally.
Nevertheless, "copy and paste" has not become part of our culture just because of its ease. Partially, it is a result of our plagiaristic mindset. Instead of wasting time, people just go to a search engine and copy whatever is available from someone else's work without qualms. This is due to a disregard for copyrights.
The advent of email communication and the mushroom growth of WA groups or other forms of social media have further fueled this culture. A large number of members just copy articles from websites and upload them to WA groups. How many group members really come forward and share their workplace experience of implementing the contents of the article? Few and far between, but the administrators allow the copy and paste activity for years together!
Do you seriously think that the information available on GOOGLE is authentic and true concerning Human Resource Management?
Reply: Those who upload information on various websites are also human. They are prone to mistakes. Verification of the authenticity of the information is the user's responsibility. Apart from verifying authenticity, it is important to check suitability, applicability, and above all, grammar. But zealots of the "copy and paste" culture take things too far and accept everything at face value. That happens because of a lack of personal standards.
How does it impact our professional capabilities when we do not think OUT OF THE BOX to arrive at solutions?
Reply: Too much dependence on the "copy and paste" activity reduces human creative abilities. Creating something new is time-consuming. "Copy and paste" reduces the time spent on the job. While not all copy and paste activity is bad, and for clerical activities where jobs are repetitive, it is helpful and improves productivity, at a higher level, it starts diminishing one's ability to generate new ideas. Life exists beyond Google. But to glimpse that life, one has to get up from the chair and engage in study or research activities. That is not easy!
To reduce the culture of "copy and paste," Asian countries in general and India, in particular, need to implement copyright laws strictly. Those who violate these laws need to be brought to book. When violators are given exemplary punishment, that will be the beginning of a creative culture.
Thanks,
Dinesh Divekar
Q. 1 Have we become accustomed to the COPY-PASTE culture in educational and professional life?
Q. 2 Do you seriously think that the information available on GOOGLE is authentic and true concerning Human Resource Management?
Q. 3 How does it impact our professional capabilities when we do not think OUT OF THE BOX to arrive at solutions?
I have provided replies to the questions below:
+++++
Dear Mr. Rajaram Thorve,
The replies to your questions are as follows:
Have we become accustomed to the COPY-PASTE culture in educational and professional life?
Reply: In the past, typewriters were used to type documents. They had advantages over manual writing because multiple copies could be produced faster than writing by hand. However, making corrections on a typed document was not possible. To make corrections, re-typing the entire document was the only solution. When MS Windows and especially MS Office were invented, they solved the problem of re-typing. Before printing, one could make corrections and then print. Therefore, the need for corrections and creating multiple documents gave birth to the "copy and paste" activity. Over time, it became ingrained in our lives and became part of our culture, both professionally and personally.
Nevertheless, "copy and paste" has not become part of our culture just because of its ease. Partially, it is a result of our plagiaristic mindset. Instead of wasting time, people just go to a search engine and copy whatever is available from someone else's work without qualms. This is due to a disregard for copyrights.
The advent of email communication and the mushroom growth of WA groups or other forms of social media have further fueled this culture. A large number of members just copy articles from websites and upload them to WA groups. How many group members really come forward and share their workplace experience of implementing the contents of the article? Few and far between, but the administrators allow the copy and paste activity for years together!
Do you seriously think that the information available on GOOGLE is authentic and true concerning Human Resource Management?
Reply: Those who upload information on various websites are also human. They are prone to mistakes. Verification of the authenticity of the information is the user's responsibility. Apart from verifying authenticity, it is important to check suitability, applicability, and above all, grammar. But zealots of the "copy and paste" culture take things too far and accept everything at face value. That happens because of a lack of personal standards.
How does it impact our professional capabilities when we do not think OUT OF THE BOX to arrive at solutions?
Reply: Too much dependence on the "copy and paste" activity reduces human creative abilities. Creating something new is time-consuming. "Copy and paste" reduces the time spent on the job. While not all copy and paste activity is bad, and for clerical activities where jobs are repetitive, it is helpful and improves productivity, at a higher level, it starts diminishing one's ability to generate new ideas. Life exists beyond Google. But to glimpse that life, one has to get up from the chair and engage in study or research activities. That is not easy!
To reduce the culture of "copy and paste," Asian countries in general and India, in particular, need to implement copyright laws strictly. Those who violate these laws need to be brought to book. When violators are given exemplary punishment, that will be the beginning of a creative culture.
Thanks,
Dinesh Divekar