Managing Computers in Large Organizations

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Managing Microcomputers in Large Organizations http://www.nap.edu/catalog/167.html About this PDF file: This new digital representation of the original work has been recomposed from XML files created from the original paper book, not from the original typesetting files. Page breaks are true to the original; line lengths, word breaks, heading styles, and other typesetting-specific formatting, however, cannot be retained, and some typographic errors may have been accidentally inserted. Please use the print version of this publication as the authoritative version for attribution. INTRODUCTION 99 Introduction Rhoda W. Canter* If grappling with microcomputer technology trends, their implications, and the management issues involved is difficult on a theoretical level, developing and implementing strategies uniquely adapted to individual organizations is an even more awe-some task. For every theoretical issue there are multiple practical questions to answer: • How much control is needed over microcomputers, where and when is it needed, and through what means can it be applied most effectively? • Should microcomputers be interconnected or connected with minicomputers and mainframes? What is the most systematic approach to defining appropriate uses of the different technologies? What are the implications for the organizational structure and skills of the information processing community? • How can the most effective microcomputer applications be identified and what are the implications for the functional management community? • What pace of implementation will best suit the needs, desires, and capabilities of potential users of microcomputer? • Should management responsibilities for information processing be reassigned and, if so, how? * Rhoda W. Canter is a principal of Arthur Young and Company, Washington, D.C. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Managing Microcomputers in Large Organizations http://www.nap.edu/catalog/167.html About this PDF file: This new digital representation of the original work has been recomposed from XML files created from the original paper book, not from the original typesetting files. Page breaks are true to the original; line lengths, word breaks, heading styles, and other typesetting-specific formatting, however, cannot be retained, and some typographic errors may have been accidentally inserted. Please use the print version of this publication as the authoritative version for attribution. INTRODUCTION 100 • How can an organization establish education and training goals for introducing new technologies? What programs will ensure that these goals are achieved effectively? • How should concerns about data administration be addressed? What are the organization's information resources? Where are these resources? Who is responsible for them? How can security of information resources be achieved? • How can microcomputer components be acquired, maintained, and operated most effectively? The list only scratches the surface. Difficult as these challenges are, managers in large organizations must come to grips with them. The five case studies that follow present a variety of large organizations and their efforts to manage emerging microcomputer technologies. The organizations represent several major segments of industry— manufacturing, insurance and financial institutions, state government, and the military services. They also represent a broad spectrum of management styles, ranging from overt central control to control through persuasion to a laissezfaire approach. In each case senior management has addressed universal issues and made particular decisions with respect to successful management in a given environment. The balance and movement between management and practice in the realm of technology is intricate. Through these five case studies of successes, failures, and lessons learned we catch glimpses of a common process. The process encompasses analysis of the organization's culture; setting strategic goals in concert with that culture; planning, organizing, and controlling to meet strategic goals; and marketing the organization's approach to the entire work force. This process, distilled from the maze of particulars, can contribute significantly to management theory and, in turn, to management practice in large organizations everywhere. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
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