News Briefs
| Pages | 33-33 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/eb057262 |
| Published date | 01 May 1982 |
| Date | 01 May 1982 |
| Subject Matter | Economics,Information & knowledge management,Management science & operations |
News Briefs
The Electronic Office: Winning Executives' Acceptance
Computer manufacturers must react positively to the needs
of status-seeking executives if the electronic office is to
become a reality quickly. That is a key conclusion from
research undertaken by Datapoint Corporation, the com-
puter and office automation company. Datapoint found
that senior executives are eager to win the benefits of office
automation — providing it is on their terms.
Most executives, Datapoint found, have no fear about
getting information directly from a computer. But they can
object to the means of getting that information. Datapoint
found that many senior executives have a definite aversion
to accessing computer information through a traditional
keyboard. One reason for this is that the use of a
typewriter-style keyboard requires a degree of trained dex-
terity which few senior executives possess. But the more
deep-seated reason is that status-conscious senior ex-
ecutives associate the use of keyboards with lower level
clerical staff
—
like typists. In short, they believe that tap-
ping at keys is beneath them.
The main lesson from this research says Datapoint's Kir-
by Herron, the company's European Market Development
Manager, is that computer manufacturers must make their
products acceptable to senior managers if they are to suc-
ceed fully in implementing the electronic office concept.
Already manufacturers have introduced other methods of
accessing computer information. These include light pens
and pressure sensitive grids. Datapoint's latest offering in
this field is a pen-shaped stylus and pad for use with its col-
our graphics system. The manager who has no status hang-
ups about using a pen, writes with the stylus on the pad
and sees what he has written on the computer terminal
screen.
Office Space Planners Take A Look At Tomorrow
The key to development of the successful "Office of the
Future" lies in concepts and hardware that offer practical
links between advanced technology and tomorrow's office
worker. In-built teleconferencing facilities, pushbutton
armchair and voice controls, clear yet sound-attenuating
glass walls and a mix of personal and "hot" workstations
are some of the more significant features of this attempt to
visualise such links in an actual office of tomorrow. The
design, developed by office space planners and designers
Environetics International Inc, is equally notable for what
it leaves out — such as telephones, in-trays and filing
cabinets full of paper.
All these will be replaced, Environetics predicts, by
automated electronic office systems operated by direct
voice or simple keypad control. Thus the standard desk
will be both smaller and largely devoted to electronic inter-
faces with office systems. Many will not be specific to any
one individual at all. These "hot" or shared stations will
act simply as entry points to the various electronic systems
for employees who work mostly outside of the office or at
home.
A major feature will be the teleconferencing facility,
which will allow a changing array of people, charts or
graphs, etc to be projected upon hexagonal screens during
national and international video conferences. Armchair
pushbuttons will give each participant control over voice
and picture, and the ability to call up a hard copy of
anything of special interest from the conference printer.
Ceiling baffles will be deep and acoustically covered to
control noise, assisted by the clear glass walls. These will
allow territorial marking and contain sound while offering
the visual and energy conserving advantages of shared
natural light and an increased feeling of space. Task-
oriented strategic lighting will further reduce energy
demands for light.
Helping Managers Make Office Investment Decisions
The Office Automation Show and Conference (Barbican,
London, 15-17 June) provides a comprehensive briefing
for management on the office technology of today and
tomorrow. Twenty-eight sessions in five streams allow
managers to compose their own programme from essential
"Executive Briefings" to the simplicity of "How to buy"
sessions, and "The Truth about Local Area Networks"
when joint presentations by users and suppliers will de-
mystify a complex subject.
Management investment in automation for the office
worker is still low compared to factory investment per
capita. However, according to Michael Laughton, of
Langton Information Systems and a speaker at the con-
ference, there are three pressing reasons to automate:
(1) Cost: Hardware in 1986 will be 10 per cent
of the 1978 price in real terms while
salaries will be eight times as high.
(2) Competition: British industry cannot afford to ig-
nore the use of technology made by
competitors who will sweep the
markets if our industry does not take
advantage of the latest communica-
tions aids and facilities.
(3) Quality: As processing and production
systems are automated, quality stan-
dards are rising. Office automation
will allow more detailed, faster and
broader services to be offered.
Conference organiser, Dennis Jarrett comments: "The
need to improve productivity is universal within the com-
mercial world. There is no business which cannot improve
its administration processes. The conference will be geared
towards both small and large businesses with practical ad-
vice on what systems a company needs and how to imple-
ment the technology."
There are five simultaneous streams of sessions with
balanced groups of speakers drawn from users, con-
sultants,suppliers, professional bodies and organisations
such as British Telecom.
Further sessions suitable for managers include Basic
Strategy, Selecting
Suppliers,
Advances in Text Handling
and Records Processing, Electronic Mail, Financial
Modelling and Business Planning, Integrating DP, WP
and Document Distribution, Introduction to Business
Communications, Personal Computers and Management
Workstations, to name a few.
Throughout the three days of the conference, an exhibi-
tion of integrated business systems from leading suppliers
including ICL, Systime, Datapoint, Wang, Master
Systems, Nippon, and Philips will be held in the adjoining
exhibition halls of the Barbican Centre. Conference
delegates will have free access to the exhibition. Further in-
formation is available from: Clapp and Poliak Europe
Ltd, 232 Acton Lane, London W4 SDL
(Tel:
01-747 3131).
Published by MCB Publications Ltd. 198/200 Keighley Road, Bradford, West Yorkshire BD9 4JQ. Telephone: Bradford (0274) 499821
© 1982 MCB Publications. Printed by Joseph Ward & Co. (Printers) Dewsbury Ltd. Price for 6 copies paid: United Kingdom
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quiries should be sent to Subscription Department. MCB Publications Limited. Subscribers are invited to take advantage of any help and advice which the editorial staff can offer concerning news and pro-
ducts featured in the journal. Enquiries to Editorial Advisory Department, Industrial Management
&
Data Systems, 198/200 Keighley Road, Bradford, West Yorkshire BD9 4JQ.
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