The Computer Revolution in Organizational Management

Published date01 June 1992
Date01 June 1992
DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1108/02635579210015383
Pages8-12
AuthorAfsaneh Fanaeian‐Nour,Brian H. Kleiner
Subject MatterEconomics,Information & knowledge management,Management science & operations
The
Computer
Revolution
in
Organizational
Management
Afsaneh Fanaeian-Nour and Brian H. Kleiner
Industrial Management & Data Systems, Vol. 92 No. 6, 1992, pp. 8-12,
© MCB University Press Limited, 0263-5577
8 INDUSTRIAL MANAGEMENT & DATA SYSTEMS 92,6
C
omputers are infiltrating the business
world and are transforming the
organizational structure of most US
companies.
Virtually no American business is untouched by the
computer revolution. Office work
is
being transformed by
word processing, instantaneous data retrieval, and the
storage of information with correspondence on disk and
tape.
Robots, numerical
control,
and process control affect
many workers in the factory. Even firms that formerly
hand-processed data now deal with automated suppliers
and clients. Certainly, no one escapes the "clutches" of
a computerized internal revenue service.
Today, the impact of computers on business management
receives less notice. But, more and more, computers are
infiltrating the business world and are dictating the
organizational structure of companies. They are replacing
humans in decision making as well as on production lines.
The involvement of
computers,
and the expected impact
of information technology on today's management, will
depend on the growth and availability of affordable, yet
pragmatic, computers. The use of computers for higher
production and better service has restructured the modern
corporation. Computers are now used as a new tool and
competitive weapon. Also, new organizational structures
are evolving to manage information technology. The
vulnerability of management to displacement by
computers, the relation of information specialists to
management, and the computerization problems that
managers must resolve are some of the new topics that
organizational management must face[l].
In this article, the impact of computers on management
is reviewed. The future goals of the computer industry
and the expected revolution of computers in organizational
management are also discussed and two case studies
which illustrate the effect of computers on industry are
included.
The Impact of the Computer
on
Organizational
Management
In the mid-1970s, the use of microcomputers in small
businesses was still a dream of the future. By the
mid-1980s, thousands of
small
growing businesses would
not know how to operate without microcomputers. After
such phenomenal growth and acceptance by the business
world, definitions and new theories were introduced to
management. Organizations were now defined within an
information- and decision-processing framework, whereby
a manager served as nodal information processor and
decision maker to achieve certain and definite goals or
ideas[2].
The computer has affected organizational
management
in
several
areas,
three
of
which
are described
below.
Multilevel Management
The impact of computers on different
levels
of management
has been studied by several researchers (e.g.[3,4]). Table
I
shows
that the introduction of computers has
had
relatively
Table I.
Function
Identify areas of
improvement
Analyse these
areas
Develop
alternative
solutions
Evaluate
alternative
solutions
Implement
decision
Job content
Job numbers
Impact of Computers on Functions of
Management
Top
management
Scant
None
Scant
Scant
Some
Some
None
Middle
management
Scant
Scant
Moderate
Moderate
Moderate
Moderate
Scant
Operational
management
Some
Some
Moderate
Moderate
Heavy
Major
Moderate

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