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OCR for page R1
M anaging
Microcomputers
· ~ ~
1n barge
Organiz ations
Board on Telecommunications
and Computer Applications
Commission on Engineering
and Technical Systems
National Research Council
NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS
Washington, D.C. 1985
OCR for page R2
NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS
2101 CONSTITUTION AVE., NW WASHINGTON, DC 20418
NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing
Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils
of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the
Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the forum were
chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.
This report has been reviewed by a group other than the authors according to pro-
cedures approved by a Report Review Committee consisting of members of the Na-
tional Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute
of Medicine.
The National Research Council was established by the National Academy of Sciences
in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Acad-
emy's purposes of furthering knowledge and of advising the federal government. The
Council operates in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy un-
der the authority of its congressional charter of 1863, which establishes the Academy
as a private, nonprofit, self-governing membership corporation. The Council has be-
come the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the
National Academy of Engineering in the conduct of their services to the government,
the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. It is administered jointly
by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. The National Academy of Engineer-
ing and the Institute of Medicine were established in 1964 and 1970, respectively,
under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences.
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Board on Telecommunications and Computer Applications,
Commission on Engineering and Technical Systems,
National Research Council.
Managing microcomputers in large organizations.
Includes index.
1. Business-Data processing-Management-Congresses.
2. Office practice-Automation-Management-Congresses.
3. Microcomputers-Congresses. I. National Research
Council (U.S.) Board on Telecommunications and
Computer Applications.
HF5548.2.M297 1985
ISBN 0-309-03492-2
658 ' .054 84-22617
Copyright 01985 by the National Academy of Sciences
No part of this book may be reproduced by any mechanical, photographic, or electronic
process, or in the form of a photographic recording, nor may it be stored in a retrieval
system, transmitted or otherwise copied for public or private use, without written
permission from the publisher, except for the purposes of official use by the United
States government.
Printed in the United States of America
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Preface and
Acknowlerlgments
Most people in the business of information management hac!
been expecting microcomputers for years. Yet their arrival in the
Christmas season of 1981 took many by surprise. It was another
example of technology being in advance of our ability to use it and
to manage it. Since that time, further technological advances
have made microcomputers more powerful, more economical, and
simpler to use. These so-called personal computers have spawned
a revolution in the way information is gathered and exchanged.
For large organizations the revolution means a basic change in
the relationship of end users to central computing facilities. Until
recently end users depencled on data processing specialists to cre-
ate and operate their programs. With new development in per-
sonal computers and software, however, end users are growing
more and more independent of the specialists: Many profession-
als with no prior experience in data processing have introduced
personal computers into their working lives.
The proliferation of microcomputers has overwhelmed many or-
ganizations and in the process created two serious problems for
management: How do we control the headlong transition from
centralized to decentralizes! computation without stifling the cre-
ativity of the end user? And how do we manage the use of micro-
computers to enhance productivity and make the organization's
total computing capability cost-effective?
· - ~
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1V
PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The National Research CounciT's Board on Telecommunica-
tions ant! Computer Applications held a forum in late 1983 to ad-
dress these and related concerns. The meeting featured experts
from two broad areas of experience: senior executives from the
private and public sectors who have directed the use of computers
in their own companies or in the federal government, and technol-
ogy innovators who are directly responsible for the increasing
popularity of personal computers.
This book is the product of that meeting. Written by and for
executives, it probes these questions: Where is microcomputer
technology going? What are the implications of these directions
for large organizations? What are the emerging issues critical to
top management? And how are selected large organizations deal-
ing with these issues?
Many people shared in the creation of this book. In particular, I
wish to thank the members of our steering committee (see page
viii) and the contributing authors. Staff members of the Boarc} on
Telecommunications and Computer Applications who organized
the forum-Jerome D. Rosenberg, senior staff officer and forum
director; and Lois A. I~eak, administrative secretary also cle-
serve special thanks, as does Paula Kaufmann, who editec! the
transcript of the meeting.
I also wish to recognize and thank our sponsors: Arthur Young
and Company, the Tennessee Valley Authority, the U.S. Depart-
ment of Defense? the U.S. General Services Administration, and
the U.S. Veterans Administration.
Francis A. McDonough*
Chairman
*Francis A. McDonough is deputy assistant administrator of the Office of Informa-
tion Resources Management, U.S. General Services Administration. He championed
the development of the federal government's Managed Innovation Program, which is
fully described in Chapter 9.
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Contents
Steering Committee
OVERVIEW
Vision and Value: Getting the Most out of
Microcomputers
John M. Thompson
The Organizational Issues.
John Diebold
· · ~
. V111
3
.. 11
I SMALL COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY WHERE WE
ARE AND WHERE WE'RE HEADED
Introduction .
William H. Leary III
Faster, Smaller, Cheaper: Trends in Microcomputer
Technology ..................................
Thomas H. Wilimott
Trends in Personal Computer Software
Mitchell Vapor
Personal Computer Networks
Robert M. Metcalfe
v
. 17
19
28
36
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V1
CONTENTS
II SMALL COMPUTERS IN LARGE ORGANIZATIONS
THE IMPLICATIONS
Introduction ...........
Hannah I. Blank
Managing Uncontrollable Growth
John H. Bennett
. 43
. 45
Managed Innovation: Controlling EncT-User Computing
in the Federal Government 52
Ray Kline
Personal Computers and the Office of the Future.
James H. Bair
III MANAGING MICROCOMPUTERS-THE ISSUES
Introduction
William C. Rosser
A Perspective for the Chief Executive Officer
AlastairI. Omand
. 60
. 69
Managing Microcomputers and End-User Computing:
Some Critical Issues ..........................
Roger L. Sisson
Regaining Control Through Centralized Action
Thomas D. Conrad
. 81
. . . . .
. 93
IV MANAGING MICROCOMPUTERS-CASE STUDIES
Introduction . . .
Rhoda W. Canter
Productivity Through Automation
John ]. Alexander, Jr.
....... 99
. 101
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ATanaging hilcrocomputersin State and Local
Covernment .........................
~ Or
Tbe User Era ......... ......... .. .
37~~fn ~.Zi~ Moran
PersonalComputing, Not PersonalComputers.
^~n ~ ~sfein
Controlibrou~b Persuas10n
Index
. .
.115
.124
.180
.135
141
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Steering Committee
Managing Microcomputers in Large Organizations
FRANc~s A. McDoNouGH (chairman), General Services
Administration
JOHN H. BENNETT, United Technologies Corporation
HANNAH I. BLANK, Chase Manhattan Bank
RHODA W. CANTER, Arthur Young and Company
E. FLOYD KVAMME, Kleiner Perkins Caufielc3 & Byers
WILLIAM H. LEARY III, Office of the Assistant Secretary of
Defense
WILLIAM C. ROSSER, Gartner Group, Inc.
ARTHUR H. SCHNEYMAN, Mobil Corporation
MICHAEL E. TREACY, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
· · ~
vail
