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OCR for page 99
Introduction
Rhoda W. Canter*
If grappling with microcomputer technology trends, their im-
plications, 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 ap-
proach 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 man-
agement community?
· What pace of implementation will best suit the needs, de-
sires, and capabilities of potential users of microcomputer?
· Should management responsibilities for information pro-
cessing be reassigned and, if so, how?
*Rhoda W. Canter is a principal of Arthur Young and Company, Washington, D.C.
99
OCR for page 100
100
MANAGING MICROCOMPUTERS
· How can an organization establish education and training
goals for introducing new technologies? What programs will en-
sure that these goals are achieved effectively?
· How should concerns about data administration be ad-
dressed? 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, main-
tained, and operated most effectively?
The list only scratches the surface.
Difficult as these challenges are, managers in large organiza-
tions 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 organiza-
tions represent severalmajor segments of industry manufactur-
ing, 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 laissez-faire approach. In each case senior
management has addressed universal issues and made partic-
ular 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, ant! 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 particu-
lars, can contribute significantly to management theory and, in
turn, to management practice in large organizations everywhere.
Representative terms from entire chapter:
functional management
