Information Technology

It is not intended in this chapter to cover the whole of computer technology. It is assumed that the reader is familiar with computers at a basic level. While care will be taken to avoid excessive jargon in the introduction of the fundamental techniques, the opportunity will be taken to introduce the reader to some of the words that are going to become part of the normal vocabulary of management. The chapter as a whole is intended as a descriptive review of those technical developments that impinge on the feasibility of MIS. The Report of the Committee on Data Protection [1] gives a very good overview of the technology, and James Martin’s The Wired Society [2] looks at the impact of the technology. The earlier sections deal with an exposition of the discrete technical advances or techniques while the the later sections will tend to develop, at times speculatively, the impact that these techniques are likely to have on the way management functions. Computer technology is bound to influence the way managers do their work; it is important to reflect on the potential impact before it happens.