Predictions of the effects of office automation on organizations vary widely. This article focuses on changes in individual work patterns, management control, and organizational structure that may occur as a result of implementation of office technology. The most significant change predicted is that organizations will no longer be limited by a central office work environment operating between the traditional office work hours of nine and five. Computer and communications technology will facilitate the relaxing of these physical constraints as necessitated by societal and economic pressures. Relevant research to date regarding the effects of the new technology on organizational behavior is reviewed. Management guidelines for preparing for the coming changes are included.
Preface In November 1981, the Society for Management Information Systems (SMIS) Executive Council voted to begin a research project to define a model of the information systems executive of the 1980s. The purpose of the model would be to help SMIS take a proactive role with respect to membership professional development, and provide conferences, speakers, articles and future research consistent with the directions defined by the model. Richard G. H. Harris, Vice President of Information Systems at Colonial Gas & Energy and a member of the SMIS Executive Council, and Leslie D. Ball, Associate Professor of Information Systems at Babson College agreed to lead the research effort. In addition, John F. Rockart and Christine V. Bullen of the MIT Sloan School Center for Information Systems Research and Leo Pipino of Babson College joined the team. The work was begun with the Executive Council approval in November 1981 and was completed in August 1982. A preliminary model coming out of an extensive literature search and based on several years of earlier research work done by the team members was distributed for review to fourteen noted practitioners and academics. Their valuable comments helped shape the interim model. On April 15, 1982, a day-long discussion group was held in Chicago with the research team and five respected practitioners. The interim model was reviewed, debated, and revised during this lively and constructive session. The resulting version of the model was again distributed to the reviewers who returned further comments. The final version is presented here. While this document directly represents the ideas of nearly two dozen SMIS members who participated in the project, readers should recognize that it expresses the collected thoughts of many other people as well. It is written as a final report in the form of a position paper to eliminate the lengthy academic background and references normally associated with such papers. A separate annotated bibliography was produced which is a collection of the best articles found on the subject. It will serve as a base and a model for further research. It is hoped that the model described in this paper will serve both the SMIS Executive Council and the information systems executive directly as a set of guidelines for positioning themselves to meet the challenges of the information systems function in the coming years.