The purpose of this review of the literature is to formulate an overview of theoretical projections and the results of empirical research in the area of evaluating the impact of new technologies on work and its organization.
Computer technology has recently been applied tothe automation of office tasks and procedures. Much ofthe technology is aimed not at improving the efficiencyof current office procedures, but at altering the nature ofoffice work altogether. The development of automatedoffice systems raises a number of issues for the organization.How will this technology be received by organizationmembers? How will it affect the definition oftraditional office work? What will be its impact onindividuals, work groups, and the structure of the organization?This paper presents a descriptive model andpropositions concerning the potential impacts of officeautomation on the organization and it stresses the need,when implementing automated office systems, to take abroad perspective of their potential positive and negativeeffects on the organization. The need for further researchexamining the potential effects of office automation isemphasized.
This report presents information on general perspectives on technological change, work attitudes, technological change and health, work processes and procedures, and user acceptance.
Every pioneer takes large risks, hoping that the new frontier he seeks will provide the benefits of independence and good fortune. Don Tapscott is such a pioneer in the area of office automation. He has been a true pioneer, having entered the field in its early days and taken the risk of working not in technol ogy, which was fashionable, but in the field of the problems of organizations, which was less fashionable, but in many ways more important. The utilization of computers for data processing, accounting, inventory, and other "bread and butter" applications is now well entrenched in our society and culture. The process of designing such systems tends to focus on the needs of the company and the constraints of the equipment, leading to efficient systems with little tolerance for the variety of people who must use or interface with them. Within the office automation area, these methods do not work nearly as well. The frequency and amount of human interaction in the office environment, and the wide variety of situations and reactions there in, demands a different design methodology.
Study of people's ability to adjust to technological change; provides guidelines for the design of user-friendly office systems. Examines visual, postural, psychosocial, & health concerns related to automation.
Provides a bibliography on the subject of productivity in the office environment. In addition to the abstracts, it contains an original index of references which includes definitions or usage for the terms as well as the articles to which they refer.
USA. Study on office automation in the insurance business from 1954 to 1963, and on further developments and their implication for employment opportunities and job requirements. Occupational structure and human resources planning in EDP units. The woman worker in EDP jobs. Shift work. Impact of EDP on employment trends, specifically productivity and selected occupations. Forecast for the next decade. Bibliography pp. 68-71.
"This report investigates the consequences of introducing an integrated computer system into an ongoing office environment. The research was conducted under the Office Communications Systems (OCS) program that was established by the Canadian federal government in 1980. This $12 millions project was a joint initiative of the Minister of Communications, the President of the Treasury Board, and the Minister of Regional and Industrial Expansion. The primary goal of the project was to provide an opportunity for Canadian computer companies to design, test and have the effects of their products evaluated within designated field-trial sites. To fulfill this mandate, developmental hardware and software products were introduced into five different federal government departments"--Executive summary.