STRATEGIES FOR TOMORROW: AN EXECUTIVE SEMINAR IN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP85B00457R000500020025-9
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: December 21, 2016
• Document Release Date: September 22, 2008
• Sequence Number: 25
• Publication Date: November 15, 1983
• Content Type: REPORT

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Strategies for Tomorrow: An Executive Seminar in Information Technology
(Sponsor: Wang Laboratories. At: Boston, Ritz-Carlton Hotel, 7-8 Nov 83)
Excerpts
I. Duke Sutherland: Office of the President, Wang Laboratories
Office automation (_OA). is a management process, not a technology
process. The. human. is the information processing system; the
office is an extension of the human.
The'iridustrial'society is past; the information society is the future.
Integration of technology and organization is the goal. In the end,
you change the way you do business.
OA has a technical focus but, not just ADP; the environment (l.ighti.ng,
heating, furniture, aesthetics) is part of it. Again - the focus is
on the human.
Top management must oversee facility planning, human resources planning
and office automation: these are the interactive elements.
II., Dr. Michael Hammer: President, Hammer & Co. (Harvard faculty, on leave)
Difference between administration and management is that between main-
- ..tenance and innovation.
? Automation is not the word for the 80's - it was for the 50's. The focus
is not cost reduction but performance improvement; the focus is on the
user. On effectiveness - not efficiency.
? Phase I automation was back-office processing; administration; the main
frame compute-".
? Phase II was front-office managerial; the mini computer and PC.
? Pase III will be the user; innovation; networks.
? Information systems are not just for back-office processing or for manage-
ment but to re-define the business.
? Don't automate an office; do improve organizational performance. Don't
try it at the. corporate level; do it at the departmental level. Begin by
team building: with line and technical people.
? System architecture includes: 1) the personal appliance - tied to;
2) the departmental information system (this is where the action will be
for the next 5.years [The structure of the computer systems should mirror
the organization]); 3) the corporate infrastructure-providing the networking,
the mainframe.
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? Central Control of procurement is outdated but total independence is
not desirable. Two or three vendors are best: all are equally nervous
and equally benefit from the shared orders.
? Don't buy a product only but buy a long-term arrangement.
? The key to success is how well people are considered: sensitivity to
their concerns & feelings; informed consent; participation; incentives.
? There is a new role for data processors. They are the consultants, the
helpers. A new mind-set is required. So too the users-manufacturers need
a new mind-set.
Senior management role: strategic direction; support; set the climate for
investment to change. Preferably, be a role model - not sitting at a
terminal all day but take the lead. Begin now.
III. Continental Illinois Bank Case Study: Louis Mertes, Executive VP
? Tied dumb terminals to more complex ones to the main frame. A single ter-
minal is the long-range goal.
? Totally underestimated the training and hand-holding of professionals
required. Included are electronic mail; audio mail, personal computing.
Tried and abandoned teleconferencing.
IV. Peter McElroy: Director, Strategic Planning Wang Laboratories
? Senior management must: a) set objectives (will there be a terminal
on every desks will all use a common electronic mail system);
b) decentralize information management; c) coordinate multiple
technologies; and d) re-deploy technical staff resources.
Leery of single communication protocol - believe creative movement just
beginning in communications.
? Software is lightyears behind hardware.
V. Dr. James McKenney - Harvard University
? Information systems were seldom on top management agendas. -- now, in 200
companies surveyed, quarterly or monthly.
? In future, the bulk of software will be purchased -- and by users.
? What works in one industry won't work in another -- and that's as it is and
should be.
? Expect one million information systems in the U.S. Graduates are going to
software houses, not hardware; expect their salaries to exceed $100K --
and late teens/early 20's are most creative periods.
Technology architecture is going in two directions: 1) user oriented;
2) utility technologies (central mainframe shops).
? Telecommunications will be the major opportunity for the late 80's for utility
systems. Competition for telecommunications personnel will be/is staggering.
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? Aside re user: mis-use of analyst time writing code or learning contracting
for procurement.
? Intelligence-based systems are deterministic-not evolutionary. Office pro-
ductivity improves if the work force is involved in the system decision
process.
? Often, secondary benefits become more substantial than the expected
primary benefit.
? The pilot project is the fundamentally smart way to go.
? Standards development: one way is not to impose but develop from within.
A cultural change is involved. The leadership addresses roles, rituals,
tools and taboos.
? The information manager is the supporter of change; the user is the
leader of change and designer of the work station.
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