ABSTRACT
The chapter examines three cases of microcomputer adoption to show how the four management factors affect the achievement of “comprehensive” goals. The first case is Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development which received its first microcomputer in late 1981. By 1985, the Ministry had seven microcomputers. The second case, the Ministry of Finance and Planning, Kenya, adopted five microcomputers in the ’spring of 1983. The third case is the Ministry of Finance (MOF), Indonesia. MOF adopted a few microcomputers before 1984, but the machines had limited use and negligible impact. The finance officers therefore resisted learning even the principles of microcomputer use and its application to decision-making. Potential contributions to decision-making at the top were therefore impeded by the limited training of senior and middle level finance officers. The rate of microcomputer adoption by the governments of developing countries is increasing rapidly.
