ABSTRACT
Computers have grown in importance within modern organizations from an obscure back-room tool to a dominating feature of the whole organization. In this chapter we consider the ways in which information technology is managed; the central role its use now plays in enabling organizations to compete in the marketplace (or perform a socially useful role in the case of non-profit organizations); and how the planning of IT has become central to the strategy of the whole organization, often leading to its total reorganization. The consequences of this are explored in an analysis of the political forces unleashed within organizations by such changes, and of the likely transformation in the nature of organizations and the role of managers as a consequence of IT.
