ABSTRACT
This chapter provides some background information on clerks and office automation and sets out the hypotheses that research is designed to test. The introduction of a computer can produce quite dramatic changes in an office situation; for example, in the organisation of clerical, information and control functions. The impact a computer has on a firm will depend very much on what it is used for. Firms which merely automate existing clerical procedures and use their computers as high powered accounting machines may find that no fundamental organisational changes are caused by the new system. In contrast, firms which introduce comprehensive integrated data processing systems and use their machines to rationalise various business functions are likely to find that the structure of their company has been dramatically altered. In the computer field, managers, computer manufacturers and consultants often appear content to do a partial analysis of the effects of electronic data processing.
