ABSTRACT

This chapter considers how management functions and skills are evolving with the use of computer-based management information systems. The literature on management information systems deals primarily with system design and implementation, and makes little comment on how management roles and responsibilities may be affected in specific organisational contexts. The chapter presents the results of a study of hotel computing systems which produced management information that was inaccessible using manual routines. Confidence in decisionmaking is increased, performance becomes more 'visible', and managers are pressured for rapid responses to events. The chapter is concerned with the evolving relationship in which computerised information systems and management development are locked. Managers who have little experience of these systems make demands for, and use, information in ways different from those who have significant understanding. The chapter concludes that managers require three key capabilities, concerning knowledge of how computer-based information systems function, ability clearly to specify information needs, and judgement in using new information.