ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the costs, both apparent and hidden, of installing a computerized system; the various schemes available for the purpose; training requirements; adaptation problems; and the essential prerequisite of management and staff acceptance. The true effectiveness of a computer may be best explained by considering its limitations. The main requirement is that the computer must be programmed to do whatever task is planned. Full effectiveness of a computer system is achieved through a full and accurate specification of the requirements of all users of the programs. The oversimplified program ignores important aspects which could be added as by-products of the current operation without too much extra difficulty. The computer system and organization structure interact and must be carefully blended. A system imposed on the members of an organization may suffer from one or more of the dangers of the authoritarian approach.
