Showing papers in "Harvard Business Review in 1983"

The information archipelago--plotting a course.

Abstract: Information systems applications in some aspects resemble those of a decade ago--they cost a lot, are technically complex, and take a long time to develop. Moreover, as the technology continues to change rapidly, managers find themselves continually squeezed by a shortage of the technical staff and financial resources they need to keep up. A company can use knowledge of its particular strengths and weaknesses in regard to IS to steer its way onto a safe course, say these authors in the second article of a series dealing with the "islands" of information: computers, telecommunications, and office automation (see "The Information Archipelago--Maps and Bridges," HBR September-October 1982). Setting a safe course requires a new planning approach, for which the guideposts are the company's familiarity with any one technology, the importance of the technology to corporate strategy, and certain business characteristics such as size, complexity of product lines, and the general approach to corporate planning.

How to rank computer projects.

Abstract: When it comes to deciding which project proposals should get the nod, top executives, information systems managers, and users often have conflicting views. None of these should make the choice alone, says this author. With the IS manager as coordinator, users and top executives can contribute to an eight-step process that will reconcile differing perspectives and permit an orderly ranking of projects. Such a structured approach helps managers to make a more effective use of IS resources because it includes other elements relative to the priority-setting process, rather than just those that are purely financial.

How to rank computer projects.

Abstract: When it comes to deciding which project proposals should get the nod, top executives, information systems managers, and users often have conflicting views. None of these should make the choice alone, says this author. With the IS manager as coordinator, users and top executives can contribute to an eight-step process that will reconcile differing perspectives and permit an orderly ranking of projects. Such a structured approach helps managers to make a more effective use of IS resources because it includes other elements relative to the priority-setting process, rather than just those that are purely financial.

Should not-for-profits go into business?

Abstract: To the manager of the not-for-profit organization, the idea of entering into a business venture might seem heretical. The precedent has been set, however, and numbers of not-for-profits are currently earning substantial amounts of income through long-term for profit enterprises that have continuity with the organization's prime mission. The author of this article cautions managers of not-for-profits that an earned-income venture can be a miserable failure unless the organization meets certain conditions: a product to sell, managerial talent, trustee support, an entrepreneurial spirit, and money or the ability to get it. He then describes nine issues managers should consider before undertaking earned-income projects.

Buying software off the rack. Packages can be the solution to the software shortage.

Abstract: The rapid pace of the computer revolution may well be slowed by the lack of suitable software. Though computers should be increasing business efficiency and productivity, many companies do not have the software that would enable them to enjoy these benefits. Packaged software can close the gap for both large and small companies. Here are some guidelines for making the decision whether to buy a package and for avoiding trouble once the package is installed. The article also describes the features a company should look for in packaged software and the optimal provisions of a software contract.

Preventive medicine for hospital costs.

Abstract: The reality of soaring health care costs has hospital administrators facing the prospect of mandatory state regulation or voluntary restraint on their financial expenditures. In either event, whether formulated and implemented through external rate setting or internal cost containment, managers should be preparing to adjust their hospitals' management control systems to the emerging requirements of tighter budgetary limitations. The authors discuss the implications such cost-containment programs have for hospital control systems, identify the five cost-influencing variables that must be monitored, and consider the critical importance of incorporating attending physicians into the management control effort.

Punch out the time clocks.

Abstract: Today's work environment is full of contradictions. On the one hand there aren't enough jobs to go around and on the other some people who have jobs would trade pay for time off. Some managers, at least managers of one-fifth of the labor force, are resolving this contradiction with an elegantly simple solution. They are installing some version of alternative work schedules: flexitime, permanent part-time jobs, job sharing, compressed workweeks, and work sharing, which give employees more control over their professional and personal lives and give employers, for instance in an economic downturn, a way, a way to keep experienced workers on the job without straining budgets. The authors of this article, both of whom have helped develop alternative work schedules, describe the five forms and how numerous employers across the country are adapting them to their purposes. They predict that eventually most U.S. employees will be working under some form of the new schedules.

Managing for efficiency, managing for equity.

Abstract: It is a truism that not all managers do the same things in the same ways Less often recognized, however, is the fact that the essential tasks and goals of management are not everywhere the same Indeed, so unlike each other are the two primary systems of management--the "technocratic" and the "political"--that they consistently vary in the implicit contract offered to participants, the career path of members, the use of organizational structure, the choice of purpose, and the allocation of resources, but also provides a conceptual framework for understanding why they happen and what can be done to prevent their happening in the future

Case of the disputed dismissal.

Abstract: Managers in the United States, acting in anger, indignation, frustration, or even error, fire many capable employees every year. In some of these cases, the managers act unfairly. Perplexing questions arise when the story of an unjustified discharge catches the public's eye. Does an organization have an obligation to manage equitably as well as efficiently? It is conceivable that every man and woman has a right to a job, and, if so, is this right a factor that managers must weigh in deciding to lay off an employee who doesn't "fit in"? The employee in this case "Adrian Reese," is an outspoken health official who irritates the city manager and members of the "Marshall City" board of health. Like most HBR cases, this is based on a real situation. As the problem unfolds, readers may find the circumstances and the characters familiar. And yet they may be surprised at the outcome, as truth is stranger than fiction.