Evaluating the impact of office automation on top management communication

Abstract

This paper is concerned with the impact of new communication technologies on the effectiveness of top management decisionmakers. Word processing technology is only the beginning of a revolution in office automation and managerial communication which will include teleconferencing, electronic mail, and wide availability of personal computer-based systems. The potential problems and benefits must be considered in the context of the overall communication system and management needs of an organization. A research methodology is described which leads to the development of organizational models within which: (1) management communication problems can be anticipated, (2) solutions can be proposed and compared, (3) specific office automation systems can be designed, and (4) the impact of alternative systems on organizational effectiveness can be predicted and evaluated.