Electronic Office

The combination of ever cheaper computers and improved telecommunications has produced a quiet revolution on the desks of secretaries, clerks, middle managers and executives, sometimes for good, sometimes for ill. Ian McNaught-Davis, himself the director of a major computer company, begins a six-part examination of the office technology of today and tomorrow.

Most of the computers in business are being used for relatively straightforward tasks like word processing, financial planning and simple data base management. Ian McNaught-Davis examines these various 'stand-alone' applications in the second of six programmes about the office technology of today and tomorrow.

A microcomputer on its own can perform many useful tasks in the office but as soon as an organisation starts linking computers together into a network, its whole style of working may change dramatically, with a consequent challenge to management. In the third of six programmes, Ian McNaught-Davis continues his examination of the office technology of today and tomorrow.

How do modern electronic methods affect the working habits and culture of an old established daily newspaper? Ian McNaught-Davis finds out with the help of journalists, editors and others at the New York Times.

The microcomputing revolution in business would mean little without the telephone network. Companies can exchange data electronically with each other and even with us, their customers, in a fraction of a second, and this is having a considerable effect on competition.

Computer manufacturers at present claim 'ease of use' for their machines. In reality most computers are far from easy to use. In this last programme Ian McNaught-Davis takes a look at some of the work being done to humanise the technology.