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Involvement in the effective design and use of computer‐based information systems is essential for the manager of the 1990s. To be most effective, systems must be designed for the requirements of the manager‐user. Too often there is a communication gap between managers who are too busy, uninterested or unwilling to become directly involved, on the one hand, and on the other, the consultant who is more usually engrossed in the special nature of the system. The author aims to provide an up‐to‐date and integrated treatment of organisation and management, as well as to emphasise the utilisation of management information systems to improve the art of managing.

The computer systems developed during the 1960s and 1970s made very little impact on management decision. Management Information System design was constrained by three factors — the technology was large‐scale and inevitably centralised and controlled by data processing staff; the systems were designed by specialist staff who rarely understood the business requirements; and managers themselves had little knowledge or “hands‐on” experience of computers. In the 1980s a greater awareness of the need for planning and better use of personnel information, coupled with the development of distributed processing systems, has presented personnel management with opportunities to use computing technology as a means of increasing the professionalism of practising personnel managers. Effective use will only occur if the implementation of technology is matched by appraisal of skills and organisation within personnel departments. Staff will need a minimum level of computing expertise and some managers will need skills in modelling, particularly financial modelling. The relationship between personnel and data processing needs careful redefining to build a link between the two and data processing staff need to design and communicate an end‐user strategy.

The significance of computer technology in terms of industrial relations is an area which has been neglected in the proliferation of literature accompanying the computer boom. This omission is becoming increasingly serious. By April 1976, the National Computer Index recorded a total of 9,245 computers in operation within the UK, in industry, the commercial and service sectors, public administration and defence. During the decade 1965–74 the population of computer installations grew by more than five and a half thousand and because this figure includes bureau facilities, it certainly understates the growth in the number of end‐users who have come to rely on computer technology. More importantly, the degree of this reliance has increased as the technology has been applied to a wider range of organisational functions. The growing dependence of organisations on the computer has enhanced its strategic position in the work process. Control over the functioning of the computer thus constitutes a source of increasing power which may well be used by employees as a powerful tool in negotiation.

Organisations either keep spares for their own use, or‐for‐sale to other organisations. In either case, the ultimate need is to be able to replace worn or defective parts in operational machinery or equipment. In an economic sense, spares are kept to meet the needs of the situation in the cheapest way.

There is much discussion of “distributive processing” in computer management circles, but little agreement as to what the term means. Three conditions that must be met for distributive processing to exist are suggested, and it is shown (through two case studies) how different companies may move towards distributive processing in different ways. Two main routes, via distributed and decentralised processing, are identified, and it is suggested (using Mintzberg′s work) that the route a company takes is significantly influenced by the nature and structure of the organisation.

THE rôle of the data processing manager in terms of managing a data processing function, of the computer itself, and of people responsible for systems analysis and design, programming and operation, appears self evident. However, it provides particular management problems which must be taken into account when selecting the manager. Furthermore, this selection process must also take account of his rôle as an innovator; the rôle in which he directly affects the established management pattern of activities and the means of achieving management objectives.

This monograph defines distributed intelligence and discusses the relationship of distributed intelligence to data base, justifications for using the technique, and the approach to successful implementation of the technique. The approach is then illustrated by reference to a case study of experience in Birds Eye Foods. The planning process by which computing strategy for the company was decided is described, and the planning conclusions reached to date are given. The current state of development in the company is outlined and the very real savings so far achieved are specified. Finally, the main conclusions of the monograph are brought together. In essence these conclusions are that major savings are achievable using distributed intelligence, and that the implementation of a company data processing plan can be made quicker and simpler by its use. However, careful central control must be maintained so as to avoid fragmentation of machine, language skills, and application taking place.

Regardless of the size of the firm, the sector of the transportation industry or the style of management, distribution runs on information. The sheer size and volume of today's distribution activities require a high degree of commitment to computer‐based technologies to support managerial decisions on a continuous basis.

EDITORIAL It's unfortunate that my first words as editor of VINE have to be the bad news that it is no longer to be available free of charge. In the accompanying note I have gone into detail about why this is so, and all I want to do here is to say that I hope the £10 a year won't deter too many people from reading VINE.

The evolution of electronic information technologies in a Midwest state in the USA are discussed and this evolution is compared to national trends for processing information. Information management technologies are now in the third stage of evolution. Over the next five years, the technology for handling information will fully integrate voice, data, and video technologies. This integration has profound implications for how organizations manage its enactment and how organizations will adapt to their internal and external environments. In order to manage these enactments and adaptations, a new way of planning is required. Traditional “bottom up” and “top down” planning methodologies must be integrated into a planning method that defines the knit between information system architectures and resources with corporate policies and business plans. The article presents a model of this integrated planning approach for practitioners and policy makers who are responsible for designing organizational systems.