UNIT 13 USE OF COMPUTERS

Structure
13.0 Objectives
13.1 Introduction
13.2 Evolution of Computers
13.3 Components of Computers
13.4 Input and Output Devices
13.5 Software used in Computers
13.6 Computer Applicitions in Office Management
13.7 Advantages and Limitations of Computerisation
13.7.1 Advantages
13.7.2 Limitations
13.8 Let Us Sum Up
13.9 Key Words
13.10 Answers to Check Your Progress
13. l l Terminal Questions

13.0 OBJECTIVES
After studying this unit, you should be able to:
explain the use of computers for efficient office management
evaluate the role advantages and ;;.i:ations of computer-aided decision-making in
office management
outline the nature and uses of the common types of software used for application .
on computers.

13.1 INTRODUCTION
In unit I I you have briefly learnt about the use of computers for data processing in
office management. In this unit you will study in more detail about the computer.
You will learn about the various component units of a computer, input and output
devices, types of software used, computer applications, and advantages and
limitations of computers.

13.2 EVOLUTION OF COMPUTERS

An account of the development of computer technology is the story of a revolution
that began in the 1940s. The first commercial computer was large enough to fill up a
big room. It was so expensive that only a US Government department could afford
it. One had to be a mathematical wizard to operate it. Compare this with the present
desk top Personal Computer. Its speed, processing power and versatility is far
superior to this early machine. Even a child can operate it effectively and its price is
well within the reach of an average person. All this progress has taken place in the
incredibly short span of about 45 years. There is no other form of technology or
branch of science that matches the phenomenal progress of computer technology.
The phases of evolution of computers are commonly termed as 'generations'.
Usually, an important technological breakthrough or conceptual reorientation in the
field of hardware or software, trigger the birth of a new generation, pushing the
earlier generation into obsolescence. You may find a twenty yea? old car or 15 years
g d radio, but seldom you come across anyone using a vintage computer system. The
economics and operational advantage of switching over to a new system weigh
heavily against continuation with an older machine. You must also remember that
the msin thrust of technologicafprogress in computers is towards producing smaller,
 faster, cheaper and more user-friendly machines. In recent times, however, generation
changes have become both defused and controversial. There are s o many parallel
developments in every facet of computer technology, that it has become almost
I
impossible t o pinpoint a pacticular year or event as the beginning of a new generation.
Even now. there is a lot of debate on whether we are at the end of the fourth o r at the
beginning of the fifth gegration. For all practical purposes, however, you may safely
. assume that we are somewhere in the grey zone between the fourth and the fifth

Today, computer technology has permeated every sphere of existence of modern

man. From railway reservations t o medical diagnosis, from TV programmes to
satellite launching, from match-making to criminal catching-everywhere we witness
the elegance, sophistication and efficiency possible only with the help of computers.
The introduction of this technology t o enhance the efficrency of typical office
functions, however, has been an offshoot of its recent development. It was only made
possible when the price of a computer came down to the affordable limits of a
common office and it could be operated by an average office worker.
The growth and development of this technology, uowever, has largely by passed
India. In spite of some promising attempts at fundamental research during the fifties,
by and large, this technology has not had the desired impact on our country.

13.3 COMPONENTS OF COMPLTTERS

A computer has four major components as follows:

I) The memory to hold data and results of calculations,
2) The processor, where the calculations are performed,
3) The buses to transfer the data back and forth between the memory and
processor.
4) The input and output units to read data and write results.

The machines which help the inputjoutput, storage of information, and the
processor are collectively known as the 'Hardware'. Thus, the physical units of a
computer system constitute the computer hardware. When you look at a computer
system, you are actually lo-oking at the computer hardware. These hardware units are
directed through instructions to achieve an objective. The instructions to the
computer can be grouped together to form programmes, and a set of programmes
whrch aim at performing a task, is known as 'Software'.

A computer, like the human brain, receives informatiin, stores it, processes it, and
displays resuhs. A computer receives information from input devices, stores it in the
memory, processes this information in the central processing unit and displays the
results of processing in a useful form through output devices. The memory of the
computer like the human memory is limited. Hence, it stores most cr~tical
information in its main memory and less critical, less frequently used, and more
voluminous information in its secondary rriemory.

The Central Processing Unit is composed of the Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU) which
computes the mathematical functions like addition, subtraction, division and
multiplication. It has also a memory (like the human brain) where data to be
processed can be stored. There is also a control unit which handles the job of
controlling the entire working system of the computer comprising the input, CPU
memory, ALU, and the output devices.
The functions and component units of the computer are summarized in Figure 13.1.

45
 OIrkc MIcblna d
~ m t Procaing
a Classification of Computers

C.P.t'.
(Processor I

Inpet I>rr.irt.s
--- -Logic
- -Llnrt-
Ari~hrni~trc
Output Devices
Performs mathcm;rtic;tl
c;rlcul;~tions I . Punched
I . Punchctl cards.
cards P r ~ r n i ~Xlcmory
r\ 2. Punched
2 Punrlic~l paper tape
papcr t . 1 1 ' ~ Act\ like tlic rilcmory crr 3. Magnetic
3. M a g e t r c the hririn o f the computer. tape
tape -1. Printer
4. Kc? H o ; ~ r ~ l 5. Cathode
*
,
&
5. Magnetic r
Ray tube
Ink C.h;rri~cter ('ontrul Unit 6 . Plotters
reader
h . 0ptic;rl
---- 7. Others.

\canner\ I . Directs and contrc>ls

7 C'athodc thc ;~ctivitiesof
Ray tuhe the computer.
X. Others.

Figure I.'. I : 1)iagrammatir Representation of

a ('omouter.

The main criteria for classifying the computers are speed, cost. capability and size.
Basically, computers arc dik~dedinto four categories: 1) Microcomputers,
2) Minicomputers. 3) Malnlrame computers, and 4) Super computers.
Microcomputers: I hcse microcomputers are o n the lowest e n d of the scale. They are
normally single-n~~croprocessor, single-user systems designed for performing basic
applications like ~ o r processing.
k educational training. elementary database
manipulations and playing games. 1 - h q are mainly used in offices. homes and
schools. According to their usage. microcomputers are further classified as home
computers. personal computers, desktop computers, portable computers, etc. Look at
Figure 13.2 to get the idea of a microcomputer.

I
I
~
I

Figure 12.2: Micro Cornpuler

Minicomputers: Compared with micr ocomputers. these minicomputers are more
powerful in terms of processing power. Minicomputers are bigger in 4ze and many
users can use one simultaneously. They have greater storage capacity. They are
I mainly used in banks. colleges and medium sized organisations.
Mainframe computers: These computers tackle huge volumes 01' data. They are very
big in size and more than hundred users can use one simultaneously. They are very
fast and have immense amount of storage capacity. They are used by bigger
 organisations such as airlines, rail ticket reservations, scientific institutions, etc. They

' mainframe

Super computers: These are the most powerful of all computers. Each computer has
several proce;sors running together giving it immense speed and power. It can handle
huge amounts of calculations which are beyond human capabilities. Super computers
are used for applications such as weather forecasting, nuclear science research,
aerodynamic modelling and powerful simulations in physics and chemistry. India has
only one super computer which is used for weather prediction. They are very
expensive, costing several crores.

13.4 ,INPUT AND OUTPUT DEVICES

It is'a card having 80 columns and 10 rows, on which holes are punched at the
'
appropriate place to represent character and numbers. It is the most ancient (few
decades nld) i k u t medium. Instruction and data punched o n c a r d s were input into a
computer through a card reader. A printed card survived a number of decades
because of its simp!icity, but is on its way out now. Punched cards are being
replaced by keyboards which provided direct data entry. Look at the punched card

IIIIIII~I~~IIIIII~IIIIIIII~IIII~@IIIIIIII@IIIIIII~IIIIIIII~I~I~~~I~~~~I~I~~~
b44444484444444444~44444444444444~44444444~4444444~444444444444444444m4(4((~4
~l1111181I111ee~1~18111~~1111I11118111oe1118ee11i1e~eeee11eooeeo1o1eeeeem@o~eo~~
ee1111e8~111111~1ile~~~1e~~1~111181t111~~e~1eee1118~~eeeoe~eoe1e@o@eeee~mm~~~~
~ I ~ I I I ~ ~ I ~ ~ I I ~ ~ ~ I ~ ~ ~ ~ @ ~ ~ ~ I ~ I I ~ ~ ~ I I ~ I ~ ~ I I I I ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ I I I I ~ ~ ~ I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I

- ~ I I ~ I I I B I ~ I ~ ~ ~ ~ I I I I L ~ I L ~ ~ I I I I I I I I I I ~ ~ I ~ I I ~ I ~ I I I ~ ~ ~ ~ I I I ~ ~ I I ~ I I I ~ I ~ ~ I I ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

!!!!!!!!!!!::!::!!:::::!::::::::~::::::!:!:::::!!::::!!:!::::~!:!:::~:::::::~!!~:

FLgurr 13.4: Punched Card

47
 Omce Machina and Magnetic Tape
Dote Processing
A magnetic tape is ;I very compact medium for storing a large amount of data. A
standard tape reei is 2400 feet long, 112 inch wide and stores up t o anywhere from
20MB t o 150MB depending on the recording density it permits. Magnetic tape is
mounted on a tape drive which has a read/ write head. Look at the magnetic tape
shown in Figure 13.5:

l,igtlrf, 1.4.5: mlnync.tlc' I nyc.

I hc der.sitj , ) I 3 I ~ ~ I F I I C Ltape IC refers to tbc amount of information stored in one

inch o ; 1;ipc Icng~liand 1s measured i r i hits per inch (bpi). Standard tapes come
uith 800 bpi (11- I600 h p ~ e. \ c n though tapes u ; t h h250bpi are also common. A text-
hook ot' t>ort p ; ~ uirh p 50 iir.-\ per pagc and 40 letters per line can be
; ~ c . : o ~ ! ; : ; ~ ~ , d1 ;1 :~ ie\.
! c d t h a ! ~2 0 !rcr ot L L ~ ot
C (it'risity 625a bpi. Imagine how much
d'1t.r c a l l h i \r..ltbu ir. a 7400 ~ i . t . t I,JI)T'.'
One of thc ma;or adbanrdpe. ,); LI tape is its eco,lorllic slorage of large volumes of
data. tiowever, it has a nlajor drsadvantg: too. I t permits only serial access of data.
This i c because the read wrltc head IS fixed or i m ~ n ~ ) v a b lAs
c . a result the tape has
to be moved physically over I!?L rc:id write head till we come to the desired location
to access the required data.

Keyboard
It is one of the most common Input devices. Its operations are similar t o
conventional typewriters. The layout of the keyboard is also like that of the.
traditional typewrite-, although there are some extra command and function keys
provided. Substantial development has taken place in the keyboard design t o
minimise operator's strain. In a multi-language environmert like in India, special
keyboards have been designed t o provide character set in different languages. Look
at Figure 13.6 for the picture of iteyboard:

48 Figure 13.6: Keyboard

 Us+ of Computere
Terminal
Terminals have become very pupular interactive input and output units. A terminal,
when connected to a CPU, sends data and instructions directly Into the computer.
Terminals can be classified Into two types, namely hard copy terminals and soft copy
terminals. A hard copy terminal provldes a print-out on paper whereas a soft copy
t e r m ~ n a lprovides visual display on a screen. A soft copy termlnal is also known as a
C R T (Cathode Ray Tube) terminal. Terminals are also classified ds d u m b terminals
o r intelleent terminals depending upon provision for any intelligence or otherwise at
the termrnal. Current technology has brought about a low price differential between
intelligent and d u m b terminals. This encourages increasing use of intelligent
terminals. A graphic display terminal displays information in both character and
graphic forms. These are extensively used for C A D I C A M (Computer Aided
Design Colnputer Aided Manufacture) applications. Terminal is shown in
Figure 13.7:

Figure 13.7: Terminal

Pointing Devices
As you know, the keyboard provides facility to input data and commands to d
computer in text form. But, while working with a display based computer system, we
find tha: we are mostly pointing to some area in the display to select a menu option,
and then move across on the screen t o select subsequmt options. The keyboard
provides cursor keys for this purpose, but these tend t o be cumbersome and slow
where we have t;o manipulate the keys to effect both .horizontal and vertical
movements on the screen. There are several pointing and drawing devices which
facilitate this operation, such as the mouse, ligh! pen, trackballs, joy-stick, etc. These
are commonly in use with computer systems. Look at the mouse (pointing device)
shown in Figure 13.8:
 Printer
The kain disadvantage of a display screen is that information displayed on it is lost
from view when new information is displayed. A printer solves this problem. It
provides a permanent record of the results of processing in printed form on paper.
This is called the hard-copy output. There are several types of printers used
. on
computer based systems. Look at the printers shown in Figure 13.9:

Figure 13.9: Printers

."

The choice of printer is related to the needs of a particular application. There is a

considerable variation.in cost, speed, quality of print, etc. The most commonly used
printers with microcamputers are dot matrix printer. These are generally low cost as
compared to line printers dr page printers. These are slow, but usually adequate for
small volume output. The quality of the print of a dot matrix printer is not as good
a s that of a'daisy wheel printer, a line printer or a page printer. Daisy wheel printers
produce better quality output. However, they have a limitation as regards the
.character set available. A change in fontlsize of the character involves a change in
the daisy wheel itself. For high speed operation, line printers may be used. These
may produce 100 to 300 lines per minute compared with around 50 lines per minute
by a character printer. Line printers are usually used where large volumes of printed
output are required. Even higher speeds of 1000 lines or more per minute are
possible by using page printers. Page printers are usually the most expensive printers.
These are quieter as compared to line or character printer, and offer specialised
facilities.
A printer can take paper in the form of either single sheets or continuous stationery.
One can also'use pre-printed stationery such as paper with letterheads. Some printers
can also produce the high resolution graphics on paper by copying the contents of
the screen on to paper. This is known as 'screen dump'.

Source DPta Automation

Most recent trend for data input is towards source data automation. The equipments
used for source data automaticn capture data as a by-product of a business activity
thereby completely eliminating mal~ualinput of data. Some examples are:
1) Magnetic ink character recognition (MICR) devices are generally used by the
banking industry to read the account nu~ilbersof cheques directly and do the
necessary processing.
2) Optical mark recognition (OMR) devices can sense marks on computer readable
papers. This kind of device is used by academic and testing institutions to grade
aptitude tests where candidates mark the correct alternatives on a special sheet
of paper. These answer sheets are then directly read by the optical mark
recognition devices and the information sent to a computer for processing.
3) Optical Bar Code Readers (OBR) can scan a set of vertical bars of different
width for specific data and are used to read tags and merchandise in stores,
Magnetic Disk
9
Magnetic disks faciuate direct/ random access to data in store, as compared to the
sequential processing mechanism for data on magnetic tape. It is helpful to visualise
a magnetic disk as the track of an LP record. Disks can be broadly classified into
floppy disks and hard disks.
A floppy disk consists of various tracks which are concentric circles. A track is
.divided into sectors, which can be considered as smallest chunk available for data
storage or retrieval. Hard disk can store much more information than a floppy disk.
The capacity of hard disks, used in microcomputers, generally ranges from 20MB to
80MB. As the hard disks are ~rotectedby an outside covering, they are less prone to
dust and environment. Winchester disks are the most commonly used hard disks in
~icrocomputers.These provide substantially faster data access compared to floppy
disks and provide very large data storage for on-line retrieval. Floppy disk is shown
in Figure 13.10:
-.. .

Figure 13.10: Floppy Disk

Check Your Progress A

I) Visit a computer centre and examine the parts of a computer.
........ .....................................+..........................................
t

.........................................................................................
2) Differentiate between computer hardware and software.
..........................................................................................
.........................................................................................

3) What is a central processing unit in the computer?

..........................................................................................
.........................................................................................
.........................................................................................
4) What d o you mean by the density of a magnetic tape?
.........................................................................................
.........................................................................................
5) Differentiate between floppy disk and hard disk.
...........................................................................................
.........................................................................................
 61 State whether the fcbllowing statements are Truc o r False.
I) Normally, four persons can work simultaneously o n the microcomputer.
ii) Layout of the keyboard of a computer is similar t c the typewriter.
iii) L ~ n eprinter is faster than the rage printer.
iv) The part of the computer whrch performs the computations work is called
memory.
V) Physical u ~ n t sof a compute1 h\,irm arc called \oitw;lic.

.... - ...........
13.5 SOFTWARE USED IN COMPUTERS
- ..... ..

As discussed earlier, the term 'Hardware' rcterb to the physical components of the
computer (like cathode ray tube, keyboard. printer. etc.) which one can see a n d
touch. O n the other hand, 'Software' consists of the programnlc.; written by human
beings t o get the desired results from the computers. S o f t w a ~ cI \ primarily of two
kinds: I) system software which control^ the functicning of the ~ . ~ j r n r u t eandr,
2) application software which are 19: programmes written to ; i t ' . -\c ;i desired result
for the user. In this unit we shall discuss only about a p p i i ~ : : ~ ~-.,)i,u.:re
, ~ : ~ ? with which
users are rnainl y concerned.
Software available for computers include popular pr'c;gr;iillrtllr:g I , ~ . ~ g ~ ~ . like
rges
BASIC, COBOL and F O R T R A N . However, because of ;!!!:I: '. r-ge r ~ u n ~ b e and rs
personal use, p o w ~ r l u lapplications sofware which cl.1 ~ ~ !-cbql:lr
o t c bigniiicant
programming knowledge have been developed t o run o n ;,~!np!!.cr%.I he most
important categories 01 \of!,,\,,rt= which enable a w e : i ( 1 :\(I: :;iia)tiiouslyu ~ i ~ i ai e
computer are:

3) Spreadsheet Software
4) Graphic Software
5) Data Communication Soltn;irc.
6) Statistical Softwarc
7) Operations Research Soitu :!I c
Let us study about these so1twari.s h!-i~.ll>.

1. Database Management Software

Software package:, called 'Data H,I\~TS ~ ~ C 1 ID HI XI l~S ) ' habe heen developed t o
handle the problerns of maintaming and ~ntegr'it~ng large volumes of data o n large
computers. The DBMS package pr.:)videb a ery high level language interface which
\

can be easily learned and used b) a user who I \ not a computer programmer. In a
few hours, it is possible t o acquire enough sklllh t o use the basic features of LIBMS
packages like dBASE 111 plus or Foxbase. which are thc best selling software
currently in this class.
Like other DBMS packages, dBASE 11I provides featurrs for:

i) Creating data files o n a computer

ii) Maintaining these data files by way of' pro\ iding lunctic.. for adding, deleting,
editing and updating a given set of data items

iv) Querying o n those data files.

This package can be used for applications I ~ k ei n , r i ! ~ ~ i t r ~pr.r,onnel
?in~ rcct)rds o r
customer records, preparation of mailing lists anc! Iila;:3,o ; : i i . . , p c r ~ : i ~ ) n01b a similar
nature used rrl modern offices.

2. Word 1'rt)ressing Software

ord
i+ pr(ti?:.,\illg a o t i~i. . ,,I ' : .
 increased productivity due to word-processing, today the computer can be used as a
"cheap-typewriter"!
In order to prepare a document using a word-processing package, it has initially to
be typed into the computer's memory from the keyboard. The main advantage lies in
the ease and rapidity with which the document can be modified. When several drafts
of a letter or a report are to be typed, word processing is very economical and faster
than .manual typing. Law firms, contractors, newspaper offices, banks and
government offices, etc., are some of the major users of word processing software.

3. Spreadsheets Software
The fundamental idea of value in such packages is the concept of an 'electronic
spreadsheet'. A spreadsheet is simply a sheet of paper with rows and columns in
which one can enter data in the form of numbers and text. For example, balance
I
sheet is a spreadsheet, and a price list also is a spreadsheet. In fact most managerial
reports are spreadsheets.

4. Graphics Soaware
While spreadsheets and database packages are very useful In doing analysis, the
output of such analysis is generally in the form of tables. But the human brain is
much more adept at picking u p patterns from pictorial representations. As the old
adage says that a picture is worth a thousand words, ~t is equally true that a picture
is worth a thousand numbers. Computer accessible data can readily be converted t o
graphic form on the screen as well as on paper using dot-matrix printers o r plotters.
With plotters it is possible t o have different colours (four colours is very common).
Typical business graphics software enables data to be plotted as line charts, bar
charts, and pie charts. Sophisticated business graphics software provides for three
dimensional display and maps also.

5. Data Communications Software

In large organisations there is often a central computer for data processing which
does routine data processing. Sometimes, a manager would like to get some of this
data for procesiing on his personal computer. This is facilitated by the data -.
communications software-the personal computer can operate like the terrninal of
the maidcomputer. Using this 'terminal emulation' facility, the manager can have
access to data from his personal computer. Selected data can be 'down-loaded' into
the personal computer's memory and stored in files on dihkh. Subsequently, he can
analyse these files using DBMS or spreadsheet software. An cxample of this kind of
use would be a situation where a mainframe data processing computer has files on
sales of products, broken down by month and by region. Down loading on a
personal computer would enable the user to nnalyse up-to-date data on product
movement in different markets.

6. Statistical Software
A number of easy-to-use packages to perform standard statistical analysis are
available. Typical capabilities are frequent! tlistributions. cross-tabulations, tests for
population means and proportions. analysis of variance, contingency table tests,
regression and correlation analysis. etc. Mot.(: advanced packages would include
forecasting models, time-series analysis and non-parametric analysis.

7. Operations Research Software

Inexpensive packages are available for standl~rcioperations research models, such us
linear programming. critical path analysis. rchhources scheduling. simulation, decision
tree anal!.sis and network flows. 'l'hesc packagcx arc powerful enough to solve
problem\ of moderate size. For examplc, practical I~ncarprogramming models with
Irs4 than 100 \.ariables and around 50 corrstr.;iints can bc ~eadilysolved.
Now'adays you can find integrated softwares whiclr combine several ofthe capabilities
ot p8.rcliageslisted above. For example. 1.OTUS 1-2-3 version 2 combines
sp~cadhhcet.database, graphics and statistical cap;~hilirics.Another example 1s
FKAMIlWORK which combines word processirip. \jl1l.ittlx!?:.:-;.J : ! t a l ~ i ~iind
~e
graphics functions. I'lic ;itlvantagc .of' intcgt-:trc~i\ o : . , .
; ,,.. ::.,: !: ~::,,
j ,,.
learn to handle a variety of separate packages so that his learning time and effort is
reduced. Another advantage is that the same data can readily be passed from one
function to another. The disadvantage is that such software is expensive and makes
greater demands on the computer resources.
Electronic mail is another facility which makes it possible to send messages over
interconnected computers and thereby reduces the time taken to send a message froth
one point to another. For example, a letter will take a longer time if it is sent by
post or by person. The same letter can be sent by electronic mail system within a
couple of minutes.

13.6 COMPUTER APPLICATIONS IN OFFICE

MANAGEMENT
A computer can be put to very many uses. Some of its uses in 'Business' and
'Government' are as follows:
A computer can be applied to almost all types of accounting and technical
operations in business such as :
1) lnventory control
2) Financial and accounting applications like budgetary control and standard
control
3) Production planning and control
4) Quality control
5) Personnel applications like payroll, provident fund accounting, etc.
6) Machine capacity utilisation
7) Marketing applications like sales forecasting, invoice preparation, etc.
8) Management information system, etc.
In fact, nowadays computers are used in almost all fields of business and ind\ust.w.
Computers are used in all ministries and for almost all functions of the Government.
A few examples are:
1) Economic planning
2) Fiscal and monetary planning
3) Foreign trade control
4) Population census recording
5) Elections
6) Studies of production and employment
7) Studies of national income
8) Broadcasting
9) Tax collection
The above examples indicate the use of computers in almost all spheres of activities
in the government.

13.7 ADVANTAGES AND LIMITATIONS OF

COMPUTERISATION
You have studied in detail various aspects relating t o computers. Introduction of
computers in offices, Like all other mechanical devices, has certain advantages and
disadvantages. Let us study them in detail.
 13.7.1 Advmtages
The following are the advantages associated with computer based decis~on-making:
1) Response time is greatly reduced.
2) Large volume of data can be stored for information and decision-making.
3) Accuracy of information is considerably improved, thereby improving the quality
of the decision.
4) Problems can be handled more easily by using various operation mearch
models.
5) The cost involved in the decision-making process is reduced.
6) Greater secrecy is possible as compared to the manual file system. Hence,
chances of leakage of classified information are reduced.
7) It is possible to take quick decisions as the time for retrieval of intormation is
very fast.
8) Paper work is reduced to the minimum as all the information is stored in the
computer itself.
Emanating from the above, the following bendits may be attributed to
computerisation :
I) Availability of accurate forecasts.
2) Preparation of short-term profit plans and long-term projections.
I 3) Provision of pre-plan information, for example, in budget preparation.
4) Calculation of variances between budgeted and actual results.
5) Triggering of revised forecasts if not proceeding in accordance with plans.
6) Early warning system for monitoring activities and the signalling of n-sary
reactive plans.
7) Indication of income and cash flows by following alternate investment strategies.
8) Accomplishment of the preceding items at a great speed.
For example, these days many educational institutions process examination results
on computers. In any single year, in Uttar Pradesh state alone 13 lakh candidates go
through high school stream and 6 lakh through the intermediate stream. The
processing and publication of their results in time would not be possible without
computerisation. It is also possible to maintain confidentiality of results on computer
processing. Another example is computerised electricity billing adopted by several
State Electricity Boards. In a single state undertaking like UPSEB it was estimated
that the computerisation in Western U.P. district for electricity billing had resulted in
a considerable amount of additional revenue. This also saves on additional labour by
the office staff.
13.7.2 Limitations
Computers have played a relatively limited role as a management tool. This has been
so because decision-making has not been their central utility. They have been used
for purposes in personnel (e.g. payroll). book-keeping (e.g. accounting), technical
data (e.g. capital projects) or specific functional area (e.g. materials). Alternatively.
their usage in the offices is project-oriented to manage a specific programme of
limited time and scope (such as processing of examination result), or problem-
oriented for quick retrieval of information to meet a crisis situation of limited '
duration.
Some specific disadvantages of computerising of ofice work are as followa.
1) Communiation pp'There may be a communication gap between the computer
professional and the-user of the system. There is a familiar situation where the
computer professional is engaged in developing the computer-aided decision-
making but is not able to communicate the same to the user. The information
that the computer professional needed is called for, but the user cannot
adequately express them as he has not been accustomed to a rigorous self-
analysis. 'The computer professional works out a plan based on his own
 understanding of the user-needs. When the programmer codifies and
implemento the system, his own interpretation gets incorporated. Finally this
may frustrate the user. This can be called the "ten-minute syndrome" where I
sufficient time has not been spent between the user and the computer
professional t o get all the needs clearly conveyed and understood.
Let us take processing of examination results as an illustration t o see how the
communication gap between computer professional and the user creates a
problem. When grace marks are allocated by way of moderation, computer
professionals allocated grace marks to all students. This resulted in glaring
anomalies where some top ranking students secured more than 100% marks by
virtue of additional grace marks. It means the Controller of Examination had
not explained to the computer professional the p r d u r e of grace marks
calculation.
2) Relhnce on sewlee bwmue or computer vendon: Quite often, users are
*approached by the computer vendor who brain-washes the management into
buying his system, indicating that the system has all the solutions to the
managerial problems. The end-result is that the user gets a system which is either
too large or possesses inadequate computer power for .his needs.
There have been cases where an organisation had appointed a service bureau, for
a large sum of money, to develop a corporate MIS. After waiting one year and _#,
spending a few lakhs of rupees, the user-organisation was thoroughly d i s s a t i s f i
with the recommendations of the service bureau and did not implement it.
Lack of master plan: Most computer failures are due to la;c"k of master plans t o
which hardware acquisition, software development, and individual design can be
related. Without such a plan. "islands of mechanisation" result with little "
7-

integration between separate systems.

TISCO studied the interface of various systems Like production planning and
control system, financial control system, and sales invoicing and order processing
system. It was observed that if individual systems were developed without regard
to their mutual interfaces, the result would be an absence of communication
between the systems and the incompatibility (unsuitability) of the systems would
prevail throughout the company. This was prevented by building up sufficient
linkages among these systems and developing an integrated approach according
to a master plan. A similar approach with encouraging results was also adopted
by TELCO in their offices.
Organisation of the management information rystem: In many enterprises there
is a trend in favour of computer-aided decision-making, mainly under the user
with his own computing power. The personal computers (PCs) have made this
trend practicable, with individual databases available t o the users. Similarly,
terminals are available t o most important users to share central computing
power. In both cases (personal computers as well as terminals) the control of the
computer-aided activity has to remain with the user-manager.
Lack of good management system: For successful computer application, good
planning and control within the framework of an efficient organisational
structure is necessary. Computers are not useful when the system.of data
management is chaotic. There are moay organisations where computerisation. kas
not brought any tangible improvements because theyhave not ped.atte&tion to
systematic handling of data. -_
Managerial participation: The most critical problem in effective computer
utilisation is the need for understanding and support from top management. For
instance in Andhra Pradesh, the Chief Minister's personal interest has
encouraged the spread of computerised Management Information System (MIS)
gradually to all the district offices apart from their widespread use in state
departments and in the Secretariat. e

Even after top management support is ensured, it is necessary for the user to
participate in the design phase of computerised Management Information
System so as to avoid subsequent extensive and timaconsuming re-work. This
can be called "overnight syndrome" where users spell out their needs and expect
the computer professionals tn deliver the outputs immediately thereafter. Uttar
..
 Pradesh State Electricity Board, for instance, introduced computerised electricity
billing for the Western Districts. In the design phase, the Board dictated that
only Agra and.Ghaziabad should have pilot project before its extension to all
other districts. It is also decided to continue manual financial ledgers for at least
two billing cycles so as to generate enough confidence in the computerised
ledgers. The result was a smooth introduction of computerisation. Another State
Electricity Board introduced computerised process without any pilot project.
Them were many erroneous bills and questions were raised in the Parliament.
This has led t o the constitution of an enquiry committee under the Central
Electricity Authority to investigate the mistakes. Finally, computerised billing
was dropped, after having spent several lakhs of rupees.
,It makes good sense, when the user picks up familiarity with the computerised
management information system a t the beginning. From the point of view of the
organisation, especially if it is large, computerised MIS is as important as other
operations such as marketing, finance, etc. Indian Airlines discovered that users
like ofice staff had to be involved in order to get better and more effective
information systems. A similar approach is being followed in LIC.

7) Failure to identify information needs: ldentification of information needs is very

crucial for designing a computerised Management lnforrnation System. Recently,
a Central Government Department spent huge sums on hardware and software
to perpetuate the existing 53 management information system reports and to
build a sophisticated data bank, without first determining the real information
needs. Information which can increase the perception of users in critical areas
.(such as problems, alternative opportunities and plans) only should go into
computerised management information system. But in most cases, this aspect is
ignored.
Two state governments had built up comprehensive land record data banks
without examining the user needs. The enormous costs for building the data
banks were later found to be unjustified and both the States had to discontinue
their efforts. On the other hand, Uttar Pradesh has begun on a limited basis to
build up data bank for 200 parameters for a couple of districts. Wter
ascertaining the user needs from this experience, it is proposed to cxtend it
further to all the other districts.
P w r systems prior to computerisation: It has been observed that
computerisation of a poor system will merely increase inefficiency at an
accelerating rate. The user gets irrelevant information and bad decisions are
made sooner.
Overlooking bumrn acceptance: A computerised system quite often meets
resistanacefrom the user-organisation because people do not accept what they do
not understand. Such reasons for resistance have to be analysed and a new
attitude bfought into overcome it. Ross identitied the persons as I ) threat to the
status and ego of the concerned persons, 2) economic threat to the concerned
persons (fear of loss of job), 3) insecurity for the persons having personal powers
and political base 4) loss of autonomy and control for the concerned persons,
and 5) frayed inter-personal relations for all others.
A number of public and private sector organisations such as B.HEL, Hindustan
Zinc, NTPC, Bhadrachalam Paper Board, etc., have started a systematic training
at the top kvel for computer appreciation, at the middle level management for
specific computer applications within their own domains, and at the working
level for direct involvement in input and output quality control. It is good to see
a large number of Indian organisations going through such an elaborate process /

___-__
of -
computer initiation as there is no shortcut to it.
. .~........
& I - ~-
.
Cbcdt Your Progress B -
~ ~

- ~ .
1) pifferenriate between system software and application software.
. ,
........................................................................................
I I

..........................................................................................
..................................................%........................................ 8
 OUke Machlna a d 2) What do you mean by integrated software?
Data Pmccrln@
.........................................................................................
.........................................................................................

3) Visit an ofice which is using computers and find out the following:
i) Software used
...................................................................................
....................................................................................

ii) Problems faced by them in using the computer.

....................................................................................
....................................................................................

iii) Benefits derived by them from the use of computer.

....................................................................................
....................................................................................

4) State whether the following statements are True or False.

i) Word processing software is useful to draw graphs.
ii) Mailing lists of customers may be prepared with the help of data
communication software.
iii) By storing the information in the computer, paper work in the offices may
be reduced.
iv) Lack of masterplan' leads to islands of mechanisation where separate systems
within the organisation are not integrated.
1 V) Computers are not useful when the system of data management is chaotic.

I .m-

13.8 LET US SUM UP

Today computer technology has permeated every sphere of existence of modern
I
man. The introduction of this technology to enhance the efficiency of typical office
I functions, however, has been a offshoot of its recent development. This has become
I
possible when the prices of computers came down to the affordable limits of a
I common office and it could be operated by an average office worker.
A computer, like the human brain receives information, stores it, processes it, and
displays it. Computer receives information from input devices, stores it in the
memory, processes that information in the central processing unit and displays the
results of processing in a useful form through output devices. Various input output
devices include punched card, magnetic tape, keyboard, terminal, printer, pointing
devices, magnetic disk, etc., which have been explained in detail.
Based on the speed, cost, capability and size, computers mzy be classified as:
I) microcomputers, 2) minicomputers, 3) mainframe computers and
4) supercomputers. In this classification, microcomputers are :t the lowest end of the
scale whereas supercomputers are at the highest end of the scale.
Software refers to the programmes writkn by human beings to get the desired results
from the computers. Software is primarily of two types: 1) system software which
controls the functioning of the computer, and 2) application software which are the
programmes written to achieve a desired result for the user. The most important
categories of application software are: 1) database management software, 2) word
processing software, 3) spreadsheet software, 4) graphic software, 5) data
communication software, 6) statistical software, 7) operations research software.
 1 Nowadays several integrated softwares, which combine several of the capabilities of
packages listed above, are available.
I
1 These days computer applications are found in 'almost all spheres of activities in
business and the government. There are several advantages of using computers in the
office management. However, there are several limitations as well in the use of

i computers which can be overcome in due course of time.

13.9 KEY WORDS

Application Software: Refers to the programmes written by human beings to achieve
a desired result for the user.
Central Processing Unit: A part.of the computer which acts like the brain of the
computer to perform mathematical calculations and controls the functioning of the
whole computer system.
Hardware: The physical components of the computer such as cathode ray tube,

Input Devices: Parts of the computer which feed information to the central
processing unit.
Integrated Software: Refers to the software which combines the capabilities of
several individual softwares.
Output Devices: Parts of the computer which receive the result put out by the central
processing unit.
Software: The programmes written to get the desired results from the computer.
System Software: The software which controls the functioning of the computer.

13.10 ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

A 6) i) Falw ii) True iii) False iv) False V) False
B 4) i) False ii) False iii) True iv) True V) True

13.11 TERMINAL QUESTIONS

I) Employees in modern organisations are called 'knowledge workers'. Justify.
2) Handling of information is the basic component in the office management
process today. Do you agree'? Give reasons for your answer. '
3) What is electronic mail and Database Management system'! What are t h e ~ ruses
in connection with office management'?
4) What is integrated software? In what way it is advantageous for use in an office?
5) Give examples of the way computers can be put to use in government and
business firms.
6) What is the difference between computer Hardware and Software. Describe four
different types of software.

Note : These que&ions will help you to understand the unit better. Try to write
answers for them. But d o not submit your answers to the university for
assessment. These are for your practice only.

SOME USEFUL BOOKS

Chopra R. K., 1990. Ofjice Organisation and Management. Hinialaya Publishing
House! Delhi, Chapters 9 & 19. 59