What Technology Can Do If We Let It


Copyright 1990 CAUSE From _CAUSE/EFFECT_ Volume 13, Number 2, Summer 
1990. Permission to copy or disseminate all or part of this material is 
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                 WHAT TECHNOLOGY CAN DO IF WE LET IT
                            by John Southard

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John Southard is Vice President for Computing Resources at Pratt
Institute, where he is responsible for administration of all computing
facilities and computing aids for instruction, research, and
administration. His educational background combines studies in
technology with a Ph.D. in psychology.

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One of the predictable results of advances in technology has been the
tendency to have unrealistic expectations for these silicon tools. What
do we sometimes expect technology to do that it really can't do, and
what can technology help us do?

Unrealistic expectations

Technology can't make up for poor management. Technological tools
can't do what we are unable to get our organizations to do. We must not
expect that the use of a particular computing strategy will compensate
for a problem whose real source lies in poor policies, ill-defined
procedures, or lack of discipline. Technological tools must be
incorporated into a comprehensive management package to gain their full
effect.

Technology alone can't make us change the fundamental way we do
business. Given to inflexible individuals who are not open to changing
their work process, technological tools will be used simply to automate
the current way of doing business. Given to receptive people who can
challenge themselves and are sensitive to change, they can lead to new,
empowering, and enlightened ways of doing business. Technology is a
perfect mirror -- it reflects the strengths, and regrettably the
weaknesses, of the organizations and people who use it.

Much as we would like it to, technology can't define itself. It
can't set directions. It can't lead. It is quite easy, and in vogue, to
aggressively use technology without having first evaluated what it is we
expect it to do for us. Often the payback is not there, for the
fundamental behavioral or organizational changes needed were not in
place to begin with. Just as throwing money at a problem doesn't make it
go away, we must not fool ourselves that throwing technology at our
problems is all that is needed.

Most importantly, technology can't stop us from making mistakes. A
very wise administrative computing director constantly reminds me that
unless we use computers correctly, they merely serve to help us make the
same mistakes, only faster.

The enabling power of technology

Technology can help us make better decisions. Technology can assist
in the collection, digestion, presentation, and dissemination of
information from many sources. With the appropriate information, we can
make informed and better decisions, more quickly.

Technology can help us deal with change. When defined properly
within the context of our organization's mission and goals, technology
can help us to identify and define problems, analyze solutions, and
implement changes needed to keep up with the changing world around us.

Technology can greatly facilitate and often automate our most
mundane tasks. In doing so, it frees us up to look beyond the routine to
the creative, and by using the inherent strength of technology to
present information in visually exciting and powerful ways, even mundane
tasks are often rendered more interesting.

Most importantly, technology offers an opportunity to look at
things differently. It provides our organizations with an impetus and,
in some cases, a reason for changing. Its application can prompt us to
assess our organization's behavior, policies, and procedures in light of
new methods.

Two costly technological sins are to expect technology to make up for a
lack of leadership and poor management, and to fail to use the
opportunity to use technology to change or update the way we think,
work, or do business. These tools, as wonderful, powerful, and exciting
as they are, are only as good as the people who use them. Too often we
use technology simply to automate old, outdated, "comfortable" practices
and fail to seize the moment to change. In doing so, we also fail to
realize the potential power and return on our investment in technology.
With change as a constant and in recognition of the blinding pace of
technological innovation, organizations that use technology to update
not only their systems but also their culture stand the best chance of
achieving their goals. Therein lies one of the major values of
technology.

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