INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY, POWER AND MANAGERS

Although the most significant economic benefits of using new information technology in organisations will come from increasing the productivity of well‐paid managers, research has centred on its effects on secretaries and clerical workers. The authors explore implications for managers, contrasting the social realities of organisations and information with the tacit assumptions of the classical models upon which systems design is often based. This analysis suggests that systems incorporating unrealistic assumptions may not allow middle managers to exercise sufficient autonomy, leading to a cycle of de‐skilling and alienation, while exerting destructive stresses on top managers. Achieving the full potential of the technology will require a greater awareness of organisational realities and the open negotiation of the bases of power and authority.