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#Written by David Tam, 1996.           #
#davidkftam@netscape.net Copyright 1999#
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David Tam
Wednesday, October 23, 1996.

                             Business Press Review
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Church, Elizabeth. "Senior managers seize control of technology".
The Globe and Mail. Tuesday, October 22, 1996. B17.
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    Senior managers of many companies are now becoming directly involved in
directing technological change, where as in the past these important
technological decisions were left to the techies.  A recent poll has shown that
for close to two-thirds of Canadian companies, the responsibility of
technological direction is left to the senior management team and the CEO.  The
role of information technology has reached such a high level of importance that
any decisions of this nature can affect the success of the company.  A few
factors have led to this situation.  First, technology has become ubiquitous at
home and the work environment.  Second, the magnitude of new technological
projects means that senior executives must become involved.  Now a days,
companies are make $10 million to $50 million capital investments in
information technology.  It is therefore important for senior managers to
become technological literate in general, but not necessarily a high technical
degree.

    Many companies are realizing that information technology can be used as a
competitive advantage.  In order to do so, the senior management team must have
some awareness of the technology utilized.  In the conducted pole, 21 %
believed the main role of information technology was to reduce costs. 21 %
believed it was to provide customer information. 10 % believed it created
opportunities for a range of prices. 10 % believed it created new services, and
9 % believed it was to improve quality.

    The poll also revealed opinions on performance increases.  32 % believed
the main cause of performance increase was the Internet.  10 % believed it was
due to intranets, and 9 % believed it was due to wireless communication and
computer hardware.

    From a small business / entrepreneurial point of view,  information
technology plays a very key role in success.  Entrepreneurs in small, high
technology businesses usually have some technical background and are very in
touch with technology.  One of the keys to success in small business is in
utilizing information technology effectively.