Office Automation: A Local Government Perspective

Abstract

The city of Long Beach is situated in southern California, about 25 miles from downtown Los Angeles, and has a population of approximately 370,000. The city employs 5,000 people that work in 20 different departments ranging from the management of the Long Beach Harbor to the operation of the city's airport and marinas. Over the past few years the city has increased its investment in technology significantly. This increasing utilization and reliance on technology has presented a number of critical problems and opportunities for our organization in the areas of productivity, personnel management and training, organization, and cost control. Examples of our involvement in technology abound. Some of the more significant include: word processors, data processing terminals, color graphics, micro-computers, a cable television institutional network, and plans for a city-owned and -operated telephone system. At the same time, the number and complexity of available hardware and software offerings have exploded to the point that it is almost impossible to keep track of them. The office of the is here technologically. What is needed is for organizations to catch up with technology and begin the planning process to assimilate these tools efficiently into the work place. Of primary importance is to ensure that our present and future investments in data processing, automation and communications systems have the capability of interfacing. In the summer of 1981, the city manager directed Information Services to prepare a comprehensive study regarding the acquisition of word processing equipment. Subsequently, a report on the status of word processing in the city, including a complete inventory of word processing equipment, was prepared along with a word processing manual. The report revealed that the city had already acquired 72 stand-alone word processors from seven different vendors at a capital investment of almost $600,000. As a result of this study, the city manager promulgated an administrative regulation governing the acquisition of word processing and other automated equipment. The administrative regulation established the city's first policy for automation: