Abstract
Computing has become a general purpose tool for American local governments, spanning such activities as monitoring departmental expenditures, paying employees, monitoring sick leave, sending utility bills, analyzing community demographic data, locating fire stations, allocating manpower, and forecasting the fiscal impacts of urban development.1 Yet, the performance of computer technology in American local governments has been disappointing. Time and again, research has indicated that many of the expected benefits of computing are not being realized by most local governments.2 For this reason, much research has focused on ways to improve the performance of computer technology in organizations.3 While a wide array of recommendations has been generated by this research, many recommendations are contradictory, and most are based on case studies in a very limited number of governmental settings. The aim of the present study was to test empirically the various recommendations by using survey data that was systematically gathered in 42 American cities in
Highlights
This study concludes that the single most important policy influencing the success of computing is a commitment to advanced computer technology
Cities have generally implemented systems that are quite sensitive to the work environment of users. This human relations approach may well explain why we have found from our 2,636 user questionnaires widespread support for computer operations and a general belief that computing improves the work environment of local government personnel
Toward Creative Systems Design (New York: Columbia University Press, 1974); Richard L
Summary
The more advanced the prove the performance of computer technology in technology, the greater the payoffs from the computer's applicaorganizations.[3] While a wide array of recommendations has been generated by this research, many recommendations are contradictory, and most are based on case studies in a very limited number of governmental settion. Other policies, such as user involvement and decentralization of computing, are important too, but currently they appear to have secondary importance in comparison with the state of the technology's development.
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