This is one of those rare papers that examine a complex subject competently and then give the reader a clear agenda for action. Pyburn is interested in the dilemma presented to the MIS executive in the management of microcomputer use. The manager can be too tight in his or her control and users will go “underground.” Yet a laissez-faire approach can lead to ineffective use of the PC. A field study of eight companies was conducted, and Pyburn concludes that there are two distinct frameworks operating--application-based and evolutionary. The application-based framework assumes that it is reasonably clear how PCs will be used for personal, departmental, and corporate computing. The risks of failure grow as personal applications move to departmental, and then to corporate, use. Controls are established for these three areas, and the organization is able to control the interfaces on an application-specific basis.
The evolutionary approach, which assumes a sequence that includes technical training, applications learning, management learning, and maturity, pits the PC users against the more experienced MIS function until maturity is reached. Pyburn notes that maturity is rarely found (none of his eight companies were “mature”).
The reader will find Pyburn’s summaries of the eight companies revealing and, probably, familiar. His data are condensed for easier comparisons. And his clear elaboration of the two frameworks gives organizations an option for examining their plans for the future more effectively.
Pyburn concludes his evaluation of the mature phase this way:
(1) Users have learned how to acquire and use computers (without having to rely on the “guidance” of the MIS big brother).
(2) Users have identified an entire range of new applications, and they have learned the trials and tribulations of developing applications that really satisfy their needs.
(3) MIS has learned how to manage personal computer use in the sense that it has identified planning, control, standards, and support organizations that are appropriate for the firm’s newly sophisticated users.
