MIS effects on managers’ task scope and satisfaction*

Abstract

The impact of computers on organizations has long been a topic of special interest to management and organization theorists. Opinions vary widely on the nature and importance of information technology's influence on the structure and process of organizations. For every ounce of technical optimism created by computer scientists, a pound of social pessimism is generated by behavioral scientists suspicious of technological impacts. Over the past 20 years much dialogue has raged in emotional and speculative tones without substantial progress made in our understanding of the issue. The armchair theorists who project less human organizational life because of the computer have generally operated without the benefit of research findings. The purpose of this paper is to shed some empirical light on one hotly debated issue: the impact of management information systems on managers’ tasks and their evaluation of computer-induced changes in tasks.