Abstract
The search for increased productivity has led to a great many claims about how it might be accomplished. Nowhere have the claims been more brazen and yet less well supported empirically than those made on behalf of the technologies designed to support office work. The paper examines some of the arguments and claims made, suggesting that most of them are off target. While the new technologies may be of substantial value, the emphasis should beon increased effectiveness, not on greater efficiency. Only then are the visions of the future likely to be fulfilled.
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David W. Conrath is Professor of Management Sciences at the University of Waterloo. He was formerly Assistant Professor of Industry and Operations Research at the University of Pennsylviania. He has published more than fifty articles in such journals as: Management Science, Computer Networks, Behavioral Science, Canadian Medical Association Journal, New York State Journal of Medicine, Health Services Research, etc. He has been the founder and initial director of the Centre for the Evaluation of Communication-Information Technologies.
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Conrath, D.W. White collar productivity: The search for the holy grail. J Bus Ethics 3, 29–33 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00381710
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00381710