2 at a cost of 400m because it could not meet the Stock Exchange's requirements, the reversion to manual systems by the manufacturers of Parker Knoll furniture and so on. The Parker Knoll example is of particular interest because it is an example of de-automation producing dramatic efficiency gains. Parker used to monitor the movements of 1700 parts on an inventory control network with 15 shop-floor computer terminals. These have been replaced by a basic manual card system (adapted from the Japanese KANBAN system) whereby a card is placed in each pile of stocks. When stocks fall sufficiently for the card to appear, staff arranges for a further batch to be made. The firm is also replacing modern high technology machine tools by older models. Although the high technology machines were faster and could do several different jobs, set-up times were in hours rather than the minutes required for the older machines. The result of these changes has been a production increase of 20%, fewer mistakes, and lead times reduced from 12 weeks to less than 3 days. The key moral from this example is that automating inefficient methods, as Parker did previously, does not produce benefits. The methods and systems must be right before any attempt is made to automate them and no IT system should be installed unless it is demonstrably better than the best manual method. The proper, planned use of IT can, of course, be highly beneficial but benefits do not automatically accrue. Changes Affecting Organizations A common feature of the environment in which all types of organization operate is the presence of an apparently ever-accelerating rate of change. Management, and the information systems that support them, have to learn to deal with change and to adapt their operations and systems and the organizations themselves in order to survive and prosper. Typical of the changes taking place are the following: More competition: All types of organizations face greater ...
