trophic.There is currently widespread awareness that Y2K involves more than the failure of an individual’s personal computer, or an incorrect date in a spreadsheet. “It is now widely understood that Y2K could affect the lives of individuals, but exactly in what manner is unknown (Associated P 1).” Today computers are used to operate most mechanical equipment that affects every aspect of our lives. In 1991 the IRS has 88,000 programs on eighty mainframe computers to debug. By the end of 1997 they had cleaned up only two thousand programs. At that rate it would take the IRS 264 years to debug all 88,000 programs.Y2K is a technical problem that cannot be solved by technology, the first ever non negotiable deadline, a systematic crisis that no one can solve alone, a crisis that transcends boundaries and hierarchies, and an opportunity to simplify and redesign major systems (Peterson 1).” How bad is the Y2K problem? Many studies have been done to estimate the cost of addressing this problem. The Y2K problem would not be as serious today had business and government leaders dealt with the situation earlier. Consequently, a race against the clock is underway. For many organizations work has not even begun!Why isn’t the Y2K being addressed? The biggest problem today is the lack of concern by many businesses and governments to take this problem seriously, in spite of literature available. Many people do not understand how a simple computer glitch could affect the world. Some business owners are aware of the problem but may be keeping silent in hopes of not spooking their stock. It is possible that many of our elected leaders do not see the potential of social and economic disaster.What could happen? Your telephone service is terminated because of errors in data calculations, your driver’s license expires because the motor vehicle department cannot recognize dates after December 31, 1999, the depa...
