international Journal of ktformation Management, (1986), 6 (00-00)

Book Reviews

Andrew Doswell F~~~?~~iutio?~s of business systems

New York and London: Plenum Press, 1985.221 pp. ISBN 0 306 41796 0. $18.95.

I quote from the preface:

The purpose of this book is to provide an introduction to in- formation systems in their busi- ness setting . I have assumed the reader to have no prior know- ledge concerning the mechanics of business, let alone the mecha- nics of processing information.

The book is in four parts: an introduc- tion which develops the idea of an ‘activity system’; a section on ‘Busi- ness and information’; another on ‘Information technology’; and finally ‘Business information technology’. Ninety-six of the 217 pages contain boxed illustrations. Some of these are unusual. Illustration 9.2 is ‘The walk- ing man’, a robot design done by George Moore in 1840. Others not: Illustration 6.15 is ‘The electromagne- tic spectrum’. 5.7 ‘The punched card’. The style is light but confident (‘In- formation technology services fall into three categories: comnlunication, lib- rary, and transaction’). There are IS pages on ‘Traditional technology’- Jacquard’s loom, microforms; and 23 more on ‘Principle of new technology’-AND/OR circuits, the vacuum tube and the transistor, magnetic storage. Only six lines appear on personal computers (we are told that this is a ‘clear example of rapid growth’) and no mention at all of databases and their management. The accounts of business are inevitably rudimentary: Illustration 3.1 is of ‘A basic business system’-a business

takes in raw materials and turns out products’.

Very well then. This is plainly not a book for the expert, indeed not for any reader who already has some knowledge of either of its two topics.

But it is not intended to be. There are large and important audiences in other categories and for them the book could be of considerable value. Here are some of these audiences.

Students of engineering or technol- ogy who know nothing of business but who are interested in a com- mercial or industrially-based career. Trade unionists, personnel mana- gers, bank managers and others peripherally involved with the busi- ness world who want to do some background reading informing themselves in this new area. Sixth-formers (and their teachers).

There are discussion questions at the end of each chapter and the book could readily be adapted for class use.

The author’s strength is in the clarity and readability of the writing which, together with the short paragraphs, the many sub-headings, and the sim- ple illustr~Itions, make the material easily assimilable. He has an unusual ability to provide short accounts of highly complicated subjects in ways ordinary people can absorb. Do not look for profundity. ‘It is up to us to use information technology for good or ill to create profits and benefits, or losses both financial and human, as we wish.’ Quite so.

The picture presented in Mr Dos- well’s book is of course highly simpli- fied, and also. in this reviewer’s opin- ion, the selection of material might with advantage have been made dif- ferently, less on obsolete technology, more perhaps on modern applications. But as an accessible contribution to the work of interesting and educating the large public who need to under- stand the effect IT will have on their working lives the book must be judged to be successful. It is well executed and I commend it.

E. Etzioni-Halevy. The knowledge elite and the failure of prophecy. London: George Allen B: Unwin, 1985. (Controversies in sociol- ogy, 18.) 136 pp. ISBN 0 04 301193 4. Paperback, f.5.95. Hardback, f12.9S.

Modern societies, in part, are the product of national policy decisions intended to influence or control eco- nomic, social, technological and other aspects of life. Such policies are the consequences of numerous interacting factors. Among the latter must be counted the influence and knowledge supplied by special groups of experts-economists, sociologists, sci- entists and such like-in other words, intellectuals, or the knowledge elite. The author and many others point out that economists have not made a clever showing either of controlling or predicting economic events in recent years, that the work of sociologists has not produced societies noticeably more humane, liberal or tolerant, that the activities of scientists do not result in unqualified good. She points out that the knowledge elite has cleverly analysed, but has not helped to solve, the problem of governmental over- load, the crisis of the welfare state, continuing economic and social in- equalities, the crisis of unemploy- ment, the democratic malaise or the problems of the Third World.

Such a dismal record of failure to control or predict events should, the author feels, debar members of the knowledge elite from participating in, or contributing to, the policy process as policy experts. Their specialized knowledge has no specific relevance to policy-making. Indeed ‘their know- ledge and advice has (sic) itself cre- ated problems for society’. Of course, intellectuals have the right, indeed duty, to participate in those activities intended to improve our current lot, but only as ordinary mortals not wear- ing the ‘cloak of academic compe- tence, diplomas and titles’. Claims to special competence are rendered all

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Book reviews

the more perilous because of their association with ‘mounting pressure to produce knowledge with practical re- sults’ at a time when such results ‘are becoming increasingly fraught with risks and dangers for individuals and society’.

If intellectuals, possessed of irrelevant specialized forms of know- ledge. cannot be employed for policy purposes then who will perform such tasks? The author does not attempt to answer this obvious question, or, for that matter, any of the myriad other questions arising from the expression of her views, for the disarming reason that

had I tried to offer solutions or guidelines to solutions . . 1 would be doing precisely what 1 have argued intellectuals are not qualified to do . . . I would be presenting the very type of prophecy which I claim has so conspicuously failed.

This standpoint is buttressed by the belief that ‘intellectual endeavour con- tains its own justification and does not require the legitimation of practical utility’.

What’s to be made of all this? Are our intellectual failures so complete as is made out? Are past failures suffi- cient ground for abandoning efforts to improve? Is the application of intellec- tual ‘products’ to be judged on an all-or-nothing basis‘? Is it possible to distinguish non-intellectual policy- makers from the intellectual types, or the influence of one on the other? What warrant have we for believing that non-intellectual decisions are likely to be better than the other kind? To what lengths should ‘practical util- ity’ be opposed to knowledge crea- tion? To be sure, the author’s belief that ‘intellectual endeavour contains its own justification’ is acceptable as far as it goes. Of itself, however, it leaves a great deal unsaid about rela- tionships between the activities of knowledge elites and the use of their ‘products’. Are we likely, at this stage, to reassert the disutility of ‘practical utility’ when most of the money that keeps intellectuals in jobs is that of the community? Is it necessary to oppose

the two qualities so completely and comprehensively? Why is there an ‘inherent disparity between the know- ledge that ~intellectuals~ have to offer and its usefulness for society’? What are the implications for all levels of education if these ideas are taken seriously? How exactly are policy for- mulations arrived at? And what are their intellectual, in the author’s sense, components?

The work is unsatisfactory precisely because the author deliberately re- fuses to confront the implications of her views. Without the perspective afforded by such a critical exploration it is difficult to set a scale for the ideas being discussed. In these fields relati- vities are paramount; it is marginal betterments or worsenings that are looked for. not the substitution of total success for total failure, or the reverse. The black and white nature of the discussion of the work appears to have little relevance to the ways of the world-a not surprising result for an author who obviously finds it rather tiresome for the privileged knowledge elite to have to consider such a notion as ‘practical utility’. The author’s ex- planation for not attempting this sug- gested critical exploration is defended in the book. For this reader, at least, the proffered justification represents a wilful, and meaningless. abandonment of responsibility. If the justification has merit then the book itself would not have been written. In essence it is nothing but an extended prophecy intended to achieve, ironically enough, ‘practical utility’.

There is an absorbing theme in the work. It does raise questions and, if there is anyone else around, discus- sion. For individuals in developing fields such as information science and information management, where util- ity and theory jostle uncoInfortably for dominance, there is much to pon- der in the book.

Norman Roberts CR US ~epurtment of Information Studies university of Sheffield

Stephen A. Roberts Cost management for library and in-

formation services. London: Butter- worths, 1985. 181 pp. ISBN 0 408 01376 1. f22.50.

The economics of library and informa- tion service has been a popular issue in recent literature of information stu- dies. Discussion papers and articles have tackled problems librarians are facing under ever increasing economic pressure. A new book about costs, with such chapters as needs and re- quirements, methods, and imple- mentation, raises curiosity as how this difficult and vital issue is dealt with.

The book is meant for ‘library and information service managers and stu- dents of library and information stu- dies’. From the viewpoint of library managers it is supposed to introduce basic principles of costing in libraries and information services. Disappoin- tingly, however, it is suggested that the book be read in conjunction with textbooks of cost accounting. Thus, it does not provide library managers with a desperately required brief handbook on these matters. The pre- face also apologizes for the delay in the publication of the book. It has been under development since 1978.

The first chapter describes the prob- lem area by explaining the central role of cost measurement in evaluating the economic performance of libraries. The objective of the book is to de- scribe how cost measurement might be carried out in general, in ways appropriate to a wide variety of library and information services. The reasons for economic pressures currently faced by librarians, the need for manage- ment information and performance measurements are then discussed. This and the following chapters con- tain useful lists of things to remember and every chapter has a ‘further read- ing’ section. However, instead of tens of references it would have been more useful to be presented with half-a- dozen or so evaluated references for further reading and an extended bib- liography at the end of the book.

The chapter on needs and require- ments has a clear starting point in a description of the general resource management process by identifying the needs for management informa- tion from ultimate goals to measure-

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