The term "Office Automation" implies much and means little. The word "Office" is usually reserved for units in an organization that have a rather general function. They are supposed to support different activities, but it is notoriously difficult to determine what an office is supposed to do. Automation in this loose context may mean many different things. At one extreme, it is nothing more than giving people better tools than typewriters and telephones with which to do their work more efficiently and effectively. At the opposite extreme, it implies the replacement of people by machines which perform office procedures automatically. In this book we will take the approach that "Office Automation" is much more than just better tools, but falls significantly short of replacing every person in an office. It may reduce the need for clerks, it may take over some secretarial functions, and it may lessen the dependence of principals on support personnel. Office Automation will change the office environment. It will eliminate the more mundane and well understood functions and will highlight the decision-oriented activities in an office. The goal of this book is to provide some understanding of office . activities and to evaluate the potential of Office Information Systems for office procedure automation. To achieve this goal, we need to explore concepts, elaborate on techniques, and outline tools.
