How can we harness the power of the computer, not just as a toy (and they are fun) but as tools to make real the imagined productivity promised? A real story: Sporty’s Flying Shop located near Cincinnati, Ohio provides various needs and wants for the general aviation public -- those who fly private planes. All day long, orders pour in through the mail and over the Internet. Around 3 PM, all workers including management (and the CEO) stream into their attached warehouse and, by hand, fill orders. They get articles from bins and prepare them for shipment. Inventory and billing information are processed on their computer system. The author of the article, J. Mac Clellan writes:
An interesting part of the operation is where the new economy—the order generating computer system—meets the old economy of actually delivering the supplies that pilots have ordered. J.
MacClellan |
The right mix of computer speed and human decision making skill makes Sporty’s a very real, productive, successful business. This situation also promotes another norm or value for design—that of justice. Although each member of the company has a specific even hierarchical role up to 3 PM, they become as equals as they pick products and prepare them for delivery. This also promotes community -- another facet of justice that, in turn, is an important element in another design norm – care. During part of each day, all of Sporty’s employees are equal and depend on each other to get the job done. Love and care of neighbor occurs in a needful, natural way.
When we realize that communication is not transmittal of facts per se but is that which requires response and commitment, we can start to utilize computers in systems that work productively. The orders coming to Sporty’s via the computer, etc., are not seen by employees as just information but as a need requiring response and commitment to the task at hand – meeting customer requirements. It is the task not the tool that has their focus. They depend on the computer to do routine, novice-like work, while they depend on themselves (experts) to make sure, in the end, that customers, people like themselves, are satisfied.
Also, Sporty’s system has the appropriate amount of flexibility in it to meet exceptional demands; for example, they can easily make substitution decisions when the exact product ordered is not available. Flexibility is important, as it does not tie crucial business goals (customer satisfaction) to the proper functioning of the novice-like computers that are not always dependable. Having the flexibility of human (and computer) back up systems was important in banking, delivery of electricity over the nation’s power grids, air traffic control, and so on, when there was concern that computers would not function as 1999 turned to 2000. It seems computer systems that include human decision-making are more flexible (and dependable) than those that rely on the computer alone. Such systems can handle contingencies such as stopping on the green when warranted or closing a sale when the tag on the box is missing.