Exploiting CAFS-ISP

In the summer of 1982, the ICLCUA CAFS Special Interest Group defined three subject areas for working party activity. These were: 1) interfaces with compilers and databases, 2) end-user language facilities and display methods, and 3) text-handling and office automation. The CAFS SIG convened one working party to address the first subject with the following terms of reference: 1) review facilities and map requirements onto them, 2) "Database or CAFS" or "Database on CAFS", 3) training needs for users to bridge to new techniques, and 4) repair specifications to cover gaps in software. The working party interpreted the topic broadly as the data processing professional's, rather than the end-user's, view of and relationship with CAFS. This report is the result of the working party's activities. The report content for good reasons exceeds the terms of reference in their strictest sense. For example, we examine QUERYMASTER, which is deemed to be an end-user tool by ICL, from both the DP and end-user perspectives. First, this is the only interface to CAFS in the current SV201. Secondly, it is necessary for the DP department to understand the end-user's interface to CAFS. Thirdly, the other subjects have not yet been addressed by other active working parties

Organisational change and the computerisation of British and Spanish savings banks, 1965-1985

In this article we explore organisational changes associated with the automation of financial intermediaries in Spain and the UK. This international comparison looks at the evolution of the same organisational form in two distinct competitive environments. Changes in regulation and technological developments (particularly applications of information technology) are said to be responsible for enhancing competitiveness of retail finance. Archival research on the evolution of savings banks helps to ascertain how, prior to competitive changes taking place, participants in bank markets had to develop capabilities to compete

Organisational change and the computerisation of British and Spanish savings banks, circa 1965-1985

In this article we explore organisational changes associated with the computarization of British savings banks while making a running comparison with developments in Spain. This international comparison addresses the evolution of the same organisational form in two distinct competitive environments in the late 20th century. Changes in regulation and technological developments (particularly applications of information technology) are said to be responsible for enhancing competitiveness of retail finance. Archival research on the evolution of savings banks helps to ascertain how, prior to competitive changes taking place, participants in bank markets had to develop capabilities to compete. Moreover, assess the response of collaborative agreements to opportunities opened by technological change (in particular resolve apparent scale disadvantages to contest bank markets). Of particular interest are choices made between applications of computer technology to redefine the relation between head office and retail branches as well as between staff at retail branches and customers.comparative financial markets, United Kingdom, Spain, market structure, technological change, regulatory change, savings banks, banks, TSB, cajas de ahorro

The politics of new technologies in local government.

SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre-DSC:DX202884 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo

Organisational change and the computerisation of British and Spanish savings banks, 1965-1985

In this article we explore organisational changes associated with the automation of financial intermediaries in Spain and the UK. This international comparison looks at the evolution of the same organisational form in two distinct competitive environments. Changes in regulation and technological developments (particularly applications of information technology) are said to be responsible for enhancing competitiveness of retail finance. Archival research on the evolution of savings banks helps to ascertain how, prior to competitive changes taking place, participants in bank markets had to develop capabilities to compete.comparative financial markets; United Kingdom; Spain; market structure; technological change; regulatory change; savings banks; banks

Continuous path : the evolution of process control technologies in post-war Britain

Automation - the alliance of a series of advances in manufacturing technology with the academic discipline of cybernetics - was the centre of both popular and technical debate for a number of years in the mid-1950s. Alarmists predicted social disruption, economic hardship, and a massive de-skilling of the workforce; while technological positivists saw automation as an enabling technology that would introduce a new age of prosperity. At the same time as this debate was taking place, increasingly sophisticated control technologies based on digital electronics and the principle of feedback control were being developed and applied to industrial manufacturing systems. This thesis examines two stages in the evolution of process control technology: the numerical control of machine tools; and the development of the small computer, or minicomputer. In each case two key themes are explored: the notion of industrial failure; and the role of new technologies in Britain's industrial decline. In Britain, four projects were undertaken to develop point-to-point or continuous path automatic controllers for machine tools in the mid-1950s - three by electronics firms and one by a traditional machine tool manufacturer. However, although automation was dominating popular debate at the time, the anticipated market for numerically controlled systems failed to appear, and all of the early projects were abandoned. It is argued that while the electronics firms naively misdirected their limited marketing capabilities, the root of the problem was the traditional machine tool manufacturers' conservatism and their failure to embrace the new technology. A decade later, small computers based on new semiconductor technologies had emerged in the United States. Originally developed for roles in industrial automation, they soon began to compete at the low end of the mainframe computer market. Soon afterwards a number of British firms - electronic goods manufacturers, entrepreneurial start-ups, and even office machinery suppliers - began to develop minicomputers. The Wilson government saw computers as a central element of industrial modernisation, and thus a part of its solution to Britain's economic decline, so the Ministry of Technology was charged with the promotion of the British minicomputer industry. However, US-built systems proved more competitive, and by the mid-1970s they had come to dominate the market, with the few remaining British firms relegated as niche players. It is argued that government involvement in the minicomputer industry was ineffectual, and that the minicomputer manufacturers' organisational cultures played a major role in the failure of the British industry

A HOLISTIC APPROACH TO COMPUTER INTEGRATED MANUFACTURING ARCHITECTURE AND SYSTEMS DESIGN

This work addresses the problem of finding an improved solution to Computer Integrated Manufacturing (ClM) Architecture and Systems Design. The current approaches are shown to be difficult to understand and use, over complex. In spite of their complexity of approach they lack comprehensiveness and omit many factors and dimensions considered essential for success in today's competitive and often global market place. A new approach to ClM Architecture and Systems Design is presented which offers a simpler, more flexible and more robust format for defining a particular ClM System within a general architectural framework. At the same time this new approach is designed to offer a comprehensive and holistic solution. The research work involved the investigation of current approaches and research and development initiatives focusing particularly on the CIM-OSA and GRAI Integrated methodologies in the field of ClM Architecture. The strengths and weaknesses of the various approaches are examined. Developments in other related fields including manufacturing systems, manufacturing management, information technology and systems generally have been investigated regarding their relevance and possible contribution to an improved solution. The author has built on his practical experience in creating, designing and managing the implementation of a global CIM system. The authors work on several publicly funded collaborative research and development projects relevant to the problem area is described. These include CIM-OSA, IMOCIM and TIQS projects. In the latter two projects the author was instrumental in developing the methodological approach based on a systems approach to business processes in connection with the design of quality and manufacturing systems. Both of these projects have contributed to this work. The author has also participated in the global IMS programme as a rapporteur for the European Commission and this helped to provide a global perspective on the problems of manufacturing companies as they attempt to compete in a world wide market place. The results of this work provide the basis for a radically improved approach to ClM Architecture and Systems Design based on the holistic view of an enterprise. The approach developed supports the business process view of an enterprise; addresses the people and organisational aspects; leads to ClM solutions focused on meeting enterprise goals; and is able to deal with a significantly increased scope and complexity compared with existing methods yet is easily understood and more simple to simple to apply than current approaches

The growth and locational dynamics of the UK computer services industry,1981-1996

The central aim of this thesis is to explore the key structural, organisational and locational trends within an innovative, fast growing and strategically important producer service sector in the UK, the computer services industry. The thesis has five more specific objectives; firstly, to examine the ongoing internationalisation processes in this sector; secondly, to profile the spatial, structural and occupational structure of the UK industry in the context of these processes; thirdly, and most importantly, to explore the factors behind the uneven development pattern in this sector (London and the South East accounted for 59 per cent of employment in 1993); fourthly to contribute to the theoretical understanding of uneven development in contemporary economies; and finally, to consider the policy implications of the growth dynamics of the sector. The research is based on three main tranches of fieldwork. Firstly, 17 interviews with managers and officials in the Irish software industry provide a case study of the highly internationalised nature of the package software industry. Secondly, nine interviews with representatives of the top suppliers in the UK industry illustrate how these dominant firms are restructuring both spatially and functionally to meet the needs of the developing, international market. Thirdly, the results of a structured interview survey of 173 firms spread across four counties (Hertfordshire, Berkshire, Cheshire, Tyne & Wear) are presented to illustrate the regional variations within the industry's structure, new firm formation process and linkages that both underpin, and reflect the uneven development pattern in the sector. The analysis concludes that the dominance of the Greater South East in this industry is largely unassailable; based upon the historic growth of the industry, the region has long since achieved the critical mass to create many new firms which then reinforce the dominance, supported by the availability of labour, an acceptable living environment, and proximity to a large, high-order, regional market. The investment and restructuring strategies of key foreign-owned multinationals are also a key contributor to the South-East's primacy

Automation and Management Accounting in British Manufacturing and Retail Financial Services, 1945-1968

This article looks at the effects of office mechanisation in greater detail by describing data processing innovations in major building societies during the dawn of the computer era. Reference to similar developments in clearing banks, industrial and computer organisations provides evidence as to the common experience in the computerisation of firms in the post-war years. As a result, research in this article offers a comparison between widespread technological change and changes unique to service sector organisations. Moreover, research in this article ascertains the extent to which the adoption of computer-related innovations in financial services sought to satisfy financial, rather than management accounting, purposes.banks, building societies, manufacturing, computers

Building Bankomat: The development of on-line, real-time systems in British and Swedish savings banks, c.1965-1985

The massification of retail finance in the 1980s relied on the successful deployment of automated teller machines (ATM) and on-line real-time (OLRT) computing during the 1960s and 1970s. We document how the deployment of ATM networks interweaved with the adoption of OLRT computing in Sweden and the UK (alongside a running comparison of similar developments in the USA). Low transaction volume and small retail bank networks facilitated the early adoption of OLRT by savings banks in America. Although they started their computerisation rather ‘late’, British savings banks benefited from adopting ‘tried and tested’ technology while overtaking clearing banks. Meanwhile, Swedish savings banks spearheaded technological change in Europe. In documenting cases of organizational change in Sweden and the UK, we depart from predominant view that considers the development of OLRT in a single move. We put forward the idea that there are specific conditions inside banking organisations that require considering on-line (OL) and on-line real-time (OLRT) as two distinct stage of development in adoption of computer technology. As a result, we show how in the process of diffusion of OLRT computing enabled the transformation of cash dispensers into ATM at the same time that European financial intermediaries were active in shaping technological change