The totally integrated Management Information System in 1960s Sweden
Paper in proceeding, 2011

The availability from the mid-1960s of powerful mainframe computer systems such as IBM’s System 360 allowed computer specialists and rationalization experts to pursue what appeared to be the logical next step in the evolution of office rationalization: from the automation of clerical routines to the automation of decision-making. This paper argues that despite the rapid diffusion of the idea of the totally integrated, firm-wide, centralized management information system (MIS) – which, besides data processing, allowed business executives real-time information on a desktop terminal – there are few real examples of MIS implementations. A survey of the MIS projects at Volvo, Saab, Asea and SAS shows that in practice these projects had limited ambitions to provide executive information, were scaled down owing to early problems and resulted in limited systems for material requirements planning.

SAS

big business

Volvo

EDP

Asea

Saab

history of computing

management information systems

MIS

1960s

Author

Gustav Sjöblom

Chalmers, Technology Management and Economics, Technology and Society

IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology

1868-4238 (ISSN) 1868-422X (eISSN)

Vol. 350 83-91
978-3-642-23314-2 (ISBN)

Areas of Advance

Information and Communication Technology

Subject Categories

Economic History

History of Technology

Business Administration

Roots

Basic sciences

DOI

10.1007/978-3-642-23315-9_10

ISBN

978-3-642-23314-2

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4/5/2022 6