150 Understanding the Numbers
mail and Internet-based calendaring. People question how much more produc-
tive they as workers can be. Technology will allow managers’ and workers’ pro-
ductivity to reach the next plateau and enable them to find better and
alternative modes for working and succeeding.
Information technology has changed not only the way people work but
also in some cases the venue from which they perform their work. No longer
are workers chained to their desks. The number of telecommuters—people
who work from home via computer and telephone communications—is increas-
ing dramatically. Business people who travel with their portable computers
have become so prevalent that hotels have installed special hardware on their
hotel room telephones that allows guests to plug their computers into the tele-
phone system and communicate with their home offices. Sometimes people
even connect their laptop computer modems to the airline telephones at their
seats!
How much do you need to understand about the technology to become
technologically enabled? The answer to this question will depend in part on the
job you hold and the organization for which you work. However, at this time,
when information technology is having a dramatic impact on the very definition
of many industries, the material covered in this chapter and in Chapter 16 has
to be considered essential.
HARDWARE
Computer hardware comes in several shapes and sizes. This chapter concen-
trates on personal computers (PCs). Over the past 15 years, Microsoft and Intel
have become so dominant in the software and hardware ends of the PC busi-
ness that they have, de facto, set the worldwide standard for PCs, which is re-
ferred to as the Wintel standard, short for Microsoft Windows and the Intel
CPU chip. More than 90% of all personal computers use the Wintel standard,
affecting both the hardware marketplace and the applications software that is
developed. Currently, Dell and Compaq are the largest producers of personal
computers, with Gateway, Hewlett-Packard, and IBM following closely.
Personal computers come in two basic shapes: desktop and laptop. Re-
gardless of their shape, all PCs have the same basic components. When you
buy a computer, you usually have a choice on the size, speed, or amount of any
given component that will be a part of your system. The basic components
with which users must concern themselves are the CPU, RAM, hard disk, CD
ROM/DVD ROM, modem, various adapters, and the monitor. Most of the rest
of this section deals with the basic options you will have to choose in selecting
these components.
However, beyond personal computers, we are also seeing the emergence
of a whole range of small digital products for supporting effective managers.
These products as a group are called personal digital assistants, or PDAs, and
will be discussed brief ly.