Managerial attitudes towards computer models for planning and control

The wealth of publications, seminars and conferences on the topic of computer models for planning and control has included only a relatively small proportion of material which critically evaluates their contribution and, in particular, focuses attention on the attitudes of managers towards such innovation. There are some outstanding exceptions to this general picture, such as the excellent survey by P.H. Grinyer and J. Wooler¹ on corporate models in the U.K., and the critique by R.H. Hayes and R.L. Nolan², who argue that corporate models have fallen into disuse or disrepute in many U.S. organizations and recommend the development of simple models to aid the planning process rather than overall corporate models.

In this article the authors attempt to bring together some of the more important findings in the literature.