In the NYT, this report claiming that computers (can) give big boosts to productivity.
Money spent on computing technology delivers gains in worker productivity that are three to five times those of other investments, according to a study being published today.
Well, the study (pdf) was initiated by the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, which is in turn supported by companies like IBM and Cisco, so this outcome should come as no surprise.
Anyway, an interesting approach, even when this calls for more profound research, e.g. to differentiate between the different kinds and sources of these productivity gains. And I have no doubt that Peter Drucker’s famous aphorism (and the challenges it poses) are not really met …
“To make knowledge work productive will be the great management task of this century, just as to make manual work productive was the great management task of the last century.”
Peter Drucker, cited again …