Dealing with Terminal Phobia

By Alexander L. Taylor III

In the office of the future, some executive prefer the past

The chief executive officer at a Florida financial institution demands that reports printed out by his firm's computers be retyped on nice, white, pre-computer-revolution paper before he will even look at them. Without a hint of apology, he explains that he will not trust anything he reads on green-and-white printouts. At the headquarters of a large Atlanta company, the chairman of the board boasts that he has never touched a keyboard, and that neither he nor any of his right-hand men have a computer in their office. Explains an underling: "For these guys in their 50s, computers just aren't part of their ethic." Such an attitude is now widespread. "The idea of an executive sitting in his office programming a computer is, well, just not realistic," insists Ray Stata, president of Analog Devices, a computer-parts maker. John Pignataro, vice president of data processing for the Sheraton hotel chain, agrees. "Tools like the personal computer will be most useful at lower levels. I think those who will really use the personal computer could be considered the doer, and the executive will be, as he always has been, the reviewer."

This summer, as more and more children are rushing off to computer camps and adults are signing up to take programming courses in their spare time, the typical middle-aged corporate executive is gnawing on his pencils and growling for the personal computer to remain outside the door of his executive suite. They are found everywhere today, from dentists' offices to living rooms, but many top business managers simply do not want a keyboard and video-display terminal cluttering up their mahogany desktops--almost as if the machines were aesthetically distasteful. Says John Thompson, a vice president of Index Systems, a management consulting firm: "There is a widespread assumption among executives that computers are something to be put in the basement, where they can harmlessly belch forth paper with holes in the side."

In theory, a desktop computer could be a labor-and time-saving boon to executives with a voracious need for information about the state of their businesses. But some managers complain that computers are simply too hard to use. Mervyn Weich, 44, senior vice president of Zayre Corp., a retailing chain, says sitting in front of a terminal and trying to extract information is unacceptably difficult and time consuming. "If I could talk to the computer as easily as I talk to my administrative assistant, yes, I'd use it," he explains. "But it's a lot of work to punch in questions. My assistant is easier to work with." Says Kerry Orr of computer maker Control Data Corp. in Atlanta: "Most executives are intimidated by a keyboard." While computer firms insist that even the most ham-handed executive can be taught to operate a computer in a matter of hours, executive resistance remains high. Orr observes, "They normally are not honest enough to say, 'I don't want to use it because I'm afraid.' "

Others stoutly maintain that operating a computer distracts them from more important duties. They argue that their time is better spent analyzing problems, making decisions and meeting personally with associates. Says Paul Stotts, a vice president at Dallas' Republic National Bank: "When you deal with people in our organization at the executive level, they are delegating computer work to subordinates and do not need a computer right there in their office." Having built careers on intangibles like personality and leadership, executives may fear that a computer, with its unshakable command of facts and figures, will erode their authority, say some psychologists. Or they fear that "upper-management" use of computers will "intimidate" co-workers who are less technologically adept.

Still, many computer manufacturers are betting on bonanza sales of more "executive work stations." Some allow users to read their morning mail, send and receive memos and collect telephone messages--all on their display screens. More advanced models, which can sell for $8,500, store and play back human speech--an incoming call, a secretary's message. Others have a "help" button that executives can push when they run into a problem. A few makers are trying to figure out ways to make computers easier to use, including calling up desired information with the press of just one or two keys.

In order to cure computer phobia among their executives, some companies are going to elaborate lengths. Boston's First National Bank has established a walk-in "personal computer center" for its managers. They can get individual instruction or, if they want, take a computer home for the weekend to practice with it in seclusion. "To have an executive fumbling around with the keyboard to find the right letter is just embarrassing for him," says John Martin, first vice president. "We have found that if they can go some place private, a little knowledge and interest will conquer their fears." Maybe. But Ted Theodores, 46, director of business and product planning for Polaroid Corp., Cambridge, Mass., who needed several months of practice to master his personal computer, is one of those who believe that it may be too late for his generation of executives to make full use of the new technology. Says he: "The kids are the ones who have all this knowledge at their fingertips. When they get into management positions, they'll bring their computers with them. That's when it will really happen." --By Alexander L. Taylor III. Reported by Robert T. Grieves/New York and Marc Levinson/Atlanta

With reporting by Robert T. Grieves, Marc Levinson

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