The role of marketing in facilitating the diffusion of microcomputers and "The Information Society"

Article Abstract:

"The average American, by our estimate, is exposed to 61,566 words from the mass media each day... That works out to just under 4,000 words per waking hour, about 60 words per waking minute per person per day. This represents a growth of 151 percent from 1960 to 1980." (Neuman and de Sola Pool 1984, p. 5). "Over this period (1960 to 1980) the supply of mass communications per capita (in the USA) grew at an average annual rate of 6.7 percent. But media use grew at just 2.1 percent per year...(Ibid, Table 2). The ratio of words consumed to words supplied by 1980 had fallen to less than half (from 1.4 percent to .6 percent) the level in 1960. The ratio has fallen in each of the mass media we have studied." (Neumann and de Sola Pool 1984 p. i, 6 and Table 3) "Information creation and processing now account for half of all economic activity in the United States, compared to less than 18% in 1900." (Jonscher 1983, p. 8) "Between 6000 and 7000 scientific articles are written each day. Scientific and technical information now increases 13 percent per year, which means it doubles every 5.5 years." (Naisbitt 1982, p. 24) Microcomputer technology appears to have gotten ahead of information needs. Social commentators and philosophers argue that the information society is only one step away from reality and often cite Japan as an example. The author takes the position that many ultimate consumers have yet to find enough benefit in microcomputers and linking them to data bases to make such high technology an integral part of their life styles. Marketing efforts need to be focused less on hardware and software and more on defining and clarifying the needs of the average household which can be better met by microcomputer than by current means. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)

Research, Technology application, Communication, Communications

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Salesforce support systems: potential applications to increase productivity

Article Abstract:

Microcomputer based sales support systems have been held out by many as a solution to the increasingly high cost of the personal selling effort. Promises of increased productivity through both greater efficiency and effectiveness have been made by many vendors. The author proposes some guidelines which provide sales managers with assistance in deciding when and where such systems can be used to increase the productivity of the salesforce. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)

Usage, Human resource management, Sales personnel, Salespeople

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