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where and why a system should be used. For a manager to make
such rational decisions, certain inputs must be there. In respect of
consequences, there could be several. Probably the most impor-
tant consequence would be that the market would be more and
more supply-driven as opposed to demand-driven. As managers
fail to use or utilize a system, they also fail to articulate to suppli-
ers what they need and what changes would be appropriate and to
lead suppliers. This is often cited as a problem of the e-systems
industry. Indeed, the industry is supply-driven and many managers
are still wondering whether “e” is for them in spite of the media
hype about its advantages.
What needs to be done is not to expose the possible advan-
tages of e-solutions or come up with new solutions conceived by
producers, but enable management to make decisions on a better
way of doing things. If we want managers to use e-solutions, as
we believe it is better for the enterprises, we need to enable them
to make that decision. Only then will they be able to use them
properly and only then will they be able to lead the suppliers.
This is extremely important as it makes the solution bigger than
the problem. For a decision about a particular way of doing things
to be rational, the decision about what needs to be done must
also be rational. So far as e-solutions are concerned, managers
may be doing the right things the wrong way, or the wrong things
the right way. Naturally, leaving aside the possibility that they
may be doing the wrong things the wrong way, the idea is to get
them to do the right things the right way.
If managers are equipped with the competence to choose the
right things to do, then the problem is to show how the e-way of
doing them will bring about greater efficiency. But if managers do
not have this competence, then no matter how much is invested in
telling them e- is the right way of doing it, the results will be frus-
trating. If you are making a mistake, the e- way of doing it will just
result in you making your mistake faster.
As a result, any investment in propagating e-solutions to
managers must be incorporated into programmes that cover
management competence. Presently, e-solutions are seen as the
best way of doing things, assuming that those things must be
done. But an enterprise does not have to buy or sell on the
Internet to be competitive and neither does it need a CRM system
to become customer-oriented.
Probably the most important element supporting the assertion
that e-competence must go hand in hand with management
competence is the impact of the way of doing things on all the
things that are done. For example, selling on the Internet keeps
an enterprise open to its customers 24 hours a day. While selling
on the Internet may be a good way of reaching customers, other
tasks to be completed in the areas of production, logistics and
all the management activities, especially those related to finan-
cial resources, need to be adjusted. Unless management has the
competence to analyze and decide on the whole picture, such e-
solutions are likely to continue to lead to failures and frustrations.
Conclusion
It can be asserted that the present level of frustration with e-solu-
tions is not connected to the weaknesses of the solutions but
rather to managerial weaknesses. These weaknesses are either
related to the inability of managers to decide where and when to
use e-solutions and for what purpose or to their inability to assess
the impact of e-solutions on other areas of business management.
Whatever the reason, suggestions on e-solutions must either
accompany managerial solutions or be made after making sure
that the management competence is there.
The International Trade Centre is the joint technical cooperation
agency of UNCTAD (United Nations Conference on Trade and
Development) and WTO (World Trade Organization).
ICT training seminars bridge the use-divide
Photo: Diane Girard, Canada