According to the survey Winners and Losers in 1992, which was conducted by the PA Consulting Group as part of the CBI Intiative for the run up to the Single European Market, the key to coping with 1992 could be the use of fourth generation languages. The survey was based on 288 returned questionnaires from people attending PA’s workshops on information technology and 1992. The delegates taking part in the survey were split relatively evenly between those with responsibility for the implementation of information technology and for general management. Nearly half of the companies in the survey had fewer than 500 employees, while a third had more than 1,000 and included names like British Petroleum, ICI and Ford. The survey found that there was a negligible difference in attitude between data processing managers and general managers towards information technology with approximately 20% of both categories being sceptical of its use, as against around 75% in both categories who were not sceptical. Similarly among all respondents over half felt that their company had no corporate strategy for 1992, while around a third believed that such a strategy was being developed. Around 35% of all respondents felt that end-user computing was significant in maintaining competitiveness, while just over 80% believed end user involvement should play a significant part in systems development – yet a third of the companies surveyed had never used fourth generation languages (well the British always were dreadful at learning another language) This single survey conclusion was latched on to by Alan Lewis, chairman of the Initiative, and fourth generation languages rapidly assumed the identity of a Single European Market panacea. True such languages are of value in combatting skills shortages as other surveys have indicated (CI No 1,077); but a finding related to the labour problem, that perhaps should have been explored further, was why 66% of respondents said their companies would be taking no initiative in homeworking in the near future. The survey’s main conclusions were, in fact, rather desultory being: that the majority of computer systems were inadequate for dealing with the Single European Market, that there were far too few business strategies formulated with which to align system plans, and that these problems must be dealt with urgently. Those impressed by such quantitative data will, however, be happy to know that the CBI Initiative is launching a series of books this year, each of which costs UKP13, is published by the Mercury Books Division of W H Allen & Co, and addresses the various problems illuminated by the survey.
