Eight Problems A Computer Can't Solve

Computers are pretty smart, but like everyone else, they have their limitations.

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According to popular mythology (and a few over-zealous salespeople), acquiring a computer is like hiring a decisive, far-seeing manager who will cheerfully untangle every knotty problem your business can offer.

Reality is far less exciting. All too often, you pose what sounds like a perfectly reasonable question to a computer -- and get back an electronic blank stare. Dennis Anderson, who teaches small business owners about computers at Bentley College in Waltham, Mass., says computers disappoint their owners all the time. "Yet in the majority of cases, the system is doing exactly what it's supposed to," Anderson says. "The purchaser didn't understand what he was getting. He'll say, 'Yeah, the computer is handling my accounting very well. But I thought it would be doing all these additional things as well."

In fact, there are a lot of things computers don't do well at all, or at least not as well as their human counterparts. For computer owners who expect answers to all kinds of important questions, here's a list of things a computer can't do:

1. A computer won't solve broad, poorly defined problems. Dennis Anderson recalls the somewhat extreme case of a textile manufacturer who saw his sales declining. Noticing that many of his competitors had computerized their operations, he followed suit. And sales continued to slide.

Anderson insists that you have to understand exactly what problem you want the computer to solve. The textile manufacturer hadn't pinpointed his problem -- whether it was inventory control or invoicing -- so the computer couldn't be of much help.

Anderson adds that computer buyers often spend too much time comparing hardware, and don't do enough thinking and planning about the types of jobs their new toy will do.

2. A computer won't save money by eliminating workers. Instead, it will create new ways of doing things. Consider the stationary distributor who billed customers four times a year. After automating, he found he could send out invoices five times faster -- and consequently began billing on a monthly basis. "The cost of automation is rarely offset by reduced payroll expenses," says Thomas K. Christo, a New Hampshire attorney who specializes in computer litigation. "Many purchasers are disappointed to find out this is so."

The switch to automation doesn't pay off in every case, stresses John L. King, a researcher at the University of California at Irvine, who spent five years studying computer use in organizations. Word processors often fail to raise the net productivity of clerical departments. The machines are invaluable to firms that do mass mailings of form letters, or rely on long legal documents that require slight modifications. But for companies that mainly need one-of-a-kind memos and letters, their value is less clear. "Typing," King observes, "is the fastest part of writing. When reporters are given word processors, they don't write more stories -- they just do more revisions."

Savings produced by automation are generally found in areas other than personnel. More frequent billing may reduce cash flow problems, thereby reducing the need to borrow money. More prudent management of inventory may diminish the cost of financing excess stock. Computers can pay bills more efficiently -- systematically taking advantage of discounts, for example. They can eliminate your accounting service. And they may be able to stabilize the growth of your present clerical staff.

3. A computer won't clean up the errors in your manual procedures. A small cosmetics firm realized it was not keeping its books properly, and after several attempts to locate and correct the errors proved unsuccessful, one of the owners suggested automating. A computer, he thought, would bring accuracy and a better record-keeping system. Three weeks after installation, however, the computer was generating the same bad numbers the bookkeeper produced -- only much faster.

"Garbage in, garbage out," goes the phrase familiar to computer people. Richard Raysman, a New York attorney who specializes in computer litigation, points out that automation begins with a direct transfer of data from the manual to the computerized system. "If the original numbers are questionable, someone has to go in there, roll up his sleeves, and analyze the whole operation." Eventually, someone also has to take responsibility for making fundamental changes in the way things are done. "Computers are fast and accurate," says Raysman. "But if you give them bad information, they'll get you into trouble much faster than a manual system will."

4. A computer won't do forecasting or trend analysis until a few years down the road. A retailer of home furnishings bought a desk-top computer and two months later was eager to do some sophisticated trend analysis. What items were selling this year, compared to last? What volume of sales should he expect in the next twelve months? The computer said, in effect, "Beats me."

"In the beginning, you're working like crazy just to get an accounting process down," says Anderson. "Before you can even think about trend analysis, you have to key in an enormous amount of historical data. At first, it's difficult enough just getting the present information transferred over." Forecasting and trend analysis also require a very costly mass storage device.

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