Section I. MANAGEMENT APPLICATIONS
3-1.
INTRODUCTION
The electronic wizardry of the computer is changing the looks and operations of
modern-day offices and hospitals. Twenty years ago, it would have been difficult to find
very many computers. Even 10 years ago, only the largest businesses could rationalize
the expense and cautiously ventured into electronic data processing. Today, it is hard
to visualize not having computers. The automated office combines electronics with data
processing. There are now terminals where typewriters used to be, machines that
make and answer routine phone calls, conferences conducted by video rather than
around a table, electronic and audio mail instead of the printed kind, software files
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instead of filing cabinets, and so on. This lesson explores the uses of the new
technology in business (management applications) and in health care (medical
information systems).
3-2.
WORD PROCESSING
a. What It Is. Word processing, writing with a computer, is the most common
use of computers, both in business and in the home. Word processing makes it
possible to prepare material in a manner far more efficient than writing by hand or
typing. Words appear on a visual display screen rather than on paper. Also, part of the
word processing system are a printer that can print letter-quality type, a keyboard from
which the user enters text, and an auxiliary storage (that normally uses cassettes,
floppy disks, or hard disks) to store documents for revisions or reuse. A stand-alone
microcomputer system includes the same basic components as a larger system. In a
larger system, the computer may be a large centrally located machine that does many
other data processing functions on a time-sharing basis. Such a system may include
several terminals, keyboards, auxiliary storage devices, and printers, all controlled by
one CPU. Users work at terminals that are functionally their own personal word
processing systems.
b. What It Can Do. Word processing is a more efficient way of writing.
Because the draft appears on the screen, you can correct mistakes, change margins,
and delete or insert paragraphs as you compose text. You can also merge documents
already in storage or merge documents to new text before printing. In addition, a
spelling program can check for spelling errors. While only a portion of the entire text
(about half a page or 24 lines) appears on the screen at one time, if you need to check
your document for flow you can print a hard (paper) copy with just the press of a key. In
addition to providing sophisticated word processing functions, computers can merge
data with text, process files, perform mathematical functions, generate the output of
photocomposition devices, facilitate paperwork management (electronic filing), accept
input from optical character recognition devices, and accept (typewriter-created) text for
transfer into word processing systems. Some systems can communicate with other
word processing systems and distribute text after it has been created, allowing
documents prepared in one location to be printed in other locations.
MD0058
3-3