The implementation of word processing in the Richmond, Virginia, metropolitan area

The purpose of this study was to determine how word processing is being utilized in businesses with word processing systems in the Richmond metropolitan area. No data are available about the current implementation of word processing in a major metropolitan area in Virginia. This study was undertaken in order to add to the knowledge base that already exists about the implementation of word processing in other areas.

Fifty word processing managers and supervisors representing the Word Processing Association of Richmond, with members from the metropolitan area, comprised the study population. The study addressed the following research questions:

1. How is the word processing concept being implemented in businesses with word processing systems in the Richmond metropolitan area?
2. What employment patterns exist in businesses with word processing systems in the Richmond Metropolitan area?
3. What plans do businesses with word processing systems in the Richmond Metropolitan area, have for expansion of the word processing system and for the application· of emerging technologies?

A nine-part instrument was used to collect the data for the study. The instrument was validated by a panel of experts and was pretested before the data were collected. The Richmond metropolitan area was selected as the survey site because it contains a high concentration of organizations that are likely to benefit from the implementation of word processing. The Word Processing Association of Richmond was selected as the survey population because this group is representative of organizations utilizing word processing in the area. The researcher conducted fifty personal interviews between May and June, 1981.

The major findings of this study follow:

1. The word processing employment market is expanding. Organizations are acquiring additional equipment, are planning to support more principals, and are creating additional positions for word processing personnel.
2. Word processing systems are generally centralized, are responsible for all correspondence tasks, operate in a modular office layout, and are managed by both a word processing manager and a supervisor.
3. Although the documents most frequently processed are memos/ letters, other applications are also being processed; statistical, medical, legal, and textual documents; address lists; and forms design and completion.
4. Longhand, machine dictation, typed drafts, and optical character recognition are used as sources of input in word processing. The use of each input mode varies with the type of document and the organizational preference.
5. The CRT display system is the most frequently used type of equipment and projections indicate that it will be the most frequently used type of equipment in five years. Blind standalones, online display systems, shared-logic systems, and photocomposition systems are also in use.
6. Emerging office systems technologies are in use and their use will expand. The integration of word processing and data processing will increase. The use of shared-logic, intelligent copiers, electronic mail, desk-top terminals for principals, OCR, micrographics, and telecommunication will increase.