The electronic imperative: Process information intelligently or Perish

Today´s typical nontechnical writers and editors in business and industry must process information more intelligently to survive the impact of the computer word-processor. Retooling is difficult because their nontechnical backgrounds and predisposition toward language per se constrict their view of how they can operate most effectively; their linguistic abilities render them textually bound; they sometimes view word processors as computer devices best used by technical typists and clericals; management traditionally takes a narrow view of their job skills and aptitudes; and increasingly sophisticated software enables hard-working clericals to use word processors effectively. To survive, today´s writers and editors must open their eyes, master the word processor and use it effectively, grasp the `big picture´ of document and information processing, and, at all levels, perform as information processing managers, not as wordsmiths only.