Abstract
One of the most significant developments on the American scene today is the electronic computer. The full impact of the computer on business and society will not be known until far into the future. A striking example of the increasing influence of the computer in business today is provided in a study by McKinsey and Company, Incorporated. In a series of statistics comparing 1963 with 1967, they indicated that computer manufacturers shipped $1.3 billion worth of hardware in 1963 as compared to $3.9 billion in 1967, an increase of 200 percent. As a percent of total expenditures on new plant and equipment, the computer has increased from 3.3 percent in 1963 to 6.3 percent in 1967. An additional measure of the increasing importance of the computer in our economy is found in the accounts of the largest computer manufacturer, International Business Machines Corporation. Its gross investment in factory and office equipment, rental machines and parts grew from nearly $2 billion in 1963 to over $5 billion in 1966.