Middle-Aged Managers, the Forgotten Digital Divide

The digital divide is defined by the role computers play within widening social gaps in our society, as the condition of one group having an advantage over another group in regard to computers, technology skills and Internet access.

This is usually thought of as being a divide between the white middle class and minority communities; but there is another often overlooked class of nonusers, the middle-aged corporate manager. As computer skills play an increasingly important role in building careers, many have not acquired the necessary technological skills needed to keep up.

Being computer illiterate in today's high-tech business world is almost indistinguishable from being functionally illiterate. And it's difficult to believe there are successful people in the business world who do not know how to use a computer. Unfortunately, these corporate managers are mistaken in the belief that they can avoid computers and remain successful in the workplace.

In the late 1990's, I was hired by a successful direct sales catalog company to design their sales catalogs. The Director of Advertising was in his mid 50's and had, over the years, had a successful career. He was in his late 40's when desktop computers first came into the workplace and he had no interest in learning a new technology. He assumed, that because he had never needed computer technology to succeed in the past that he didn't need it now.

At first he escaped learning computers by joking about the new technology, and later he relied on his employees to write his emails, schedules, spreadsheets etc. Eventually, he became the only company executive who didn't have a computer on his desk. In his stubbornness not to learn the new technology, he had become a dinosaur.

He resisted and resented learning how to use a computer. At the beginning of every year he made a resolution to get a computer and learn all about it; but he never followed through.

When he attempted to modify a computer file himself, he would hold the mouse backwards. When he didn't get the response he wanted, he'd slam the mouse down hard on the desk in frustration.

Unfortunately he couldn't keep up with the technological changes that computers had made in the printing industry either, or how design software meshed with those changes. He would give long lectures on antiquated printing techniques without understanding that his concerns about old-fashioned methods could be alleviated with a push of a menu button.

One day the company was sold, and when the new management came in guess what happened? He was forced into early retirement because he lacked the computer skills and the technical knowledge of his industry. Although he had over 25 years with the company, his skill set was inadequate for someone in his position.

Today, middle-aged managers who have never had to use computer technology before are being required to learn by their employers. Luckily, today there are many resources available specifically to help mature executives learn the computer skills they need to remain productive in the workplace until their retirement.

There are countless Internet resources including "help" forums and computer software learning sites. Continuing education programs at local colleges and universities offer everything from how to use an operating system to advanced spreadsheets and presentations. For those who want to learn at their own pace, in the privacy of their own homes, there are companies that offer self-paced software learning tutorials ranging from learning computers, sending email, using the internet and learning business software programs.

As it's impossible to have a successful career without embracing computers and technology today, the most important thing is to get started. Many successful people, when they come into contact with a new technology for the first time, consider themselves too stupid to deal with it and fear failure. Don't become discouraged; there is nothing to fear . . . your computer won't self-destruct if you make a mistake, and soon you'll become a computer geek like the rest of us.

Copyright 2005, Video Professor Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Mary Carroll is a customer advocate for Video Professor, the leader in self-paced software learning tutorials, helping our customers to better understand Video Professor and how our tutorials can provide tools to learn various software programs to your desired level.

---

Seeking Help

Where does the time go? Billable time. As a consultant,... Read More

Creating A Vision ? Bringing Your Dreams Into Reality

Do you have some goals you want to achieve or... Read More

Using an Appraisal to Benefit Your Organization

PERFORMANCE APPRAISALS BENEFIT THE ORGANIZATION:Appraisals help spot employees with potential... Read More

Take This Into Consideration Before You Write Your Mission Statement

What principles should a company keep in mind when developing... Read More

Creative and Innovative Culture, Change Management ? Three Easy Tests

Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation... Read More

Saying One Thing, Doing Another...

This week I was asked to speak at an internal... Read More

Business Innovation ? Organizational Culture

Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation... Read More

The Four Key Steps In Hiring And Keeping Top People

"When you hire the best, the rest is easy!" We... Read More

How to Save Money on Training

1) Use a live instructor. Adults learn best by doing,... Read More

Leadership Style: What Makes A Good Boss?

In today's competitive environment, companies realize that a good boss... Read More

Inspiring Loyalty and Contentment in Your Workforce

One of the first things I look at when I... Read More

On The Job Training is Something You Canâ??t Afford to Skip

Trained employees are more productive employees; thereâ??s no doubt about... Read More

Tap Employee Passion For Business Success

Meriwether Lewis set the stage for the Corps of Discovery's... Read More

Leadership Skills

Recent studies have shown that industrial supervisors are working at... Read More

Counseling Interviews for the Marginal Employee

ACTIVE LISTENING: The most frequent cause of failure in therapeutic... Read More

Delegation for Business Leaders - How Letting Go Works

A leader's role is to focus on those areas of... Read More

Indiscretion Can Kill Your Business

The quickest way to cancel out all the thought, work,... Read More

The Top 10 Requirements for Your Business to Become and Remain Profitable

We live in a relentlessly competitive world. The daily pressure... Read More

Resolve Differences

Resolving conflict doesn't come easily to too many people. Most... Read More

Christmas Carol Coaching - Help to Get Ahead at Holiday Time!

I've always been fascinated by situations where art imitates real... Read More

Ten Business Reasons Why Asking for Help Works

In fact, bringing your people - any of them -... Read More

Hiring for Success

Hiring someone new to work in your business is one... Read More

Project Management - I Want It ALL

The knee-jerk response to prioritizing requirements is to mark everything... Read More

Why You Need a Business Plan

This article was originally called "Do You Need a Business... Read More

How To Prevent Your New Manager From Becoming A Statistic

According to a study by the Manchester Group, 4 out... Read More

Creative People, Innovative People

The title implies that some people are and others not.This... Read More

Writing and Revising Your Life Story

Change is not simple. Why do we repeat behavior that... Read More

ISO 9001 Registration ? 8 Steps for Success

You've made the plans, built the quality system and conducted... Read More

Effective Meetings: Why Most Meetings are a Waste of Time

Whether your company holds one meeting a week or dozens... Read More

Preparation: Your Companys Best Defense in Case of Catastrophe

You've hung out your shingle and are ready for business.... Read More

Shrinkage Control

What has been your store's shrinkage experience for the last... Read More

Let the Professionals Help You Out - Outsource

As your website grows in terms of attracting more footfalls,... Read More

Performance Management Made Easy

Performance Management is a process that both employer and employee... Read More