By MARY-BETH McLAUGHLIN
BLADE BUSINESS WRITER
Article published Saturday, March 5, 2005
There is a major disconnect at many area companies between a desire for a sophisticated information technology system and a willingness to buy needed software and properly train employees, according to a study by two University of Toledo professors.
The result, the report concluded, is that many businesses, especially small to medium-sized ones, are woefully unprepared to use technology to compete in an increasingly global marketplace, instead looking at it only as a way of cutting down on business costs.
Failure to embrace information technology in a world where consumers and other businesses are relying on it more and more "emerges as a major hurdle impeding Lucas County's future growth," wrote Paul Fritz and Patrick McGuire, associate professors and staff members of UT's Urban Affairs Center.
"Business people seemed to lack an understanding that one must invest," said Mr. McGuire, an associate professor of sociology and the center's director. He was speaking of the 124 company representatives who agreed to phone interviews on the subject.
"They want well-trained workers, but seem satisfied to hire people with minimal education and self or minimal training - an odd way to try and participate in the 'knowledge economy.'?"
The report's findings echo similar ones done in recent years, which found the number of information technology workers, relative to the size of the Toledo-area work force, is growing more slowly than in other areas.
It also found that payment to local workers is low, growing slower than in any part of the state, and is below the national average.
Eileen Granata, interim chief operating officer of Toledo's Regional Growth Partnership, said the report identifies known challenges. Corporate leaders and academicians are talking about "what we do in terms of support for businesses in the IT area," although a concrete proposal has yet to develop, she said.
The UT report found that very few of the companies showed interest in updating their software or honing their Internet capabilities to better serve existing customers and to attract new ones.
Bill McCreary, vice president and chief information officer for Pilkington North America, said the view of technology as only a way to cut down on costs and personnel is particularly pronounced in the local region, where many companies do things they way they've always done them.
"The competitive landscape is no longer a ground war but an air war," he said. "You have to be ready because your competitors are likely to do something different or, worse yet, someone you've never heard of is going to do something different and change the game."
Contact Mary-Beth McLaughlin at mmclaughlin@theblade.com or 419-724-6199.