01/22/96 THE PCs IN AMERICA'S CORNER OFFICES

THE PCs IN AMERICA'S CORNER OFFICES

EXECUTIVES ARE OFTEN MORE computer-literate than they're cracked up to be, says a new study of CEOs and other senior executives at U.S. companies with sales of more than $250 million a year. Of the 245 executives polled, 84% said they have PCs on their desks, and 75% have a machine at home.
Not surprisingly, the study, conducted by Washington's Peter D. Hart Research Associates Inc., found that younger CEOs were a bit more PC-savvy than their elders: Some 94% of executives under 45 had office PCs, vs. 80% of the older group. And among execs under 45 who subscribed to an online service at work, 54% logged on most days--vs. 37% for the older group. Overall, only 51% of executives who were able to log on actually did so most days. Some 36% also had online access from home. In comparison, a recent Roper Organization poll found that 23% of Americans with annual earnings of more than $100,000 subscribe to online services.
Only a few--6%--of the executives ranked online services as one of their top two news sources. This placed the computer services behind national newspapers (80%), trade publications (47%), business magazines (35%), and TV business shows (16%) but ahead of radio and CD-ROMs (3% each). Even so, the executives still rated online services highly desirable. Only 14% would do without them for more than two months--about the same as for business magazines and radio news and much less than for CD-ROMs (36%).
EDITED BY WILLIAM J. WINKLER