Before the availability of computers all records including accounts receivables, payables, inventory, payroll, personnel and the billing of customers were maintained by book keepers and clerks. Record keeping systems were frequently large in size, inefficient, and subject to human error. In the early years of computers it was, therefore, not surprising to find the focus on these applications. The potential payoff seemed promising. The results, in fact bore this out. It was proved that these computer methods held substantial advantages over the old labor-intensive methods. Among them were speed accuracy and cost savings. In these applications no decision making is involved; there is no choice between alternatives. As the computer assumed the information-processing role, it became apparent that the timely source of data which it generated could possibly be useful for decision-making purposes.