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For decades, companies have been devoting more than half of their capital budgets to information technology, but what do they have to show for it? According to two recent books, not nearly as much as they expected. Paul A. Strassmann''s "Squandered Computer" and Thomas H. Davenport''s "Information Ecology" both argue that managers have acted under the simplistic assumption that "improved information" results in increased productivity. In reviewing these books, writer and consultant Michael Schrage agrees that managers have often acted irresponsibly in relying on technology to solve deeper problems. Schrage argues that tomorrow''s strategic technology investments will present more choices for organizations than they will know what to do with. Companies will be able to set up the technology that best fits their kind of organization-- rather than the other way around. The value that organizations gain from these investments will depend on the foresight and intelligence that go into determining how their people will use technology.