The personal computer was first introduced by IBM -- International Business Machines -- in 1981, according to the Computer History Museum. Since that time, the use of personal computers in business have spread pervasively. In 2011, almost every employee has a personal computer on their desk. Business professionals use computers for many functions, such as creating letters, calculating numbers or performing research on the Internet. Personal computers can also be used for many functions and applications for business.
Emails are one of the most pervasive ways to communicate in the business world. Business professionals from executives to marketing analysts use personal computers for sending emails. Secretaries use company emails to apprise other managers and employees of meetings or special functions. Managers often use email to attach and disseminate important documents, such as reports and memos. Additionally, emails can be used externally to inform customers about new products or services. Advertising professionals often send emails out to thousands of businesses at the click of a button to generate leads and product orders.
Business professionals frequently use personal computers to create documents, such as memos, reports, business forms, shipping invoices and order forms. Marketing research managers use personal computers to write questionnaires. These questionnaires can then be printed in mass quantities for conducting customer services. Secretaries sometimes use personal computers to print shipping labels for mailing packages. Advertising copywriters use publishing software to produce brochures or fliers on personal computers. A company can also use personal computers to design advertisements or create newsletters.
Business professionals use personal computers to create spreadsheets. For example, a finance manager may create a personal computer spreadsheet to keep track of his company's budget. A spreadsheet is a software application that is divided into many different columns and rows. Each individual section of a spreadsheet is called a cell. The finance manager may enter department names in the rows and types of expenses various departments incur across columns of the spreadsheet. Personal computer spreadsheets are extremely useful for making calculations, as business professionals can create formulas for specific cells. Subsequently, totals will automatically be calculated each time a manager enters additional numbers to the spreadsheet.
Companies use personal computers to create databases, which are massive lists of names or numbers. The most important consideration when creating a database is deciding what data will be used, according to Inc. magazine. Marketing managers may use personal computer databases to keep track of customers who order products. For example, the marketing manager may enter the date a customer ordered a product and how much they spent. Periodically, the marketing manager may send out brochures or coupons to customers announcing new products or sales. Entrepreneurs may use a personal computer database to track the results of an advertising campaign. That way the advertising manager can determine which ads are profitable.
