information management issues & trends january 1999
TRANSCRIPT
Information management
Issues & trends
January 1999
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What is information ??
• Data sorted into useful categories or descriptions of data.
• Forms the basis of decision making in conjunction with knowledge.
What is information ??
• Forms 2nd level in a 5 level hierarchy or pyramid….• Data• Information• Knowledge• Understanding• Wisdom
Key themes
• Rapid technology changes.
• Increasing pace of modern society.
• Increasing globalisation.
• Employment relationships.
• People issues.
• Properties of information.
Technology changes
• Rapid increase in processing speeds and capacity.
• Declining hardware costs.
• Increasing miniaturisation leading to portability.
• Convergence of communication and computing.
• Increasing deployment.
Increasing pace
• Increased customer expectations (“tomorrow is no longer good enough”).
• Increasing invasion of personal space by mobile phones and lap-tops.
• Declining margins make every sale that much more important.
Globalisation
• Markets are now global rather than regional.
• Decreasing cost of international communication.
• Increased access to global information.
Employment
• Factors of production during industrial age were predominantly capital plant, which was clearly owned by the employer or nobility.
• Factors of production in present society are based around information and analytical ability - ownership lies more and more with employees.
People issues
• Information is power, and can still be used (and misused) as a powerful lever.
• Information must generally be shared to be of any use.
• Information sharing depends on the strength of personal relationships - trust, honesty, integrity etc.
People issues
• Relationships must be sorted out as the first part of any information strategy.
• Investment in hardware is a total waste of money without proper relationships that will allow hardware capability to be used.
Properties
• Easily duplicated, making security difficult.
• Weightless, therefore easily transported.
• Can be electrically encoded, and travels at speed of light.
Information in business
• Purpose of information.
• Changed role.
• Information overload.
• Information products.
Purpose
• Primary role is to assist in making decisions.
• Decision making occurs at three levels within organisation….• Strategic (What and why).• Tactical (When and how).• Operational (Make it happen).
Overload
• Many organisations are now bogged down with excessive information.
• Many organisations are experiencing “paralysis by analysis”.
• Necessary to trade off accuracy of decisions with the limited time available to make them (“windows of opportunity”).
Changed role
• Most businesses now have to make decisions in a rapidly moving deregulated global environment.
• Decisions must be made more quickly, and often with incomplete information.
• Consequences of incorrect decisions can be disastrous.
Information products
• Some products such as finance, banking, insurance, and consultancy services always have been based around information.
• These naturally lend themselves to increased use of information technology eg. banking over the internet and via 0800 numbers.
Information products
• Information can provide a major source of competitive advantage to other products such as transport, manufacturing etc.
• Role of information can therefore become strategic, often at a very low cost.
Implications
• Information can be a major source of competitive advantage.
• Costs of technology make information more accessible.
• Potential for overload must be recognised and managed.
• Decisions must be made quickly.
• Effective information use requires strong working relationships.
Competitive advantage
• Information must be recognised as a source of competitive advantage as much as fixed assets, brands and natural resources.
• Information is a source of competitive advantage that is easily duplicated unless core information is held securely.
Costs of technology
• Technology is now so cheap that it has upset the balance between labor and capital costs even further.
• Using technology will probably require additional skilled people, offset by a reduced requirement for unskilled people.
• Must still be seen as an investment subject to cost-benefit analysis.
Costs of technology
• Twist to the cost-benefit argument is that costs and benefits are strategic rather than operational eg. loss of market share by not investing in new technology.
Overload
• Technology enables vast amounts of information to be rapidly retrieved at minimal cost.
• Decision makers are now swamped with information.
• Reality is that additional information adds little value to the decision making process.
Overload
• Windows of opportunity are too short for extensive analysis, often requiring decisions to be made with imperfect information.
• Requires good judgement to decide when no new information will be admitted to the decision process.
Quick decisions
• Rapid decision making is necessary to compete in deregulated global markets.
• Requires clearly devolved decision-making authority and accountabilities to enable decisions to be made at the customer interface.
• Staff need to be encourage to take calculated risks.
Relationships
• Effective exchange of information requires strong and honest relationships.
• Senior management must take a lead role in building a trustworthy culture.
• Investment in information-sharing technology is wasted unless a culture is in place that will use it.
