Essay Examples - Information Systems Essays
What Can Organisations Do To Ensure That Their Information Environments Deliver Ongoing Benefits?
The 21st century has seen a sea of change in the way organizations work, develop and grow. The unprecedented growth in technology, computer software and hardware and electronics has given a new meaning to organizational development and communication.
The changes are too fast and too many. In such a dynamic scenario, what was relevant five years ago is totally redundant today. This calls for adapting organisations and individual's continuously, upgrading skills, learning and unlearning.
At present, it is knowledge management which is the relevant system by which organizations will have to function for growth. There are several concepts and definitions, which organizations will need to adapt to, in this new and dynamic environment for organisations to have the competitive advantage.
A holistic approach to information and information management:
Organisations and their information environment at present can be better understood, if we examine in brief the history of the way information and learning has been studied and written by leading scholars in management. As the pioneer in management practice, Peter Drucker in 1969 made a major contribution to the fact that we live in a knowledge economy. Drucker portrayed the manager as one who was paid to apply knowledge and exercise judgment in a responsible way.
The term knowledge worker was coined by him and he saw the knowledge worker as a professional at ease being a teacher, lawyer or doctor, and the organization owed its continued existence to such managers, as well as providing them with the context in which to apply their knowledge. Drucker (1999) said the purpose of business must lie in society and that the only valid definition of business purpose was to create and keep a customer. Organisation is discussed as a means to an end; a proper structure will yield long term benefits. Druckers five elements of management were 1) set objectives 2) organize 3) motivate and communicate 4) measure 5) develop people.
Davenport & Prusak (1997:3) have said Our fascination with technology has made us forget the key purpose of information is to inform people. Davenport who advocated the ecological approach to information goes on to state (1997:8) For years, people have referred to data as information; now they have to resort to the high-minded knowledge, to discuss information hence, the current boom in knowledge management.
Davenport and Prusak (1998) give their working definition of knowledge as Data: a set of discreet, objective facts about events : structured records or transactions with or without meanings and values, data management: in terms of cost, speed, and capacity (quantitatively) in terms of timeliness, relevance, and clarity (quantitatively) , essential raw material for the creation of information.
Information : message to change the way the receiver perceives something: inform to give shape to (meaning and value), Data that makes a difference or data endowed with relevance and purpose and information management : in terms of connectivity and transactions in terms of informativeness and usefulness. Transforming data into information: that is contextualized, categorised , calculated, corrected and condensed.
Distinction between information (or knowledge) and technology : Knowledge is a fluid mix of framed experience, values, contextual information, and expert insight that provides a framework for evaluation and incorporating new experiences and information . Transforming information into knowledge leads to comparison, consequences, connections and conversations. Also leads to stock, process, individuals, groups, or organizational routines.
Information ecology of Davenport and Prusak (1997) gave a lot of emphasis on people as being the center of the organization rather than the machines. Some recent authors like Malhotra (2002) have even found some shortcoming in their analysis. However popular authors like Covey also lay a lot of emphasis on individuals and their perception. Covey (1999 : 28) states Each of us tends to think we see things as they are, that we are objective. But this is not the case. We see the world, not as it is, but as we are-or, as we are conditioned to see it.
When we open our mouths to describe what we see, we in effect describe ourselves, our perceptions, our paradigms. As mentioned above Malhotra (2002: 3) states Instead of a narrow focus on technology; information ecology puts how people create, distribute and understand and use information at its center by supporting the following beliefs:
1) Information is not easily stored on computers-is not data;
2) The more complex an information model, the less useful it will be;
3) Information can take on many meanings in an organization;
4) technology is only one component of the information environment and often not the right way to create change.
However, Malhotra (2002:4) also states that despite recognizing the distinction between data and information, information ecology falls short of accounting for the link between information and performance, particularly in the case of new organizational environment.
An Information system according to the dictionary of computing (2004) is a computer -based system with the defining characteristics that it provides information to users in one or more organizations. Information systems are thus distinguished from, for example, real-time control systems, message-switching systems, software engineering environments, or personal computing systems. The term could have a very much wider meaning than that suggested, considering the range f meaning of the words information and system. It could, or instance, be broadened to include all computer-based systems, or further broadened to include many non-computer - based systems.
Thus, within the domain of computer-based systems, the more specific term organizational information system is sometimes used. Information systems include data processing applications, office automation applications, and many expert system applications. When their primary purpose is to supply information to management they are commonly called management information systems.
The following are among the more important characteristics of information systems, and make their design and construction particularly difficult.
- Their environment is complex, not fully definable, and not easily modeled.
- They have a complex interface with their environment, comprising multiple inputs and outputs.
- The functional relationships between inputs and outputs are structurally, if not algorithmically, complex.
- They usually include large and complex databases(or, in future, knowledge bases).
- Their host organizations are usually highly dependent on their continuing availability over long periods, often with urgency attending their initial provision or subsequent modification.
Knowledge management according to a dictionary of computing (2004) is efficient handling of information and resources within a commercial organization.
Knowledge according to A dictionary of computing (2004) is information that can be expressed as a set of facts and is known to an agent or program. knowledge can be distinguished from information or data by its embodiment in an agent; for example, an agent might receive information that increases its knowledge.
According to Mayhem(2004) Environmental perception is the way in which an individual perceives the environment; the process of evaluating and storing information received about the environment. It is the perception of the environment which most concerns human geographers because decision-makers base their judgements on the environment as they perceive it, not as it is. The nature of such perception includes warm feelings for an environment, an ordering of information, and an understanding, however subjective, of the environment.
The concept of the 'perceived environment' has been used to challenge the concept of economic man, which lies at the heart of neoclassical economics and to explain supposedly irrational behaviour, such as moving to a flood- or earthquake -prone location. It is suggested that environmental perception can be seen as a five -stage model: a) An emotional response. b)An orientative response with the construction of mental maps c) A classifying response as the individual sorts out the incoming information. d) An organizing response as the individual sees causes and effects in the information.
The pioneer of the information age in the world, Bill gates in his 'Businee@The Speed of Thought' (1999) has said business is going to change more in the next 10 years than it has in the last 50 years. If the 1980s were about quality, 1990s about re-engineering, 2000s, will be about velocity- about how quickly the nature of business will change, how quickly business will be transacted, and how information access will alter the lifestyles of consumers and their expectations of business.
How you gather, manage, and use information will determine whether you win or lose. Gates in his book (1999:xx) states what he considers necessary for digital information flow for knowledge work. He lists five points which stated briefly are:
- Communication should flow over e-mail in an organization which would enable quick action on news.
- Online study of sales and personalised service for customers.
- Shift knowledge workers into high-level thinking work about products, services and profitability.
- Use digital systems to capture corporate history for use by everyone.
- Eliminate all paper work and convert to digital process, this would also enable knowledge workers to devote more time to important tasks. Gates (1999:14) states Information work is thinking work. When thinking and collaboration are significantly assisted by computer technology, you have a digital nervous system.
Michael Porter (2004) states that information systems technology is all pervasive in the value chain. Information systems are used in scheduling, controlling, optimizing, measuring, and otherwise accomplishing activities. The author who is known for his five rules of competitive advantage says that information systems are having a profound impact on competitive advantage because of its role in the value chain. Porter (2004:4) states that in any industry, whether it is domestic or international or produces a product or a service, the rules of competition are embodied in five competitive forces: the entry of new competitors, the threat of substitutes, the bargaining power of buyers, the bargaining power of suppliers, and the rivalry among the existing competitors.
Amaravadi (2004:129) states that information systems shares characteristics with Sociology, engineering as well as with scientific disciplines. To the extent that it is a science, we have a number of laws and theories; to the extent that it is engineering and sociology, we have a number of paradigms and principles.
Having gone through conceptual clarifications in the above two sections, let us examine how knowledge creation can take place in organizations or the linkage between information systems, learning and innovation. According to Gorelick et al. (2004:18) knowledge management is a framework for applying, structures, and processes at the individual, group, team, and organizational levels so that the organization can learn from what it knows (and acquire new knowledge if required) to create value for its customers and communities.
The knowledge management framework integrates people, processes, and technology to ensure performance and learning for sustainable growth. Senge (1990) mentioned learning organisation to mainstream business for the first time, describing five disciplines.
- Personal mastery-an individual's ability to see reality objectively.
- Shared vision-the skills to build shared pictures of the future.
- Mental models- assumptions, generalizations, images that influence how an individual or collective understands the world and takes action.
- Team learning- learning how to recognize the patterns and interaction in teams that detract from learning. Team learning uses dialogue, conversational techniques, to suspend individual assumptions and allow genuine thinking together.
- systems thinking- Understanding phenomena in terms of their context and interrelationships of parts. Parsons (1951) organizational learning model describes a combination of performance and learning processes that allow an organization to survive in a changing environment.
Parson's action theory states four elements for social action:
- An individual, a group or team, or an organization-An actor.
- A situation -the physical or social objects the actor relates to
- Symbols-the means through which the actor relates to different situations and assigns meaning to them.
- Rules, norms, and values-the guiding factors for the actor's relations with the social and nonsocial objects in his or her environment.
Parson's also identified four functions that create a dynamic system to categorize human action: adaptation to the external environment, goal attainment, integration of all parts of the organization and pattern maintenance to reinforce the organisations cultural patterns and prevalent behaviours. Parson's theory addresses how people integrate psychological, social, and cultural elements of organizational dynamics from three perspectives: action associated only with performance, actions associated only with learning, and actions associated with both learning and performance simultaneously. Parson's view is that information internalized as knowledge changes the conditions of the actions as well as the actions themselves. Schwandt and Marquardt (2000) adaptation of Parson's emphasize the learning subsystem.
The four functions of Schwandt learning system are as follows:
- Environmental interface subsystem- Information comes into and leaves the individual, team, or organization. The tools are used to capture useful input for the organization.
- the action-reflection subsystem:creates valued knowledge from new actions in order for the organization to survive. Knowledge supports learning actions that include experimentation, research, evaluation, critical thinking, decision making, problem solving, and clarifying discussions.
- The dissemination-diffusion subsystem: transfers information and knowledge within the organization. Dissemination techniques are formal procedures and policies. Diffusion techniques are informal communication, rumours, and more formal communications such as memos and official e-mails. This coordination function implements roles, leadership processes, structures, and communication techniques to enhance the movement of information and knowledge. In virtual teams electronic tools are required.
- The meaning and memory subsystem: creates, stores and maintains processes for meaning or sense-making. It establishes criteria for judgement, selection, focus, and control of the organizational learning system. It includes reasoning processes, comparisons, creating symbols that reflect beliefs, values, language, artifacts, and basic assumptions, and containers for storing and retrieving knowledge, including organizational memory systems.
Schwardt's four learning systems are interdependent. Depending on the organisation's priority either one of the systems will be more active or less active at a given point of time. Gorelick et al's knowledge management framework integrates people, process and technology within the organization. Knowledge is dynamic and complex and includes both explicit knowledge, which is highly specific, tangible, and codified(for example: patents, processes and routines, names and addresses), and tacit knowledge, a less concrete concept of what should be done (for example: know-how, experience, culture). Successful knowledge management organizations are those that have a deep understanding of the knowledge that helps people do their work and leads to specific actions.
Gorelick et al. (2004:42) state that challenge for an organisation's knowledge management function is to stimulate performance and enable correct action by getting the right knowledge, to the right people at the right time. For performance improvement generally it was thought to be performance and learning, but when learning is integral to change it becomes performance into learning, which will be sustained learning. Schwandt and marquardt (2000) state direct relationship between knowledge and action is an imperative for an organisation's sustained ability to continuously learn and grow.
Information Strategy and Planning
Planning is at the core of effective information systems. Planning as studied by Bedward & Stredwich (2004) state planning is usually divided into three levels:
- 1) Strategic - which deals with the big issues over a long period of time, perhaps two to five years.
- 2) tactical - which deals with plans we need to make to implement decisions made over the big issues in a timescale extending from tomorrow to a few years hence and
- 3) Operational - which deals with the day to day planning and implementation of details.
The type of information needed for each type of planning will differ for instance for strategic planning a broad set of data relating to the environment within which the organization works is required. For operational planning, precise and accurate knowledge of the internal situation is needed and for tactical planning, it is the combination of the two extremes.
Back to: Essay Examples
Conclusion
To conclude the above interdisciplinary and challenging subject, which is at the same time evolving dynamically and changing dynamically, I would like to quote the information age pioneer, Bill Gates (1999:413) Human beings are not the biggest animals. We're not the strongest or fastest. We're not the sharpest in sight or smell. It's amazing how we survived against the many fierce creatures of nature. We survived and prospered because of our brains. We evolved to fill the cognitive niche. We learned how to use tools, to build shelter, to invent agriculture to domesticate livestock, to develop civilization and culture, to cure and prevent disease. Our tools and technologies have helped us to shape the environments around us. The same principles apply in today's organisational world. Individual's need to adapt and learn to use the new technologies innovatively, and also contribute to organisational learning and evolution in order to allow ongoing benefits to organisations.
References:
Amaravadi, C.S., 2004. The laws of information system. Journal of management research, 4(3),129-139.
Bedward, D. and Stredwick,J., 2004. Managing information,core management. MA:Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann.
Covey, S. R., 1999. The 7 habits of highly effective people, powerful lessons in personal change. UK: Simon & Schuster
Davenport , T.H., and Prusak, L., 1998. Working knowledge: How organizations manage what they know. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.
Davenport, T.H. and Prusak, L., 1997. Information Ecology: Mastering the information and knowledge environment. New York, NY: Oxford university press.
Drucker, P. F., 1992.The age of discontinuity. NJ: Transaction Publisher's.
Drucker, P.F., 1999. Practice of management. MA: Butterworth-Heinemann.
Gates, B., 1999. Business @the speed of thought. NY: Warner books;Inc.
Gorelick, C., et al., 2004. Performance through learning, knowledge management in practice. MA: Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann.
Malhotra, Y., 2002. Information ecology and knowledge management: towards knowledge ecology for hyperturbulent organizational environment. In :Encyclopedia of life support systems.
Oxford,UK:UNESCO/EOLSS.
Mayhem,S., 2004. A dictionary of geography. UK: Oxford university press.
Parsons, T.A., 1951. A Sociological Approach to the theory of organizations:the social systems. New York: The free press.
Parsons,T.A., 1968. The structure of social action. New York:The free press.
Porter, M.E., 2004. Competitive Advantage, creating and sustaining superior performance. NY: First free press export edition.
Schwandt,D.R.,and Marquardt, M.J.,2000. Organisational learning:from world class theories to global best practices. Boca Raton,FL: St.Lucie Press.
Senge,P.M., 1990. The fifth discipline: the art and practiceof the learning organization. New York, : Doubleday.
Oxford university press, 2004. A dictionary of computing. GB: Oxford University Press.
More Free Information Systems Essays...
Get free Information Systems essays from our extensive online resource library. Hundreds of example essays available from all the major essay topics to help you with your research...
Please note: The above essay was written by a student and then submitted to us to display and help others. Thanks to all the students who have submitted work to us.
