Information Management

The basic goal of information management is to harness the information resources

and information capabilities of the organization in order to enable the organization
to learn and adapt to its changing environment. Informati on creati on ,
acqu i si ti on , storage, an al ysi s an d u se therefore prov i de the i n tel l ectu al l atti
cew ork that
su pports the grow th an d dev el opmen t of the i n tel l i gen t organ i zati on . The
cen tral actors i n
i n formati on man agemen t mu st be the i n formati on u sers themsel v es, w orki n
g i n partn ershi p
w i th a cast that i n cl u des i n formati on speci al i sts an d i n formati on techn ol
ogi sts. I n formati on
man agemen t mu st address the soci al an d si tu ati on al con texts of i n formati on
u se -- i n formati on
i s gi v en mean i n g an d pu rpose throu gh the shari n g of men tal an d affecti v e
en ergi es amon g a
grou p of parti ci pan ts en gaged i n sol v i n g probl ems or maki n g sen se of u n cl
ear si tu ati on s.
Con ceptu al l y, i n formati on man agemen t may be thou ght of as a set of processes
that su pport
an d are symmetri cal w i th the organ i zati on ' s l earn i n g acti v i ti es. Si x di sti n
ct bu t rel ated
i n formati on man agemen t processes may be di scern ed (Fi g. 2): i den ti fyi n g i n
formati on n eeds,
acqu i ri n g i n formati on , organ i zi n g an d stori n g i n formati on , dev el opi n g i
n formati on produ cts an d

serv i ces, di stri bu ti n g i n formati on , an d u si n g i n formati on

An information model of the organization would provide a theoretical

framework for analyzing the information needs of an organization, the
processes by which information is acquired and utilized, and the purposes
which underlie the use of information.
Choos information management cycle

Chun Wei Choo presented a process model of information management. In the

process model, Choo illustrated the information management process as a
continuous cycle consisting of six interlinked activities supporting and working in
parallel with the learning activities of an organization: identifications of information
needs; information acquisition; information organization and storage; development
of information products and service; information distribution; and information use.
The process then restarts at the right-end with adaptive behavior when new
information is created by the organization. The system aims to provide the endusers with relevant information. Intelligent organizations gain from having access to
varied sources of good quality information. Thus, it is beneficial to be provided with
information through various information products and services able to cover
different time horizons and different information focuses.

Information Needs
Choo described information needs as originating from when organization members
seek information about how to make decisions and solve problems in organizational
specific situations and experiences encountered in uncertain and volatile
environments. These situations and experiences are composed by several factors in
addition to those related to the subject itself, for example, functional constraints,
organizational style, professional norms, degree of risk, amount of control, and so
forth. Analysis of information needs must ask more than just What do you want to
know? but also questions as: Why do you need to know it? What does your
problem do look like? What do you know already? What do you anticipate
finding? How will this help you? How do you need to know it? and In what form
do you need to know it? The identification of information needs should focus on
being representative for the true needs of the users. The true needs of the users
must be the basis for a well-functioning information management process.
Information Acquisition
Information acquisition is in turn driven by information needs and must be
performed in a way that correctly addresses information requirements of the
organization. However, information acquisition is a complex function since it has to
combine two opposing demands: the wide-ranging diversity of the organizations
information needs and the limitations of human attention and cognitive capacity.
There is a need control that information variety is maintained and a powerful way of
doing this is to involve as many persons as possible in the information gathering
process. It is important to evaluate the sources of information and to constantly
match sources with information needs of the organization, which in turn also has to
be constantly re-examined. When creating information, it is important to make sure

that the document contains relevant content and contextual information. This must
be done in order to ensure that the transaction in question has been fully and
appropriately documented, but also so that the document has value as a source of
information to others.
Information Organization and Storage
Historically, the storage of information has been used to streamline paperwork
procedures and to reduce the actual cost of information handling. In the efficient
organization however, the value is that a well-functioning information storage
system makes it easier to find information addressing more specific purposes or
problems. Effective storage constitutes a vital part in the organizational memory
and enables personnel to go back and look at organizational history and thereby
find ways/methods used in the past. Also, the memory stored in a database
constitutes a vital source for decision-making.
As previously stated, codified knowledge sharing can be argued to be especially
beneficial when a large organization is trying to distribute procedural knowledge
and thus, the people-to-document approach should be accompanied by a database
that is well-developed. One of the key factors in a database is the structure; just
imagine how difficult it would be to get any information from a system if the
knowledge were stored in an unorganized way, or if there were no efficient way to
retrieve it.
An effective database should contain organized data so that it can be easily
accessed, processed, retrieved, managed and updated. One way of obtaining
structured databases is to use a database management approach. This method
merges and organizes previously separate files from different sources into
warehouses that store the data. It is very important that the data has been cleared,
transformed, and cataloged so that is can be easily accessed and retrieved by the
end user. In short, if a person is to be able to search for and acquire information,
the information must have been stored somewhere in some form. The form of the
stored information is very important for the personnels ease of later acquiring the
information. It is important to organize and store the acquired information in ways
enabling information sharing and retrieval.
One way of organizing data is through classification and indexing, this can be
regarded as a way of packaging information into easily re-presentable items that is
convenient for the users. The organization must establish an integrated records
management and archival policy to enable it to create, preserve, and leverage its
corporate memory. Another important feature of the information storage is that
the contained documents often represent an organizations best, and sometimes
only, link to the past. Also, large organizations undertake a wide variety of
functions and have complex administrative structures leading to difficulties in
coordination.

Information Products and Services

The information products and services are closely interlinked to the organization,
storage and distribution of knowledge. The products and services can be seen as a
helper in sharing stored information. Information products and services should, in
order to be meaningful, address matters relevant for solving different types of
problems. An information system is usually consisting of a combination of people,
hardware, software, communication networks, data resources, and policies and
procedures that stores, retrieves, transforms, and disseminates information in an
organization.
Information systems are central components in any successful information
management process and must therefore be carefully managed and adapted to an
organizations specific needs Thus, it is not enough to have well-structured data in
order for an information management system to be efficient. The database has to
be accompanied by equally developed hardware and software. These two function
as a facilitating link between the data and end user. The search procedure is the
central part within the interaction between the user and the catalog
Thus, information retrieval devices, such as search engines, must efficiently respond
to user requests and making past information available. However, the computerized
system cannot do much other than selecting from what is stored, i.e. information
that is not represented in the available indices and relationships that do not appear
as links cannot be operated upon and are therefore neither searchable not
receivable intentionally.
The end-user also plays an important part in the information system. Thus, it is
important that the product takes its start-off in the user opinion towards keyfeatures such as application input, processing, output and storage. The users should
also get training in how to use applications and programs correctly.
Information Distribution
Information distribution is important since it is the process for redistributing and
sharing information from different sources throughout the group. Well-functioning
information distribution process facilitates more active learning in the organization
and makes it more likely that information is retrieved from the system, which in turn
further increases the possibilities for new learning by linking previously separate
information together. The information distribution is highly dependent on the
previously discussed features storage and products and services. This is the case
since the potential distribution of information is largely affected by how wellfunctioning the products distributing the information is, which in turn is affected by
how well stored the information is. In the process model by Choo, the sharing and
distribution of knowledge and information is a prerequisite for perception and
interpretation. Moreover, the delivery of information should be implemented in
ways adapted to work-procedures and preferences of the end-users, and focus

should be on providing them with as good information as possible for performing

their work. The distribution of information is highly dependent on the information
intermediaries previously discussed, i.e. the products and services. An intermediary
can be seen as independent information processing system carrying out the
information acquisition, processing, organizing and distribution based on the end
users information need. In short, the information intermediary can be seen as a
system that mediates between the producers and consumers of information.
Information Use
This element in the information management process model describes how
information may be interpretive process in order to make meaningful and function
as a basis for decision-making processes. In organizational learning, individuals use
information to create knowledge, not just in the sense of data and facts but in the
form of representations that provide meaning and context for purposive action.
Thus, there should be flexibility in information representation in the information
processes for facilitating that information is used for creating meaning and
promoting understanding for how to solve problems.
FRAMEWORK WORK INFORMATION MANAGEMENT BY JENNIFER ROWLEY