ITE 1200 – Information Management

Concepts and Fundamentals

Malcolm Williams
Department of Computer Science
University of Guyana
Organizational Theories & Principles
CONTEXT
This course provides the students with an introduction to the core
concepts in data and information management. Data and Information
management is the process of organizing data and information with the
goal of providing maximum benefits to an organization or an individual.
 Types of Organisational Theories
• There are several theories that explain the organization and its structure
1. Classic Organisational Theory
1. scientific management approach
2. bureaucratic approach, and
3. administrative theory.

2. Neoclassic Organisational Theory

1. D

3. Modern Organisational Theory

Classic Theory
 Scientific Management Approach
• The scientific management approach is based on the concept of planning
of work to achieve efficiency, standardization, specialization and
simplification.

• The approach to increased productivity is through mutual trust between

management and workers.

• Taylor (1947) proposed four principles of scientific management:

• science, not rule-of-thumb,
• scientific selection of the worker,
• management and labour cooperation rather than conflict, and
• scientific training of workers
 Bureaucratic Approach
• Weber's bureaucratic approach considers the organization as a part of broader
society.

• The organization is based on the principles of:

• structure;
• specialization;
• predictability and stability;
• rationality; and
• democracy.

• This approach is considered rigid, impersonal, self-perpetuating and empire

building.
 Administrative Theory
• Henry Fayol’s Administrative theory is based on several principles of
management.
• Management was considered as a set of functions:
• planning,
• organizing,
• training,
• commanding and
• coordinating functions.

• Management was considered to be based on a set of principles:

Division of work (specialization), Authority and responsibility, Discipline,
Unity of command, Unity of direction, Subordination of individual interest,
Remuneration of personnel, Centralization, Scalar chain, Order, Equity, Stability of
tenure of personnel, Initiative, Esprit de corps, The concept of line and staff,
Committees
Neoclassic Theory
 Neoclassic Theory
• Neoclassical theory emphasizes individual or group behaviour and
human relations in determining productivity.

• The main features of the neoclassical approach are:

• individual,
• work group and
• participatory management.
 Neoclassic con’t
• Whereas the classic approach was mechanistic and rigid, the neoclassical
approach introduced an informal organization structure and emphasized
the following principles:
• The individual An individual is not a mechanical tool but a distinct social being, with
aspirations beyond mere fulfilment of a few economic and security works.

• The work group The neoclassical approach highlighted the social facets of work
groups or informal organizations that operate within a formal organization. The
concept of 'group' and its synergistic benefits were considered important.

• Participative management Participative management or decision making permits

workers to participate in the decision making process. This was a new form of
management to ensure increases in productivity.
Modern Theory
 Modern Theories
• Modern theories are based on the concept that the organization is an
adaptive system which has to adjust to changes in its environment.

• In modern theory, an organization is defined as a designed and structured

process in which individuals interact for objectives (Hicks and Gullet, 1975)

• Modern theories include the:

• systems approach,
• socio-technical approach, and the
• contingency or situational approach.
 Systems Approach
• The systems approach considers the organization as a system
composed of a set of inter-related - and thus mutually dependent -
sub-systems.

• Organization consists of:

• components,
• linking processes and
• goals
 Systems Approach con’t
• COMPONENTS
• The individual
• The formal and informal organization
• Patterns of behaviour
• Role perception
• The physical environment

• LINKING PROCESSES
• Communication - means for eliciting action, exerting control and effecting coordination
• Balance – amongst the components
• Decision analysis – individual’s decisions wrt produce or participate

• GOALS OF ORGANIZATION
• Growth
• Stability
• Interaction
 Socio-Technical Approach
• The socio-technical approach considers the organization as
composed of:
• a social system,
• technical system and
• its environment.

• These systems interact among themselves

• It is necessary to balance the systems and their interactions

appropriately for effective functioning of the organization.
Contingency or Situational Approach
• The contingency or situational approach recognizes that
organizational systems are inter-related with their environment, and

• Different environments require different organizational relationships

for effective working of the organization.

• Based on the premise that there cannot be universal guidelines which

are suitable for all situations; and therefore organizational systems
are inter-related with the environment.
 Organisational Decision Making
• Decision making is choosing among alternatives.

• Decisions may pertain to

• broad policies or plans for the organization,
• programmes and projects to achieve goals, or
• operations of programmes and management systems.

• The process of decision making involves nine steps (Hicks and Gullet, 1975; Anderson 1988):
(i) Setting organizational goals.
(ii) Establishing performance criteria.
(iii) Classifying and defining the problem.
(iv) Developing criteria for a successful solution.
(v) Generating alternatives.
(vi) Comparing alternatives to criteria.
(vii) Choosing an alternative.
(viii) Implementing the decision.
(ix) Monitoring the decision and getting feedback.

• Process is extremely useful in making decisions about IT Governance; ie Investments in ICTs

Resource-based vs Knowledge-based Views of
the Organisation
• The resource-based view sees knowledge as a generic resource which
to some extent can provide a competitive advantage if, together with
other resources, is expressed in skills and utilized strategically

• Knowledge-based theorists consider knowledge to be the most

strategic resource of the firm. Proponents of the knowledge-based
view argue that knowledge-based resources are:
• hard to imitate,
• are socially complex,
• immobile and heterogeneous, and thus
• are major determinants of sustained competitive advantage.
Using Information Technology for Competitive
Advantage
 On Strategic Competitive Advantage
• Competitive Advantage is a property’s (or chain’s) ability to attain and
maintain a strong bottom line.

• Examples:
Efficient Reservation System
Lower operating overhead
Guest recognition system
 Introduction to Competitive Advantage
• Use technology to:
• lower your cost structure
• increase revenues and market share
• create unique value propositions for guests
• create unprecedented returns for investors or shareholders

• Creating competitive advantage requires creative, “out-of-the-box”

thinking

• After competitive advantage has been created, it must be sustained or

destroyed and either reinvented or replaced with something before
anyone has time to copy it and catch up to your lead.
 Technology Takes Center Stage
• Convergence: The coming together of numerous
technologies to make great things happen.

• Digital Convergence
• Miniaturization
• Portability
• Declining Costs
• Push Technology
• More Powerful Applications

• Speed, agility, connectivity, and the ability to amass and

subsequently employ knowledge, are key competitive
ingredients.
 Concept of Co-Alignment

• To be successful, a firm must be well aligned, both

internally and externally, with the forces driving
change in its business environment.

Firm
Strategic Resource Performance
Environmental Choices and Allocation
Events and
Competitive Decisions Competitive
Methods Advantage
 Michael Porter
• Five Forces Model  Generic Strategies
• Barriers to Entry  Low-Cost Producer
• Competition  Product
• Buyer Power Differentiation
• Supplier Power  Market Niche Focus

• Substitute
 Achieving Competitive Advantage
• What makes your firm a better choice over other options in the
marketplace?

• What is the deciding factor, the thing that really makes the
difference?
Examples of Competitive Advantage

• Economies of Scale
• Functionality
• Accuracy of Information
• Proprietary Technology
 Sustainability
• The ability of a firm’s workforce to creatively exploit the capabilities of
information technology to create new products and services that sell
well; it will not be derived from the technologies themselves.

• It will come in one of these forms:

• Innovations that result from a firm’s ability to effectively leverage its unique
resources
• Competitive asymmetry or differences between firms as a result of their
unique resources
• The ability to preempt competitive responses
Business – IT Alignment
 INFORMATION SYSTEMS
Overview

Information Systems and Management

 An Introduction to Information Systems
Information System:

An information system is a set of interrelated components that collect,

manipulate, store data and disseminate information and provide a feedback
mechanism to monitor performance.
What is an Information System?

An organized combination of people,

hardware, software, communications
networks, and data resources that
collects data, transforms it, and
disseminates information.
 Data Vs. Information
Data: Raw unorganized facts

Information:
A collection of facts organized in such a way that they have
additional value beyond the value of the facts themselves.

Defining and organizing relationships among data creates

information.
 Information Concepts
Process:
A set of logically related tasks performed to achieve a defined
outcome.

Knowledge:
An awareness and understanding of a set of information and
ways that information can be made useful to support a specific
task or reach a decision
 The Value of Information

The value of Information

is directly linked to how
it helps decision makers
achieve their organization’s
goals.
 System

A system is a set of elements or

components that interact to
accomplish goals.
 CBIS
Hardware:
Computer Equipment

Software:
Computer Programs

Databases:
An organized collections of facts
 CBIS
Telecommunications:
Electronic transmission of signals for communication

 Networks: Distant electronic communication

 Internet: Interconnected Networks
 Intranet: Internal Corporate Network
 Extranet: Linked Intranets
 CBIS
People

Procedures:
Strategies, policies, methods, and rules
for using a CBIS.
Business Information Systems
 TPS and ERP
• Transaction
• business related exchange
• Evidence of a business event
• Transaction Processing System (TPS)
• A system which records completed business transactions
• Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
• A set of integrated programs for managing the entire business operations
 Business Information Systems
Management Information System:
A system used to provide routine information to managers
and decision makers

Decision Support System:

A system used to support problem- specific decision making
 Specialized Business I.S.
Artificial Intelligence (AI):

A field in which the computer takes on the

characteristics of human intelligence
Expert System:
A system that gives a computer the ability to make
suggestions and act like an expert in a particular
field.

Knowledge Base:
The collection of data, rules, procedures,
and relationships that must be followed
to achieve value or the proper outcome.
Virtual Reality:

The simulation of a real or imagined

environment that can be experienced
visually in three dimensions
Systems Development
Systems Development:

The activity of creating or modifying existing

business information systems
Systems Investigation and Analysis

Understand the problem

and potential solutions
Systems Design, Implementation,
Maintenance and Review

 Determine how the new system will

meet business needs
 Put the new system into operation
 Ensure the system continues to meet
changing business needs
 Information Systems in Society

Security, Privacy, Ethical Issues in Information

Systems and the Internet.
General Information Systems Diagram
Management
Decisions
(Environment)

Data Input Process Output Information

Control

Feedback
Data:
Raw unorganized facts

Information:
Data organized in a meaningful way for
the user (in consideration of the
environment)
 Informal Information System

Each organization has a unique culture, or

fundamental set of assumptions, values, and ways of
doing things, that has been accepted by most of its
members
 Information System Activities

1. Input of Data Resources

2. Process Data into Information
3. Output of Information
 Input of Data Resources
• Data entry
• Editing
• Machine readable
• Source documents
• Formal record of a transaction
• User interface
• How users interact with information system
• Optical scanning; menu; prompts; fill in blanks
 Process Data into Information
• Calculate
• Compare
• Sort
• Classify
• Summarize

The quality of the data must be maintained by a continual process of

correcting and updating activities
 Output of Information
• Transmit information to users
• Display; paper; audio

• Storage of data
• Data are retained in an organized manner
• Fields; records; files; data bases

• Control of system performance

• Feedback must be monitored and evaluated to determine if the information
system is meeting established performance standards
 Systems Applications in the Organization

Decisions Management Levels Information Systems

Unstructured Senior ESS

Strategic Management
DSS
Knowledge and
GIS, CAD/CAM,
Tactical Data Worker
OAS
Middle
Management MIS

Lower
TPS
Management
Technical
(Operational)
Buy Make Sell Keep
Functions
Structured Track