01/25/19991 Information Management Introduction to Information and Information Resources Management LIS Martha Richardson

01/25/19992 What is Information? n There is no clearly understood and commonly agreed definition of information. n It is most often confused with data. Clive Holtham

01/25/19993 Data, Information n Data - “A representation of facts, concepts, or instructions in a formalized manner suitable for communication, interpretation, or processing by humans or automatic means. n Information - “The meaning that a human assigns to data by means of conventions used in their presentation.” Clive Holtham

01/25/19994 Data, Information n Data - “observations of states of the world” n Information - “data endowed with relevance and purpose” Tom Davenport

01/25/19995 n Data - Simple observations of states of the world u Easily structured u Easily captured on machines u Often quantified u Easily transferred Tom Davenport Data, Information, and Knowledge

01/25/19996 Data, Information, and Knowledge n Information - data endowed with relevance and purpose u Requires unit of analysis u Need concensus of meaning u Human mediation necessary Tom Davenport

01/25/19997 Data, Information, and Knowledge n Knowledge - Valuable information from the human mind. Includes reflection, synthesis, and context. u Hard to capture u Difficult to capture on machines u Often tacit u Hard to transfer Tom Davenport

01/25/19998 What is information management? n “the effective production, storage, retrieval, and dissemination of information in any format on any medium to support business objectives.”

01/25/19999 What is information management? n Having the right information, in the right place, in the right format, at the right time. Motto of special librarians

01/25/ Key resources of traditional economics n People n Money n Property/Equipment n Information

01/25/ Management Disciplines n People - Human Resources n Money - Financial n Property/Equipment - Facilities n Information - Information

01/25/ Information in business process

01/25/ Information Resources Management n Information technology view - held by computer and business disciplines n Integrative perspective - held by information studies disciplines

01/25/ Information Technology View n information equated with information technology n guide for better management of computer-based information systems n sole provider of organizational information

01/25/ Information resources n From IT Perspective u Computers (hardware and software) u MIS personnel u End-users

01/25/ Components of IRM n From IT Perspective u Resource management u Technology Management u Functional Management u Strategic Management u Distributed Management

01/25/ IRM Activities n From IT Perspective u Data planning u Capacity planning u Application selection u Information systems development u Data administration u Hardware and software acquisition u System integration

01/25/ IRM limitations n Through IT Perspective u Paper-based information still prevalent u Deals almost exclusively with internally produced data u Most important concerns are technology focused rather than context focused

01/25/ Integrative Perspective n Management approach to integrate and harmonize corporate information sources, services, and systems n Allows an organization to create or acquire, process, and store information and data of adequate quality, timeliness, and accuracy to support organizational goals at minimal cost.

01/25/ Information resources n From integrative perspective u user-based integrative framework u formal information flows and holdings u internal and external information u computer-based and noncomputer- based information systems

01/25/ Components of IRM n From integrative perspective u identifies information process & flow in an organization u identifies information needed to support corporate goals u manages information life-cycle u integrates knowledge and skills of people to maximize use of resources

01/25/ IRM Activities n From integrative perspective u data processing u telecommunications u records management u library/technical information center u office systems u research/statistical information management u information services/public information offices

01/25/ IRM concept n Recognition of information as a resource n Integrative management approach n Management of the information life-cycle n Link with strategic planning

01/25/ Benefits of Information Audit n Identifies information sources n Identifies information gaps and redundancy n Identifies owners and users of information n Identifies flow of information n Can result in cost savings

01/25/ Information as an asset n State of Texas Government Code Sec Legislative Findings and Policy (a) The legislature finds that: (1) information and information resources possessed by agencies of state government are strategic assets belonging to the residents of this state that must be managed as valuable state resources