01 Introduction and Foundation Flashcards
1
Q
According to the MIMF paper, what are the 6 significantly different yet equally prominent notions of IM?
A
-
Practical applications of IT
- By: Computer Science, Engineering
- Application of information and communication technology and software development.
-
Emerging patterns of informatisation
- By: Business administration, Management studies
- IT diffusion in information intensive business settings, IT-based information supply.
-
Using IT to store, retrieve and provide information
- By: Information science, Computer science
- Technology and techniques for organizing, storing, administering and providing data, records and information.
-
Executives’ responsibility in planning, building and running IT systems
- By: Management studies, Business administration
- Executives roles, responsibilities and duties in assuring an effective and economically efficient use of IT to support information processing in business.
-
Economics of IT and the profitability of the IT organization
- By: Business administration, Information science
- Choices for investment and sourcing decisions. IT-relevant costs and benefits, investments appraisal and evaluation.
-
Management in the Information Age
- By: Management studies, Social sciences
- Strategy and management in the digital and global economy. The role of IT in information intensive industries and businesses.
2
Q
What were the two historical studies that shaped the perception of today’s IM?
A
- The Stage Hypothesis by Gibson and Nolan (diffusion of data processing technology)
- The Paperwork Reduction Act by The US Congress (analysis of paperwork done in US administration and public organizations)
3
Q
What is the Stage Hypothesis? Describe each of its 6 stages:
A
Conducted by Gibson and Nolan, this investigation on the diffusion of data processing technology in firms identified six development stages of growth and learning in IT adoption and IS deployment.
- Initiation (batch processing, operational and cost reduction view)
- Contagion (rapid growth, data processing, tendency to centralize IT)
- Control (high costs produce controls, plans, dev standards and methodologies implemented)
- Integration (expenditure to integrate current solutions, services rather than tech solutions)
- Data Administration (value on information, information requirements drive application portfolio)
- Maturity (planning and development of IS/IT is in coordination with business development).
4
Q
What is The Paperwork Reduction Art? Explain it and describe its findings.
A
- In the 70’s the US Congress charged a comission to analyze the paperwork done in the US administration and public organizations.
- A basic assumption was that introducing computers would overcome the burden in paperwork.
- Findings pointed to an effective (better) management of information rather than fostering the use of computers.
- A core recommendation was to designate a senior official for the responsibility of the collection, use and dissemination of information (the Information Resource Manager).
5
Q
Which Academic Disciplines are related to Information Management?
A
- Library Science (organization, storage, retrieval, disemination of information sources).
- Documentation Science (scientific and technical documents, improving ways of storing and delivering).
- Information Science (provision of human actors with information they need to fulfil their actions: delivery, demand, communication, relation of users and producers).
- Computer Science (methods for representing and algorithmically transforming information)
- Business Administration (management of companies and operations for sustainable growth/profit; controlled spending on ICT)
- Information Systems (how IT can improve information and communication in organizations. IS as socio-technical systems).
- Behavioural Sciences
- Information and Communication Sciences
- Economics
- Engieering Science
* Multi-disciplinary: the german Wirtschaftsinformatik (Business Informatics) whose research is concerned with the “efficient and effective use of Information Technology”.
6
Q
Studies on society and technology have identified a number of (8) features that characterize societal infrastructures. Which are those?
A
- Shared resource (a foundation, for a community, provides services with broad reach)
- Embeded in social practice (related to the context in which they are used in practice)
- Taken for granted (normally invisible or consciously reflected but visible upon breakdown)
- Heterogeneous (different tech and non-tech components)
- Standardized (standards are the means to provide interconections)
- Open (absence of hard boundaries)
- Evolving (evolve dynamically, over long periods of time)
- Building on an installed base (existing infrastructure enables/constrains future infrastructure)
7
Q
Define an Information Infrastructure and its key characteristics:
A
An Information Infrastructure (IIS) is comprised of all prerequisites within an organization that facilitate information and communication in support of the fulfilment of its purpose and aims.
An IIS is shared throughout the organization and its embedded into organizational information and communication practices. An IIS focuses not only on technical facilities but also all prerequisites for information and communication. These elements are heterogeneous including not only hardware and software but also data and information and the organizational arrangements for collecting, storing, protecting and disseminating information.
An IIS is open to improvements and extensions. The IIS is located into the development of an installed IIS base. Finally, the IIS are increasingly linked to each other through inter-organizational infrastructures and to the internet as a global IIS.
Key terms:
- Shared resource (providing support for different business functions and processes)
- Open (to different areas of use and different user groups, scaled/re-configured to demands)
- Heterogeneous (different resources and tech components)
- Embedded in and co-evolves with social practices (in close relation to information and communication structures, behaviour and conduct).
- Installed base (infrastructure development must take into account an installed base of components that constraints/enables future developments).
8
Q
Describe the 3 layers of an integrated IIS and how they interact together:
A
- The 3 layers are related to each other via service relationships. They interact by upper layers imposing requirements on lower ones, while lower layers provide their services to upper ones.
- The higher the layer the less technical it is and the more do the services provided support specific business purposes. The lower the layer, the more technical it is and the more universal are the services provided.
-
Information Resources
- Focusing on business information, serving organizational purposes and the purposes of businesses firms. In the form of a stock of information that has been institutionalized for repeated use by different classess of users.
-
Application Systems
- Focuses on how IT is applied to a specific business problem or task. AS orchestrate software and hardware components towards the fulfillment of a business task or the solution of a business problem. An AS is a technical system whose central element is the application software.
-
Technical Infrastructure
- The IT infrastructure provides the shared IT resources that constitute a foundation for present/future business applications. Consists of hard/software components independent of specific applications and capable of supporting different AS.
-
Information Resources
9
Q
Elaborate on the foundations of the Information Resources layer:
A
- The Information is understood as something that provides an increase in decision relevant knowledge.
- Information is also that explicit knowledge that human beings provide or use for organizational purposes. Is the result of human learning and life experience and start/ends in human minds, it is explicit in the sense that it exists on a phyisical marker (bits) and because it can also be explained.
- Explicitness goes in line with the definition proposed by Computer Science and Engineering treating information as either a message (technically transferable) or data (machine processable).
- The focus of IM is on business information serving organizational purposes that can be reused like a resource by different classes of users.
- The importance of amounts of information as big data and the compliance of information is also relevant.
10
Q
Elaborate on the foundations of the Application Systems layer:
A
- The AS (Application Systems) layer is located at the center of the IIS model, it defines how information technology is applied to a specific business problem or task.
- It relates business tasks and IT.
- AS orchestrates software and hardware components towards the fulfilment of a business task or solution of a business problem.
- AS is closely related to “application software”, that is software that allows purposeful tasks (spreadsheets, dedicated business apps).
- AS is a technical system whose central element is the application software which might include specialized hardware components.
- AS is merely a technical solution that can be reused on different parts of an organization (see difference with IS).
11
Q
Elaborate on the foundations of the Technical Infrastructure layer:
A
- The TI (Technical Infrastructure) provides the shared IT resources that constitute a foundation for present and future business applications.
- Most AS are connected and share common data and network services through a corporate information technology infrastructure.
- TI layer consists of hard and software components that are independent of specific applications and capable of supporting a number of different AS.
- They are usually bought rather than built. An TI is open to several different uses.
- Sub-layers
-
1c Software platforms (basic functionalities that can be used by AS)
- DBMS, Workflow management systems, Document management systems
-
1b System software (makes hardware ready to business-oriented functions)
- Services and protocols, middleware, operating systems
-
1a Hardware (physical components)
- Computers, peripheral, networks, transmission devices, terminals
-
1c Software platforms (basic functionalities that can be used by AS)
12
Q
Explain how the Information Infrastructure (IIS) is linked to the Business Organization:
A
- The IIS is embedded into social structures while also provides a basis for social action.
- An IIS is embedded into social structures and pervades the organization just like veins or nerves do in living organisms.
- An IIS as a basis that provides organizations with the prerequisites for information and communication. These services can be provided to any location linked to the IIS through:
- Reach (locations and people the infrastructure is capable of connecting and supporting with services).
- Range (the richness of the services provided, the spectrum of business activites supported).
- Finally the IS lens highlights how human users make use of the IIS for the purpose of processing and exchanging information in the fulfilment of business tasks.
13
Q
What is the (broad) definition of Information Management (IM)?
A
- Broad inclusive definition: different disciplines hold stakes in IM as it is a multidisciplinary field of study (planning, building, operating, maintaining an IIS).
-
IRM Information Resource Management
- Enterprise information integration, data protection, information compliance, content management, big data, master data management…
-
ASM Application Systems Management
- Enterprise application integration, application architecture management, standard software, software engineering, integration of standard apps…
-
TIM Technical Infrastructure Management
- Server virtualization, standardization, internetworking, identity and access control, data centre operations…
-
IRM Information Resource Management
-
IF Information Function
- All tasks concerned with planning, building, operating and maintaining the IIS of an organization.
14
Q
What is the focused (narrow) definition of Information Management?
A
- It is based on the narrower definition of management: to exercise executive, administrative and supervisory direction.
- Thus, IM (Information Management) is defined as including only the tasks and responsibilities of management executives in developing and maintaining an organization’s IIS.
- IM can be seen as a managerial perspective on the Information Function, perceived as a true subset of the IF tasks.
- This definition is in line with Business Administration, where it is a common practice to organize the study of business tasks in functional areas with managerial tasks.
- It also comprehends the tasks involved in management of the IF (POSC):
- Planning (setting objectives and determining how to accomplish these objectives)
- Organising (allocating human resources to business tasks and defining interacting rules among humans and technology).
- Staffing (adressing the challenge of finding the right personnel for performing business tasks, also leadership).
- Controlling (aims at ensuring that performance adheres to the standards predefined in planning).
- Thus, based on POSC, IM can be understood as a specific cross-sectional management concern dedicated to enabling effective and efficient information and communication in the organization.
15
Q
What is the Information Function and what are its tasks?
A
- It is a support function, characterized as a specific cross-sectional business function that provides others business functions with the prerequisites for effective organizational information and communication by means of the IIS.
- IF are all tasks concerned with planning, building, operating and maintaining the IIS of an organization.
17
Q
Describe the Münster IM Framework, elaborate on each of its layers:
A
- A Normative Information Management layer covers the norms, principles and rules which give orientation to the managerial actions. Some aspects of information processing have to be achieved: ethical concerns, sustainability, compliance, social responsibility, property rights, privacy, etc.
- Strategic IM (SIM) layer is concerned with the overall planning of the IIS and the related IF in favour and for the best value of the organization. It has a specific interest in how IT can be used to provide the organization with a competitve edge and how business and IT strategy are aligned.
- Tactical IM (TIM) is the mediator between strategic and operative IM. It focuses on the IIS as a whole and is concerned with its development and adaptation. The main TIM tasks is the definition of the overall IIS architecture to implement the strategy developed by SIM and in planning and controlling the IT investments (strategic and operational investments).
- Operative IM (OIM) has its core concern in ensuring smooth IIS operations in order to provide reliable IT services to the business. Supervising day-to-day IIS operations is the main duty. Also takes responsibility for maintenance of the IIS and its adaption to changing conditions.
19
Q
Why Information Management is considered to be “at the heart of contemporary management”?
A
- Because an IIS can be considered to be a “nerve system” of Information Age Organizations (refer to brain-like image of business functions).
- Because an IIS can be seen as an underlying base for doing information age business (refer to the image of IS inside a business organization lying on top of an ISS).
