What is Information?
The concept of information in an organizational sense is
more complex and difficult than the frequent use of this common word would
suggest. Information is data that have been interpreted and understood by the
recipient of the message. It will be noted that the user not just the sender is
involved in the transformation of data into information. There is a process of
thought and understanding involved and it follows that a given message can have
different meanings to different people. It also follows that data which have
been analyzed, summarized or processed in some other fashion to produce a
message or report which is conventionally deemed to be ‘management information’
only becomes information if it is understood by the recipient. It is the user
who determines whether a report contains information or just processed data.
Accordingly, it is vital for the producers of reports and messages of all types
to be aware of the user’s requirements, education, position in the organization,
familiarity (or otherwise) with language and numeracy and the context in which
the message will be used in order to increase the likelihood of information
being derived from the message.
Information is the knowledge and understanding that is
usable by the recipient. It reduces uncertainty and has surprise value. It must
tell the recipient something not already known which could not be predicted. It
a message or report does not have these attributes, as far as the recipient is
concerned, it contains merely data not information. This is a crucial point not
always fully appreciated by information specialists. The point has been well
put by Finlay. Without an efficient means of filtering and aggregating data, a
manager could be …data rich yet information poor.
THE
FUNCTION PERFORMED BY INFORMATION
In addition to the general function of improving knowledge,
information assists management in several ways including:
·
The reduction of uncertainty: uncertainty exists
where there is less than perfect knowledge. Rarely, if ever, is there perfect
knowledge but relevant information helps to reduce the unknown. This is
particularly relevant in planning and decision making.
·
As an aid to monitoring and control: By
providing information about performance and the extent of deviations from
planned levels of performance, management are better able to control operation.
·
As a means of communication: managers need to
know about developments, plans, forecasts, impending changes and so on.
·
As a memory supplement: by having historical information
about performance, transaction results of past actions and decisions available
for reference, personal memories are supplemented.
·
As an aid to simplification by reducing
uncertainty and enhancing understanding, problems and situations are simplified
and become more manageable.
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