Information as a Vital Tool in Planning, Managing, and Maintaining Organizations - Essay Example

Modern technology has improved or rather restored the use of management information systems in management in response to the changing business circumstances and environments. Therefore, information is a vital tool in planning, managing, and maintaining any organization. The modern age management aspects heavily rely on information management to succeed. Nothing meaningful can be achieved in any organization without information. This reality makes information more powerful than the managers themselves are (Beg, 2009).

Information has become a vital resource that is used in developing other resources. The changing business environments and circumstances have capacitated the need to disseminate information properly to all management levels. Businesses are trying to fight competition and changing business environments and circumstances by adopting the use and application of modern forms of management information systems that aim at providing appropriate information for better planning, decision-making, and results (Pradhan and Pradhan, 2009).

Despite the vital nature of information in any organization, some information concepts hinder the proper transition of information to all targeted groups or business organs. Notably, as any society is an information society; therefore, every organization is an information organization (Rich, 2010). This concept makes information a basic organizational resource with equal values as money, materials, and personnel. Within this understanding, information can be considered as a commodity, or abstract concept (ideas) that may be in the form of reports and letters (Ray, 2010).

As there are changes in the political and energy sectors, information has changed markedly following technological changes. There have been changes in the ways information is captured, stored, processed, disseminated, and used (Beg, 2009). Therefore, informational changes should be managed properly to realize its cost-effectiveness. Information is an ingredient of quality management, and if proper management is it equally becomes as powerful as an organization’s physical materials, personnel, and financial resources.

Currently, organizations are increasingly recognizing information as an independent resource from any form of technology that is used to manipulate it (Pradhan and Pradhan, 2009). Naturally, information has for a time been recognized as a cohesive element that binds different organs of any organization. Information is currently considered an unusual commodity, consumer durable, and not like other organizations’ physical goods. Its intangibility makes the enforcement of custody difficult.

Therefore, it is vital and quite necessary to define an intended system of information among other significant different managerial resources when developing any management framework. Form (non-numerical or numerical) or resources (internal or external) can distinguish/define the sources of information to apply (Rich, 2010). The non-numerical forms can be either unstructured or structured. Internal information is managerial information that generates form within the organization; such information is of considerable interest and value to decision-making.

External information is that information created from external sources. In most cases, external information is often published in the form of journals or books by either external contact, or the government among others (Beg, 2009). Information is basic ideas expressed and passed to the desired persons and departments within the organization. Moreover, it can be expressed in the form of ideas or facts through conventional expression. In addition, for organizations, information can be processed and conveyed in the form of data.

From the data Manager, the data information is often passed to the records managers in the form of reports and records (Pradhan and Pradhan, 2009). Information technology has ensured that vital data information is kept safely and accurately. These data are what facilitate or aid decision-making. Therefore, the right data, set to the right people at the right time is crucial for retailers. It is vital to note that information is often referenced at a particular period without which they are irrelevant.

For example, the customer in a department store selects goods and proceeds to the billing counter. At the counter, the billing clerk scans each of the customer’s products and then totals these items, and sums up the bill. While running the billing activity, the billing manager also confirms with the customer if she is a member of the store’s loyal program. Upon confirming, she is issued with a store card and she makes payment and leaves with her purchases. What is the pertinent information that can be extracted from the purchase?

The information gathered during the process calls for efficient stocking of the merchandise. Moreover, the information facilitates sales analysis and decision-making towards replenishment merchandise planning and restocking. If the store is overstocking a given commodity, the same information can be passed to the manufacturer to reduce production time. Furthermore, information can be analyzed through technologically aided data collection. The data collected from the customer reflects the frequency of purchase and the volume of purchases.

Additionally, information is vital to the storekeepers, since it enables them to evaluate the efficiency of operation (Beg, 2009). This can only be achieved if the management of the stores adopts the use of information technology and integrate its functions into the store's vital departments. Information Integration reduces the time of rolling tasks in the store (Ray, 2010). Thus, if the information reflects an increase in the purchase from the store then there will be a need for stocking and restocking. Thus, technological gathering of information is crucial for decision making particularly when the information is directed to the right person.