The Factors Related to Strategies for the Management - Literature review Example

A critical, and comparative, literature review of 6 articles on the following ‘Evaluate the factors related to strategy(ies) for the management of info Introduction In modern society information is being related almost with all aspects of our lives. From scientific research of the activities of daily life, information provides the knowledge necessary for the design and the development of the particular tasks. In this context, information management has been considered as the most important factor for the successful business and individual activities. Generally, there is not a specific strategy for the design and the usage of the information, which could be applied in all the particular sectors. However, there are many of such strategies that cover every area of the scientific, the commercial, the educational and the personal activities. This paper refers to a comparative study of six articles related with the factors that can influence the strategies followed in the management of information. More specifically, the papers under examination are this of Blenski (2004) who studied the relationship between the risk management and the management of information, this of Brent and Douglas (2004) who examined the role and the usage of information management to the evaluation and the control of intellectual assets, the work of Charp (2001) who referred to general aspects of information management, the work of Desenberg (2000) who examined specifically the management of knowledge (as the greater area in which information management activates), this of Nychka, D., Gray, G., Haaland, P., Martin, D., O’Connell, M. (1995) who studied a particular area of use of information management, the medicine and finally the work of Rhodes (2002) who proposed a method (DEA) for the evaluation and analysis of data using innovative technology. Comparative analysis Brent and Douglas (2004) tried to identify the strategies, which could be used for the management of the information related with intellectual assets. According to them ‘information and cultural products exhibit at least four unique characteristics: a) no fixed tangible qualities or fixed form (e.g. a movie may be shown at a theater, broadcast on network television or sold on a VHS tape or DVD), b) exchange does not require direct contact between the seller and buyer, c) value of the product is derived from content not from the physical artifact employed in distribution and d) the right to reproduce or distribute the product is often restricted’ (Office of Management and Budget, 1998, in Brent and Douglas, 2004, 443). They also state that ‘interventions in IA flows can be categorized based on whether the intervention attempts to shape the way in which individuals experience information goods (experiential interventions), alter social norms that govern the use and exchange of such goods (normative interventions), or influence the legal framework that governs information production and distribution (legal interventions)’ (Brent and Douglas, 2004, 443). Their assumptions seem to agree with those of Desenberg (2000) according to whom the major volume of information is holding by the individuals who handle its transmission to the interested parties. More specifically Desenberg states that: ‘for most companies and nearly all government agencies, only ‘nuggets’ of knowledge exist. We just don’t know how to identify and use them… Most knowledge is not shared, but kept locally by individuals. Sharing knowledge in a business is a difficult task’. Moreover, he thinks that the help of technology towards the sharing of knowledge is not particular important, but just to the level that can ‘bring people together and create a culture of sharing’ (Dosenberg, 2000, 52). Regarding the identification of information, Brent and Thomas (2004, 446) state that at first level information is not free. More specifically, ‘it must be collected, codified and stored, which is costly’. Furthermore, they state that ‘when information is exchanged, its intangible nature and non-rivalrous qualities (i.e. it cannot be ‘used up’) make it difficult to value’. On the other hand, Desenberg (2000) considers that the most appropriate method to identify and use information is through the knowledge management, which can be help towards that direction only if a series of prerequisites exist. An indicative presentation of these ‘requirements’ can be as follows (Desenberg, 2000, 2000, 53): a) the first prerequisite for immersing oneself in a subject is attraction (in this context it should be made effort to ensure that people work in fields where they feel engaged and attracted), b) a second major element is access, c) the third and the most important element is action’. According to Desenberg capturing information is not the main aim of knowledge management and not the ideal destination of information. The most important element when participating in the knowledge management activity is to use the information that has been collected under specific methods. However, this usage should not be made without a serious consideration of the aims targeted by such an initiative. Charp (2001) examines the strategies proposed in the article ‘Prepare your Campus for Business’ which is being published to Educause Quarterly (vol. 25, no. 2, 2000). This article presents four strategies used at Pricewaterhouse Coopers, which they ‘believe as relevant for all industries including higher education’. These four strategies are: ‘presence, integration, transformation and convergence’. The above strategies are analyzed by Charp (2001, 10) as follows: ‘a) the presence strategy creates a place on the Internet that describes the educational institution and included lists of courses, services, online purchasing procedures, catalogs, etc., b) in the integration stage, the institution reaches beyond its own walls, linking with funding agencies, vendors, subcontractors etc., c) during the transformation stage, strategic partnerships are formed. Finding the ‘best’ vendors’ becomes a challenge, d) the convergence strategy recognizes the trends of other industries that are catering to the learning environment’. These strategies, as described above, are based almost totally in the use of technology. This assumption although can be right up to a point is opposite with the views of Desenberg (2000) who thinks that technology is ‘necessary but not sufficient’. Moreover, he states that ‘knowledge management has to be about people and what they know. Start with a business problem and people and you are a lot more likely to see success than starting with a fancy technology build-out and a ‘they shall come’ attitude’ (Desenberg, 2000, 54). Rhodes (2002) tried to use data envelopment analysis (DEA) as a method for evaluation of environmental quality and justice. This method, according to Rhodes, ‘was borrowed from the field of operations research’. Moreover, it is stated that ‘this method can be used for the evaluation of the relative potential exposure of various populations to a multi-media of environmental hazards. Nevertheless, the use of DEA in such environmental quality or justice situations offers one of the few methods for assessing multiple condition problems’ (Rhodes, 2002, 253-254). To a more detailed explanation of the method, Rhodes states that ‘DEA evaluates how well a particular program or operation performs relative to other programs performing similar tasks. Such a relative evaluation is obtained via a DEA estimation of a single or scalar measurement or performance efficiency’. As Rhodes admits, ‘DEA has been particularly successful in public sector applications’. The method that is proposed by Rhodes, is – at first sight – a very useful ‘tool’ for the evaluation of information. It seems however that it lacks of applicability in areas where the information gathered is not sufficient or not integrated to the level which is required in order for a secure result to be obtained. This ‘weakness’ can explain the fact that this method is mostly used in public institutions. As Rhodes accepts ‘DEA by itself does not prove or disprove anything. It just provides an insight into some condition behavior. That insight is still dependent upon the quality of the initial information placed into the DEA algorithm’ (Rhodes, 2002, 258-259). While the above strategies are referred either to the identification or the evaluation of information, there is an area which needs a lot of research, this of the security of information. According to Bielski (2004, 53-56) there are certain points that need consideration regarding the protection of information exchanged particularly when this refers to personal financial data. In this context, she proposes the following: ‘a) Banks need to make sure they have the basics of a ‘layered defense’ down first. Then they can be prepared to consider content controls, b) Banks need to face the challenges of a decentralized environment, by thinking about who has access to that application, and thinking about the data, c) Give desktops special attention. Understand that the network and perimeter defenses are fairly simple to lock down and manage on a centralized basis, but individual desktops are still, in most places, the ‘wild and woolly frontier’, d) factor mobile computing into your plan by focusing on content control, e) you need a framework to get the right perspective on you real security requirements, f) the business has a life cycle and so do your assets and you should know how to dispose of them correctly’. The above advice given by Bielski can be considered as very important regarding the security of the data obtained or exchanged. On the other hand, there is no reference for the cases that the data involved are not in a computer system i.e. when they do not have a digital form which is the case for a series of situations, mostly in the public sector but also in the data held by individuals. On the other hand, Nychka, Gray, Haaland, Martin and O’Connell try to explore the methods used in the ‘biomedical products industry in order to measure the quality of individual clinical specimens or manufacturing production units’. Their research which refer to the evaluation of information in the medical area, aims to help ‘predicting syringe grades’ and combines ‘four basic ingredients: a) nonparametric regression techniques to extract distinctive features of the friction profiles, b) variable selection for identifying a parsimonious subset of features, c) nonlinear regression to estimate a predictive classification model and d) leave-one-out cross-validation of this model to estimate the average prediction error’ (Nychka, Gray, Haaland, Martin and O’Connell, 1995, 1177-1178). The above model presents the possible ways of evaluate results in the field of medical science. However, as the authors state ‘the work may serve as a blueprint for other studies involving prediction of semiqualitative properties from continuous recordings produced by an instrument’. Moreover, it ‘illustrates the potential for transferring knowledge from an expert to a routine user’ Nychka, Gray, Haaland, Martin and O’Connell, 1995, 1178). However, the use of technology to the information management should be carefully examined for potential risks of releasing personal data to unauthorized persons. As an example of such a case we could mention the study made by Eddy, E.R., Stone, D.L., Stone-Romero, E.F. (1999, 357) who examined the role of information management to the formulation and the operation of a human resource strategy. According to their findings ‘invasion of privacy and fairness are separate, but correlated, constructs’. Furthermore, it seems that there is a necessity for ‘policies that allow authorization before the release of personal information outside the boundaries of an organization’. Towards this direction, we could also mention to the ethics applied in each science area, which impose the very careful usage of any data related with the public in general or the individuals personally. According to Reamer (2002, 370) ethics should be recognized and applied in every area of the public services (which especially examines in his paper). He also considers that ‘social workers should examine more carefully the ethical dimensions of their practice’ referring to the ‘social work ethics audit’ which is a procedure used for the analysis of knowledge acquired in the workplace. On the other hand, information management could help to confront major political and social problems, which could not otherwise be addressed. As an example O’Connell and Tomes (2003, 32) consider that ‘Managing Knowledge to sustain information edge is less about infrastructure than leadership, engendering cultural change, encouraging entrepreneurial analysis, and learning to accept risk, whether in operational, informational or acquisition processes’. Conclusion The identification and the evaluation of information have been a priority for several of its users. A first problem seems to be the fact that information tends to differentiate in accordance with the area and the parties involved. This can be solved by the application of specific methods regarding each particular area of scientific, commercial or individual activity. These methods should be examined however for the integrity and the validity of their results as well as for the security offered during the data exchanges. It seems that the competition for the gathering and the evaluation of knowledge will last for a long. A relevant research showed that such a situation may create an ‘information cycle that spins out of control’ Hansen, M.T., Haas, M.R. (2001, 17). To this we should add the case of ‘gathering of unnecessary information’, which could also create difficulties regarding its analysis and its usage (Jungwirth, B., Bruce, B.C., 2002). Comparing the studies under examination we could state that this of Bleski refers to a more general aspect of the issue of information management. On the other hand the works of Charp and Desenberg are connected mostly with the relationship between the knowledge and the information and the management of these two towards a successful evaluation and usage of data. Moreover, the works of Brent/ Douglas and Nychka et al. refer to more particular areas of information management, this of the intellectual assets (as an approach of the information/ knowledge) and this of medicine. Finally the work of Rhodes can be used in order to present a potential technology usage to the information management as an integrated procedure. The above studies tend to approach the issue from different aspect; they are however all referred to problems appeared when gathering and evaluating information no matter if this is related with personal data or those belonged to the public. From this point of view the above studies should be combined in order to create an integrate view of information management as it can be viewed both in literature and in terms of everyday life. References (the articles compared are highlighted) Blenski, L. (2004) ‘Keep Proprietary Information in Its Place: Running an ‘Enterprise with control, Insight and an Eye on Risk Management’, ABA Banking Journal, 52-57 Brent, D.B., Douglas, E.T. (2004) ‘Strategic Options for Managing Intellectual Assets Flows in the Information Sector’, Journal of Managerial Issues, 16(4): 442-455 Charp, S. (2001) ‘Management’, THE Journal, 28(7): 10-11 Desenberg, J., (2000) ‘Moving Past the Information Age: Getting Started with Knowledge Management’, The Public Manager, 29(2): 52-55 Eddy, E.R., Stone, D.L., Stone-Romero, E.F. (1999) ‘The Effects of Information Management Policies on Reactions to Human Resource Information Systems: An Integration of Privacy and Procedural Justice Perspective’ Personnel Psychology, 52(2): 335-358 Hansen, M.T., Haas, M.R. (2001) ‘Competing for Attention in Knowledge Markets: Electronic Document Dissemination in a Management Consulting Company’, Administrative Science Quarterly, 46(1):1-23 Jungwirth, B., Bruce, B.C. (2002) ‘Information Overload: Threat or Opportunity’, Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 45(5): 400-422 Nychka, D., Gray, G., Haaland, P., Martin, D., O’Connell, M. (1995) ‘A Nonparametric Regression Approach to Syringe Grading for Quality Improvement’, Journal of the American Statistical Association, 90(432): 1171-1180 Reamer, F.G. (2002) ‘The Social Work Ethics Audit: A Risk-Management Strategy’, Social Work, 45(4): 355-372 O’Connell, K., Tomes, R.R. (2003) ‘Keeping the Information Edge’, Policy Review, 122, 19-33 Rhodes, W.L. (2002) ‘Using data development analysis (DEA) to evaluate environmental quality and justice: a different way of looking at the same old numbers’, International Journal of Public Administration, 253-268 Read More