Information Systems for the Management of the Organizations

This chapter investigates the main concepts and activities of information in strategic decision-making systems. Since information became the global economy value source for organizations, information assumes a key role in contributing to the development of the performance of organizations through the selection of relevant information for businesses. The relationship of the strategic management of information with business activities contributes to the process of strategic decision making for more effective and efficient decisions. The understanding of the importance of information as a strategic resource in the management of organizations is becoming more important to strategists than the formulation of strategy models of industrial society. In the twenty-first century, no manager will be able to set and implement the strategy successfully without a basic understanding of information for strategic decision making.

Subjectivism of Information

Objectivism has given the domain, rationality, definition, and purpose that are commonly attributed to information and knowledge management, as well as the definitions of the concepts of information, knowledge, communication, and learning. Objectivism does not provide a theoretical foundation to information management; the question that arises is whether subjectivism may or may not offer a compelling alternative. Finally, the answer is no because the subjectivist rarely pays attention to what the fundamental lines of private organizations are and pays attention increasingly to the public sector, in the realization of economic value. Thus, there is no other way but to combine objectivism with subjectivism in a comprehensive approach of integrated information management. However, this chapter illustrates the differences between the philosophical principles of thought.

Quality Information Concepts, Evolution, and Applications

The purpose of this chapter is to contribute to a better understanding of the concept of quality of information in the field of information sciences, as well as in other areas of knowledge, based on the aggregation of existing literature. Is a descriptive research, with the aim of identifying and characterizing the attributes of quality of information as universal among the different areas of knowledge. The structure of the chapter synthesizes the existing academic work, seeking to generate new knowledge. The results can be used for practical application in different areas of knowledge. The chapter seeks to firstly identify the apparent attributes and then focuses in greater detail on some of these attributes.

Knowledge Management of Work Stress in Mexican Manufacturing Environments

This chapter presents a knowledge management perspective to propose a pair of structural models to determine the relationship between burnout syndrome (BS) and body mass index (BMI) among high and middle managers of Mexican maquiladoras. In developing countries like Mexico there are opportunities to expand burnout study on diversity of contexts and occupations. The Maslach burnout general inventory questionnaire (MB-GI) was used, and sociodemographic data were collected as well as the weight and size of respondents. Instrument shows an acceptable reliability index. Structural equation models are used to determine relationship among variables. From a sample of 361 people, using segmentations of BMI, two segments are distinguished: normal weight and overweight. Model using normal weight participants shows more explanatory qualities about the relationship among burnout dimensions than the one using overweight participants. One can conclude that more factors and variables are needed to explain overweight Mexican managers.

Knowledge Creation, Management, and Dissemination in Impact Communities

This chapter's mission is to reflect on the steps taken by knowledge (creation, management, and dissemination) in an impact community (IC). Also, it aims to analyze how this knowledge can be capitalized by the IC itself, as well as other ICs, through the replication of good practices. To this end, importance is attached to several stages of the existence of knowledge in an IC: 1) individual knowledge, which each single person carries and integrates into an IC when he/she becomes a member; 2) the combination of all the individual knowledge, which forces one to think in a knowledge management; 3) the moments of knowledge sharing; and 4) the internal and external dissemination of this knowledge. These last two dynamics—sharing and dissemination—result in a replication and multiplication of existing knowledge in an IC.

Framing Organisational Knowledge Through the Brand

A brand is one of the most exciting assets of a company. It has the obvious purposes of identification, recognition, and differentiation, which are mostly directed to the external environment. But it is also responsible for transmitting intangible value, and for that reason, in the last decades, research has been demonstrating that the brand is also a fundamental resource for building commitment and citizenship behaviors among organizational internal audiences. There is also academic evidence that highly committed members of staff are more open to take part of collaborative multidisciplinary activities and more predisposed to share their knowledge. Moreover, commitment tends to increase as a result of brand-related participatory experiences. This chapter suggests that participatory and technology-mediated internal branding activities build on brand knowledge conversion and transfer, hence preparing, holistically, the organization and its members of staff for a generic sense on the benefits of knowledge sharing.

Re-Imagining Data Governance

Contemporary business environments reflect the growing influence of data as a mission-critical resource of relevance across the enterprise, suggesting a need for robust infrastructures to enable good data management practice. This includes data governance, a particularly foundational infrastructure with a crucial role to play. Data governance models in common use however, reflecting traditional top-down, hierarchical structures, and relying on designated governance roles, are not equipped to effectively embed data accountability within dynamic business environments. In response, this chapter offers a new approach designed to foster accountability by cultivating data knowledge and promoting good data management behavior amongst all relevant staff. Drawing from an operational data governance framework developed for New Zealand government, the new model employs a core set of capabilities and a steady states model to map data flow. It provides a deliberately business-centric view of data accountability and offers a means of maturing data thinking to support improved integration across operating scales.

The Information and the Strategy Business

In recent years we have witnessed a major transformation in society. We went from a society based on industry and transport to another based on information and knowledge. A major challenge for managers is to understand what the information is for formulation, definition, implementation, and control the strategy. The strategy for any organization can be set from the outside in. According to the schools of positioning, the offer of products will have to adapt to changes in the environment. Or from the inside out. According to the movement's schools, the organization influences the middle engaging with your innovative product offerings, since it has skills and capabilities that competitors don't have and that are difficult to imitate or buy. This chapter explores information and business strategies.

Advanced Issues of Knowledge Management, Knowledge Discovery, and Organizational Communication

This chapter presents the advanced issues of knowledge management (KM), the advanced issues of knowledge discovery, and the advanced issues of organizational communication. KM with the support of knowledge discovery can improve the ability of organizations to effectively solve problems, adapt, and evolve to meet the changing business requirements. Knowledge discovery enlists the power of computers to assist in the recognizing patterns in data, a task that exceeds human ability as the size of data warehouses significantly increase. The revolution in organizational communication allows people to directly talk to each other without the use of managers. Effective organizational communication allows organizations to be more efficient by bringing needed expertise and knowledge on demand. The chapter argues that encouraging KM, knowledge discovery, and organizational communication has the potential to enhance organizational performance and reach strategic goals in the digital age.

Organizational Learning and Competitive Advantage

Environmental turbulence in today's business landscape has elicited deep concerns in contemporary business organizations. As a result, organizations seek to achieve competitive advantage through organizational learning. This chapter presents organizational learning as a key source of competitive advantage in contemporary business organizations. It examines the concept of organizational learning by definition and delves in the four constituents that form the concept of organizational learning, namely knowledge acquisition, knowledge distribution, information interpretation, and organizational memory. Further, the chapter focuses on the factors affecting organizational learning together with competitive advantage as an outcome of organizational learning.