2discussions(with responses) and case study
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Framework for Information Management
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Information is a key resource along with human and financial capital to any organization. Captured and used in right way, many believe information is a form of capital known as structural capital (Stewart, 1999). Furthermore, information capabilities like the ability to capture, organize, use, and maintain information have shown to contribute to IT effectiveness, individual effectiveness, and overall business performance (Kettinger & Marchand, 2005).
Unlike IT, which provides the technology, tools, and processes to capture, store, and manipulate data. Information Management provides the mechanisms for managing enterprise information itself. IM represents the “meat” in the data–information–knowledge continuum and provides a foundation that can be used by both IT and KM to create business value (McKeen & Smith, 2015). There are four key components to Information Management:
Vision and Strategy
This focuses on developing a comprehensive framework and road map iterative and incremental implementation of an enterprise approach to information management. This approach will lead to accurate, consistent, secure, and transparent access to data that flows seamlessly and continuously throughout the enterprise (Henry & Kenneth, 1973). It acts as agreement between business and IT on Information management, what problems it will address and the value it brings to the organization.
Governance
Governance is required to achieve alignment between business and IT as well as to establish respective roles and responsibilities for data and information management across the enterprise. The governance structure addresses the development, maintenance, communication and enforcement of data management policies and procedures, in addition to the data quality, services, tools and technologies needed to move to an enterprise-wide data management and services culture (Andrew, 2016). It is critical to ensuring that stakeholders feel confident in leading the charge toward realizing Information Management vision and strategy.
Core Processes
Core processes target increased accountability and transparency of information across the enterprise and define metadata and master data strategies. Semantic formalization of information is added through the development, management and use of a Semantic Model. A Semantic Model provides consistent design and implementation of data and information services across transactional and analytical systems (Michael & Klas, 1995).
Organization
Having a strategy addresses the organization required for Information management initiative. It acts as a mechanism to develop required core competencies and enables in realization of value by both IT and business (Vincent & Taylor, 2018). It considers performance indicators and success factors along with roles and responsibilities, structure and deploy with a logical approach for resourcing.
One of the example for effective Information Management was Target, The retailer had set itself apart from chief rival Walmart with a focus on more upscale but wallet-friendly fashion and lifestyle lines, spurring double-digit growth by double-digits each year for more than a decade. But its fruitful streak came to a halt during United States financial crash in the fall of 2008
Target, managed a startling recovery from its five-year slump. Target was awash in customer data from these online sales, but to make use of it, the company needed to bring in the right people (Miller, 2016). Paritosh Desai joined Target in August 2013 as vice president of business intelligence, analytics, and testing, and he then went on a hiring spree, growing the analytics team with data scientists (Gerderman, 2018). They experimented more often so they can use data to make key decisions and developed an effective platform to help customers with mobile responses in milliseconds. Thus, Target effective information management helped them during the financial crisis and set them apart from other failed stores like Sears, J.C. Penny etc.
References
Miller, C. (2016). The Challenge of Using Target-Store Programs to Control Retail Shrink in Specialty Retail. Retrieved from https://losspreventionmedia.com/the-challenge-of-using-target-store-programs-to-control-retail-shrink-in-specialty-retail/
Gerderman, D. (2018) On Target: Rethinking the Retail Website. Retrieved from https://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/on-target-rethinking-the-retail-website
Vincent, L. & Taylor, J. (2018). Enterprise Information Management (EIM):The Hidden Secret to Peak Business Performance. Retrieved from https://www.umsl.edu/~sauterv/DSS4BI/links/EIM_Final.pdf
Klas, W. & Michael, S. (1995). "Semantic data modeling" In: Metaclasses and Their Application. Book Series Lecture Notes in Computer Science. Berlin, Springer Publisher
Andrew, W. (2016). The Gartner Enterprise Information Management Framework. Retrieved from https://blogs.gartner.com/andrew_white/files/2016/10/On_site_poster.pdf
Henry. C. & Kenneth, D. (1973). Enterprise Information Management Framework . Retrieved from https://www.xtensible.net/solutions/enterprise-information-management-framework/
McKeen, J. & Smith, H. (2015). IT Strategies Issues and Practices (3rd ed.). New Jersey: Pearson Publications.
Stewart, T. (1999) Intellectual Capital: The New Wealth of Organizations. New York: Doubleday Publications
Kettinger, W. & Marchand, D. (2005) Driving Value from IT: Investigating Senior Executives Perspectives. The Society for Information Management, Advanced Practices Council. Bottom of Form
Response 3
Chapter 11 Discussion
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Information Management
Information Management is an operational system that manages staff, business procedures, operations, and technologies that govern the configuration, collection, distribution, and use of the information required for management and business intelligence. Data, as we now learn, requires electronic and physical data. The organizational structure must be able to manage this information through multiple channels, like mobile devices, online delivery, etc. Kettinger and Marchand (2011) noted that project based work depends on reliable and appropriate information and data for IT teams and businesses to make decisions and perform their function cost-effectively and efficiently. Good information management allows project teams to leverage their workforce, money and skills better to make decisions and perform their tasks. Information management is a subset of information governance in industries (Stewart, 1999). Information management Fully responsible for the information life cycle in organizations such as acquisition, production, organization, navigation, entry, authentication, management, storage, and retention (McKeen & Smith, 2015).
Stages involve in Information Management Implementation
Develop an IM Policy. It's important to develop and maintain information management policies such as information governance to manage risks and information. Stewart (1999) suggests that organizations should hire a chief risk officer (CRO) and a dedicated team to address these policies. A protocol specifies the terms of reference regarding knowledge decisions. This provides the basis for strategic guidance and the procedures, practices, and guidelines needed to manage knowledge assets well across the organization. Since knowledge is a corporate commodity, an IM strategy must be developed at a very senior management level and accepted by the board. The proposal should provide guidelines on more comprehensive transparency, consistency, protection, safety, risk tolerances, and effort priority.
Articulate the Operational Components. The organizational components explain what is needed to implement the corporate IM strategy across the enterprise (McKeen & Smith, 2015).In addition, every part of the components may have several sub-components and vary according to organizational needs. Most of the cases, organizations should focus on common elements, and they are organizational standards such as external communication, strategic planning, knowledge life cycle, system performance and management, disaster management, decision-making strategies, etc. In this case, all the common organizational components serve as a framework to define current organizational IM activities and compare established best practices in each area. Ideally, a dedicated team required to articulate all the organizational components at the enterprise level.
Establish Information Stewardship. Information stewardship increases the value of organizations. The stewards manage technology during his life cycle, no matter how it's used, who controls it, where it lives, and more. Stewardship includes data-quality management, data security, audit information with privacy and transparency rules, software life-cycle control, and business-continuity preparation and recovery (McKeen & Smith, 2015). Business people often referred to as Information stewards (McKeen & Smith, 2015). They should be responsible for determining the value of data, their operating principles, and subjective usage. Stewards are liable for knowledge quality, timeliness, continuity, integrity, completeness, and redundancy in organizations. Stewards frequently decide who can access information under privacy and security policies and provide guidelines for maintaining and removing information in compliance with regulatory and legal criteria. In fact, stewards make sure what data accessible to broader audience through metadata of the enterprise such as reports and dashboards, office tools, etc.
Build Information Standards. Information standards across the organizations help to achieve consistency, performance and compliance goals. If all sections of a company meet the same standards, it is relatively easy to automate the procedures and systems utilizing information (McKeen & Smith, 2015). Information standards such as the same terminology, data quality, role hierarchy rules, requirement implementations, repositories, centralized operations, code best practices, reusable tools, etc. To integrate this stage in front-end review even easier than at the end of production and ensure the organizations' standards in projects.
In my opinion, these standards are very important to enhance the operations and follow the current trends in organizations. Every stage in this process has it's own advantages, and most of the companies have already implemented this flow to facilitate their organization's needs.
References
Kettinger, W., & Marchand, D. (2011). Information management practices (IMP) from the senior manager's perspective: An investigation of the IMP construct and its measurement. Information Systems Journal 21(5), 385-406. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2575.2011.00376
McKeen, J.D., & Smith, H.A. (2015). IT strategy: Issues and practices. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc.
Stewart, T. (1999). Intellectual Capital: The New Wealth of Organizations. New York, NY: Crown Publishing Group.
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