.Analyze the primary causes of information management / information technology p
ID: 401241 • Letter: #
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.Analyze the primary causes of information management / information technology project failures and recommend at least three (3) best practices that could be adopted by any organization to avoid such failures in the future. 2.Determine the most effective way that project metrics and portfolio management can facilitate IM/ IT governance. Provide specific examples to support your response. 3.Analyze the various types of government intervention into health care business and argue for or against such intervention. Explain your rationaleExplanation / Answer
Presents a discussion on the importance of management information systems in management. It explains the role of information, as an essential tool for managers in planning and decision making. It describes MIS as a well co-ordinated information system, a database that is to provide management with needed information to plan and make decisions. Modern technology has further made the resort to MIS in management imperative because of the changing circumstances and environment. Also identifies some problems which can hinder effective use of MIS. These are lack of management involvement in the design; poor appreciation of management support. Finally, recommends that organizations, both private and public; commercial and non-commercial should endeavour to set up an MIS unit in their organizations so that adequate information can be put at the disposal of their management. Introduction Every aspect of management in the modern age relies heavily on information to thrive. Nothing moves without information and it is generally believed that information is power and that he who has it has power. It is an important resource needed to develop other resources. Changing circumstances and environments have necessitated the need for the proper dissemination of information at various levels of management. The development and use of information management systems (MIS) is a modern phenomenon concerned with the use of appropriate information that will lead to better planning, better decision making and better results. In discussing this topic, certain fundamental concepts need to be understood and appreciated. Some of these are: the information concept; the information management concept; the information system concept and the management information concept. These concepts must be fully grasped before the importance of MIS can be appreciated. In this essay, an attempt will be made to examine these concepts and relate them to organizational processes and structures. In addition, management functions and the different levels of management will also be highlighted. Finally, an attempt will be made to relate the MIS to those functions and levels in organizational settings. This approach will help in explaining the importance and effect of MIS in management. The information concept The concept of information in an organizational sense is more complex and difficult than the frequent use of this common word would suggest. Every society, no doubt, is an information society and every organization is an information organization. Therefore, information is a basic resource like materials, money and personnel. Information can be considered either as an abstract concept (ideas) or as a commodity, usually in the form of letters and reports. Essentially, therefore, information has become a critical resource, just like energy, both of which are vital to the wellbeing of individuals and organizations in the modern world. Like energy and politics, technology is changing the ways in which information is captured, processed, stored, disseminated and used. Information, therefore, like any other resource in an organization, should be properly managed to ensure its cost-effective use. It is an ingredient that is vital to good management and if properly managed, should rank in importance with the organization's personnel, material and financial resources. In an organizational context, it is increasingly being recognized as a resource independent of the technology used in manipulating it. The implication of this realization is the further recognition that information is the cohesive element that holds an organization together. Information is an unusual commodity, quite unlike most physical goods or consumer durables. Since it is intangible, it is often hard to enforce custody. For this simple reason, it is often crucial to highlight the significant differences between this resource and others when developing a management framework. Its content can be distinguished either by source (internal or external) or by form (numeric or non-numeric). Non-numeric can either be structured or unstructured. Internal information is that generated within an organization and generally is of interest and value only to decision makers within that organization. External information can be regarded as that created by others, that is, outside the four walls of the organization, generally by publishers in the form of books or journals, or by Governments, external contacts and the like. Information professionals have a surprising range of ideas on what information is. They have not been able to produce a widely acceptable definition. Zorkoczy (1981) defines information "as the meaning that a human expresses by, or extracts from, representations of facts and ideas, by means of the known conventions of the representations used". This definition includes the word "meaning" which is just as intangible and elusive as "information". Stonecash (1981) also defines information by stating that "information is simply symbols (data, text, images, voices, etc.) that convey meaning through their relative ordering, timing, shape, context, etc.
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