Information Use
Crystal Mays-Hammond
IT/205
July 27, 2014
Juan Vega

Information, an essential asset for organizations, is always difficult to manage effectively—and it is even more so in periods of economic turmoil and transition, when complexity increases and the stakes are higher. For the past decade or more, organizations have been striving to build more open and collaborative relationships with their customers, partners, suppliers, and other stakeholders. When the recession took hold, many such initiatives took a back seat as cost-cutting became first priority. Organizations collect and distribute information. An organization uses information strategically in three areas: to make sense of change in its environment; to create new knowledge for innovation; and to make decisions about courses of action. These apparently distinct processes are in fact complementary pieces of a larger canvas, and the information behaviors analyzed in each approach interweave into a richer explanation of information use in organizations. Through sense making, people in an organization give meaning to the events and actions of the organization. Through knowledge creation, the insights of individuals are converted into knowledge that can be used to design new products or improve performance. Finally, in decision making, understanding and knowledge are focused on the selection of and commitment to an appropriate course of action. By holistically managing its sense making, knowledge building and decision-making processes, the Knowing Organization will have the necessary understanding and knowledge to act wisely and decisively. Computers and information processing are everywhere. Computers influence what decisions are made, when decisions are made, what information is available at the point of decision and who is asked to decide. Computers and information processing