Matthew Hinton

The word information has become much used in organizational life. It often seems to be used to refer to what is processed and provided by computers and other electronic devices. While it is true that most organizations rely on information technology (IT) to support many of their information processes, there is also a large amount of information and knowledge that is not captured by or represented in these computer-based information systems. In particular, managers must make decisions and choices about future actions. Invariably, the decisions made are based on imperfect information. In such situations managers must use their accumulated knowledge and expertise to evaluate and interpret imperfect information in choosing the best course of action in the light of objectives. In most of the organizations these decisions will be supported by information of varying degrees of accuracy and usefulness gleaned (with varying degrees of difficulty) from the organization s IT systems. However, all such systems have fundamental limitations.

It is arguable, therefore, that the majority of information that managers draw upon is not embedded in computer systems rather, it is principally in the heads of the staff. This is particularly true of high-level information; that is, knowledge about the information that resides within the organization. Examples of this high-level information might include knowing where to find the required internal data or where to source external information in order to prepare a report; or knowing who in the organization last tackled a similar problem to the...