Page 42 - Information Management 3rd Edition

Information Management
3.3.1 Information flows
The office is mainly the entity that receives, processes and distributes information. In other words, the office has to ensure that information flows. Information flows involuntarily and information will always flow. Firstly, the office in a business can facilitate the flow of information. It can ensure that information flows fast and uninterrupted. Office employees can also manipulate the amount, quality and content of information. Certain information can, for example, be withheld, and in this way the actions of the receiver can be manipulated.
A variety of tools and methods can be used to facilitate the flow of information, such as the telephone, electronic mail, fax machines and computer printouts. Currently the market is flooded with electronic devices, such as tablets, cellular and iPhones, routers and Wi-Fi networks, which are becoming more widely accessible at airports and in businesses across the globe. This occurrence obviously continues to change the definition of the traditional office. The method that is chosen to distribute information is important, since this may, to a large extent, influence the way in which information is handled and understood. This will also have an impact on the message to be conveyed.
Pre-pub
Secondly, information is created and distributed at various stages. Information
is distributed to announce certain occurrences or events and can therefore be seen
as futuristic in nature. An example of this characteristic of information is the distribution of an agenda for a meeting. Information is also distributed at the time of occurrences or events. Think about what happens at a meeting, where information is shared and decisions regarding future actions are based on the information provided at the meeting. Finally, information is distributed after occurrences or events. In this case, think about the minutes of a meeting that is distributed to provide feedback to everybody who attended (and those who did not) a meeting.
copy
3.3.2 Factors influencing the flow of information
There are quite several factors that influence the flow of information, but for now only the following are highlighted: business structure and culture, distribution methods, and people.
• Business structure and culture
The first factor that can influence the flow of information is the structure and culture of the business. Here we need to distinguish the line function of the business – that part of the business that plays the major role in determining the success or failure of the business, how coordination is executed and whether employees participate in the making decisions. Different business structures and strategies will also determine the flow because decision making differs from one structure type to the other. As information flows upward within the business hierarchy, it becomes less and less by means of a filtering process. The intention of this filtering of information is to provide management only with relevant information to avoid an information overload. The danger, however, is that management can be prevented from having a complete picture of a particular situation due to the filtering of information.
36
Juta_Information Management 3E.indb 36 2021/05/28 14:24