Analysis: Information Needs For The AIS

Assignment1: Information Needs for the AIS

Heather Coward-Tague

Strayer University

ACC 564

Information management is the collection of information, so the information can be communicated within and outside the organization, and processed to enable managers to make quicker and better decisions. Information management is simply the management of information that belongs to a business organization. There are a lot of details that go into information management: system requirements, database management, security, updating systems, and availability of information. (1)

Based on your research, asses how corporate leaders may make improper assumptions related to accounting
The problem with giving them information they have to make the decision based on experience and judgment. A manager can put information into a programming sequence all day, but they still have to make a decision. In the accounting field use of past information to make a future decision is useful, but the manager must still use their experience and judgment to make the final decision. (4)

The fourth assumption Ackoff makes is that more communication means better performance. Communication can improve performance when everyone is on the same page and everyone knows their part to achieve that goal. In accounting, if the goal is to decrease expenses, then everyone must do their part to achieve this goal. Communication is ineffective if the information puts everyone working toward their own goals that counter effect the primary goal. (4)

The fifth assumption Ackoff makes is that a manager only needs to understand how to use an information system. Managers must have an understanding of the MIS or they are handicapped and cannot properly operate or control the MIS. If a manager understands how a system operates they can understand how the system produces information and if the wrong information is generated the manager can figure out how to correct the error. If a manager does not understand the MIS the wrong information may be generated in error.
Business systems with weak information systems fail. For a business system to improve its performance it must complete an evaluation of the how its information is managed and implement new strategies. (3)

First a business must make sure all information is available for use. In the accounting field that would be past financial statements and the data associated with them. There must be access to current year and past information. The information must be readily available when needed, which would require an operating system that is functional whenever the information is needed. (3)

Second, a business must make sure the information within a system is stored and backed up properly. The importance of database design and development, information storage, and retrieval are essential to the performance of a business. The loss of information would be devastating to a business, especially when trying to make decisions based on archived information. (3)

Third, information management must routinely check information requirements by performing routine assessments of feedback on the information provided, monitoring the organization’s changing environment, and continually seeking to understand how his or her customers function in the organization.