Knowledge about communication, knowledge and information systems and their management is essential in the creation of successful and competitive firms, management of multinational companies, organization value adding and in offering quality products and services to firms customers. It is almost impossible for any industry to survive and thrive without the presence of information systems. One of the key elements of any organization is its interactive nature, and therefore the effectiveness of the relationship between it (the organization) and its customers, suppliers and other stakeholders majorly depends on the information systems at the place.
The efficiency of these three aspects (communication, knowledge and information systems) in any organization does not just happen. Often miscommunications occur in the organization and decisions made based on information systems, and work based knowledge may be inadequate (Bla Bla Writing, 2016). This paper will be assessing the need for proper management of organization communications, knowledge and information systems and give suggestions of the proper strategies that can be devised to improve the management of these major aspects
LO 0.1 Literature review
Goodman (2000) says that different stakeholder groups have varying interests and influences on the organization, therefore, organizational managers should come up with strategic measures to establish and implement favorable corporate communication across various stakeholder groups (Mohamad et al., 2016). The core aim of strategic communication management is to enhance proper information exchange and avoid confusions.
C. Armstrong (2002). Work based Knowledge involves the exchange of organization information skills between various people. For efficiency of this aspect, there is the need to improve the systems into modern computer based systems which facilitate visual representation of the knowledge for easier transference.
KC Laudon (2004) suggested that operations in many industries are inconceivable without the extensive application of information systems. Practically, the foundation of a profitable relationship between different stakeholders; customers, employees, and suppliers is based on proper maintenance of information system (S3.amazonaws.com, 2016). Therefore there is a need to enable these digital systems for efficiency
LO 1. HOW TO ASSESS COMMUNICATIONS, KNOWLEDGE AND INFORMATION NEEDS
The main objective of this module is to provide tactics for evaluating knowledge and information in an organization both internally and externally in order to uplift decision making process and to come up with strategic measures to widen personal networking and increase participation in decision making and taking in the organization. The paper will also help to develop communication processes and ways to improve systems relating to information and knowledge in an organization.
Communication management
This is concerned with how information is distributed to various stakeholders and the receiving of feedback from them. Every organizations project involves a group of stakeholders both internal and external and they all have different interests towards the project (Projectperfect.com.au, 2016). So as to ensure the effectiveness of management functions, a good communication flow is essential. Communication helps a manager to carry out their tasks efficiently and without confusion. For the organizations daily operations to run smoothly there is the need of proper communication management. All the stakeholders have roles and responsibilities to partake in the running of the organization and for each team member to adopt their responsibility effectively; proper communication lines must be maintained.
Knowledge and information systems management
Knowledge management can be described as a system used to represent the organization visually whereby all the organization individuals are connected to one another via knowledge artifacts. Generally according to present innovations, knowledge management in most of the organizations is computer based and it involves the use of computer systems to record and display knowledge information of the organization for the management of its personnel (Google Books, 2016). The visual characteristic of the information helps to improve knowledge exchange in the entire organization.
Management of Information systems plays a vital role in facilitating application of technological methods and techniques in an organization. It helps in the development of individual's ability skills to manage and operate sophisticated and interrelated systems. As technological advancement increases globally, all aspects of business seem to be getting integrated and therefore there is no longer the need to operate in isolation. All the organizations processes, people, policies and technological aspects are now projected to function interactively as a seamless whole (Brunel.ac.uk, 2016). Therefore there arises a responsibility to organizations managers of Information systems to deliver this flawless integration efficiency. For successful decision making in any form of business, up to date information system is a key factor. Organizations which would like to thrive in this competitive business environment have to develop efficient strategies in every aspect of the operation some of which involve adoption of information system applications
LO 2. ASSESSING KNOWLEDGE AND INFORMATION REACQUIRED FOR EFFICIENT DECISION MAKING
Range of decisions in an organization
Decision making is the practice of coming up with ideas, gathering related information and assessing their viability and choosing the best option out of alternatives. It is often possible to make a decision without even thinking about their outcome. Using a step-by-step decision-making process can help you make more deliberate, thoughtful decisions by organizing relevant information and defining alternatives (Inderscienceonline.com, 2016). For an organization to fathom in its operation there should be a well-defined system of decision making
The process of decision making is more of a top management activity. Top managers have the highest powers to make major decisions and the power flows downwards to the middle-level managers and with lower managers having the least powers to decide on lower level matters. The following the range of decisions made in an organization:
Strategic decisions these are made by the top managers and have an effect on guiding the direction to which an organization should go.
Tactical decision these are made by the middle-level managers and their main aim is to implement strategic decisions.
Operational decisions these are lower management decisions which are involved in the day to day running of the business and they precisely concerned with the outcome.
So as to ensure suitable performance, decision making should by centralize so as to ensure consistency and avoid confusion in various organizational departments. The senior most managers are supposed to take up major decisions because they are more experienced and mature and it is anticipated that they will make more quality decisions for the benefit of the business. Junior managers should be involved in implementation of the decisions made no decision making to avoid uncooked ideas which may lead to low productivity
However, light decision making actions should be passed down to middle-level management probably to departmental heads. This is to help reduce the top management workload and speed up the decision making process. The management should also be flexible in decision making and give other stakeholders to participate in the decision making process either directly or indirectly. This will enable the company to react effectively to market changes quickly and more profitable decisions achieved if all stakeholders are involved
In every organization, Information and knowledge play a very important role (Huber, 2016). The modern organization involve more complex and sophisticated business processes, therefore, the people involved need to develop quality skills and possess better knowledge levels. Changes in the modern market are so rapid and the ability to respond to such changes depends on the quality and level of knowledge and information the enterprise has. All the management levels have a role when it comes to decision making and they cannot take decisions without proper knowledge and adequate information.
It is almost impossible to measure the level of knowledge each individual of an organization has and even to find out the most valuable knowledge level for an organization and this may have an effect on the kind of decisions an organization makes. Therefore if an organization has to succeed, the management should come up with strategies to device proper techniques in information and knowledge management in order to respond adequately to modern market changes.
Strategies to increase personal networking to improve decision making
Identify the stakeholders for decision making process
Stakeholders are the individuals who have an interest in an organization and can influence it directly or indirectly (BusinessDictionary.com, 2016). They can be divided into two:
Internal stakeholders organization staff (employees, managers)
External stakeholders - investors, banks, government, general public, media, clients, suppliers, customers
However, not all the members are interested in the goal setting of the firm. Organization should form partnerships with its stakeholders who give constructive ideas geared towards the success of the organization. This will help to avoid conflicts and facilitate better decision taking. By selecting the productive stakeholders and involving them in early stages of planning and decision making processes will help reduce failures of goals (Boutelle, 2016). Their participation in decision making will aid in developing creative and productive solutions to tackle issues. Each goal oriented firm has to develop a group of special stakeholders depending on their level of interest and influence to the company.
Improve better Communication with Stakeholders
Better communication with stakeholders will help reduce conflicts in the organization. The management should show more attention to various stakeholders since their action determines the success or failure of the organization (Foong and Foong, 2016). Therefore the organization should establish clear lines of Communication with its stakeholders for effective decision making process
Objective drove communication
It is very important for every organization to set clear and reasonable objectives of the communication before passing the message. The main reason for communication is to give information to stakeholders about various arising issues and proposed actions and to receive feedback on their take regarding the same. For effective communication, these objectives should be considered otherwise the objective of information exchange will be varied.
Different format of communication can be used to pass different messages and also depending on personal encounters (Opentextbc.ca, 2016). For instance; if the message being passed is indented to influence the behavior, two-way communication is recommended. The management should involve the use of one-on-one interviews or use a telephone. However, if the message is to inform then one-way communication format can be used. The management can use television advertisement, newspapers, and magazine.
Getting feedback on communication Effectiveness
In order to measure the effectiveness of the communications, the organization management should receive feedback from the various stakeholders. This is can be done by conducting an assessment research...
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