1. Managing Information Resources
Chapter 7
Information Systems Management In Practice 6E
McNurlin & Sprague
PowerPoints prepared by Michael Matthew
Visiting Lecturer, GACC, Macquarie University – Sydney Australia

2. Chapter 7
This chapter / lecture explores the management of data, information, and knowledge
It begins by identifying some problems in managing data, and then surveys the evolution of database management systems, including the next-generation systems
It explores the various types of information that companies need to manage as they treat information as an organizational resource
It concludes by discussing one of the most important issues facing companies today: how to manage knowledge
Case examples include Monsanto, Owens & Minor, HICSS Personal Proceedings, Tapiola Insurance Group, Tennessee Valley Authority, Eastman Chemical Company and Groove Networks
©2006 Barbara C. McNurlin. Published by Pearson Education.

3. Today’s Lecture Introduction Managing Data Managing Information
The Three-Level Database Model
Four Data Models
Getting Corporate Data into Shape
Managing Information
Four Types of Information
Data Warehouses
Document Management
Content Management
©2006 Barbara C. McNurlin. Published by Pearson Education.

4. Introduction
“Managing information resources” initially meant managing data, first in files, then in corporate databases which were:
Well structured
Carefully defined, and
Controlled by IS department
Next = expanded to include “information” (data with meaning)
Also = much talk of managing knowledge
With the emergence of the Internet, talk has now turned to managing content:
Text, graphics, sound, video and animation
Covered in this chapter and chapter 13
©2006 Barbara C. McNurlin. Published by Pearson Education.

5. Introduction cont. Data vs. Information vs. Knowledge
Data: facts devoid of meaning or intent
Information: data in context
Knowledge: information with direction or intent
As the breadth of the kinds of information resources has expanded, so has the job of managing them. The job may not start in the IS department but it invariably ends up there
PCs users used ‘alone’
Needed to share files
Version control, back-up etc.
Web sites / content
Initially created their own
Need for recovery, version control
Corporate consistency
IS to the ‘rescue’
Management procedures
Discipline
©2006 Barbara C. McNurlin. Published by Pearson Education.

6. Introduction cont.
Corporate databases are still a (the?) major IS department responsibility
Sometimes housed in a variety of database models
Production databases – transaction
Data warehouses
CRM
Information in the form of documents (electronic or paper) and Web content has exploded the size of databases organizations now manage
Knowledge management is becoming a key to exploiting “intellectual assets”
Information resources need to be well managed as information becomes an important strategic resource
©2006 Barbara C. McNurlin. Published by Pearson Education.

7. Managing Data
Database management systems are the main tool for managing computerized corporate data
They have been around since the 1960s and are based on two major principles:
A three- level conceptual model and
Several alternative ‘data models’ for organizing the data
©2006 Barbara C. McNurlin. Published by Pearson Education.

8. Managing Data: The Three-Level Database Model
See Figure 7-1
Level 1 - The external, conceptual, or local level, containing the various “user views” of the corporate data that each application program uses
Not concerned with how the data will be physically stored or what data is used by other applications
Level 2 - The logical or “enterprise data” level
‘Technical’ (human) view of the database = under control of the DBAs
Level 3 - The physical or storage level, specifying the way the data is physically stored
End user not concerned with all these ‘pointers and flags’ (how the data is physically organized) = they are for use by the DBMS
©2006 Barbara C. McNurlin. Published by Pearson Education.

9. ©2006 Barbara C. McNurlin. Published by Pearson Education.

10. The Three-Level Database Model: Advantages
Level 2 absorbs changes made at Level 3 such as using a new physical storage device
Individual application programs in Level 1 do not need to be changed when the physical layer changes
Data only needs to be stored once in Level 2, and different programs can draw on it and vary the relationships among the data
©2006 Barbara C. McNurlin. Published by Pearson Education.

11. Managing Data: Four Data Models
The second major concept in database management is alternate ways to define relationships among data
Hierarchical model: structures data so that each element is subordinate to another in a strict hierarchical manner
Parent, child etc.
Network model: allows each data item to have more than one parent,
Relationships stated by pointers stored with the data
©2006 Barbara C. McNurlin. Published by Pearson Education.

12. Managing Data: Four Data Models cont.
Relational model: where the data is stored in tables.
Eight relational operations can be performed on this data
Select, Project, Join, Product, Intersection, Difference, Union, Division
Microsoft Access
Relational systems are not as efficient as hierarchical or network database systems, but because relational systems allow people to create relationships among data on the fly, they are much more flexible
First used to handle end user queries – they are now widely used in high-volume transaction systems with huge files
Hence, they have become the database technology of choice in today’s systems
Also = largely due to decrease in costs of technology: processing and disk storage
©2006 Barbara C. McNurlin. Published by Pearson Education.

13. Managing Data: Four Data Models cont.
Object model: can be used to store any type of data, whether a:
Traditional name or address,
An entire spreadsheet,
A video clip,
A voice annotation,
A photograph, or
A segment of music
The tenets of objects have become increasingly important in the world of computing
E.g. Web Services because the XML modules utilize object principles
Typical, yet complex database applications that may require objects:
CAD for a large office building
Large retail chains record every product code scanned
Insurance policy files e.g. claim forms, images, video etc.
©2006 Barbara C. McNurlin. Published by Pearson Education.

14. Managing Data: Four Data Models cont.
Object models retain traditional DBMS features including:
End user tools
High level Query languages
Concurrency control
Recovery
Ability to handle huge amounts of data
Include two other major concepts
Object management
Management of complex kinds of data such as multimedia and procedures
Knowledge management
Management of large numbers of complex rules for reasoning and maintaining integrity constraints between data
©2006 Barbara C. McNurlin. Published by Pearson Education.

15. Managing Data: Four Data Models cont.
Finally, security is of major importance in today’s DBMSs
Problem = compounded by distributed, heterogeneous Internet-linked databases
Companies may want to permit access to some portions of their databases whilst restricting other portions
This selective accessibility requires reliably authenticating ‘users’
Unless security and integrity are strictly enforced, users will not be able to (fully) trust the systems
©2006 Barbara C. McNurlin. Published by Pearson Education.

16. Getting Corporate Data into Shape
Managing Data
Getting Corporate Data into Shape
©2006 Barbara C. McNurlin. Published by Pearson Education.

17. Getting Corporate Data into Shape
In the midst of this growing richness of data and information, companies are still struggling to get their internal alphanumeric data under control
The installation of company-wide software packages such as SAP, enterprise data warehouses, and intranets has once again brought to the fore the problems of “dirty data”
Data from different databases that has:
Different names
Uses different time frames, or
That otherwise does not match
Attempts to get under control go back a long way:
Late ’60s / early ’70s = DBMS
Then = the still evolving and important role of “data administration:
Managing all the computerized data resources of a company
©2006 Barbara C. McNurlin. Published by Pearson Education.

18. Getting Corporate Data into Shape: The Problem: Inconsistent Data Definitions
Problem: data definitions incompatible from:
Application to application
Department to department
Site to site, and
Division to division
Reason: to get application systems up and running quickly, system designers sought data from the cheapest source or politically expedient source
Result: different files with:
Different names for same data, and
Same name for different data etc.
©2006 Barbara C. McNurlin. Published by Pearson Education.

19. Getting Corporate Data into Shape: The Problem: Inconsistent Data Definitions cont.
Account Number
AcctNum
AcctNumb
Acct#
A/CNum
Note: people (in the majority of cases) weren’t stupid
They never dreamt their files / databases etc. would be used in this manner
Historical ‘stand alone’ computing
Information collation, use, communication etc. = never thought possible
©2006 Barbara C. McNurlin. Published by Pearson Education.

20. Getting Corporate Data into Shape: The Role of Data Administration
The use of DBMS - database management software, reduced, to some extent, the problems of inconsistent and redundant data in organizations
However merely installing & running a DBMS is not sufficient to manage data as a corporate resource
Database administration: concentrates on administering databases and the software that manages them
©2006 Barbara C. McNurlin. Published by Pearson Education.

21. Getting Corporate Data into Shape: The Role of Data Administration cont.
Data administration is broader:
To determine what data is being used outside the organizational unit that creates it
Whenever data crosses organizational boundaries, its definition and format need to be standardized
Data dictionaries are the main tools by which data administrators control standard data definitions
©2006 Barbara C. McNurlin. Published by Pearson Education.

22. Getting Corporate Data into Shape: ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning)
To bring order to the data mess, data administration has four main functions:
Clean up the data definitions
Control shared data
Manage data distribution, and
Maintain data quality
Interestingly, many companies really did not take these four jobs seriously until the mid 1990s, when they needed consistent data to install a company-wide ERP package
ERP provided the means to consolidate data to give management a corporate-wide view of operations
E.g. MeadWestVaco (Chapter 1)
©2006 Barbara C. McNurlin. Published by Pearson Education.

23. Monsanto Case Example: Managing Corporate Data / ERP
Monsanto case study to illustrate one company’s success in getting its corporate data in shape
Monsanto is a provider of agricultural products, pharmaceuticals, food ingredients, and chemicals. 50% revenues outside USA, it is decentralized
Monsanto established three large enterprise wide IT projects:
To redevelop operational and financial transaction systems using SAP
To develop a knowledge-management architecture, including data warehousing, and
To link transaction and decision support systems via common master data, known as enterprise reference data (ERD)
©2006 Barbara C. McNurlin. Published by Pearson Education.

24. ©2006 Barbara C. McNurlin. Published by Pearson Education.

25. Monsanto Case Example: Managing Corporate Data / ERP cont.
Monsanto is too large and complex to operate SAP as a single installation
They have created a distributed SAP architecture
With separate instances of SAP for reference data, finance, and operations in each business unit
The master reference data integrates these distributed components
To convert SAP data to knowledge, Monsanto uses data warehouses
The sole source of master data is the ERD, but the data can be distributed wherever they are needed
To get corporate data in shape, Monsanto created a department called ERD Stewardship to set data standards and enforce quality—hence its nickname, “the data police.”
Independent of MIS
©2006 Barbara C. McNurlin. Published by Pearson Education.

26. Monsanto Case Example: Managing Corporate Data / ERP cont.
Another newly created function is entity specialists = managers with the greatest stake in the quality of data
Also, data managers who now adhere to the new ERD rules
This has led to a cultural change: The idea of “tweaking” a system to fix a local discrepancy, formerly common, can now cause a major disruption in operations or a bad decision based on faulty data
Getting the data in shape was a huge undertaking, but it has made the company more flexible
Monsanto is already reaping bottom-line benefits from better integration and greater flexibility
©2006 Barbara C. McNurlin. Published by Pearson Education.

27. Managing Information
Once enterprises get their data into shape, that data can more easily be turned into information
“Information is power.”
“We are in the Information Age.”
These and similar statements would lead you to believe that managing information is a key corporate activity
Technology = infrastructure;
Asset = information that runs on that infrastructure
It also raises a number of management issues
©2006 Barbara C. McNurlin. Published by Pearson Education.

28. Managing Information Four Types of Information
In Figure 7-3 we looked at a matrix representing the full scope of data information resources:
Internal record-based information, such as those found in databases
Which we discussed in detail but there are others:
Internal document-based information, such as reports, opinions, s and proposals. Pertains to concepts: ideas, thoughts, etc.
External/record-based information, such as acquisition from external databases.
External/document-based: WWW
©2006 Barbara C. McNurlin. Published by Pearson Education.

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30. ©2006 Barbara C. McNurlin. Published by Pearson Education.

31. Managing Information Four Types of Information cont.
Internal record-based information was the original focus of IS departments because it is the type of information that computer applications generate and manage easily
External record-based = accessible via Internet or public databases
Including subscription
Until recently = little attention to internal and external document-based information because it was so difficult to manipulate in computers
Intranets changed this
Documents = integral part of information on these sites
Responsibility = now on IS, even if just for technical issues
Four areas were responsibility of different areas but now IS is likely to be involved in some way
©2006 Barbara C. McNurlin. Published by Pearson Education.

32. ©2006 Barbara C. McNurlin. Published by Pearson Education.

33. Managing Information Data Warehouses
Data warehouse: Houses data used to make decisions
This data is obtained periodically from transaction databases
The warehouse provides a snapshot of a situation at a specific time
Data warehouses differ from operational databases in that they do not house data used to process daily transactions
Operational databases have the latest data
Data warehouses = not so ‘time critical’
Like ERP systems, they, too, spurred getting record-based data into shape
The most common data warehoused are customer data, used to discover how to more effectively market to current customers as well as non-customers with the same characteristics
©2006 Barbara C. McNurlin. Published by Pearson Education.

34. Managing Information Data Warehouses cont.
The simplest (MIS) tools generate perforated reports or permit ad hoc queries
Warehouses are reaching beyond reporting internal data
They are being combined with purchased data, such as demographic data, late breaking news and even weather reports, to uncover trends or correlations that competitors might not spot
To give a company a competitive edge
©2006 Barbara C. McNurlin. Published by Pearson Education.

35. Managing Information Data Warehouses cont.
Key Concepts:
Metadata: The part of the warehouse that defines the data. Metadata means “data about data.”
Metadata explains the meaning of each data element, how each element relates to each other, etc.
It sets the standard – without it data from different legacy systems cannot be reconciled, so the data will not be “clean”
Quality data: Is the cleaning process to adhere to metadata standards
The older the data the more suspect its quality
Data marts: Is a subset of data pulled off the warehouse for a specific group of users
In the early 1990s, one huge warehouse was envisaged, but proved un-practical due to long search times and large cost factors
©2006 Barbara C. McNurlin. Published by Pearson Education.

36. Managing Information Data Warehouses cont.
5 Steps in a Data Warehousing Project:
Define the business uses of the data
Create the data model for the warehouse
i.e. defining the relationships between the data elements
Cleanse the data
Select the user tools
Consider the users point of view by selecting the tools they will use & then training them on tool use
Monitor usage and system performance
Data warehouses are seen as strategic assets that can yield new insights into customer behavior, internal operations, product mixes and the like
But to gain the benefits, companies must take the step of reconciling data from numerous legacy systems
= Make sure the data is ‘right’
©2006 Barbara C. McNurlin. Published by Pearson Education.

37. OWENS & MINOR Case Example: Data Warehousing
Illustrates numerous ways O&M are using its data for competitive advantage
Includes us of
ERP
Data warehousing
Web
Not only for internal use but as the basis for new revenue-generating services to customers and suppliers
Shows how innovative companies can use advanced information management technologies
©2006 Barbara C. McNurlin. Published by Pearson Education.

38. OWENS & MINOR Case Example: Data Warehousing cont.
This distributor of name-brand medical and surgical supplies uses ERP, data warehousing, and the Web
Not only for internal use of data
But as the basis for new revenue-generating services to customers and suppliers
It is using its data for competitive advantage
It augmented its ERP system to automate order forecasting, which:
Improved inventory turns
Lowered ordering rates from five-times-a-week to once-a-week, and
Improved customer service
It implemented an Internet-based inventory management system so that customers could order over the Internet, even using handheld devices
It even offered access to its data warehouse and decision support software to customers and suppliers who use the data to run their businesses
©2006 Barbara C. McNurlin. Published by Pearson Education.

39. OWENS & MINOR Case Example: Data Warehousing cont.
Delivering this information over the Web has:
Strengthened its relationships with trading partners
Given it a market-leading feature to entice new customers, and
Turned the data warehouse into a new source of revenue
When the system was rolled out, it was the first “e-business intelligence application” in the medical and surgical supply distribution industry
As a result, O&M has become an important “infomediary” in its industry
©2006 Barbara C. McNurlin. Published by Pearson Education.

40. Managing Information Document Management
Even in today’s Internet-rich world, paper still plays a major role in most enterprises
There is also a need to move seamlessly between digital and printed versions of documents; hence, the importance of document management
The field of electronic document management (EDM) uses new technologies to manage information resources that do not fit easily into traditional databases
EDM addresses organizing and managing conceptual, descriptive, and ambiguous multimedia content.
Applying technology to process traditional documents makes a major change in what documents can accomplish in organizations
©2006 Barbara C. McNurlin. Published by Pearson Education.

41. Managing Information Document Management cont.
It is hard to think of anything more pervasive and fundamental to an organization than documents
The impact of applying emerging technologies to document management is potentially significant
EDM contributes to business process redesign
Numerous EDM applications generate value. The ‘Big 3’ are:
To improve the publishing process
To support organizational processes
To support communications among people and groups
The concept of just-in-time (printing, publishing and forms processing) pervades the design philosophy in all three areas
©2006 Barbara C. McNurlin. Published by Pearson Education.

42. Document Management: Improving the Publishing Process
Technology enables a major restructuring of the process of publishing and distributing paper documents
Traditional Process – designed primarily for high volume and high quality documents – shown in Figure 7-6
Process has inefficiencies:
Infrequent long print run requires storing documents which become obsolete between runs
60% of the total cost of delivering theses documents is in storage & transportation
©2006 Barbara C. McNurlin. Published by Pearson Education.

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44. Document Management: Improving the Publishing Process cont.
Figure 7-7 shows the steps in the revised publishing/distribution process using newer technologies
Documents are stored electronically, shipped over a network, and printed when they are needed
The major benefits result from reducing obsolescence, eliminating warehouse costs & reducing or eliminating delivery time
©2006 Barbara C. McNurlin. Published by Pearson Education.

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46. HICSS PERSONAL PROCEEDINGS Case Example – EDM: Improving the Publishing Process
Hawaii International Conference – System Sciences:
Decided to produce a paper book of abstracts, with a CD ROM of the full papers
Many participants wanted to see the full papers at the conference
A month before the proceedings participants can use a Web site to choose 20 papers they would like to have in their personal paper proceedings
Additional papers can be printed individually using a “print on demand” service
For a ‘nominal’ fee
©2006 Barbara C. McNurlin. Published by Pearson Education.

47. Document Management: Supporting Communication Among People and Groups
The value of documents is that they transfer information across time and space
Internet can help but often still rely on ‘paper’ documents
EDM can be used to facilitate such communications among people and groups
©2006 Barbara C. McNurlin. Published by Pearson Education.

48. TAPIOLA INSURANCE GROUP Case Example – EDM: Supporting Communications Among People and Groups
Tapiola Group offered 150 kinds of insurance policies with 300 different insurance policy forms
All preprinted by an outside print shop
Reprinting new forms often took weeks
Which represents possible loss of revenue
©2006 Barbara C. McNurlin. Published by Pearson Education.

49. TAPIOLA INSURANCE GROUP Case Example – EDM: Supporting Communications Among People and Groups cont.
Document Processing Goals
Investigate alternate way to print policies & statements
Goals:
Reduce costs
Stop using preprinted forms
Give Tapiola marketing people new ways to advertise insurance products
To make Tapiola “the most personal insurance company in Finland”
©2006 Barbara C. McNurlin. Published by Pearson Education.

50. TAPIOLA INSURANCE GROUP Case Example – EDM: Supporting Communications Among People and Groups cont.
Centralized Solution
Switched to plain paper printers from Rank Xerox
Products for electronic document processing – document can included text, data, image & graphics
Conversion of the output equipment took 15 months = reduce 300 preprinted forms to 4
©2006 Barbara C. McNurlin. Published by Pearson Education.

51. TAPIOLA INSURANCE GROUP Case Example – EDM: Supporting Communications Among People and Groups cont.
Decentralized Expansion
Document processing conversion – one part of the effort to improve & humanize their customer correspondence
Moved much of the printing of customer correspondence to their 62 branch offices
Mission accomplished:
$$$ 
Tapiola is seen by Finland citizens as a dynamic company - & have the best reputation among young people of all insurance groups
©2006 Barbara C. McNurlin. Published by Pearson Education.

52. Document Management: Supporting Organizational Processes
Documents are still the vehicle for accomplishing most processes in organizations
Many such = “Workflow systems” – heavily based on the physical circulation of paper forms
The use of technology to support processes generates significant value in reducing physical space for handling forms, faster routing of forms, and managing and tracking forms flow & workload
In addition to improving transaction-oriented business processes with EDM, many organizations are improving the management processes of reporting, control, decision making, and problem solving as well
©2006 Barbara C. McNurlin. Published by Pearson Education.

53. TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY Case Example: EDM: Supporting Organizational Processes
Largest supplier of power in US
Revamped maintenance management system
System relies on documents such as manuals, drawing & work instructions that are regulated by the government
Analyzed & charted existing work processes, determined which improvements were most needed
Investigate how to do so and discovered work orders were inextricably linked to document workflow & the ways procedures were managed
©2006 Barbara C. McNurlin. Published by Pearson Education.

54. TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY Case Example: EDM: Supporting Organizational Processes cont.
New process – electronically combined maintenance orders in one system with procedural document management in another system, & eliminated a number of existing systems that didn’t talk to one another
Maintenance workers can now access documentation on equipment, parts and records as well as work instructions from desktop machines
Work orders are generated electronically and then routed for approval with the most current drawings and procedures attached
The system has been successful – BUT – the team underestimated the change management effort needed
Including bringing many employees up to speed on using computers
Labor savings were large
The average amount of human time spent processing a work order has decreased by almost half from 39 hours to 23 hours
Improved document management system is contributing to knowledge management
©2006 Barbara C. McNurlin. Published by Pearson Education.

55. Managing Information Content Management
Corporate intranets now house documents that were previously paper-based
A major reason content has become important to CIOs is because it is a core management discipline underlying online business
Without production-level Web content, management processes, and technologies, large-scale e-business is not possible
Use of XML moves Web content from being in a human-only readable format to being in a computer-readable format
Thus, the content can be passed to back-end transaction processing systems and cause an action to take place
Content is no longer static; it is active
©2006 Barbara C. McNurlin. Published by Pearson Education.

56. Managing Information Content Management cont.
To create a content management strategy, companies need to understand the three phases of the content management life cycle:
Managing Content Creation and Acquisition
Content Administration and Safeguarding
Content Deployment and Presentation
©2006 Barbara C. McNurlin. Published by Pearson Education.

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58. Content Management: Managing Content Creation and Acquisition
Content creation and acquisition need to focus on creating content quality
That’s why it might be wise to buy some content from specialists – which is called syndicated content – rather than create it in-house
The best organizational structure is to distribute content creation and maintenance to content-expert employees
But to avoid anarchy, these dispersed experts should be directed centrally, and use centrally-created formats and an automated workflow system that moves their work along
©2006 Barbara C. McNurlin. Published by Pearson Education.

59. Content Management: Content Administration and Safeguarding
The emphasis in this phase, like any operational phase, is efficiency
Goal = achieve the most with the least effort
Content management tools can be used to identify types of content and the business rules that apply to each type
Whereas content creation should be distributed, content administration should be centralized
©2006 Barbara C. McNurlin. Published by Pearson Education.

60. Content Management: Content Deployment and Presentation
The emphasis in this phase should be effectiveness:
Presenting the content so that it:
Attracts visitors
Allows them to navigate the site easily, and
Leads them to the desired actions
Because this phase can determine the success of a firm’s e-commerce efforts, it’s best to design a Website beginning with this phase
Then move on to ensuring content quality and processing efficiency
Eastman-Kodak case: moving from an ‘inside-out’ view to taking its customers point of view
Today most Web sites need certain features to attract and keep visitors. Two of the most important are:
Personalization = allowing visitors to customize how they view the page
Localization = tailoring a site to a culture, market or locale
©2006 Barbara C. McNurlin. Published by Pearson Education.

61. EASTMAN CHEMICAL COMPANY Case Example: Content Management
This global manufacturer of chemicals had a Website in 1994
It redesigned the site in 1999 to become more customer-focused and to launch a major e-commerce program
Eastman changed the Website structure from presenting an inside-out view (based on its corporate structure) to presenting an outside-in view (with sections devoted to the markets the company serves)
Eastman selected a content management product to create pre-approved templates for employees to use
©2006 Barbara C. McNurlin. Published by Pearson Education.

62. EASTMAN CHEMICAL COMPANY Case Example: Content Management cont.
The benefits of the redesign were far greater than expected
Today, traffic has tripled (more than 50 percent from outside the United States) and 70 percent of the hits are in the market sectors, where Eastman sells its products
Customers report that the online availability of technical data has significantly accelerated their internal decision-making processes
It’s now working on globalizing and personalizing the site even more
©2006 Barbara C. McNurlin. Published by Pearson Education.

63. Content Management: Managing Blogs
Blog = short for “Web Log”
Web site where an individual makes intermittent Web postings – an online journal
Powerful tools
Compete with major media
Influence on e.g. politics and company policy
2004 U.S. elections
Some forward thinking companies have recognized the power of this immediate form of publishing and communication
Used for crisis management?
Employees need to be careful else = trouble
Opportunities and challenges for organizations
©2006 Barbara C. McNurlin. Published by Pearson Education.

64. GROOVE NETWORKS Case Example: Managing blogs
Views personal websites and blogs positively
Has issued Employee Guidelines for Personal Website and Weblogs
Make it clear to readers that the views you express are yours and not necessarily those of the company
Take care not to disclose any confidential information
Company
Third party
Since your site is a public space, be respectful to
Our employees
Our customers etc.
….Finally, the company may request that you temporarily confine your commentary to topics unrelated to the company
©2006 Barbara C. McNurlin. Published by Pearson Education.

65. Conclusion
The job of managing information resources is widening significantly
Not only must IS departments get corporate data in shape, but they also need to create and build an infrastructure for managing the full range of information types
In some ways, the Internet helps because it gives companies an easily accessible place to store information
On the other hand, the Internet has also contributed mightily to the information glut we all face
©2006 Barbara C. McNurlin. Published by Pearson Education.