Elements of information management

Abstract

Some fundamental problems of information management are overviewed. Starting from the role of information in market competition, it is regarded as a principal resource of companies and any organization in general. As a consequence, information work means the management of a portfolio of assets or devices, rather than that of a number of functions (acquisition, processing etc). The transparency and opacity of information, total information associated with the requlrements of total quality are discussed with examples from the British health services and from the American public administration. Finally, the manpower skills of the information industry is discussed, and the changes to be introduced in the training of information specialists are identified, as the need tor the dlstribution of labour in the informatlon Industry (davelopers, constructors and crafts-men) is emphasized.