Importance and value of effective information management to national development

Introduction

Information is one of the crucial raw materials for the development of any nation. Abissat (2008) stated that the prosperity, progress, and development of any nation depend upon the nation’s ability to acquire, produce, access, and use pertinent information. He added that access to information is not only a key resource for people in maintaining active and independent lives but also critical to letting people know their entitlements to welfare benefits and sources of support to overcome social exclusion.

Information is the lifeblood of any society and vital to the activities of both the government and private sectors. Bell (2009) holds the view that the dependence upon information to create innovation and change, places a high premium on the ability of a nations to access and use information to create advances in society.

For effective national development, no serious, active, conscious, sensitive, and organized government would want to the importance and value of effective information to national development. Okiy (2013) stated that lack of development has a positive correlation with poor information management. Poor information management brings negative consequences such as problems of unemployment, crimes, prostitution, child labour, insecurity, money laundering, bribery, poverty and spread of diseases

Any nation that fails to identify the importance of information should not expect meaningful development. Alegbeleye and Aina (2015) stated that development can only be effective people have access to the relevant information for their day to day activities. Efforts must be made to give access to knowledge and information by non-literates especially in the rural areas. Similarly Diso (2014) holds the view that information must as a matter of policy, be seen as a basic resource for development if durable structures are to be provided for effective access and utilization, which entails information capturing, coordination, processing, and dissemination.

Conceptual framework

Issa (2008) defined information as data that is accurate, timely, specific and organized for a purpose presented within a context that gives meaning and relevance which can lead to increase in understanding and decrease in uncertainty.

In the opinion of Bordchart (2007) information is that which informs. In other words, it is the answer to a question of some kind. It is thus related to data and knowledge; as data represents values attributed to parameters, and knowledge signifies understanding of real things or abstract concepts. As it regards data, the information’s existence is not necessarily coupled to an observer, while in the case of knowledge, the information requires a cognitive observer. At its most fundamental, information is any propagation of cause and effect within a system.

Kibat (2011) stated that information is conveyed either as the content of a message or through direct or indirect observation of anything. That which is perceived can be construed as a message in its own right, and in that sense, information is always conveyed as the content of a message. Information can be encoded into various forms for transmission and interpretation (for example, information may be encoded into a sequence of signs, or transmitted via a sequence of signals). It can also be encrypted for safe storage and communication. Information reduces uncertainty. The uncertainty of an event is measured by its probability of occurrence and is inversely proportional to that. The more uncertain an event, the more information is required to resolve uncertainty of that event.

Saunders (2014) is of the opinion that the concept that information is the message has different meanings in different contexts. Thus the concept of information becomes closely related to notions of communication, control, data, form, education, knowledge, meaning, understanding, mental stimuli, pattern and perception.

Importance of effective information management

In every sector of the economy in a nation, effective information management system is essential to set strategies and accomplish business objectives. Albert (2010) stated that every business, programme or system must address well-defined objectives, which will add value, either directly to the bottom line or toward the achievement of the organization’s goals and objectives. A good information system provides a framework for companies to evaluate themselves relative to these dimensions. By understanding and improving alignment with these critical dimensions, companies can maximize the value and impact of information as a strategic corporate asset to gain competitive advantage.

According to Alan (2014), the importance of effective information management system includes the following:

To control the creation and growth of records: An effective records information system addresses both creation control (limits the generation of records or copies not required to operate the business) and records retention (a system for destroying useless records or retiring inactive records), thus stabilizing the growth of records in all formats.
To reduce operating costs: Recordkeeping requires administrative cost for filing equipment, space in offices, and staffing to maintain an organized filing system (or to search for lost records when there is no organized system).

To improve efficiency and productivity: Time spent searching for missing or misfiled records is non-productive. A good information management programme (e.g. a document system) can help any organization upgrade its recordkeeping systems so that information retrieval is enhanced, with corresponding improvements in office efficiency and productivity. A well designed and operated filing system with an effective index can facilitate retrieval and deliver information to users as quickly as they need it. Moreover, a well managed information system acting as a corporate asset enables organizations to objectively evaluate their use of information and accurately lay out a roadmap for improvements that optimize business returns.

To assimilate new records management technologies: A good records management program provides an organization with the capability to assimilate new technologies and take advantage of their many benefits. Investments in new computer systems whether this is financial, business or otherwise, don’t solve filing problems unless current manual recordkeeping or bookkeeping systems are analyzed (and occasionally, overhauled) before automation is applied.
To ensure regulatory compliance: The only way an organization can be reasonably sure that it is in full compliance with laws and regulations is by operating a good management information system which takes responsibility for regulatory compliance, while working closely with the local authorities. Failure to comply with laws and regulations could result in severe fines, penalties or other legal consequences.
To minimize litigation risks: Business organizations implement management information systems and programmes in order to reduce the risks associated with litigation and potential penalties. This can be equally true in government agencies. For example, a consistently applied records management program can reduce the liabilities associated with document disposal by providing for their systematic, routine disposal in the normal course of business.

To safeguard vital information: Every organization, public or private, needs a comprehensive programme for protecting its vital records and information from catastrophe or disaster, because every organization is vulnerable to loss. Operated as part of a good management information system, vital records programs preserve the integrity and confidentiality of the most important records and safeguard the vital information assets.
To support better management decision making: A good management information system can help ensure that managers and executives have the information they need when they need it. By implementing an enterprise-wide file organization, including indexing and retrieval capability, managers can obtain and assemble pertinent information quickly for current decisions and future business planning purposes.

Principles of effective information management

Implementing information management requires some several principles which according Luciano (2015) include the following principles:

Recognising (and managing) complexity: There are no simple answers. The complexity is difficult to avoid. There are no ‘silver bullet’ solutions. It requires strong leadership to set a clear direction, and many incremental improvements.
Focus on adoption: Systems without users are useless. Carefully structure your information to focus on user adoption from the onset. Ensure there are enough people using the systems to make them valuable.

Deliver tangible and visible benefits: Creating a common data definition or taxonomy is great for efficient information management. However, very few users will ever notice these improvements. On the other hand, providing timely, reliable, and accurate operational management information will. Wrap back-end improvements into these.

Prioritise according to needs: Base the planning process on ability to address business needs. Keep the overall technology strategy in mind, but focus on providing measureable business benefits.
Provide strong leadership: Decide how the business will operate, including the information needed. Develop this vision and communicate it clearly.
Mitigate risks: Apply good risk management to ensure success. Identify risks and define the approach to minimise their potential impact.
Communicate extensively: Make sure everyone knows the business direction and desired outcomes. Remind them often. This way each business unit can make the best decisions to support the goal.

Challenges facing information management

The volume of information is naturally always accelerating. This in turn increases all the problems associated with storing, finding, and using it again. According to Beynon (2012), common challenges facing information management include:

There are usually a large number of, often conflicting, business needs.
Adoption of existing systems is low or patchy.
Information management has low business priority, or little visibility.
There are usually cases of poor data quality. Data may duplicated, out-of-date, and inconsistent.
Many separate information systems with little or no integration.
There is little or no cooperation between owners of information systems
Many legacy systems need upgrading or replacing.
There is no strategic framework for the technology.
There is no clear strategic direction for the business.
There are limited resources available to address the problems.

Measures to improve management of information

Effective management of information has become increasingly crucial to national development. Stewart (2011) stated that effective information management can be obtained through:

Determining responsibility
Standardised information creation
Implement filing systems
Management of physical files
Storage of records
1. Determine responsibility: People should be educated on the fact that they have responsibility responsible for ensuring proper information management procedure is followed as they utilise information. They should know how to create, handle, and store these information
2. Standardised information creation: Every organisation makes use of internal documents to record and control its activities. These documents should follow a consistent method of creation from the file type used for the document to labelling and colouring. Among the benefits of standardising information creation is the ability to recognise information that are out of place, improve information accessibility and better control archiving and destruction processes.
3. Implement filing systems: Proper filing systems can aid any organisation in its ability to manage information efficiently. Filing must be done for both paper and electronic documents. It is important to understand that some documents are more important than others, and thus you will need to introduce some level of filing classification. For example, any document, be it paper or electronic, that relates to your activities and explains what happened, or provides evidence of orders issued, decisions made or advice given should be classified as an important document and given an appropriate name and filed in a secure location. How you classify and denote importance will largely depend on your organisation.
4. Management of physical files: Having created a classification system for your files, you will now have to manage them appropriately. Your physical files need to be easily accessed while also allowing access to be restricted to authorised persons only. Correct filing methods can help ensure files do not get lost and damaged and can greatly improve staff efficiency as time is not unnecessarily wasted on accessing documents. Using a file tracking system can greatly improve your ability to control your files and prevent them from being lost, stolen and damaged.
5. Storage of records: The location of your record storage area is an important part of good Records Management. Whether you choose to store your records on your own premises or use an offsite document storage company or a bit of both you need to be aware of certain factors.

References

Abissat, M. K. (2008). Taking ICTs to rural people in Ghana. Retrieved on 12^th March, 2017 from http://www.ginks.org/cms_pages/Get_Biz_For m_File.access_ed.

Alan, L. (2014). The laws of cool: Knowledge work and the culture of information. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Albert, U. (2010). The role of Libraries in the functional library programmes: UNESCO Bulletin for Libraries, 24, 90-94.

Alegbeleye, G. O. & Aina, L. O. (2015). Library services and rural community in Nigeria: An introduction. Ibadan: University Press

Bell, D. (2009). Communication technology. For better, for worse. Havard Business Review, 57(95), 4.

Beynon, P. (2012). Business information systems. Palgrave, Basingstoke, UK.

Bordchart, D. H. (2007). Aspects of work of library and information services in the framework of social planning. International Library Review, 4 (4), 403.

Diso, L. I. (2014). Information policies and government guidance in Nigeria: What hope for communities? Resource Sharing and Information Networks, 9 (2), 141–151.

Issa, A. O. (2008). The information needs of rural dwellers in Kwara state. In Tijjani. A., et al. (Eds.) Issues in information provision: Nigerian perspectives. Zaria: Naliss.

Kibat, K. K. (2008). Community information and referral services for rural areas of Southeast Asia: A conceptual framework. World Libraries 1 (2), 67-72.

Luciano, F. (2015). Information: A very short introduction. Oxford: University Press.

Okiy, R. B. (2013). Information for rural development: Challenge for Nigerian rural public libraries. Library Review, 52(3), 126-131.

Saunders, W. L. (2014). The role of libraries and national development. Sierra Leone Library Journal, 6, 101-106.

Stewart, T.(2011). Wealth of knowledge. New York: Doubleday.