Working with information
Info is a type of resource that, alongside land and labor, can be utilized to generate economic wealth. Information is more important nowadays than ever before because it helps organizations react to change quickly and without suffering losses.
To produce an article about the importance of information in the modern workplace and how organizations produce knowledge within their own boundaries, I will first outline what information is.
I'll then explore why companies need to create knowledge from their own organizational boundaries instead of extracting it from other sources (i.e., suppliers or customers). Additionally, I'll discuss the various channels by which companies distribute this new knowledge internally (e.g., blogs, presentations, company memos) as well as externally (e.g. market reports, press releases, advertising). Finally, I'll conclude with a discussion of future trends.
What is information?
What is information?
The word "information" comes from the Latin word "formare", which means to "make" or "create." Therefore, information itself can be defined as a creation. In other words, information, no matter how trivial or complicated it might be, is always created and never discovered. For example, if you'd like to know the capital of Denmark, you'll never find it in a forest or discover it by looking at the clouds. You'd have to look at an encyclopedia where someone else has listed it for you (i.e. created it). Therefore, in order to acquire this knowledge yourself, you'll have to consult the same source: an encyclopedia.
In the world today, information becomes more and more well-structured, complex and multi-faceted. It's not just a string of random letters or facts anymore; it's often "compiled" into reports or online databases where people can easily search for it by keyword or category. You can find information about anything these days if you look hard enough; from calorie content of soda pop beverages to the latest statistics on global warming.
What type of information is the most valuable?
Newspapers and blogs often publish articles concerning specific information that attracts attention. For example, in "The Wall Street Journal", a popular newspaper in the USA, a recent article entitled "China's Income Gap Widens" tells how two Chinese men were jailed for producing fake invoices to avoid paying tax. Although this information is newsworthy, it doesn't really add much value to the reader's life because he will not produce any unexpected benefits from this knowledge by himself.
However, this news story is not at all unique; in many other industries information is accessible online. Such instances are the case with the foodindustry where anyone can find out what ingredients were used to make different products (e.g., cheese) and how harmful they might be to your health if you use them too much. People can easily read down through a list of ingredients, see if it's safe to eat and then look up the product it was added to, so that they know exactly what flavors it is comprised of. That's why a recipe for brownies posted on an American blog has become popular all over the world.
Another example is the art world. If you decide to research the history of Picasso's painting "La Vie" (Life) on Wikipedia, you won't get any useful information from it, but if you look at an article in the "Wall Street Journal", you'll learn that Picasso sold this painting for $40 million. This is because information is extremely valuable to an individual when it comes to making personal decisions. As Carla Santi and Jonathan D. Wightman rightly point out in their book "Information Value Management", "Without goods or services people have no incentive to spend time or money gathering information."
While this is an important nuance, my main theme here is that basically all forms of knowledge are created. Some sources are easier to access (i.e., newspaper), while others require more effort to find (i.e., encyclopedia). The main point is that the source of information changes based on the type of knowledge you want to acquire.
How an organization can use information
In order to create knowledge within boundaries, an organization needs two things: a subject matter expert and creative means.
The subject matter expert must have a deep understanding of the problem so that they can pinpoint the exact questions people want answered. In other words, this person must be able to create a clear picture about what exactly people are looking for or how they want their problem solved.
This role can be filled by an experienced employee. For example, in the case of Wikipedia, a website where anyone can freely post information, there are many people that participate in writing articles. An entry can be edited by many different people before it's posted online and becomes a permanently accessible source of knowledge (i.e., never discovered). Since the author doesn't own this information, he or she doesn't have any claim to its ownership. Therefore, those who contribute to Wikipedia know that the information will remain free for everyone to use as they wish.
In contrast, experts in commercial companies often produce their knowledge for commercial purposes. This is especially true when it comes to a company's "selling know-how". For example, if a company wants to sell you an item it has designed, chances are high that this knowledge can be extracted in the form of an article (e.g., in business magazines). The article contains all the necessary information about how the product functions, its advantages and disadvantages as well as how it was designed and why so. This type of knowledge can now be freely accessed by anyone who wants to use it.
Therefore, organizations can derive huge benefits from their own internal resources if they take advantage of creative means available at their disposal. For example, let's say you're working for a car manufacturing company. What if you could find out, using a phone, what kinds of cars are selling well or poorly in other countries? You may realize that people love to buy sports cars in other countries and possibly also love to illegally modify their own vehicles. Although this knowledge might not be helpful for your own company's sales strategy (e.g., "Hey, try the Bugatti Veyron") it would be vital information when it comes to your clients who are exporting their products abroad.
How an organization can use information
In order to create knowledge within boundaries, an organization needs two things: a subject matter expert and creative means.
Conclusion
The importance of digital knowledge is still increasing. That's why employees must become more aware on how to produce and use knowledge in the most efficient way. Even though it requires a great deal of effort to find good information, it's an investment that will be worthwhile in the long run. For example, a Norwegian study showed that medical students who used electronic sources of information during their studies performed significantly better than students who didn't have access to these sources.
In order to be successful, an individual needs to know exactly what he wants. That way he can search for valuable information and distinguish it from other sources (e.g., spam emails).
Tags:
Working with information