Case Study 1-2
Case 1-2
Ackoff’s Management
Misinformation Systems
This case is adapted from a classic article entitled “Management Misinformation Systems.” It was written by Russell L. Ackoff and appeared in Management Sciences. In the article, Ackoff identified five common assumptions about information systems and then explained why he disagreed with them.
REQUIRED:
Read the five assumptions, contentions, and
Ackoff’s explanation. For each of the five, decide if you agree or disagree with Ackoff’s contentions. Defend your stand by preparing a report to explain your beliefs. Be prepared to defend your beliefs in class.
ASSUMPTION 1: MANAGEMENT NEEDS
MORE INFORMATION
Assumption 1. Most management information systems (MISs) are designed based on the assumption that the critical deficiency under which most managers operate is the lack of relevant information.
Contention 1. I do not deny that most managers lack a good deal of information that they should have, but I do deny that this is the most important informational deficiency from which they suffer. It seems to me that they suffer more from an overabundance of irrelevant information. This is not a play on words. The consequences of changing the emphasis of an MIS from supplying relevant information to eliminating irrelevant information is considerable. If one is preoccupied with supplying relevant information, attention is almost exclusively given to the generation, storage, and retrieval of information; hence, emphasis is placed on constructing data banks, coding, indexing, updating files, using access languages, and so on. The ideal that has emerged from this orientation is an infinite pool of data into which managers can reach to pull out any information they want. If, however, one sees the manager’s
information problem primarily, but not exclusively, as one that arises out of an overabundance of irrelevant information, most of which was not asked for, then the two most important
Ackoff’s Management
Misinformation Systems
This case is adapted from a classic article entitled “Management Misinformation Systems.” It was written by Russell L. Ackoff and appeared in Management Sciences. In the article, Ackoff identified five common assumptions about information systems and then explained why he disagreed with them.
REQUIRED:
Read the five assumptions, contentions, and
Ackoff’s explanation. For each of the five, decide if you agree or disagree with Ackoff’s contentions. Defend your stand by preparing a report to explain your beliefs. Be prepared to defend your beliefs in class.
ASSUMPTION 1: MANAGEMENT NEEDS
MORE INFORMATION
Assumption 1. Most management information systems (MISs) are designed based on the assumption that the critical deficiency under which most managers operate is the lack of relevant information.
Contention 1. I do not deny that most managers lack a good deal of information that they should have, but I do deny that this is the most important informational deficiency from which they suffer. It seems to me that they suffer more from an overabundance of irrelevant information. This is not a play on words. The consequences of changing the emphasis of an MIS from supplying relevant information to eliminating irrelevant information is considerable. If one is preoccupied with supplying relevant information, attention is almost exclusively given to the generation, storage, and retrieval of information; hence, emphasis is placed on constructing data banks, coding, indexing, updating files, using access languages, and so on. The ideal that has emerged from this orientation is an infinite pool of data into which managers can reach to pull out any information they want. If, however, one sees the manager’s
information problem primarily, but not exclusively, as one that arises out of an overabundance of irrelevant information, most of which was not asked for, then the two most important