Managers and Their Information Needs

Chapter 9
Managers and Their

Information Needs
Learning Objectives
When you finish this chapter, you will:

See
the link between an organizations

structure and information flow.
Be able to list the main functions and
information needs at different managerial
levels.
Recognize the characteristics of information
needed by different managerial levels.
Recognize the influence of politics on the
design of, and accessibility to, information
systems.
2
Managers and Information
Generally, managers at different levels

of an organizational hierarchy:
Make
different types of decisions

Control different types of processes
Therefore, they have different
information needs
Managers and Information
Figure 9.1 The management pyramid
The Traditional
Organizational Pyramid
Many organizations follow pyramid model

CEO at top
Small group of senior managers, one level down
Larger number of middle managers, reporting to
senior managers
Many more lower-level managers who report to
middle managers
Clerical and Shop Floor Workers

Bottom of organizational pyramid
Operational Management
In charge of small groups of front-line workers
The Traditional
Organizational Pyramid
Tactical Management
Also
called middle managers

Make decisions for subordinates,
affecting the near and somewhat more
distant future
Strategic Management
Decisions
affect entire or large parts of

the organization; what to do decisions
Characteristics of Information
at Different Managerial Levels
Different management levels have
different information needs
Information needed by different
managerial and operational levels
varies in the time span covered, level
of detail, source, and other
characteristics over a broad spectrum
Data Range
Amount
of data from which

information is extracted
Time Span
How
long a period the data covers
Level of Detail
Degree
to which information is specific
Source: Internal versus External

Internal
data: collected within the

organization
External data: collected from outside
sources
Media, newsletters, government
agencies, Internet
Structured and Unstructured Data

Structured
data: numbers and facts

easily stored and retrieved
Unstructured data: drawn from
meetings, conversations, documents,
presentations, etc.
Valuable in managerial decision making
10
The Web:
The Great Equalizer
Outside information now easier to get

More free information
Information available in easy-to-manipulate
format
Data shoppers allowed to download data
they can further process to fit their needs
Subscriptions to online message services
on highly focused topics
Results
of research and reports of trends

and forecasts offered for a fee
11
The Nature of Managerial

Work
Planning
Planning
at different levels
Long-term mission and vision

Strategic goals
Tactical objectives
Most
important planning activities
Scheduling
Budgeting
Resource allocation
12

Work
Figure 9.3 An
example of a
mission statement,
strategic goals, and
tactical objectives
for an in-line skate
manufacturer
13

Work
Figure 9.4 The main ingredients of planning
14

Work
Controlling
Managers
control activities by
comparing plans to results.
Figure 9.5 Examples of processes used to control projects
15

Work
Decision Making
Both
planning and control call for

decision making
The higher the level of management:
The less routine the managers activities
The more open the options
The more decision-making involved
16

Work
Management by Exception
Managers
review only exceptions from

expected results that are of a certain
size or type to save time.
17
Figure 9.6 An example of a budgetary exception report

Work
Leading
Managers
expected to lead, which requires
Having a vision and creating confidence in others

Initiating activities to make work efficient and
effective
Creating new techniques to achieve corporate
goals
Encouraging and inspiring subordinates
Presenting a role model for desired behavior
Taking responsibility for undesired consequences
Motivating employees and delegating authority
18
Trends in Organizational
Structure
IT Flattens the Organization

Eliminates
several layers of middle
managers
19
Figure 9.7 Information systems flatten managerial layers
Structure
The Matrix Structure

People
report to different supervisors,

depending on project, product, or
location of work
More successful for smaller,
entrepreneurial firms
IT supports matrix structure
Easier access to cross-functional
information
20
Structure
Figure 9.8 An example of a matrix organization
21
Characteristics of
Effective Information
Tabular and Graphical Representation

Certain
information better presented

graphically
Trends as lines
Distributions as pie charts
Performance comparisons as bar charts
Many
people prefer tabular data for

complex problem solving
22
Characteristics of
Figure 9.9 Tabular and

graphical presentations:
the information in the
two presentations is
identical, but the trend is
detected faster with the
line graph.
23
Characteristics of
On-line Analytical Processing (OLAP)

Cube
of tables showing relationships

among related variables
Operates on specially organized data or
on relational database data
Easily answers questions like What
products are selling well? or Where are
the weakest-performing sales offices?
Faster than relational applications
24
Characteristics of
25
Figure 9.10 OLAP applications provide information on multiple

dimensions for management decision making.
Characteristics of
Dynamic Representation
Data
presented in real time

Includes moving images representing
speed or direction
Changing colors represent rate of
change
Use expected to grow
26
Managers and Their

Information Systems
Figure 9.11 Types of information systems typically used at different levels

of an organizations hierarchy
27
Managers and Their

Information Systems
Transaction-Processing Systems (TPS)

Capture
and process raw materials for

information
Interfaced with applications to provide upto-date information
Clerical workers use TPS for routine
responsibilities
Operation managers use TPS for ad-hoc
reports
28
Managers and Their

Information Systems
Decision Support Systems (DSS) and

Expert Systems (ES)
DSS
and ES support more complex

and nonroutine decision-making and
problem-solving activities
Used by middle managers as well as
senior managers
29
Managers and Their

Information Systems
Executive Information Systems (EIS)

Provide
timely, concise information

about organization to top managers
Provide internal as well as external
information
Economic indices
Stock and commodity prices
Industry trends
30
Managers and Their

Information Systems
Customer Relationship management

Systems (CRM)
Help
collect data about customers

Analyze the data into useful information to
help serve customers better
Help managers find effective and efficient
marketing strategies
Challenge
Address the right customer at the right time with
the right offer
31
Information, Politics, and

Power
Politics
Development
and control of ISs often

involves problematic politics
Power
Information
affords power which can be

problematic.
32
Who owns the system?

Who pays for developing the system?
Who accesses what information?
Who has update privileges?
The Not-Invented-Here Phenomenon
Ethical and Societal Issues

Electronic Monitoring of
Employees
Monitoring on the Rise

73.6%
of major U.S. firms reported recording

and reviewing employees communications
and activities on the job (AMA published
survey, April 2001)
The Microchips Are Watching

Video
cameras
Software to count keystrokes
Artificial intelligence to monitor cash
disbursement and detect fraud
Monitoring e-mail and Web access
33
Ethical and Societal Issues

Electronic Monitoring of
Employees
The Employers Position

Entitled
to know how employees spend time

Believe monitoring is an objective,
nondiscriminatory method to gauge output
The Employees Position

Deprives
them of autonomy and dignity

Increases stress and stress-related illness
and injury
34

Managers and Their Information Needs

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Chapter 9

Managers and Their

When you finish this chapter, you will:

the link between an organizations

Managers and Information

Generally, managers at different levels

different types of decisions

Managers and Information

Figure 9.1 The management pyramid

Many organizations follow pyramid model

Clerical and Shop Floor Workers

called middle managers

affect entire or large parts of

of data from which

long a period the data covers

to which information is specific

Source: Internal versus External

data: collected within the

Structured and Unstructured Data

data: numbers and facts

Outside information now easier to get

of research and reports of trends

The Nature of Managerial

Long-term mission and vision

important planning activities

The Nature of Managerial

The Nature of Managerial

Figure 9.4 The main ingredients of planning

The Nature of Managerial

Figure 9.5 Examples of processes used to control projects

The Nature of Managerial

planning and control call for

The Nature of Managerial

review only exceptions from

Figure 9.6 An example of a budgetary exception report

The Nature of Managerial

expected to lead, which requires

Having a vision and creating confidence in others

IT Flattens the Organization

several layers of middle

Figure 9.7 Information systems flatten managerial layers

The Matrix Structure

report to different supervisors,

Figure 9.8 An example of a matrix organization

Tabular and Graphical Representation

information better presented

people prefer tabular data for

Figure 9.9 Tabular and

On-line Analytical Processing (OLAP)

of tables showing relationships

Figure 9.10 OLAP applications provide information on multiple

presented in real time

Managers and Their

Figure 9.11 Types of information systems typically used at different levels

Managers and Their

Transaction-Processing Systems (TPS)

and process raw materials for

Managers and Their

Decision Support Systems (DSS) and

and ES support more complex

Managers and Their

Executive Information Systems (EIS)