Introduction to Information Resource Management

1.1 Definition
Information Resource Management (IRM) is a management concept that views data,
information, and computer resources (computer hardware, software, Networks and personnel) as
valuable organizational resources that should be efficiently, economically, and effectively
managed for the benefit of the entire organization.
IRS enables Information and Communication Systems function to perform with no problems in
an organization.

1.2 ICT Performance:

The ICT function has performance problems in an organization if for example;
 Effectively - if it is used primarily to computerize traditional business processes, instead of
using it for decision support and innovative processes and products to gain competitive
advantages.

 Efficiently - by information services groups that provide poor response times, frequent
downtime, incompatible systems, unintegrated data, and applications development backlogs.

 Economically - if information technology costs rise faster than other costs, even though the
cost of processing each unit of data has decreased due to dramatic price reductions and
improvements in hardware and software technology.

1.3 Forces that bring the need for IRM.

There is a real need for business end users to understand and know how to plan and manage
information systems and technology in an organization. Information technology capability enables
managers to manage organizational interdependence to meet business needs. Information
technology such as telecommunications, networks, powerful personal computers and information
resources are now more readily available to more managers than ever before.
Information technology presents managers with a major managerial challenge. The competitive
pressures of the business and technology environment since late 1990s are forcing major firms to
rethink their use and management of information technology. Many business executives now see
information technology as an enabling technology for managing the cross-functional and inter
organizational processes that business units must have to successfully confront the competitive
measures they face.
A variety of forces that seem to bring the need for IRM in an organizations in which information
technology plays a major role include:
1. Organizations are become more knowledge-based, “composed largely of specialists who
direct and discipline their own performance through organized feedback from colleagues,
customers, and headquarters”.
2. The Internet, intranets, and extranets and more cost-effective hardware and software are
enabling individuals, teams, workgroups, business units, and organizations to be “wired
together” in close business relationships that can provide the communication and coordination
needed in today’s competitive global marketplace.
3. Decision support capability provided by information systems technology is changing the
focus of managerial decision making.

4. Managing the information systems resources of a business is no longer the sole province of
information system specialists. Instead, information resource management has become a
major responsibility of all managers.

1.4 Major Dimensions of IRM

Information resource management has become a popular way to emphasize a major change in
the management and mission of the information systems function in many organizations. In many
organizations, IRM may be viewed as having five major dimensions:

 Strategic Management
- Information technology must be managed to contribute to a firm’s strategic objectives and
competitive advantages, not just for operational efficiency or decision making.

 Operational Management
- Information technology and information systems can be managed by functional
organizational structures and managerial techniques commonly used throughout other
business units.

 Resource Management
-Data and information, hardware and software, telecommunications networks, and IS
personnel are vital organizational resources that must be managed like other business assets.

 Technology Management
- All technologies that process, store, and communicate data and information throughout the
enterprise should be managed as integrated systems of organizational resources.

 Distributed Management
- Managing the use of information technology and information system resources in business
units or workgroups is a key responsibility of their managers, no matter what their function or
level in the organization.
KEY TERMS AND CONCEPTS - DEFINED

Centralization or Modern computer-based

information systems can support
Decentralization: either the
centralization or decentralization of information systems
operations and decision-making within computer-using
organizations.
Centralization or IS resources can be distributed
throughout an
Decentralization: IS organization or consolidated in
corporate data centres.

Centralization or Information systems can help

management centralize
Decentralization: operations or IS can help in
decentralizing operations.
Operations & Management

Chargeback Systems Methods of allocating

costs to end user departments based on the information services
rendered and information system resources utilized.

Chief Information Officer A senior management position that

oversees all information technology for a firm, concentrating
on long-range information system planning and strategy.

Cultural, Political, and Differences in customs, governmental,

regulations,
Geoeconomic Challenges and the cost of living in different
countries.

Data Centre
An organizational unit which uses centralized computing
resources to perform information processing activities for an
organization. Also known as a computer centre.
Development Centre Systems development
consultant groups formed to serve as consultants to the
professional programmers and systems analysts of an
organization to improve their application development efforts.

Downsizing
Many organizations are downsizing from the use of large
computer systems to networks of small computers.

End User Services Consulting and

training services provided to end users in an organization.

Global Business Drivers These include global customers,

products, operations, resources, and collaboration.

Global Company A global

company is one which balances its strategies and activities to
ensure that it is serving customers in each locality with
sensitivity and excellence, while still implementing a whole-
world strategy that serves its global customers with excellence.
Global Information Technology The use of computer-based information systems and
telecommunications networks using a variety of information
technologies to support global business operations and
management.

Global IT Management Dimensions of global IT management

include:
1) Business IT Strategies, 2) Application Portfolios, 3)
Technology Platforms, 4) Data Management, and
5) Systems Development

Global IT Management: IT applications may depend on business

Applications
requirements (business drivers) caused by the nature of
the industry and its competitive environmental forces. Business
drivers for global IT applications include: 1) Global Customers,
 2) Global Products, 3) Global Operations, 4) Global Resources,
and 5) Global Collaboration.

Global IT Management: Many firms are moving toward

transnational
Business/IT Strategies business strategies in
which they integrate their global business activities through
close cooperation and interdependence between their
international subsidiaries and their corporate headquarters.

Global IT Management: Global IT and end user managers must

deal with
Data Issues
restrictions on the availability of hardware and software,
restrictions on transborder data flows (TDF) and movement of
personal data and difficulties with developing common data
definitions and system requirements.

Global IT Management: The choice of technology platforms

(also called the
IT Platforms
technology infrastructure) is a major dimension of global
IT management. Technology platforms required to support a
global business operation must consider include: 1) Hardware
choices, 2) Software choices,
3) Telecommunications networks, and 4) Computing facilities

Global IT Management: Database management methods have to

be developed and
Systems Development systems development
projects have to be managed in order to produce the global
information systems that are required to compete successfully
in the global marketplace.

Human Resource Management Reaching agreement on systems requirements is always

of Information Technology difficult, but becomes many times more
difficult when the users and developers are in different
 countries. Strategies must be developed in order to solve some
of the problems of global systems development.

Impact of IT
Managers now have a lot of information, information
processing power, and responsibility for information systems.

Impact of IT: Managers now have a

lot of information,
On Management information
processing power, and responsibility for information systems.

Impact of IT: Information technology

affects the people, tasks,
On Organizations technology,
culture, and structure of organizations which affects how it will
organize and use information technology.

Information Centre A support facility for

the end users of an organization. It allows users to learn to
develop their own application programs and to accomplish
their own information processing tasks. End users are provided
with hardware support, software support, and people support
(trained as consultants).

IRM
A management concept that views data,
information, and computer resources (computer hardware,
software, and personnel) as valuable organizational resources
that should be efficiently, economically, and effectively
managed for the benefit of the entire organization.

Five Dimensions of IRM The five dimensions of IRM

include: 1) Strategic management, 2) Resource management,
3) Functional management, 4) Technology management, 5)
Distributed management.
Information Services Functions Includes systems development, operations, and technical
services.

Information Systems Performance Managers must ensure that IT is being effectively, efficiently,
and economically in their organizations

Management Involvement The experiences of successful

organizations reveal that the basic ingredient of high quality
information systems performance is extensive and meaningful
management involvement.

Operations Management Includes the management of

activities such as data entry, equipment operations, production
control, and production support.

Organizations as To better understand the

organizational impact of
Sociotechnical Systems information technology, it is
useful to view an organization as a sociotechnical system in
which people, tasks, technology, culture, and structure are the
basic components. To improve an organization’s performance,
managers must (1) change one or more of these components
and (2) take into account the relationships among these
interdependent components.

Outsourcing IS Operations Turning over all or part of an

organization’s information systems operation to outside
contractors, known as systems integrators or facilities
management companies.

Systems Performance Monitor A software package that automates many of the

operations management activities.

Systems Development Managing systems development requires

the planning,
Management
organizing, and controlling of systems analysis,
programming, and end user activities related to various IS
 development projects, and thus requires a project management
effort.

Technology Management The establishment of organizational

groups to identify, introduce, and monitor the assimilation of
new information system technologies into organizations.

Telecommunications Network The management of development, administration, and

Management
maintenance of telecommunications networks and their
hardware and software.

Transborder Data Flows The flow of business data over

telecommunications networks across international borders.

Transnational Strategy A management approach in

which an organization integrates its global business activities
through close cooperation and interdependence among its
headquarters operations and international subsidiaries, and its
use of appropriate global information technologies.