Information Architecture Analysis
This paper results from research surveying executives with robust analysis and offers insight into their needs. This case study shows that current tools were insufficient. More information architecture using data warehousing, OLAP tools, and data mining was required to equip them for their information needs and better decision-making. Consider when you have not had the tools to perform your best analysis. Were you able to obtain the tools and information you needed, or did you have to be creative or "make do"? How can an analyst influence the decisions on providing tools, appropriate architecture, and data sources within a firm?
2. The Importance of Information in Executive Decisions
The strategic management of organizations is a broad concept which, according toWright, Kroll and Parnell, refers to senior management methods for achieving results in accordance with the missions and objectives of the organization as a whole. These methods are often linked to formal plans for defining elements that serve as a guide in organizational strategy.Mintzberg, Ahlstrand and Lampel reported that most management methods are based on evaluating strengths, weaknesses, threats, and opportunities, establishing goals, and devising action plans.
Information is essential to planning and decision-making; however, its complexity and the speed with which it must be processed and analyzed, combined with the accelerating pace of change in the economic processes of globalization and business, has made this process increasingly critical. Cohesive information is one of the elements executives use when making decisions, requiring a basis which enables data analysis in order to generate information. Knowledge is considered an important economic resource and is created based on the ability to interpret facts, create ideas, innovate products, perceive complex relationships and solve problems.
As well as being responsible for decision-making, an executive's role includes disseminating, monitoring, and being a spokesperson for organizational information. It is on the basis of information that relationships are built and data are transformed into relevant information, allowing effective solutions to be created for the organization and society as a whole.