1. Q5 – What are the Characteristics of Good Information?
• Good information must be
– Accurate – good information is based on correct and complete data, and it has
been processed correctly as expected. Accuracy is crucial; managers must be
able to rely on the results of their information systems. The IS function can
develop a bad reputation in the organization if a system is known to produce
inaccurate information.
– Timely – Information should be given in a timely manner. A report that is 6
weeks late is most likely useless. In that case, the information would have been
received well after decisions for that material have all ready been made. Ex:
Shipping goods to a customer when the information system says not to. Can you
think of any?
– Relevant – Information should be relevant both to the context and to the subject.
If you’re the CEO, you may need information that is summarized to an
appropriate level for your job. A list of hourly wage is unlikely to be useful.
Instead, you would need the average wage information by department or
division. Also, make sure that it is relevant to the subject at hand. If you need
short term interest rates for a possible line of credit, than a paper with 15 year
mortgage interest rates is useless. Has this ever happened to you at your place
of work?
– Just barely sufficient – Information needs to be sufficient for the purpose it is
generated, but just barely so. There is a lot of information out there in the world
and as you grow in management you need to decide what material to ignore and
what to use.
– Worth its cost- Information is not free. It costs money to develop a system, and
to maintain it. For information for be worth its cost there must be an appropriate
relationship between the cost of information and its value. Can you think of an
example?