Introduction
We all know that today, information, like the development of the industry at the time, has become an element capable of redesigning the economic-social structure of the current world.
On the other hand, the accelerated development of information and communication technologies has affected society to a lesser or greater degree, all spheres of society, they have transformed the way we relate to the environment and have removed theories and concepts that seemed irrefutable. Similarly, globalization has resulted in the interdependence between the different countries of the world that leads to the unification of markets, societies and cultures, through a series of social, economic and political transformations that give them a global character, jointly affecting the modes of production and services, which gives it an increasingly complex and unstable character with a high rate of growth and depth of changes to which Organizations have to adapt, innovate and anticipate, or fall behind.
There are frequent references to the value of Knowledge Management in companies and organizations as an indispensable resource to achieve competitive advantage, increase quality and customer satisfaction, as well as to function in the international market.
Companies make large investments in technology purchases and in the automation of processes, with the simple objective of optimizing the systems used, but this, in turn, is the reason why, on many occasions, the results of Business Management are frustrating Since the application of technologies generates gigantic databases, often in different formats, evolving as independent subsystems and multiplying efforts; volumes of dispersed information are stored that overlap one another and are frequently unable to offer a consolidated view of the information for decision-making in the management of companies.
That is why the application of technologies must be oriented towards a process of dynamic evolutionary change, where the most important thing to take into account are the results that companies must achieve inside and outside the Organization, that is, the outputs of the system, since the entrances to it, must be conditioned to the changing needs of the companies themselves.
The objective of this work is to internalize the importance of the organization of Information for the Management of Knowledge and development of our Companies.
Information
Since ancient times it was thought that information was power, but it was technological development that has given information a revolutionary character in our days since it has ceased to be the monopoly of a few to enrich the wealth of knowledge of many.
The use of technologies has made it possible to share information resources, break geographical boundaries and accelerate communication processes, fostering a new paradigm, regardless of social class or language difference.
The use of new technologies and especially information have been placed, as a resource, at a level as or more important than fixed and financial assets, since the value of the latter is also conditioned, by the domain of information that the company has of them.
Likewise, if we think about human resources and their management, we know that their value lies in the accumulation of information acquired, processed, appropriated individually or collectively by them and that transformed into explicit knowledge is put into function of a social activity.
There are many definitions of information and abundant contradictions about the concepts of Information, Information Management and Knowledge Management, which requires clarity to deal with the issue of Information Organization as a determining factor in Business Management.
It can be stated that a set of related data in a given context constitutes information and that it has meaning or significance, even without becoming part of the tacit or explicit knowledge of any individual or collective entity. When this information is related to a certain human activity, it is then that it acquires a specific value depending on the fulfillment of it and we incorporate it into our knowledge, which transforms our thinking. In the same way, when we apply this knowledge, a change is made in our behavior towards the activity we carry out, which can be defined as productive knowledge.
Carlota Bustelo Ruesta in an attempt to define Information Management refers to it as… “the set of activities carried out in order to control, store and, subsequently, adequately retrieve the information produced, received or retained by any organization in the development of their activities ”2.
It also states that… "At the center of information management is documentation management"
Information Management is much more comprehensive and ranges from the study and monitoring of user needs, to the analysis, filtering and timely and proactive delivery of information, which is possible from the knowledge of said study.
The absence of definitive concepts in this environment, suggests by itself the urgent need to be treated, analyzed and standardized for a better understanding of them.
In short, meaning or meaning is not the same as value, the former reveals the concrete existence of a thing; the second denotes the importance of the existence of that thing for any entity, it refers to the way in which that meaning is reflected in consciousness.
In this analysis I base the opinion that information is an accumulation of interrelated data that has form and meaning at all times but its value is determined from the fact that it is possessed, made aware of and converted into knowledge by some entity.
Information, transformed into knowledge, is transmitted by the owner or converted into productive knowledge, which gives it great value for decision-making in the management of companies.
In other words: in Business Management, information has no value if it is not created and converted into knowledge of the entity, in such a way that a cyclical and repetitive information-knowledge-information process takes place.
Information Management
Information Management is an intangible asset that constitutes the prelude to Knowledge Management, focused on facilitating and managing information related to the subject of interest, to be consumed in any medium, time and place.
Therefore we can say that it is the cornerstone of success in organizations.
Companies require information to know the financial statements, the effectiveness of their products located in the market, their production costs, profits, etc. (internal information) and information about the market environment that surrounds them, trends, their competitors, customers, suppliers, regulations, etc. (external information) that allows them to know and satisfy their customers with immediacy and effectiveness, and quality, ensuring their reason for being and obtaining sustainable competitive advantages over their main competitors worldwide.
Currently having information is not a problem, the difficulty lies in the quality of the information, meaning quality, the veracity, reliability, precision, punctuality and relevance of the final information that a company needs for decision making.
What can affect the quality of the information?
In the first place, the explosion of information products in different formats that are published every year requires the development of methods and techniques for identifying and evaluating increasingly precise sources for the fulfillment of the mission and objectives of the companies.
The rise of new information technologies, as a second aspect, has facilitated the information search and retrieval processes, but in turn has generated incalculable growth in the database industry, requiring an increasingly complex selection process. As a third factor, we have the emergence of the Internet as an important leap in the transition of the creation of a new information culture that, although it has allowed breaking down geographical barriers, providing and introducing information, causes information to multiply uncontrollably,which must go through a complex selection process considering that not everything that is published has quality or is reliable so it is necessary to be able to master the source to validate its reliability and veracity and even more if it is being manipulated for misinformation (deliberate use of information to distort the perception of reality)
All this affects the quality of the information and requires many efforts to be able to convert it into useful information for business development.
Information organization. Impact on Business Management
The aforementioned factors lead us to consider the importance of organizing the large amount of information that is generated daily, favored by the use of information technologies to convert it into knowledge.
New technologies, by offering access to all types of information, can constitute a limitation for organizations unable to organize and convert the required information into the solution of real problems and obtain from it sufficient tangible, accessible and useful benefits.
Experience shows that companies often lack the required information, and / or in the precise time they request it. There are many difficulties they have to extract knowledge from the data collection of their information systems.
Ernesto Krawchik refers… “We have seen many companies with huge data centers, large teams and hundreds of professionals dedicated to processing and storing information. The information from some of these companies reminds us of a teenager's wardrobe: there is everything there but we always see him dressed in the same clothes. And it is not due to neglect; is that when you open the closet it is impossible to find something in there. The information is there, but they can never use it where, how and when they need it ”3.
Neither state-of-the-art technologies or Internet access, or the creation of Intranets and Extranets can solve these problems, if there is no Information Manager that is capable of identifying the needs of its users as well as filtering and organizing the information in any medium. that is facilitating access to it by them.
Today, computer tools are being developed for the organization and integration of content.
Among those that have currently had a great impact on the organization of information due to its impact on decision-making in Organizations are:
- Data warehouse (data warehouse) Data mining (data mining) Information Management Systems based on Z3950 protocol applications.
The Data warehouse, according to some sources consulted, arises to offer a complete solution in the management, organization and location of the information since it manages to integrate the information that exists from different sources or databases, allowing the information to move with the transformations that are necessary from these sources generating quality corporate information, at lower cost and greater flexibility in the environment.
Data Mining, for its part, constitutes another tool for the organization and integration of information in the process of location and recovery, according to its defenders, it guarantees that it is correct, at the correct time and in the appropriate format, so that the they define as the optimized and intermediate process between information and decision making.
The applications of the Z3950 in the field of libraries and information and documentation centers, makes it possible to carry out simultaneous searches of multiple databases, which using a single user interface allows information to be retrieved, ordered, and records exported bibliographic.
In the current environment, the new information management systems must revolve around the organization and integration of the same, so that it contributes to the reduction of the negative effects of accelerated technological development, of the explosion of information, as well as the constant social, political and economic changes that occur at the scale of the entire society. Having an adequate organization of the information not only saves time and effort, but in the Business Management process, it provides the information in a timely manner for adequate decision-making.
Another of the technological means of great use are local networks or corporate Intranets and Extranets, which, although they intend to present in a graphic and attractive way the necessary information from and for the Organizations to which they belong, cease to fulfill their role, if said information Although it is up to date, it is not organized in a way that facilitates access to it.
According to Dr. Dolores Vizcaya… “The organization of information consists of the formal structure that, as a result of the variables analyzed, provides, defines and coordinates the different stages of the information life cycle in order to meet the objectives of the system ”4
It can be added that: At present, the application of computer tools requires an organized information system that allows a vision of the most probable future behavior, which affects the continuous preparation of organizations in an environment of frequent changes.
It is essential that the organizations' information systems develop strategies that guarantee:
- The organization and integration of data allowing information to flow as it is generated Storage and retrieval of information using a controlled language known to users Access synthetic or complete, reliable, accurate or exhaustive sources of information according to whatever the need and confidentiality if required Have the conditions to measure the results from data, information and knowledge within and outside the organization Have the information, both to the managers for decision making and to all those levels that perform in the development of the Organization and need it. Obtain knowledge of the reality that allows to act with great security. Have the ability to transfer information quickly and efficiently.Shorten times in planning projects Optimize processes, increasing productivity Make greater use of existing resources within the organization.
All this suggests that an information system of an institution must be organized, distributed and concurrent at the same time, which can be called an integral information system.
Importance of the organization of information for Cuban companies.
The globalization of the economy, together with the globalization of information, prevents equity between countries. Developing countries have a great disadvantage in terms of technological development, but this cannot constitute a limitation to express the development of a country and Cuba is an example of this.
Ultimately, it is not the media, but the selected, refined and organized information that, using technological means, is put according to the objectives and strategies of each company, overcoming the difficulties and restrictions imposed by the globalization process.
This is the strategic value of having organized information from its first selection process to its recovery and of preparing our professionals based on a systemic vision of all the processes inherent to Information Management.
In Cuban state companies, the Business Improvement system has been extended whose general bases constitute the guide and the management instrument so that business organizations can carry out the necessary transformations in order to establish the policies, principles and procedures that promote development. of initiative and creativity to achieve maximum efficiency and effectiveness and competitiveness in its management.
All the organizational measures that can be adopted, have to keep the necessary integration. The company is a system, which must act as a whole.
Business Improvement is a process of continuous improvement that should lead to the information generated together with innovation and technological management, contributing to the success of the management of our companies.
Organized information must be present, as a basic element, in the design of technological innovation strategies and in the actions derived from it.
A quality Information System cannot be conceived if it does not consider the organization of the information among its indicators.
Within this framework, search and recovery systems will always be effective and efficient in Business Management, in accordance with the requirements and characteristics of the system in which it is inserted.
“Some of the resulting competitive advantages that benefit all organizations could be:
- Increase in customer satisfaction levels Increase in the supply / demand growth rate Increase in market share Reduction in costs for services and products Increase in the rate of satisfied employees Quantitative / qualitative increase in communications Elevation of impact levels by product Increase of the motivation index Growth of the knowledge base Reduction of response times to demands
In Cuba we have the "National Association of Innovators and Rationalizers" which, exceptionally, integrates all layers of society in the search for solutions to problems, this forces us to reconsider how a good organization of information can help in the development of human potential and the competitiveness of our companies.
For all the aforementioned, in our companies and institutions we must give all the importance that the information organization deserves and affirm ourselves in the idea that wherever it is generated, it needs the Information Manager to submit it to the necessary treatment to make it relevant, assimilable and accessible.
A proactive and rapid response to place our companies in the national or international market and obtain success in customer satisfaction is only possible, developing an Information Management and organization strategy, whose processes must be standardized since it constitutes a factor determining factor in Business Excellence.
Conclusions
In the new information society in which we live, Knowledge Management and
Information has a high value for companies and organizations.
They are unanimously accepted as an indispensable resource to increase the competitiveness of employees, increase the quality of services and customer satisfaction.
As a logical consequence, organizations make large investments in the purchase of technologies and automation of processes, which facilitates access to information and in turn generates other problems that degrade its quality: saturation of information, among which we find valuable but also disposable information, unreliable or insecure information, irrelevant in recovery and many others.
To solve these problems increased by technological development, it is essential that companies devise strategies that guarantee the use of computer tools in favor of the organization and integration of information, both internal and external, which will allow our companies to acquire the information Accurate and quality at the time, shape and place they need it.
An organized information system guarantees the competitiveness of our Organizations, supports business improvement in our country and contributes to technological innovation and management, to become successful Business Management.
Bibliography
- Ramírez F. Generation of value from the administration of Knowledge. UNAM; 2002 [Available at: Bustelo C, Amarilla R. Knowledge Management and Information Management. Bulletin of the Andalusian Institute of Historical Heritage; 2001 VIII (34): 226-230 Krawchik E. Information? What information?. Leaders of the third millennium; 2002.Vizcaya A. Organization of the information. Havana: D. Information. Content processing. Rosario: New Paradigm; 1997. p.163-188.
