100 GREAT BUSINESS IDEAS • 13Given that billions of dollars are invested each year in IT
software and hardware, we might expect managers to know exactly
how information technology improves their organization’s results.
Exactly what is the connection between the billions invested
annually in IT, and improvements in productivity and performance?
Information orientation has the answer—the three things that
connect IT with business results.
The idea
Professor Donald Marchand together with William J. Kettinger
conducted research at IMD business school that identifi ed three
critical factors driving successful information use. These three
capabilities contain 15 specifi c competencies.
The three “information capabilities” combine to determine how
effectively information is used for decision making:
- Information behaviors and values. This is the capability of an
organization to instill and promote behaviors and values for
effective use of information. Managers need to promote integrity,
formality, control, transparency, and sharing, while removing
barriers to information fl ow and promoting information use. - Information management practices. Managing information
involves sensing, collecting, organizing, processing, and
maintenance. Managers set up processes, train their employees,
and take responsibility for the management of information,
thereby focusing their organizations on the right information.