Managing Information Strategically

• Authors: James V. McGee;Laurence Prusak
• Venue: Managing Information Strategically
• Year: 1993

From the Publisher:Over the past 25 years, the corporate world has undergone a transition from an industrial economy to an information economy - an environment where information drives the creation of wealth and prosperity, and where businesses accustomed to winning by virtue of size are losing their lead to competitors more agile in their use of information. Visionary companies have realized for years that succeeding in this new age will require better management of information - but up to now, too many have focused primarily on the management of information technology, and its potential for boosting worker productivity. This first volume in the Ernst & Young Information Management Series emphasizes that organizations must learn to view information itself as a potent tool - and manage it as a resource that is more strategically important than labor or capital. Drawing on a wide range of studies and the experience of companies ranging from American Airlines to Frito-Lay, Managing Information Strategically explains how an organization must explicitly consider information issues in its overall strategic thrust - as it designs a plan to achieve market distinction, marshals the resources to execute that plan, and finally, integrates strategy with execution in a dynamic environment. In Part I, the authors examine the role of information in strategy design. They show how active management of information is required to define customers and market segments and discover the full nature of the competition; both are key elements in a company's ability to carve out a niche in the marketplace. The book also demonstrates how information in itself is increasingly being offered by companies as a differentiating product, and how it helps to inspire and support new strategic alternatives. Part II offers guidance on the management of information to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of important organizational processes. Here, McGee and Prusak focus on three areas that have previously receive