CONTRIBUTIONS OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS TO BUSINESS OPERATIONS, MANAGEMENT DECISION-MAKING, AND THE CREATION OF STRATEGIC ADVANTAGE
This research examines the contributions to business operations, management decision-making, and the creation of strategic advantage made by the application of information systems (IS) technology through the development of management information systems (MISs). The general focus of this examination is on relevant activities in the automobile manufacturing industry in the United States, while a more specific focus is on the use of MIS by the Chrysler Corporation.
Information-processing requirements are defined by the volume of data about organizational activities that is gathered and interpreted by organization participants (Murphy, 1992, p. 27). Organizations process information to produce the knowledge necessary for them to operate successfully. An absence of reliable information compromises this process. Information reliability is compromised by both equivocality and uncertainty.
Uncertainty refers to a lack of specific information required to accomplish a task (Murphy, 1992, p. 27). Uncertainty implies that the necessary information is available somewhere. The level of uncertainty is reduced through the location and making usable the necessary information. The perception of information uncertainty increases as organizations become either or both more complex and dynamic. Both characteristics occur frequently in the contemporary period.
Equivocality refers to an unclear, messy field caused by ambiguity or the existence of multiple and conflicting interpretations that result in confusion and lack of understanding (Murphy, 1992, p. 28). Equivocality indicates that no one specific answer to an explicit question may be expected to be found. The equivocality of information is reduced through the exchange of differing views to define problems and resolve conflicts.
Malone and Rockart (199...