PINCO: personal information and confidentiality controls

Legislation is required now in order to get proper controls on personal information and confidentiality in the near future when the need for it, particularly in relation to the development of third generation computers, will be more clearly perceived in Britain than it is at the moment. If action is taken now, PINCO controls can be introduced more cheaply and efficiently than will be the case if urgent action has to be taken later.     

Working the truth and perfecting the moment for physicians and patients: a serious challenge for information systems

Most of us can remember the crowning sense of elegance we occasionally felt when we solved a very difficult geometry problem. We linked the proof to the postulates. It was almost like calling on history or the elders to stand silently with us in the flurry of our moment. We "worked truth." I'd like to capture a little of that same "working truth" and apply it in a very unlikely spot: information systems and information technology. It is time to go back and look at the basic postulates of knowledge and responsibility and truthfully apply them in the health care interchange between doctor and patient and make sure that our systems add to and even create an elegance so that the basic relationship of physician and patient in healing can flourish.     

Developing strategies for management information systems

This is the first of two articles on a practical approach to Business Information Systems Planning. The articles will outline a formal but practical approach for the development of an information systems strategy. The approach is based on experience gained by the author in the conduct of planning projects in a variety of industries, including wholesale and retail banking, consumer credit, chemicals, multinational manufacturing and distribution and the oil industry. The articles are based on the author's book ‘Planning for Business Information Systems’ (Pergamon Books, 1986).     

Designing information systems for strategic decisions

In this article the authors argue that recent events have given rise to a need for a new class of information related to strategic decision-making. They describe some of the characteristics of “ideal” systems to meet this need and suggest a program of less sophisticated systems which will develop towards that ideal.     

‘Irrationality’ of managerial judgments: Implications for information systems

Four principal factors affecting rational information processing behavior in organizations are discussed. These are: (1) the nature and attributes of the messages received from the Management Information and Decision System (MIDS); (2) The personal qualities and attitudes of the manager himself; (3) the degree of social interaction; and (4) if a collective is involved, the format and group decision function used in arriving at a group position. Ways in which information specialists and operations researchers can counter, ameliorate, and exploit managers' judgmental biases and inconsistencies are then proposed. Areas for further research are suggested.     

Personnel planning and information systems

Today the need for long-range planning is seen by most private and public organizations. Therefore growing attention to it is required of management in companies, in public services, in the armed services and in the school and university area. Some parts of the long-range planning problems have been widely discussed and practised. But there are some parts, which have received less attention in the business world. One of the relatively neglected areas, but one of special importance is long-range planning for personnel from the shop-floor up to top-management. This lack is remarkable, as one finds a lot of research and practical work on the use of other operations research planning systems, which cover for example queueing, inventory, production or investment problems. But in no field, is planning ahead more important than in personnel. Company growth and effectiveness depend on it. For unless a business organization has people with skill, imagination and a capacity for leadership, at the right time, its other plans may well be worthless.     

Reliability: Its implications in production systems design

Research on production systems design has in recent years tended to concentrate on ‘software’ factors such as organisational aspects, work design, and the planning of the production operations. In contrast, relatively little attention has been paid to maximising the contributions made by fixed assets, particularly machines and equipment. However, as the cost of unproductive machine time has increased, reliability, particularly of machine tools, has become ever more important. Reliability theory and research has traditionally been based in the main on electrical and electronic equipment whereas mechanical devices, especially machine tools, have not received sufficiently objective treatment. A recently completed research project has considered the reliability of machine tools by taking sample surveys of purchasers, maintainers and manufacturers. Breakdown data were also collected from a number of engineering companies and analysed using both manual and computer techniques. Results obtained have provided an indication of those factors most likely to influence reliability and which in turn could lead to improved design and selection of machine tool systems. Statistical analysis of long-term field data has revealed patterns of trends of failure which could help in the design of more meaningful maintenance schemes.     

Reconstruction of decision-making behavior in shareholder and stakeholder theory: implications for management accounting systems

This paper focuses on two interrelated research questions. First, an analysis of managerial decision-making is incorporated into shareholder and stakeholder theory. Secondly, the paper investigates what consequences result for management accounting from inherent conceptions of managerial decision-making behavior. These research questions are based on assumptions of complex interrelationships among decision-making managers, management accountants, and techniques they employ. The findings of this research support that tenets of management accounting systems correspond best with shareholder theory. In doing so they apply financial measures, pursue the goal of profit maximization, and focus on decision-making behavior resulting from the agency relationship between shareholder and manager. Stakeholder theory, however, is fundamentally different from shareholder theory in terms of goals, management philosophy, relationships, behavioral assumptions etc. For these reasons differences with respect to managerial decision-making behavior are reasonable and different requirements related to management accounting systems appear appropriate.     

Manufacturing resource planning: An information systems model

This paper presents Manufacturing Resource Planning, an information system that will enable the developing and monitoring of strategic plans. Incorporation proven material and capacity requirements planning techniques, strategic planners can determine readily the impact of their plans on the manufacturing resources of the company. Decision making is more coordinated because all managers work from a common data base. However, the attainment of this level of planning sophistication is costly not only in capital outlays for computer software and hardware but also in the time to train users. But those firms who have successfully incorporated this integrated approach to strategic planning feel strongly that the end results justify the expenditures.     

TQM: a paradigm for physicians

Change, even when for the better, is always accompanied by apprehension and even outright fear. It is therefore not surprising to hear health care workers, especially physicians, expressing their concerns about this "new" management philosophy through a spectrum of reactions that vary from skeptical or grudging acceptance to outright dismissal of all of the new "alphabet soup" associated with TQM.     

Socio-political forecasting and management information systems

This paper is an attempt to place the forecasting of socio-political variables in the context of actual information needs of industrial companies. Initially discussion is of the effect of socio-political variables upon companies with a review of this significance for decision makers and decision takers. An attempt is then made to categorise existing forecasting techniques in the context of socio-political data whilst regard is paid to the possible effects of socio-political variables on companies. Discussion is then broadened to a consideration of current practice both in the UK and in the USA. Problems implicit in current practice are commented upon and the paper ends with the conclusion that socio-political forecasting is currently significant to many companies and that there is a major potential role for management scientists to play in the development and implementation of appropriate techniques.     

Evaluation of management information systems

The economic evaluation of Management Information Systems may be based on the following theories and techniques: Control Theory, System Dynamics, (discrete-event) simulation, and gaming. Applications of these approaches are summarized. Advantages and disadvantages of the various approaches are presented.     

Accounting for the man-information interface in management information systems

A primary cause for the failure of both formal and informal management information systems to live up to expectations stems from the designer's lack of awareness or improper conception of the interfaces existing between information and man, its user. This underscores the need for a better understanding of the relationship between man, psychologically and sociologically, and information. The results of several experiments performed in a simulated financial setting are presented as illustrations of human information processing tendencies in both individuals and committees. Design options to attenuate human foibles and limitations and to counterveil propensities to subvert systems are discussed. Areas for further research are suggested.     

A multiple goal methodology for evaluating management information systems

The behavior and performance of an organization are intimately tied to the mode and effectiveness of its information processing function. While there is a rapidly expanding level of research concerned with the design, development, and implementation of management information systems (MIS), relatively few approaches to the evaluation and improvement of these systems have been suggested. The current paper develops a multiple goal methodology aimed at filling this gap by evaluating and, if necessary, subsequently modifying any given set of MIS design variables considered capable of enhancing a series of operational and, perhaps, conflicting goals. The methodology is based on a series of significant findings from the MIS design literature. In particular, the procedure incorporates the tripartite of decision type/decision-maker/MIS design into the evaluation process. The methodology is user-based, being flexible with respect to the definition of performance objectives, evaluation measures, design variables, and correction strategies. A brief example applies the methodology to the evaluation of an MIS within a health services organization.     

神经信息系统研究: 现状与展望

神经信息系统(neuro information systems,Neuro IS)是认知神经科学理论、方法和工具在信息系统领域的应用,从全新的方法论视角研究和解决信息系统中的相关问题.神经信息系统的研究主要集中在系统设计与优化、信息服务与决策、社会网络与互动这三大领域,主要的研究范式可分为情景实验的研究范式、心理学及决策科学经典任务应用的研究范式、多任务多方法结合三类.神经信息系统研究方法有效弥补了传统信息系统研究存在的不足,减少了应答偏误、实现了用户心理过程的准确测量并探索了用户决策的神经机制,发展和深化了信息系统的研究手段和理论基础.神经信息系统研究在补充和丰富现有理论的基础上,通过探索和发现传统信息系统领域中尚未解决以及存在争议的问题,揭示用户信息决策的机制,打开“黑箱”,推动信息系统科学研究向“更客观,更深入”的方向发展.当前数字经济蓬勃发展,神经信息系统方向的发展为从事信息系统研究的学者提出了新的历史使命,创造了新的历史机遇.