How to Manage and Integrate Information Capital

Enterprises do not manage information capital for creation and support and for integration to produce results

Enterprises have much to gain by properly organizing and leveraging information to provide value. Information is not managed properly for support, integration, and utilization in today’s enterprise.

Information capital must be managed from two perspectives:

• Information capital development, support, and maintenance to increase capital worth
• Information integration and provision as solutions to create value in results

Information capital tends to be managed by various functions, like Information Technology, accounting, human resource administration, and corporate planning. However, information tends to be part of a functional duty, rather than a capital management responsibility. Information tends to be provided as a by-product of implemented systems and processes or otherwise made available, rather than provided as specific solutions delivered when and where needed. Many enterprises manage corporate business information as technology, rather than as capital to be utilized.

Enterprises lack entities to integrate an Enterprise Information Base and to deliver information needed by the business

The conventional enterprise lacks the integrating entities to pull information together to be delivered where needed to create value. Information is maintained on a wide-variety of entities in each separate system or solution, creating a large cross-referencing and integration problem.

Few enterprises today organize and manage information as distinct categories of capital to be managed by human capital with the needed capabilities. Few enterprises today deliver integrated information, where needed to create value.

Information capital must be supported by professionals with the proper capabilities

The fact is that different kinds of information require different professional capabilities to manage and support. Much of our company information management is based on this. Data is managed different from accounting records and knowledge. From the management perspective, we have four kinds of information that must be managed separately: data, knowledge, records, and intelligence. We need a way to manage our information capital by applying the proper capabilities to capture, create, and maintain information, and to provide information solutions.

Data is business capital that is managed with the business organization and process capital

Data is information capital that describes a specific result or performance solution, both as a result and a detailed result entity, such as product or order, and both as a solution and a detailed solution entity, such as an employee or asset. Data is also maintained on entities that provide or utilize results or performance solutions, such as suppliers of input results, providers of external or outsourced solutions, and customers for final results. Data management covers the business information modeling, data organization, data access, and data maintenance.

Data is business capital to describe and update a result that is organized with business organization to be ready to produce the result and business process capital to actually produce the result. All business capital requires business understanding and analytical ability.

Knowledge is human capital that is managed with human personnel and capability capital

Knowledge is information capital that is utilized by human capital to utilize performance solutions to produce a result. Knowledge is both direct to a result or to provide the market, industry, product or other background needed to produce results. Knowledge is created for human learning and on-the-job access to produce a result. Knowledge management covers getting the proper knowledge created, utilizing knowledge for human capital development, providing knowledge solutions, and maintaining knowledge available.

Knowledge is human capital to assist human personnel to be ready to produce results and human capability to utilize solutions and produce the result. All human capital requires human development, support, and learning skills.

Records are facility capital that are managed with facility equipment and supply capital

Records are information capital that record and document result and performance transactions or interactions executed by the enterprise. Records are created to document, account for, and record the utilization of enterprise capital to produce value in results. Records management covers all financial and non-financial records in any media such as computer records, imaged records, document records, archives, etc., and providing records solutions to produce results.

Records are facility capital to be administered by those with the required espertise and administrative ability along with asset and equipment management to be ready to produce results and supply management to produce results.

Intelligence is management capital that is managed with enterprise management strategy and tactics capital

Intelligence is information capital that provides the insights and management information to develop a management strategy and management tactics and to be aware of management, competitive, market, and other opportunities and threats. Intelligence management covers capture from various sources, derivation from other enterprise information, and analysis to produce management solutions.

Intelligence is management capital to complement management strategy capital to define strategic results and management tactics capital to successfully create strategic value. Intelligence capital and other management capital requires research and management analysis ability.

Information must be integrated in an Enterprise Information Base to be delivered to produce results

The integrating entities that the conventional enterprise lacks are results and performance solutions that organize and manage the business. All information capital is integrated into information solutions with business data solutions for specific results or solution utilization, or accessed or created through business data access or updating.

Once information is organized by specific results and specific performance solutions, it can be integrated for utilization into a seamless Enterprise Information Base. Information in the base then is directly related to the business, so that it is provided when and where needed. The enterprise information base then is supported by professionals and is utilized to add value to results for the benefit of the enterprise.

Result-performance Management provides the means to manage and utilize information capital as an integrated Enterprise Information Base

The answer to manage and integrate information capital is Result-performance Management (R-pM), to organize information to be managed professionally as business data, human knowledge, facility records, and management intelligence and to integrated as information capital to be delivered as information solutions to produce results.

Information capital management, support, and integration into solutions to produce results is needed to support many of the ten rules for 21^st Century Management. To learn more about R-pM and download valuable documents on organizing the business for 21^st Century Management visit result-performance-management.com.