Strategy for a Learning Society - Appendix - Evaluation of Three Organizations

Appendix:

Evaluation of Knowledge and Information Flows in Three Large Organizations

Summary

Consultants: Benjamín Cornejo and Guillermo Jiménez

1. Two Government Agencies

The study, which was conducted in support of the Learning Organizations circle of Conectándonos al Futuro, included the following objectives: analyze information and knowledge management practices in two government agencies (Integrated Finance Administration System SAFI, and the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock MAG); assessing institutional and personal aspects, processes and relationships, physical infrastructure and organizational environment; design a proposal for an information policy and an implementation framework.

The chief results of the study are the following:

In MAG, for lack of networks, databases are used locally in each unit. The necessary data are usually obtained using conventional means (paper), and later transformed into reports using a variety of processes. This contrasts with SAFI, where almost all information is obtained electronically, and there are units and mechanisms dedicated solely to information-gathering. In MAG, there is a general lack of equipment to record and process information, in contrast with SAFI, which is virtually 100% equipped; furthermore, MAG lacks even the minimal necessary technology to disseminate the information it generates.
In SAFI and its different departments, a great quantity of information is generated and stored in an appropriate and usually timely fashion, and dissemination policies are quite open; however, the methods used to disseminate information are obsolete and not consistent with the availability of installed communications equipment and infrastructure. It is obvious that training is widely conducted and is awarded considerable importance inside SAFI and its departments.
The libraries within the SAFI system are set up to meet the needs of the different departments rather than of the agency as a whole, since there is no institutional –much less overall governmental– policy governing this service; however, the information they contain is quite accessible. Libraries are largely lacking in MAG, despite the need for them given their geographical location and the decentralization of the different MAG agencies. In the case of MAG, none of the units visited showed any sign of secure backup systems.
In SAFI, some of the departments scarcely use electronic mail, despite the existence of appropriate equipment; Internet and e-mail use in MAG is very low.
There is no evidence of a structured management of documentary information, nor is there adequate systematization of information access and use, both within the system as a whole and in the libraries.

The chief recommendations of the study for the long and medium term are based on aspects of human resources, capitalization of knowledge, leadership roles, accumulation of resources and experiences, definition and dissemination of standards, and the development of a backstopping structure. The specific recommendations related to organizational information flows are directed toward researching new government services, norms governing how information is recorded, definition of more productive mechanisms of dissemination, the standardization and implementation of information access policies, and improvements in the infrastructure necessary for adequate storage of institutional information.

2. A Large Enterprise

The study, which was conducted in support of the Learning Organizations circle of Conectándonos al Futuro, included the following objectives: analyze information and knowledge management practices in an important enterprise in El Salvador; assess the effectiveness and quality of information and knowledge flows within the enterprise and its interactions with the outside, based on the different stages of the knowledge cycle; and design a proposal for an information policy and an implementation framework.

The enterprise (which is not named on grounds of confidentiality) is currently revising its approach to service and its business model, and has thus undertaken a process of institutional modernization, with the goal of enhancing its efficiency, competitiveness, and profitability.

The following aspects related to knowledge and information management were identified: the creation of an enterprise development department, which conducts research on the competition and designs new products; the use of consultants to support the use of new technologies; an emphasis on the systematization and standardizing of information related to daily operations; documentation of procedures; and an adequate use of technology including the imminent institutionalization of electronic mail. However, the study also identified a lack of structured management of documentary information, which could be caused by lack of knowledge of appropriate technology and of the importance of relying on and classifying digital information, or of the impact it might have, both internally and in relation to the outside world.

Regarding information-sharing: most information is captured and processed in a decentralizaed fashion, while another part is entirely centralized and processed by batches, which incurs considerable time penalties in processing, and leads to ineffective information flows and updating procedures. Due to the obsolescence of the technological platform used, data must be heavily manipulated in order to become formatted and consolidated as management information or output indicators. It is expected that new information systems in process will help the enterprise improve all aspects of its information flows. Finally, most of the information produced is distributed in print form.

The chief recommendations of the study for the long and medium term are based on the capitalization of knowledge, leadership roles, accumulation of resources and experiences, definition and dissemination of standards, and the development of a backstopping structure. The specific recommendations related to organizational information flows are directed toward researching new services and products, norms governing how information is recorded, definition of more productive mechanisms of dissemination, the standardization and implementation of information access policies, and improvements in the infrastructure necessary for adequate storage of institutional information.

Conectándonos al Futuro, San Salvador, El Salvador

Updated 25-06-1999

[Table of Contents] [Executive Summary] [Introduction] [Chapter I Context] [Chapter II Building] [Education] [Migration] [Local Development] [Rural Development] [Micro-Small Enterprise] [Learning Organizations] [Infocenters] [Government] [Democracy & Citizenship] [Business Competitiveness] [Culture & Identity] [Quality of Life] [Conclusions]

Appendices: [Methodology] [Project Implementation] [Monitoring & Evaluation] [Local Development] [Migration] [Rural Technology Transfer] [Water Resources] [Electronic Commerce] [Public Information] [Government ICTs] [Evaluation of 3 Organizations] [Electronic Conference] [Participants] [Bibliography] [Glossary of Acronyms]

All rights reserved. Permission is granted to reproduce all or part of this publication as long as the complete source is cited: Conectándonos al Futuro de El Salvador, "Strategy for Building a Learning Society", San Salvador, 1999, http://www.conectando.org.sv/English/Strategy/