Barriers to the effective deployment of information assets : the role of the executive manager

Date

2012

Authors

Evans, N.
Fourie, L.
Price, J.

Editors

Politis, J.

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Conference paper

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Proceedings of the 8th European Conference on Management Leadership and Governance, 2012 / Politis, J. (ed./s), pp.162-169

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8th European Conference on Management Leadership and Governance (ECMLG) (8 Nov 2012 - 9 Nov 2012 : Pafos, Cyprus)

Abstract

One of the important responsibilities of Managing Directors, Chief Executive Officers and Managing Partners is to effectively deploy the assets and resources of their organisations. Information Assets (IA) such as data, documents, content on web sites and knowledge are key contributors to securing a sustainable competitive advantage and their effective management should be a topic of vital interest to the senior leaders of most organisations. In this research confidential interviews were conducted to identify the perceptions of senior managers about the barriers to the effective management of Information Assets in their organisations. This paper focuses on the management- and leadership-related barriers to the effective and efficient deployment and management of Information Assets. The interview participants included Board members and C-Ievel executives, such as Chief Executive Officers (CEO), Chief Financial Officers (CFO), Chief Information Officers (C IO) and Chief Knowledge Officers (CKO) of Australian and South African organisations in both private and public sectors. The findings of this research supports the literature that, although organisations go to great lengths to manage their financial assets through strict governance, rigid structure, effective control and enforceable accountability, hardly any mechanisms are in place for the management of Information Assets. As money and information are both acknowledged as vital corporate assets, it is important to know why information is managed differently at enterprise level. The research adds weight to the argument that, together with physical, human and financial assets, the sound management of data, information and knowledge assets allows an organisation to run more effectively and efficiently, resulting in products and services that are of a higher quality at a lower cost with the benefits of reduced risk, improved competitive position and higher return on investment.

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Copyright 2012 The Authors

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