1. Issues
The preeminent objective of information management is to improve the performance of the business, that is, the maritime-centric supply chain.
Information management must, therefore, resolve performance issues. Issues are neither good nor bad until we discover the actual and potential impact. Principles of critical thinking and systems design help us here.
Issues are of two types. [1]
Business: over capacity; entry into a new market. These issues are not the focus on this course although, as you will find out later, they are indispensable to improving performance.
Technology: blockchain; autonomous ships.
There is no implied priority in the sequence in which these issues are presented. Nor are you constrained to just these issues. That is, if you think there are other important technology based issues, bring them into the discussion.
Ross Ashby’s words were brought to your attention in The Aim of Information Management (James Drogan, 2015).
Cybernetics, too, is a “theory of machines”, but it treats, not things, but ways of behaving. It does not ask “what is this thing?” but “what does it do?”
Our focus in this course is on the behavior of ICT – what it does – not what it is. What ultimately is implemented is behavior. When you read, read to understand the behavior.
In general, one should seek to understand the business issues first, what is required for their resolution, and what role, if any, information management and its supporting technology will play. Much of my experience and writing reflects this preference. However, in the modern world technology is a powerful, almost irresistible force expressed in questions such as, “How are you using blockchain?” This course therefore considers the technology advances as issues to be resolved first. That is, the potential resolution is seeking an issue to resolve.
2. Contraints
Our discussion of issues is undertaken with the intent of finding a resolution (else why discuss issues?). Resolutions are always constrained and in this module we take up some of those constraints.
The inevitable synthesis of the issues (what we want to resolve) with the constraints (what we have that affects the resolution) leads to a more practical and achievable set of actions to improve performance of the organization.
This assignment is of importance because it provides the base from which we draw conclusions and make recommendations on two important points.
Our approach to determining the quality of the critical thinking process used to determine the issues, constraints, their interrelationships and mutual effects.
The evidence to support subsequent conclusions and recommendations.
3. Analysis
Issues require resolution. The resolution to the issues identified in this course lies in an information management system that improves the ability to improve the decision process. This process is represented by the SIDAL loop (Haeckel & Slywotzky, 1999).
This is an important point. The aim is not to implement information technology for its own sake, but rather to use information technology to improve the performance of the organization. That is, the real issue to be resolved is a business issue, not a technology issue.
The preferred method of analysis is to bring the business issues into the analysis at the point of Deciding Significance.
Focusing first on technology limits the issues that can be resolved. Suppose, for example, all one has is a hammer, but what one needs to do is cut a board. The risk is that the most important business issue will not be uncovered and a solution sought.
Blockchain, autonomous ships, AI are often the leaders in the press and meetings when, in my view, the business issues should first be sought.
The aim is to describe a resolution for the most significant issues identified earlier. You are, in a sense, defining a business system (see Note on Building a Management System in the readings for this module).