A conceptual framework of information processes: a means of improving bureaucratic performance

Decisionmakers within organizations frequently lack full understanding of problems they confront. Such information failures grow out of the complexity caused by information moving across departmental and organizational boundaries. This paper introduces the concept of structure for information processes without adding rigidity. The conceptual framework contains six levels. The first two levels provide the building blocks of common information language, plus models of procedure and rules. The third and fourth levels make possible the development of scheduling models and planning tools for information resource allocation and cost reduction. The fifth and sixth levels assist in evaluating policy implementation and developing information system goals and objectives. The framework, even in its abstract representation, illuminates several key interdependencies which when understood could reduce the complexity between information tasks. Utilization of the conceptual framework could diminish an administrator's dependency on computer manufacturers for information system improvements.