ASSIGNMENT

Business Research Methodology.

A project report on Improving Efficiencies of

Information Resource Management.
Submitted to: Dr. Memcha Loitongbam, Professor, MIMS, MU.

Submitted by: By: Laishram Jessica Devi.

Roll no. 202043.
MBA 2nd semester.
Manipur Institute of management studies, Manipur University
 Improving Efficiencies of Information Resource
Management.
Abstract:
This study concerns the information resource management. There are a lot of the researches on
this topic, however, most of them do not analyse the specifics of the transport logistics. Companies
do not have information about opportunities to improve the efficiency of information processing.
Therefore, this study aims at identifying the importance of information management and finding ways
to improve efficiency of it. Improvement of the information resource management may reduce costs
and improve decision-making process. The aim of this research will be achieved by performing the
following tasks: study of methods and central reasons of the improvement of information resource
management; analysis of operational documentation of the transport company; processing of the
received results. With the graphical representation of data in the form of a tree and the information
communication schemes the information flows are estimated. The transport modelling is used to
analyse the specifics of the information flows in the transport company. Finally, the importance of the
information resource management is shown by comparing the time and costs that were spent on the
information processing. The methods which were mentioned will confirm the importance of
improving the efficiency of information resource management for a transport company. The research
includes Introduction, Literature review, Methodology, Anticipated results, Conclusion and References.

Keywords:  information resource, information resource management.

Introduction:
Nowadays companies face the need to process a large amount of information. Managers have
to organize fast and high-quality work with data. Undoubtedly, the efficiency of a transport company
depends directly on receiving timely and accurate information.

Background:
Over the past twenty years company managers have been actively studying the issue of
information resource management which involves assessment of information needs at each level;
standardization and unification of document types and forms; overcoming the problem of
incompatibility of data and creating data management systems (Murthy, 2008). The entire volume of
knowledge recorded on material media and intended for internal use is called information resources.
In the process of human development, a number of different mechanisms for information
management were created. However, it is believed that a few years ago the process of information
processing, data storage and transmission was time-consuming.  Nowadays information technology
application improves the efficiency of data processing. There is evidence to suggest that many
managers do not consider information resource management as the main sphere to develop.

Problem Statement:
Therefore, the main purpose of this research is to understand to what extent it is important to
improve and find the methods of improvement of the information resource management in the
transportation enterprises? Although most companies mainly focus on the improvement of the
financial resources it is important to find out the ways of the information resources management
improving in the transportation enterprises because that can help to optimize the work of the
company, minimize costs, and improve the quality of the decisions. The key steps of achieving the aim
of this work include:

1. Research of the ways and the main reasons of improving information resource management;
2. Study of transport company documentary and performance;
3. Analysis of results of research.

These tasks could help to analyse the importance of information resource management and to
understand features of transport companies in this issue.

Delimitations:
Thus, the study involves research of Transport Company and it does not include the analysis of
information research management in other types of companies or in supply chain in general. The
work is mainly focused on the practice of foreign companies and researchers due to the fact that they
have more literature to study.

Professional Significance/Novelty:
The improving of information resource management is important for companies for several
reasons. First and foremost, information resource management may help managers to regulate the
whole amount of the data which a company has. The second reason is that the information
processing cycle is reduced due to the use of information technologies. What is more, standardization
of documents and the process of data exchange may lead to a faster response from the manager to
questions and problems that could appear in the company and, it is undeniable that it increases the
effectiveness of the decisions (Olson, 2011).

Definitions For further study, it is necessary to clarify the term “Information technology”. Experts
emphasize that information technology is the resource which are necessary for the collection,
processing, storage and dissemination of information (Haynes, 2013).

Structure:
This research proposal has been divided into three main parts. Firstly, literature review, secondly,
study of different methods of improving information resource management, finally, analysis of the
example. Conclusion and references have to be added as well.

Literature Review:
It is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore the importance of the information resource
management nowadays. Information resources have become one of the main resources of the
companies. However, these changes have led to the problems of managing data of the company.
Managers from all over the world try to find out the most effective ways to increase the company
revenue by optimizing the process of obtaining, storing and processing information. Nowadays there
are many studies on this issue.
 Recent developments in information resource management have heightened the need for
unified information space. Vasyhin (2010) and Horosilov (2004) in their works pay special attention to
this issue. It is said that unified information space, for example, the Internet, may lead to effective
storage and information processing. In addition, it can provide fast and efficient interaction of all
participants of the supply chain. Here another important point can be highlighted.

An integrated approach plays an important role in the information resource management. The
majority of authors address this issue in their works. Murthy (2008) note that there are different
departments in an organization and each of them has its own goals, strategy, information
technologies and flows of information. This system may lead to asynchronous operation of the
company which in turn will lead to an increase in the duration of one cycle, the reduce of cooperation
between different departments, increase in failures in the work of the organization and to money
losses. In order to prevent this situation, it is suggested to ensure that each department strives to
achieve the overall goals of the company and provide the free access to all company data.

In recent years, there has been an increasing interest in information technologies (IT) that are
used for information resource management. Most authors consider this issue and analyze different
information technologies. Vasyhin (2010) focuses attention on classification of IT and on the benefits
for companies. Undoubtedly, the choice of IT that can be used in a company should base on its aims.
Each company may use the combination of different types of information technologies to affect every
sphere. Information technologies are being improved, new systems and methods are emerging, and
that leads to the importance of periodic verification of IT for understanding whether they meet the
needs of the company.

Recently, researchers have shown an increased interest in audit of information systems. Hingarh,
Ahmed (2013) and Willard (1993) believed that the audit of information and information systems is
the most important step in the information resource management. The authors pay attention that
many companies do not understand the necessity of audit and always skip this step. However, the
analyse of information that the company has may help managers to understand the current state of
the company, to find out its strengths and weaknesses and to make operational decisions. The audit
of information systems is important to ensure the confidentiality, integrity and availability of
information.

It is believed that the model, which consists of five key elements, is designed to ensure effective
management of information resources. Willard (1993) suggests the following model elements:
identification, cost and value, development, exploitation and the responsible person. Identification
assumes the classification of information. Managers have to understand the type of data they work
with and where they may find it. Cost and value should help to make decisions about investments.
The information which is available to the company has to be used as a resource for the development
of the company. Information resources can be used to increase demand. Exploitation strives for
maximization of value for money. The fifth key element is the responsible person who should
coordinate the flows of information and who is responsible for identification. Thus, the combinations
of these five key elements lead to effective information resource management.
There is evidence to suggest that the proper information management is the key aspect of the future
of the company. Murthy (2008) explains that there is a cycle of elements in information resource
management which has influence on each other. Effective manage information imply the deliver
proper information in accurate time. This lead to the decision making process, that is why the
collection of the information should be automated. The author notes that there are a lot of different
systems which can do this, but the managers have to pay their attention on the systems which suits to
the needs of the company and which may be used in full potential. Usage of information technologies
should be aimed at achieving success of all company and making the processes of the company as
fast and easy as external conditions allow. The final element may lead to the proper manage future.

Many companies which are just starting out or are planning to enter a new market try to find out the
strategy of their future actions and only after that analyze their resources. However, it is believed that
the strategy should be formed on the basis of resource assessment. Horosilov (2004) suggests that
this approach may help managers to understand better their clients, to find out the spheres where
they can be suitable, where they can make the revenue. What is more, this approach may help to find
out the information about their competitors and to think through their strategy, to create other ways,
different from competitors, to promote their products and services.

Thus, the analysis of literature shows that there are a lot of information about the classification of
information, about the importance of the information technologies and suggestions on information
resource management. However, far too little attention has been paid to the nuances of information
management in various functional areas of logistics. The gap which can be highlighted after analysing
the literature is that the authors give information in general and do address the issues of distinctive
features of information resource management separately in transport logistics for transport
companies. This work will be devoted to the analysis of the information resource management in
transport company, identifying the features of information resources in transportation sphere, the
distinctive features of the use of the information technologies and systems. It is planned to find out
the ways to improve the efficiency of information resources management in transportation
enterprises.

Methodology:
This part of the proposal will include the description of the data, the methods of collecting the
information and the methods of analysis. It should be noted that there are a lot of different methods
of data analysis but in the study several methods will be used due to the limitations.

First of all, it is necessary to make a decision about the information which will be analyzed in the
study. For the research, the transport company will be used. This company should be engaged in the
transportation of goods as this is the specifics of the research topic. For further research, the
information about the types of documents, the ways of analysis the data, the speed of information
processing and the information systems should be received.

Several methods will be used to collect the information. Firstly, interviewing employees. This method
involves questions for employees such as: “Do you use information systems for the information
processing? Which one?”, “What types of documents are used in this company?”, “Do you have any
problems with the information processing?”. The survey is carried out in person, by phone or when
filling out the questionnaire. What is more, if it is possible, this kind of information may be collected
by monitoring which within the framework of this study means search for answers to the above
questions myself. The official documents of the company will be the sources of information in this
situation. In the study these two methods will be used due to the fact that they may provide up-to-
date information from the original source.

After the process of collecting information, it is necessary to analyze the data. The first method that
will be used is a method of describing the flow of information through graphs of type “tree”
(Landwehr, Hall, & Frank, 2005).  This method involves the construction of flows of the information
and transformation of information when calculating individual indicators. As the result there is the
graphical representation of data in the form of a tree. The second method is a method of information
communication schemes (Gross, Yellen, & Zhang, 2013). It is necessary to display information sources,
documents, and recipients of information. The third method is transport modeling which involves
reflects the transfer of documents along the transport route. Although there is a large number of
methods of analysation these three methods were chosen for the study due to the fact that they may
be used together and the third method is specific for the transport company. After the analysation of
information, the problem or problems of organization of work will be found out and the ways to solve
them will be determined.

Anticipated Results:
In this part of the work some anticipated results will be given. According to the methods the
information about the company will be consolidated. It is expected to receive recommendations for
the company to improve the efficiency of information resource management. These
recommendations may be presented in the form of the plan which will show the specific actions for
changes in the information resource management. The time for processing the transportation request,
the amount of the information flows and the number of mistakes will be reduced. Moreover, the
logistics service will be improved.

The anticipated results will confirm the thesis that it is necessary for the company to find out the
methods of development of the information resource management. The company that will be
analysed will have the opportunity to improve information processing and reduce related costs. In
addition to the company, counterparties also benefit from the information resource management
improvement as the process of interaction with the company will be simplified.

The results of the study will be presented in different forms. Firstly, the diagrams will be
presented to the dynamics of the costs. Secondly, the schemes of the information flows will be given.
Thirdly, all information about the company will be presented in the table. What is more, the list of
bottlenecks of the company will be compiled. Thus, the results will allow the transportation company
to reform the information processing system.

Conclusion:
In conclusion the main aspects of the study will be outlined. The work done will confirm the
importance of using the methods of improving the information resource management in the
company which is specialized on the transport logistics. What is more, the key steps to achieve the
main goal of the study will be completed namely the main methods and reasons of the improvement
of the information resource management will be found, the information about the flows of
documents and the types of process of the company will be consolidated, the results of the research
will be evaluated.

The tasks of this study will be realized by applying different methods such as interviewing employees,
monitoring, graphs of type “tree”, the method of information communication schemes and transport
modelling. With the help of these methods the bottlenecks of the company will be found out,
analyzed and transformed.

The results of this study could be used by the company in the future. However, it is not supposed to
identify universal recommendations for all transport companies, so further research may focus on this.
What is more, it will be useful to analyse the information technology that can be used to improve the
information resource management and maintain the document processing process at a high level.

References
Gross, G. L., Yellen, J., & Zhang, P. (2013). Handbook of Graph Theory. CRC Press LLC, Inc.

Haynes, D. (2013). Information Sources in Information Technology.  De Gruyter, Inc.

Hingarh, V., & Ahmed, A. (2013). Understanding and Conducting Information Systems Auditing.  John
Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Horosilov A.V. (2004). Mirovye informatsionny resursy [Information resources of the world]. Saint

Petersburg, Russia: Piter.

Landwehr, N., Hall, M., & Frank, E. (2005). Logistic Model Trees.  Business Media, Inc.

Murthy, C.S.V. (2008). Enterprise Resource Planning and Management Information Systems. Mumbai:
Girgaon, Inc.

Vasyhin O.V. (2010). Informatsionny menedjment: kratkiy kurs [Information management: short

course]. Uchebnoe posobie Sankt-Peterburgskogo Universiteta y Universiteta Informatsionnyx
texnologiy, mexaniki y optiki, 119.

Willard, N. (1993). Information Resources Management. Aslib Information Vol 21, Inc.