Information a Quality Product

Information a Quality Product

The manager will determine the quality of the information

based on the contribution it provides for effective decision

making. The quality of information is high, if it creates
managerial impact leading to attention, decision and action.
The quality of information can be measured on the four
dimensions viz., utility, satisfaction, error and bias.
1. Utility:
The utility dimensions have four facets – the form, the time, the access
and the possession.  
The Form-If the information is presented in the form the manager
requires, then its utility increases.  
The time-If it is available when needed, the utility is optimized.  
The access-If the information is easily and quickly accessible through
the On-line Access system, its utility gets an added boost.
Possession- Lastly, if the information is possessed by the manager who
needs it, then its utility is the highest.
Satisfaction:
Since in the organization there are many users of the same
information, the subjectiveness would vary.  Therefore, the one
common key for measuring the quality could be the satisfaction
of the decision maker.
Error:
An error is the third dimension of the quality of the information.
The error creep in on account of various reasons, namely; 
An incorrect data measurement
An incorrect collection method
Failure to follow the prescribed data processing procedure
Loss of data or incomplete data
Poor application of data validation and control systems
A deliberate falsification
Erroneous information is a serious problem because
the decision maker cannot make the adjustments as he
is not aware of it in terms of the location and the
quantum of error.  To control errors, it is necessary to
follow the methods of systems analysis and design.
The approach should be that the errors should be
prevented.