Background

Information overload, the inability to absorb and process all the information we're exposed to, can be deadly. Ok, maybe not in the literal sense, however the idea of becoming at the least, ill, because of an over-abundance of information is not implausible. Americans are being overwhelmed with information. Each new day introduces an unrelenting flow of data. Consider the volume of data produced from the start of civilization to the year of 2003. According to research Google CEO Eric Schmidt, the world is now producing that equivalent volume of data every two days (Siegler, 2010). In addition, our current society is overcome with a constant surge in technology. Major technological advances has made the ability to access and disseminate this information much easier.

Today there is use of the internet, computers, cell phones, tablets, and Bluetooth devices. In addition, there is access to other informational resources such as newspapers, T.V., and radio. This technological growth have led to many important business and societal innovations such as the ability to spot business trends, prevent or treat diseases, fight crime, and much more. However, at some point this can become a destructive trend.

Emerging research shows that while there are advantages to having so much information readily available, there is a struggle to process this information as fast as it arrives. While, information Overload is an increasing problem both in the workplace, and in life in general, it is a much more significant one for contemporary organizations as it can adversely affect productivity, decision-making, and employee morale. In addition, the abundance of information that is relished today comes at a big price. There are huge hidden cost associated with this information overload movement. Employees are being severely interrupted from normal business operations. Frivolous emails and text messages are becoming consuming, and are taking away from more important business endeavors, collectively costing organizations nearly $1 billion a year (Stone, 2009).

Analysis of the Problem

As determined through prior research, the terms data, information, knowledge, and wisdom all seem to interrelate. Data in its rawest form contains unprocessed information. Once Data has had the opportunity to be refined it has now converted to information. Knowledge and wisdom is simply the catalyst that helps continue to manage information over time. In general it is an organization’s duty to have certain standards and policies in place used to manage and bind the amount and type of information funneled through their system. While, most organizations would like to believe that they have a strong grasp on managing the copious amounts of information that comes at them, even the best methods can be unsuccessful. This has certainly been the case in recent years. Many organizations are experiencing the adverse effects of information overload. Their employees are experiencing a reduced amount of concentration. They are inclined to ignore important information, delaying responses to messages they consider unimportant.There is also a tendency of employees answering only parts of some messages, responding inaccurately, taking less time, and reacting to quickly to all messages.

Another common consequence of information overload within organizational structures, is the fact that there are major delays in decision making when an individual is awaiting a response to a previously sent email. (Stone, 2009) The employee don’t know whether or when someone will answer an e-mail message. Majority of the time they are left wondering and asking themselves a variety of questions that inhibits their overall work productions. Questions such as, was the message directed to the junk mail folder? Was it left for later response? Or is it simply being unnoticed because the recipient is inundated by other e-mails?

As the previous paragraphs point out, Information overload affects and afflicts both individual knowledge workers struggling to perform their jobs while drowning in data, and entire office organizations, whose productivity and customer care suffer as a consequence. However, as indicated earlier, actual people are the ultimate processors of information, and ultimately people are the only ones who can effectively integrate and produce what they know to make effective management decisions in the light of their business environment. Those companies that learn to deal with this information outbreak effectively will have a major advantage in the next few years.

So, what can organization do to improve the way they deal with a world of massive information input, and in turn, create the ability to use this trend as a competitive edge? While, there is no quick fix, enhancing one’s knowledge and skills requires effort and is an ongoing process. Implementing some of the following solutions can make a real difference to an organization’s effectiveness in dealing with the new reality of information overload.

The Solution- Changes to technical and Social Systems

Information overload is complex and can be addressed in a variety of ways. However, organizations are most likely to find better solutions to ameliorate informational overload using both technical and social systems. Technical and social systems are a collection of complex components that solve problems within that system. Using both a social and technical approach within an organization allows an individual to gain the most insight within their performance. While information and the technologies behind it, cannot solve all society’s problems, society and social resources can solve many of the problems of both information and technology (Ruff, 2002). This belief and practice could promote a strong sense of relief for those companies struggling with the information flood.

There are a number of solutions an organization could navigate towards that would help combat the dilemma of informational war. One major resolution would be to implement new software tools that offer an array of ways to better manage an employee inbox. Specific software prioritize messages by importance as determined by prior email history with particular senders; sort e-mail threads according to the work project they relate to; or filters out e-mail that is no longer relevant because the information has been attained. There are also other programs that automatically turn e-mail messages into tasks or appointments; let an individual know how much time they spend responding to messages; and even draw information from social blogs and internet news feeds about people they frequently e-mail,

so that they can keep up-to-date on social statuses.

In addition, there are also tools for those individuals who consider themselves email addicts. Currently there is an optional link on the Gmail page that, when you click it, it turns the screen gray and displays the message “Break time! Take a walk, get some real work done, or have a snack. We’ll be back in 15 minutes”—and then counts down the time until you’re able to resume checking messages (Stone, 2009). This concept is not only brilliant and canny but also beneficial. An article in the October issue of HBR, found that forcing knowledge workers to take breaks from email and other work distractions improved work performance.

While some believe that future technology will resolve all of our information overload problems, others believe that there are other and better solutions that can aid indecreasing the issues associated with a workforce swamped with an overabundance of material. Some suggested resolutions include: Employing a communications specialist who helps limit the amount of internal communication employees receive, Preventing dissemination of messages to all employees offering decision-making models that workers can use when feeling overwhelmed by an abundance of information, Standardizing communication by creating memo and email templates that allow readers to quickly assess topic, audience, relevance, number of words and approximate read time.
The ironic solution for solving the problem of way to much information is— MORE INFORMATION. However, Organizations must quickly realize the magnitude of the problem and proceed to put a system in place that would help direct this information accordingly.

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References

Jungwirth, B., & Bertram, B. (2002). Information overload: Threat or opportunity? Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy 45(5).

Ruff, J. (2002, December). Information Overload: Causes, Symptoms and Solutions. Retrieved July 16, 2014, from http://www.newsmaster.be/flow/dw/ciel/2011/aout11/infooverloadbrief.pdf

Siegler, M. G. (2010, August 4). Eric Schmidt: Every 2 Days We Create As Much Information As We Did Up To 2003 | TechCrunch. Retrieved July 17, 2014, from http://techcrunch.com/2010/08/04/schmidt-data/

Stone, L. (2009, September). Harvard Business Review - Death by Information Overload. Retrieved July 17, 2014, from http://hbr.org/web/2009/september/death-by-information-overload