How Information Is Used and How It Flows In an Organization
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How Information Is Used and How It Flows In an Organization

Information flows in different directions and different means: formally and informally, downward, upward and even horizontally through various levels. According to Opara, “information is the life blood of modern organizations” (Opara, 2003). Without “information”, organizations would most likely collapse as information is required to run the day-to-day doings of a business. Olowu states that “information entails data, facts, imaginations, ideas, opinions and cultural values in a variety of media which includes print, audio-visual materials and electronic processes” (Olowu, 2004). This shows how information flows within and between cultural groups. This represents an important part of “alternative conceptualization” (Nissen, 2002), which focuses on transaction (e.g. data to information, information to knowledge). This means data is necessary to produce information which, in turn, is necessary for creating knowledge that is conveyed (e.g. via paper, network, speech and observable action). And C.C. Aguolu feels that information is “the message of human experience” (Aguolu, 2002); rather, what is basically a stimulus assumes a response in the receiver, and possesses a response itself. This message can be made in any medium, in any language or in any subject.

Some psychologists have even described the flow of information as a “basic” human need, while philosophers go on to say that the flow of information is a right of the people which enables them to participate effectively in society, thus enhancing education, knowledge and the basic learning process. This flow of information allows people to make decisions on issues that affect them. This “basic human need” therefore is also a most important aspect of a company’s ability to make day-to-day decisions with regard to its future; without this ability, a company would not survive in the business world of today. The importance of the flow of information within a company cannot be stressed enough to ensure its survival.

Current Work Example
My current employer uses the methods mentioned below to control and use the flow of information within the company: information is received within the company requesting someone be sent to a location to assist the client with problems relating to its network, or for someone to be sent out to train their employees on specific software. The information about the issue or the software that the client wants to learn, along with the date that they would like someone to come out to their location is then passed along to one of the IT Implementation Specialists, who then in turn go out to the client and perform the needed repairs or training.

Downward Flow
This is the most basic flow of information in a business: it comes from the owner, CEO, or other higher officials within the organization down to those in lower levels within the organization. Media used to transmit this flow of information includes oral instructions, speeches, meetings and written instructions. This is done to pass down to the lower levels within the organization the decisions on specific issues or policies.

Upward Flow
Information travels in the opposite direction: it comes from those in the “trenches” of a business to the managers, CEO or owner of the business. These include ideas to better serve the customer or resolve an issue within the organization that effects the employees themselves.

Horizontal Flow
This is information that is shared people within the same level of the organization (e.g. managers, assistant managers, presidents, vice-presidents and the every day laborer). They may or may not have a direct relationship within a business, such as the ones between the CEO and the company lawyers that represent the company in legal matters.

Controlling the Flow of Information
Maintaining control over the flow of information within a company is probably its number one goal: as it is within sports, keeping the team playbook out of the hands of the opposition will prevent the opposition from finding a weakness in your plans or even copying your plans so that they can counter them. In business, with the advent of mobile and “cloud” technology, the need to protect sensitive information will be its biggest challenge from a security standpoint. According to the TechRepublic CIO50 list, which celebrates the 50 most innovative and influential tech chiefs, as voted on by the CIOs, there are five ways to secure a company flow of information: establishing and maintaining a relevant security policy, ensuring that this security policy has teeth to it and is enforced, providing the tools to help to those responsible for the security policy to be able to implement it, and plugging any security holes within the organization (Microsoft, 2012).

Bibliography
Aguolu, C. (2002). Libraries and Information Managemen in Nigeria. Seminal Essays on Themes and Problems, 85.
Microsoft. (2012). Five ways to secure your organization's information systems. Retrieved April 4, 2013, from TechRepublic: http://www.techrepublic.com/article/five-ways-to-secure-your-organizations-information-systems/1060329
Nissen, M. E. (2002). An Extended Model of Knowledge-Flow Dynamics. Communications of the Association for Information Systems 8, Article 18.
Olowu, K. (2004). Access to Information: Myths and Reality. Journal of the Nigerian Library Association 28, 21.
Opara, U. (2003, June 6). The Nature of Information: Some Concerns for Information Management. Journal of the Nigerian Library Association Imo State Chapter 2, 1-2.