| The purpose of this study was to develop an instrument for measuring the information gathering processes of managers in various types of organizations.;This study built on the work of researchers who developed the earlier information processing measuring instruments but is significant in that it focuses on information gathering and it has a solid theoretical foundation. It is based on James G. Miller's Living Systems Theory which has been developed over the past thirty-four years and "which might become the theory of organizational behavior and communication" (Duncan, 1972, p. 523).;During the literature review stage of the study, it was learned that a joint University of Louisville/U.S. Army research team conducted the LST/Battalion Studies between 1978 and 1982 to assess "the relevance and utility of Living systems Theory (LST) for understanding and maintaining control of changing interdependent systems in the Army" (Cary et al, 1982, I-5). The LST/Battalion researchers developed extensive instrumentation for measuring system activities including both matter/energy and information processes in Army battalions. This study applied parts of the LST/Battalion Studies to a non-military organizational setting. It also set the stage for future research on the relationship between information processing and overall effectiveness.;The importance of information to organizational and individual effectiveness has been frequently noted (Roberts and O'Reilly, 1974, p. 321), and past research efforts have led to the development of instruments and procedures for measuring information processing in organizations (Brooks et al, 1979; Goldhaber, 1976). Instruments, such as the International Communication Association's ICA Communication Audit, have been used to analyze how information is processed and utilized in organizations but these instruments suffer from two key limitations in that (1) they lack a theoretical foundation, and (2) they fail to adequately address the information gathering processes. |
