| Information systems have been "technology-driven" and "content-driven"; an alternative is to make them "results-driven." That is, to make the desired outcome or result dictate the size, shape, flow, content, and purpose of the information they provide. The key research questions, then, are: What is the best information to manage by? What methodology exists to determine the best information to manage by? What differences exist between the information which is presently available and the best information which is desired? How can these differences be measured? What can be done to affect a change from the information which is presently available, to the information which is desired?; The present research is a case study which evaluates the information system and the information needs of operating-level managers of Knowtel Inns. It utilizes two survey instruments to assess present communication and to ascertain information needs; it examines 106 variables across a sample of 88 operating managers (inn managers) and a population of 18 middle managers (regional managers).; The first survey instrument focuses on the existent information system. To complete the instrument, the inn managers and the regional managers rated the usefulness of information the inn managers receive from the computer, from other inn managers, from the regional managers, and from corporate headquarters.; The second survey instrument focuses on the determination of the inn managers' information needs through identification of the goals, activities, and measures of management at the operating level. The process stimulated thought about what the goals are and what the goals should be, about what activities would accomplish the goals, and how to measure them.; Both instruments provided feedback in a non-threatening way, provided a measure of the health of the working relationships between the inn managers and the regional managers, and provided a measure of the success of innovation efforts undertaken over the last six months. |
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