1. The object of information management is information resources and information activities.
(1) information resources
It is an information producer and an organism of information and information technology. The fundamental purpose of information management is to control the flow of information and realize the utility and value of information. However, information is not all resources. In order to make it a resource and realize its utility and value, we must rely on human wisdom and information technology. Therefore, "human" is the main body and main factor to control information resources and coordinate information activities, and the collection, storage, transmission, processing and utilization of information are inseparable from the support of information technology. Without the powerful function of information technology, it is impossible to realize effective information management. Because information activities are essentially for the production, transmission and utilization of information resources, and information resources are one of the objects and results of information activities. Information producer, information and information technology constitute an organic whole-information resources, which is the basic element of any information system and one of the research objects of information management.
(2) Information activities
It refers to the management activities and service activities of human society around the formation, transmission and utilization of information resources. The formation stage of information resources is a stage that aims at forming usable information resources and is characterized by activities such as information generation, recording, collection, transmission, storage and processing. The development and utilization stage of information resources is characterized by activities such as transmission, retrieval, analysis, selection, absorption, evaluation and utilization of information resources, so as to realize the value of information resources and achieve the purpose of information management. The research object of information management is incomplete by simply managing information resources and ignoring information activities closely related to information resources.
2. Information management is a management activity.
The basic functions of management activities "planning, organizing, leading and controlling" are still the basic functions of information management activities, but the basic functions of information management are more targeted.
3. Information management is an activity of social scale.
It reflects the universality and sociality of information management activities. It is a universal information acquisition, control and utilization activity, involving a wide range of social individuals, groups and countries.
1.2.2 characteristics of information management
1. Management type characteristics
Information management is a kind of management, so it has the general characteristics of management. For example, the basic functions of management are planning, organizing, leading and controlling; The object of management is to organize activities; The purpose of management is to achieve organizational goals and so on, which are also found in information management. However, as a special management type, information management has its unique characteristics:
(1) The objects of management are not people, money and things, but information resources and information activities.
(2) Information management runs through the whole management process.
2. Characteristics of the times
(1) The amount of information has soared.
With the economic globalization, political, economic and cultural exchanges between countries and regions in the world have become increasingly frequent; The relationship between organizations is more and more extensive; There are more and more connections between departments within the organization, so that the amount of information has soared.
(2) Information processing and dissemination speed is faster.
Due to the rapid development of information technology, the speed of information processing and dissemination is getting faster and faster.
(3) The methods of information processing are becoming more and more complicated.
With the improvement of management requirements, the methods of information processing become more and more complicated. Early information processing was mostly empirical processing or simple calculation. At present, the processing methods need not only general mathematical methods, but also mathematical statistics and operational research methods.
(4) The fields involved in information management are constantly expanding.
From the perspective of knowledge, information management involves management, social science, behavioral science, economics, psychology, computer science and so on. Technically, information management involves computer technology, communication technology, office automation technology, testing technology, microform technology and so on.
1.2.3 information management classification
1. Classification by management level
Macro information management, meso information management and micro information management.
2. Classification by management nature
Information production management, information organization management, information system management, information industry management, information market management, etc.
3. Classification by application scope
Enterprise information management, government information management, business information management, public enterprise information management, etc.
4. Classification by management means
Manual information management, information technology management, information resource management, etc.
5. Classification by information content
Economic information management, scientific and technological information management, educational information management, military information management, etc.
* * * The development of information management
The development history of information management activities has a long history. It can be said that the development history of information management activities is as long as that of human beings, from the record of human knotting in primitive society to the extensive use of information technology such as computers to improve the level and efficiency of information management today.
Looking at the means and methods used in human information management activities, it can be basically divided into three periods:
1, information management activities in ancient times
2. Modern information management activities.
3. The period of modern information management activities
To investigate the characteristics of human information management activities in different stages, we should start with the factors that can best reflect the most obvious essential differences between this period and other periods. To sum up, these factors include the overall economic environment of the society at that time, the situation of information resources, the types of information resources, the subject of information management, and the means and methods of managing information.
First, the period of ancient information management activities: the storage of information was "library-style"
★ Time: From the birth of human beings to feudal society
★ Background:
1. Before the invention of writing, people used sound language to convey information and express emotions. Language is an important carrier to express human thoughts and the achievement of human understanding and transforming nature.
Information preservation: the preservation and management of information is mainly through word of mouth, so the effect of information management can not be guaranteed, only a very small amount of information can be preserved, which has become an extremely precious cultural heritage of mankind today.
Disadvantages: the spread of sound information is greatly limited in breadth and depth.
2. The appearance of characters has strengthened the management of information in time and space, and brought about great changes in information management. Before the invention of writing, people recorded, transmitted and saved information through pictures, which produced hieroglyphics and eventually led to the birth of formal writing. )
In ancient times, China's information management activities were the most representative in the world. Before the "Prosperous Age of Kanggan" in Qing Dynasty, China had a strong national strength and a prosperous economy. All undertakings were in the forefront of the world, with rich social information resources and relatively developed information management means. At that time, advanced management ideas and methods were widely adopted. For example, the idea of classification management is applied to information management activities, and a "four-part classification" is compiled, which is based on classics, history, children and books.
4. The information resources in ancient feudal society were mainly literature information resources.
Literature information resources: manuscript printing and movable type printing.
The people of China contributed four great inventions to the world. Two of them involve information management technologies-papermaking and printing, which greatly promote the growth of the world's information volume and the improvement of information processing methods, and at the same time expand the spatial scope of information transmission and accelerate the speed of information transmission.
★ Features of ancient information management activities:
1. Generally speaking, the number of information resources. For today's social information resources, the information management objects in the ancient information management period were mainly paper manuscripts and printed copies, and the number was limited.
2. The amount of information resources in ancient feudal China was in the forefront in the world at that time. China's ancient information resources management techniques and methods are also in the forefront of the world.
3. Information management focuses on "hiding", claiming that the collection of books is secret and belongs to private property, and even it is difficult for family members to see the collection of books. On the one hand, it is conducive to the preservation of documents and makes them spread to this day, but on the other hand, It also violates the purpose of "transmission" and "use" of information management.
4. China also has a good tradition of information management. Every dynasty has officials who specialize in recording and managing archives, such as Sima Qian, who is a historian and is in charge of this matter. Of course, the country's literature information resources management activities are also proactive, and history has been compiled throughout the ages. In the chronicle, there must be a chronicle specially recording contemporary documents, adopting the traditional bibliography method of China. The concept of information management greatly enriches the connotation of modern information management. The ancient book arrangement activities in China began with Historical Records written by Liu Xiang and Liu Xin in the Han Dynasty. Although these two books are dead, we can see clues from their contents, methods and scale. < Sui Shu Economic Journal is also one of the representative achievements of ancient information management activities in China.
5. The activity of collating ancient books reached its peak in Qing Dynasty, and its representative event was the publication of 《 The four-part classification advocated by him is a document information management method suitable for China ancient books. The idea of information classification management initiated by it has a far-reaching impact on today's information management activities and behaviors. Up to now, the four-part classification method is still the sorting method of Chinese traditional ancient book resources.
Ancient information management activities did not form a social scale; The number of social information resources is limited, mainly paper manuscripts and printed copies; Information storage mode is closed and privatized; The means and methods of information management are mainly manual, creating a unique method suitable for information resources at that time, and combining this method with academic research and its methods; The owner of the document resources or the official designated official is the main body of information management, completing information management activities and implementing information management behaviors.
Second, modern information management activities
★ Time: It began after machine mass production replaced manual production and capitalism replaced feudalism as the mainstream social form in the world.
The rise and fall of information management activities go hand in hand with the rise and fall of a country's culture and economy. /kloc-Before the 0/9th century, it was dominated by oriental culture, and in the 20th century, it was dominated by western culture. China's information management activities in ancient times became a world leader, but from the end of 19 to the beginning of the 20th century, with the economic recession in China, the focus of information management activities began to tilt towards western countries.
★ Background: During this period, the scientific and democratic ideas of capitalism spread around the world. The voice of people's pursuit of truth and progressive ideas is rising, which directly promotes the all-round progress of society; The number of people who can receive education in society is increasing, the literacy rate of the masses is improving, and social culture is popularizing. Social information resources have increased rapidly because of the development of science and technology, especially the emergence of new machine printing has accelerated the production of literature information and accelerated the accumulation of social information; In addition to books, newspapers and magazines, a large number of new carriers have emerged, but paper prints are still the main ones. The channels of information transmission have increased. The breadth and depth of information exchange have been greatly enhanced.
★ Features:
Compared with the previous period, the most obvious progress in this period is the improvement of social and cultural level. In order to preserve information, the library-style collection system has been completely broken. Under the social background that books and documents are the main social information resources, the responsibility of preserving literature and information resources did not hesitate to choose a new information storage institution-library.
The appearance of library is a great progress of human civilization. It is different from the traditional library. It develops the purpose of information management from simple "hiding" to the combination of "hiding" and "using". The appearance of libraries, on the one hand, reflects the enthusiasm of ordinary people to pursue knowledge, and people can pursue knowledge equally, on the other hand, it also reflects the progress and development of society. The public library movement in western countries in the 1920s and 1930s fully proved this point, and at the same time, it greatly promoted the great development of the library cause, and more types of libraries emerged.
3. The appearance of library has promoted the change of information management concept and management means and methods. The four functions of libraries recognized by UNESCO are: preserving human cultural heritage, orderly social information flow, transmitting information and inspiring people's wisdom in cultural education. Here, the most important function is the sorting function of social information flow.
4. The library has created a series of effective information management methods with modern significance, such as classification, cataloging, subject method, index method, measurement method and so on. In this period, people engaged in information management can no longer appear as officials, but as professional information managers. This kind of specialized information librarian is mainly concentrated in the library at this stage, and is called the librarian.
Although the ideas, means and methods of information management have been continuously improved in the period of modern information management activities, information management is still interpreted as "management of information", which is a simple verb. Information management still emphasizes the technical means and methods of managing information, but it has not risen to the strategic level, and its connotation is still relatively thin. At this stage, a series of technical means created by specialized information management professionals have become the main methods of information management with literature information as the center and library as the main place. At the same time, the process of information collection, processing, preservation and utilization is also explained.
Third, the period of modern information management activities.
★ Time: marked by the end of World War II, information management activities entered the third stage-modern information management period. (That is, with the successful development of the world's first computer in 1945, it was officially listed in February of the following year. )
Information technology plays an important role in the development of information management activities, leading the development of information management in various periods. The emergence of computer technology has had a great impact on all aspects of human society.
★ Background: In the third stage, the social economy entered a period of recovery and development after suffering from war trauma. Capitalism has experienced two world wars and completed the primitive accumulation of capital. The world economy has entered the fast lane of rapid development, and there has been a thriving scene, which has also promoted the great development of other fields of society.
★ Features:
The rapid development of modern information technology, such as 1, computer and network, has played an important role in promoting the development of information management, and has had a great impact on the way of human work and study and the way of human thinking. The appearance of the network has also expanded the scope of information exchange and promoted the explosive growth of information.
2. The way of information dissemination and communication has undergone earth-shaking changes. Newspapers and magazines appeared earlier and existed in the period of modern information management. After World War II, radio, television and Internet appeared as the main means and ways of mass information exchange, which stimulated the rapid increase of information, changed people's access to information and increased the amount of social information. At present, the way of electronic information exchange has greatly changed the traditional means and channels of information exchange in Albania since the birth of mankind.
3. With the change of information technology, the types of information resources are constantly diversified. In addition to literature and information resources, new media such as micro, electronic and network are constantly emerging, such as streaming media on the network, which has aroused great interest and concern. The increasingly complex and multifunctional information management technology has also laid the foundation for the in-depth management of information. From the operation of the carrier unit to the information interior of the knowledge unit, the requirement of information management is getting higher and higher to tap the intelligent resources related to the logic inside the information.
4. Means of information management make full use of information technology. On the one hand, it improves the information management methods formed in the last two periods; on the other hand, it combines new information forms, information carriers and information types to develop new management technical means, such as database, data warehouse, online analysis and business intelligence.
During this period, the library continued to play the role of social information flow order, but it was no longer the only information management institution with this social function, and a phenomenon appeared in society. Consulting companies, enterprise management companies, investigation companies and other information management institutions with different functions and different purposes undertake the management of social information flow in different fields, departments and levels, and complete the management of social information flow.
To sum up, modern information management has greatly surpassed the cognitive framework of ancient and modern information management, and has undergone qualitative changes in understanding; The connotation and extension of information management have been expanded, and the information resources it faces have gone far beyond the scope of traditional literature information resources and extended to many new types of information. The information resources of the whole society are growing geometrically, and different departments and fields have to face the challenge of information management. Information management technology makes full use of the advantages of modern information technology, breaks through the scope of traditional information management technology to process documents, and adopts a large number of advanced technical means and methods such as network, database, data warehouse and online analysis technology. Traditional information management technology is constantly improving and developing in the new technical environment to adapt to the changes in the new environment. Information managers have long been more and more technical, professional and specialized than traditional document information processing. They are called CIO or CKO in the organization and have become a class in social organizations.