Section 4 Managing Organizational Memory
Every one complains of his memory, none of his judgment.
François Duc de La Rochefoucauld “Sentences et Maximes,” Morales No. 89 1678
In order to manage data, you need a database architecture, a design for the storage and processing of data. Organizations strive to find an architecture that simultaneously achieves multiple goals:
Responds in a timely manner.
Minimizes the cost of
processing data,
storing data,
data delivery,
application development.
Highly secure.
The section deals with the approaches that can be used to achieve these goals. It covers database structure and storage alternatives. It provides the knowledge necessary to determine an appropriate data storage structure and device for a given situation. It also addresses the fundamental questions of where to store the data and where they should be processed.
As you now realize, organizational memory is an important resource requiring management. An inaccurate memory can result in bad decisions and poor customer service. Some aspects of organizational memory (e.g., chemical formulae, marketing strategy, and R&D plans) are critical to the well-being of an organization. The financial consequences can be extremely significant if these memories are lost or fall into the hands of competitors. Consequently, organizations must develop and implement procedures for maintaining data integrity. They need policies to protect the existence of data, maintain its quality, and ensure its confidentiality. Some of these procedures may be embedded in organizational memory technology, and others may be performed by data management staff. Data integrity is also addressed in this section.
When organizations recognize a resource as important to their long-term viability, they typically create a formal mechanism to manage it. For example, most companies have a human resources department responsible for activities such as compensation, recruiting, training, and employee counseling. People are the major resource of nearly every company, and the human resources department manages this resource. Similarly, the finance department manages a company’s financial assets.
In the information age, data—the raw material of information—need to be managed. Consequently, data administration has become a formal organizational structure in many enterprises. It is designed to administer the data management and exploitation resources of an organization.