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information environment, as well as the latter
can enable or restrict company”. (DAVENPORT,
1998, p. 224).
balance between the informational structures
durable and mutable? Answers are hard to
find, but the first step is to recognize that
evolution is a reality of any organization.
c) Emphasis on observation and description
- Biologists and environmentalists have
begun their work, perhaps by simply observ-
ing and describing the world around us in
all its complexity and particularity. In the
ecology of information, we must never lose
the characteristics of observers to be more
descriptive in the process of information
management. As the information environ-
ment changes all the time, there are always
new discoveries to make. How to efficiently
manage the information without knowing in
detail all or at least most of the components
of this complex process? In the ecology of
information, an important or essential step is
to recognize and describe the various types
and formats of information and how it is
used in the organization's processes. How is
the information collected, shared and used?
This is the main question to be answered in
the process of information management.
d) Focus on people and informational behavior
- In the ecology of the physical world any
initiative needs the participation of human
beings. Locally, to avoid pollution in a river
town or globally to reduce CO2 emissions in
the atmosphere. In the information ecology,
the whole initiative also depends on the par-
ticipation of people involved in the process.
These are the people who will ensure the
quality and reliability of the information. Ten
years ago, Davenport said that information
providers are much more concentrated in
the production and distribution of informa-
tion than their users. Nowadays, it is still
a reality in most organizations. Thousands
of reports are produced and sent to many
people who sometimes do not even know
what to do with them. People often receive
a lot of information. Most of the times it is
However, according to Davenport (1998, p.
44), this approach requires an extensive admin-
istrative competence. Working and learning how
to manage the best of various skills and areas of
science is not a simple task and requires patience
and perseverance.
Key Attributes of the
Ecology of Information
According to Davenport (1998, p.44-50) the in-
formation ecology requires a vision of the whole
and has four key attributes:
a) Integration of several types of information -
the information ecologies thrive on informa-
tion diversity. We must integrate the diverse
types of information: the computer and not
computerized, the informal and formal,
structured and unstructured, and integrate
the various types of media available in the
organization, such as video, audio and text.
The party information should not direct the
User Information to any particular type. It
should combine the various sources of in-
formation and offer the most comprehensive
“menu” of options.
b) Recognition of evolutionary change - the
information ecology is constantly changing
over time, which means that information
systems, whether computerized or not, have
to be flexible at the same rate of evolution of
information. The information environment,
as well as the physical environment is un-
stable and often unpredictable. It is difficult
to find a way to deal with the progressive
needs of the information, and this path varies
from business to business. How to predict
what will happen in a determined type of
market in three to five years? What is the
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