Information Management Process in Continuous Improvement Area at Worldwide Steel Company - Enterprise Information Systems Design, Implementation and Management: Organizational Applications - page 193

the interviewees are the speed of response and
formalization of the structure.
The use of knowledge and the file organization
appear as issues related to both standards, efficient
and inefficient, however were not decisive for the
classification system of information management.

contact is very important. A tool that can help the
dissemination and sharing of information is the
practice community where members can meet
regularly in person or through video conference.
To lay out all the information available for
improvements that are being or will be developed
is still an idea that may not please people involved
in the development of new products, for instance.
Thus, the community members should be accepted
by the responsible member, and his stay may be
subject to its contribution for the group.

concLusion

The research's main goal was to set out what the
features of the appropriate model for the manage-
ment information at the continuous improvement
area in ArcelorMittal Long Carbon Americas are.
The research data showed that management
information to processes, products and services
improvement efficient in LCA has two main fea-
tures: it is a formalized process and it must have
quick response in information search.
Despite several initiatives towards the informa-
tion management nowadays, most respondents do
not have a clear vision of where to get the neces-
sary information; they recognize the rework and
have medium level of willingness to share infor-
mation. Data from research show that although
the respondents still prefer to share information
internally, they are willing to share information as
long as the system is structured and formalized.
SharePoint is the initiative with the greatest
potential to become a global ArcelorMittal tool
for official information management activities.
For the SharePoint to become something more
than an information repository, research data al-
low us to conclude that there must be a structured
process of information management as a whole.
The process must be formalized, standardized
and official with clear procedures which should
be disseminated throughout the company.
Research data also showed that respondents
use personal contact as main source of research
and information exchange, having e-mail as their
most used tool.
These figures lead us to conclude that for
technical information to be disseminated, personal

future reseArch directions

Having presented and analysed the results of this
research, we became aware of its limitations. For
further research, some suggestions can be given,
including:

a) Evaluate the impact of individual behavior
in the process of information management.
b) Investigate how the process of information
management is in a multicultural company.
c) Study the feasibility of deploying world
model suitable for ArcelorMittal Americas.

references

Alves-Mazzotti, A. J., & Gewandsznajder, F.
(1999). O método nas ciências naturais e sociais:
pesquisa quantitativa e qualitativa . São Paulo,
Brasil: Thomson.

American Psychological Association. (2001).
Publication Manual of the American Psychologi-
cal Association (5th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.

Argyris, C. (1977 September). Double Loops
Learning in Organizations. Harvard Business
Review .