Department of Information Science

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Browsing Department of Information Science by Author "Baxter, Claude Brian"

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    A web-based, enterprise-wide, integrated information system as the source of high quality information for decision-making processes in the Department of Education in South Africa
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2004-12) Baxter, Claude Brian; Van der Walt, M. S.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Information Science.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The Education Management Information System (EMIS) is the business unit that is responsible for information management and business reporting in the Department of Education. EMIS finds it difficult to provide high quality information to the Department of Education internally and its stakeholders externally and attributes the reduction of the quality of its education information to factors such as the organisational nature of the South African education system, the lack of information management standards and practices, the low level of information technology skills in EMIS, the existence of a multitude of disparate information systems in the Department of Education and Provincial Education Departments, and the apparent discontinuity in the flow of information from education institution level to the national department and back. Most research in information management confirmed the state of EMIS as being typical of most large organisations whose functioning depends on the quality of their information. The factors that influence information quality in EMIS had been identified as accuracy, timeliness, consistency and relevance of the information. A “quick-fix” to the information problem is not possible but research in information systems management indicates that there are trends in the electronic business arena that may provide an acceptable solution to most of the problems encountered by EMIS. This report investigates the nature of EMIS problems in terms of information management and investigates possible solutions to the problems. The investigation is done within the framework of acknowledged information systems planning process and aligned to the process model of information management. An exposition is given on the theory pertaining to information management, information systems and information systems management to give insight into the particular fields of study and their interdependencies. A section on business intelligence is included since business reporting is the primary function of EMIS. Investigations into information systems development indicate an exponential growth in electronic technology development specifically the Internet and the Web. The information systems plan provides the framework or set of guidelines to determine the information systems solution that will be able to solve their problems. The research report included four stages of the information systems plan framework. The first stage pertains to the identification of minimum information required from the education sector and supporting sectors to provide high quality education information for decision-making and planning. The second stage determines and benchmarks the state of EMIS in terms of information management processes. The third stage investigates the trends in electronic business and specifically electronic information systems applications. Current best practices indicate that a possible solution to information management problems in large organisations is the application of a web-based, electronic, enterprise-wide, integrated information system.