The Politics of Information Management
Policy Guidelines

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The title of this book contains the word "politics" because this term describes, perhaps more aptly than any other, what information management is mostly about. Information management is the process by which those who set policy guide those who follow policy. Politics concerns power, and applying an understanding of power to the management of information technologies is not only appropriate, but timely. The proliferation of computers has now reached a stage of development where they are shaping relationships between suppliers and customers in business, as well as how public institutions relate to private organizations and individuals.

Written by a former chief information executive (1956-1978) and vice president of strategic planning (1978-1985) for three large multinational corporations. Strassmann also served as chief information executive of the U.S. Department of Defense and Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense.

The book covers the following topics:

• Centralization vs. decentralization of computing power.
• The role of a corporate systems staff in guiding business units.
• Linking business and information technology plans.
• Privacy of personal information on personal computers.
• Information architecture as a reflection of organizational design.
• Organizing for information security.
• Responsibilities of the Chief Information Officer.
• Reengineering, business process improvement and information systems.
• Totalitarian tendencies and violence implicit in computerized controls.
• Outsourcing of computer services.
• Information management as a core competency of a business.
• How to define goals and principles of information management.
• Preservation of organizational knowledge as software.
• The use of standards as a balance between rigidity and chaos.
• The economics of open systems.
• The value of employee training and cumulative learning.
• Cost reduction as a prerequisite of all good information management.
• What auditors need to check.
• The prospects of a widespread computer literacy.
• Threats to a prosperous information-based society.

• By Prof. Paul Gray, Information Science Department, Claremont Graduate School,
  in Information Systems Management Journal

• By Neal M. Goldsmith, in Business Technology.

• By Paul Gillin, in Computerworld.
  

• By Bruce Caldwell, in Information Week,
  "The CIO's Machiavelli -- An intriguing look at how information technology has influenced corporate politics."

• From Fatbrain.com.

"Don't look for gossipy tidbits. The hefty volume, leavened with cartoons, footnotes and a satirical glossary, is a serious study of the evolution of politics and information management. An intriguing look at how information technology has influenced corporate politics."
-- Information Week

"Into this maelstrom of intense pressure steps longtime CIO, Paul Strassmann, with a refreshingly candid new book. The 560-page volume is as honest as its title. Strassmann is the kind of iconoclast whose plain talk nevertheless makes you feel that while he may be saying something you don't want to hear, it's for your own good."
-- Computerworld

"Paul Strassmann's new book is nothing less than an attempt to create a "unified theory" of information management."
-- Enterprise Reengineering