Strategic Management of Information Services: A Planning Handbook

Citation

Ford, G. (2002), "Strategic Management of Information Services: A Planning Handbook", Journal of Documentation, Vol. 58 No. 1, pp. 110-112. https://doi.org/10.1108/jd.2002.58.1.110.4

Do you understand your service environment? Do you have a strategic profile? Can you move from strategy to action? Are your finances under control? Can you manage a strategic change programme? Can you sustain continuous service development? Do you have a flexible framework for strategic change? If your answer is “no” to any one of them, or if you do not understand the questions, this book sets out to help you. Even if you can honestly answer “yes” to all these questions you will find something in it.

The germ of this book was Sheila Corrall’s (1994) contribution to the Aslib Know How Series. I am sure that I am not the only senior manager to have found that little guidebook to be an invaluable introduction to the art of strategic planning. The volume now under review is much more than an expansion of the earlier work. The author intends this new book to be a comprehensive guide to all aspects of strategic management, from planning through to implementation, applicable to all kinds of information services and related activities. How well has she succeeded?

This book is comprehensive. There are chapters on “planning paradigms”, “environmental issues”, “strategic focus”, “strategy formation”, “money matters”, “achieving change”, “securing capability” and “managing flexibility”. Each chapter is broken down into seven sections, with a list of references to cited works, and is accompanied by an annotated guide to further reading. All chapters, except the first, also include a summary checklist. Each chapter is thus fairly self‐contained, and it is possible to dip in at any point and find an informative summary treatment without needing to read all the preceding matter.

For example, the section on “performance measurement” (located within the chapter on “achieving change”), starts by defining the topic and explaining its relevance. It then goes on to discuss the terminology of the subject and warns the tyro about the confusing and conflicting use of terms in the area. There is a brief summary of the criticisms of practice in measurement and an outline of modern trends, highlighting the balanced scorecard approach, that go some way to meeting these criticisms. A short didactic section on measurement criteria (“for performance measures/indicators to be meaningful they must be … ”) is followed by a brief section on practice in information services and guidelines on how to choose what to measure. This last sub‐section refers to the change in paradigm that may be needed in the context of the development of electronic information services. There are ten citations to the literature and five annotated references suggesting further reading. The section is supported by three text figures: the balanced scorecard, the importance/performance matrix and the list of generic indicators for information services taken from Abbott (1994). This brief outline epitomises the approach of the guide book. Travellers are told of the main features of this new area, why they might want to go there, where to be wary, what they must not miss; their appetites are whetted by reproductions of some of the highlights, and they are referred to more comprehensive monographs on topics that take their fancy. Nine pages in all, and then we move on to the next area. At the end of the chapter, the summary checklist includes a couple of questions which test whether the reader has really grasped the implications of strategic management: “Does your performance measurement system reflect identified stakeholder concerns? Can your strategic objectives be deduced from your annual performance data?” This extended description of one section, and the exemplary questions, illustrate the style of the book: first, it is a really helpful guide for managers at all levels, and second, it continually reinforces the central message. The author has identified a successful formula for a useful work of reference.

The book works for me on a number of different levels. As a guide to the whole area of strategic management related to the information business, it fills a gap. These are generic issues, but it really helps to have them filtered through the cultural framework inhabited by librarians and others of that ilk. The many techniques that are described are clearly summarised, and the key features are listed and illustrated. Considering outsourcing? Here is a strategy matrix (p. 130) to help decide, with a list of critical success factors and examples of services that have been outsourced. Keen to foster staff development? A brief summary of the Investors in People standard is accompanied by checklists of development opportunities, role descriptions and examples of the resources that can be applied in practice. For some of the techniques described, the summaries or checklists of features are taken directly from the original authors – for example, the DRIVE model for process improvement (pp. 224‐5) as described by Oakland (1993). In other cases, as in cost‐benefit analysis, Corrall presents her own synthesis of guidelines (pp. 134‐5). From this book, middle managers will be able to get a rapid briefing on anything that is sprung on them by their seniors (and the lists of tips scattered throughout the text add to its utility in practice). All new or aspiring managers should read the chapter on “money matters”. Senior managers could do worse than start by reading the summary checklists: in fact, the questions in these checklists should be the basis of any strategic audit.

It is possible to read the book through from cover to cover, since the narrative style is easy. Although the content is rich, making reference to all the important aspects of its chosen field, the presentation is lightened by the use of figures and tables, and the use of practical examples, some from the author’s experience. Given the range of topics covered by this book, it would be easy for specialists to find reasons for criticising the depth of treatment of their own areas, or to find fault with the specific exemplars: but that would be mean‐minded. Throughout, one gets a feel of authority: this is not just a review of the management literature, served up for a new audience: this author has tested these concepts in real situations, discovered what works, when and why. The combination of authority, richness of content, balance between theory and practice, and layout make this book both an important contribution to the literature and excellent value for money.