http://www.sajim.co.za/training.main.4nr3.asp?print=1


   
  Training Vol.4(3) September 2002

Information management training 
Adeline du Toit 
asadt@lw.rau.ac.za  

The world's economy has changed fundamentally with a shift from industrial-age thinking to 
the global dynamics of the information age. The information economy, driven by 
communications and computer technologies, has brought about more economic 
transformation in the past decades than the industrial economy brought about in the past 
centuries. The realization that knowledge and information are fundamental to economic 
growth, whether at national or company level, is beginning to permeate economic and 
management thinking; the concept of information capitalism underlies virtually all new 
information-driven economies and businesses. These new and evolving characteristics of 
information, software and other intangible goods mean that old rules may no longer apply. 

In spite of all these new developments, few universities offer information economy as a 
course. However, the University of Michigan School of Information (www.si.umich.edu) 
developed a new Masters degree in Information Economics, Management and Policy 
(IEMP). This interdisciplinary course draws on principles of information science, economics, 
management, political science, public policy, organizational theory, psychology, ethics and 
computer science to propose answers to the tough new questions confronting the networked 
society. It addresses issues such as: 

When does sharing proprietary information improve a firm’s competitive stance?  
Does information technology encourage or impede information equality?  
When does it make economic sense to give away information products for free?  
Does the Internet require a new regulatory paradigm?  

What business models work for information commerce, and how should information goods 
be priced? 

The IEMP degree prepares students to understand – and manage – the unique properties of 
the information society. According to Prof. Marshall van Alstyne, successful enterprises, 
whether for-profit or non-profit, need to know the cost and value of creating information 
capital and also how to package it. Different organizational structures also process 
information differently. In turbulent environments, for example, a more decentralized 
enterprise that performs distributed information gathering might better match operations to 
opportunities. Graduates who complete this course will have a better understanding of these 
complex issues that will directly increase their own value in the job marketplace. 

For further information on the course, contact Jeff MacKie-Mason (jmm@umich.edu). 

  

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ISSN 1560-683X

Published by InterWord Communications for the Centre for Research in Web-based Applications,
Rand Afrikaans University