Information sources used by executives

Abstract

The study inserts in the context of organizational information, and its main objective is to discuss the role of information systems in the executive’s decision process, considering internal and external information sources used by executives. A study using questionnaires applied to 45 SI managers of Brazilian organizations revealed that most of the subjects prefer external information originated from people in detriment of documented information, coinciding with the preference for information originated internally. More than half of the subjects indicated that they sought information from colleagues of other departments of the company, consulted their superiors, and their subordinates. Documented information sources were consulted by less than half of the S.I. managers studied. The study concludes that it is probable that S.I managers do not know the potential of the information sources and do not have adequate instruction to access and use these sources effectively.