<p><strong>Abstract</strong></p><p><strong>Title:                           </strong>What is the interaction between information providers and decision makers like? A case study on management accounting in Swedbank.</p><p><strong>Course:                              </strong>Master’s thesis in Business economics, 15 ECTS.</p><p><strong>Date:                                                        </strong>2009-06-01</p><p><strong>Authors:                            </strong>Daoud Ghorbandi and George Tekmen</p><p><strong>Supervisor:                        </strong>Paula Liukkonen</p><p><strong>Language:                         </strong>Swedish</p><p><strong>Purpose:</strong>        The purpose of the paper is to study the relationship between information providers and decision makers regarding the quality of information for economic decision-making in companies.</p><p><strong>Method:                     </strong>The authors use the qualitative method approach. The essay's primary data consists of data collected through interviews, while the literature that the authors have made use of for the interpretation and analysis of the paper form the essay’s secondary data.</p><p><strong>Theory:                      </strong>It includes a main theory and four other theories supporting the paper. The main theory is the agent theory, while theories on information quality, the theory of outsourcing of management accounting, theories of calculation methods and regulations on management accounting is to support the analysis and conclusions made in the paper.</p><p><strong>Empirical base:          </strong>Interview Responses forming the essay’s primary data is presented in its entirety in this chapter.</p><p><strong>Conclusions:</strong>              The authors conclude that there are no major problems or obstacles in terms of internal management accounting in Swedbank, at least not in the departments such as the HR and the GF. The authors note that there are no significant communication problems between information providers and decision makers within Swedbank in particular between the investigated departments. The information that the decision makers are provided with is considered as sufficient to base rational decisions on, although there is a desire for improved information. The authors have concluded that both agents and principals within the investigated departments in Swedbank behave professionally and responsibly. Information security and quality of the information is taken very seriously in Swedbank and there are established procedures and good structure and culture within Swedbank guaranteeing secure information with high quality. The authors also believe that the code of conduct is more regulated by the law, sanctioning punishments, than the American or British counterpart, which reduces the risk of adventure thinking of corporate managers and majority shareholders, not least in terms of Swedbank.</p><p><strong>Key words:  </strong>Internal Accounting, information quality, information exchange.</p>

Abstract Title:                           What is the interaction between information providers and decision makers like? A case study on management accounting in Swedbank. Course:                              Master’s thesis in Business economics, 15 ECTS. Date:                                                        2009-06-01 Authors:                            Daoud Ghorbandi and George Tekmen Supervisor:                        Paula Liukkonen Language:                         Swedish Purpose:        The purpose of the paper is to study the relationship between information providers and decision makers regarding the quality of information for economic decision-making in companies. Method:                     The authors use the qualitative method approach. The essay's primary data consists of data collected through interviews, while the literature that the authors have made use of for the interpretation and analysis of the paper form the essay’s secondary data. Theory:                      It includes a main theory and four other theories supporting the paper. The main theory is the agent theory, while theories on information quality, the theory of outsourcing of management accounting, theories of calculation methods and regulations on management accounting is to support the analysis and conclusions made in the paper. Empirical base:          Interview Responses forming the essay’s primary data is presented in its entirety in this chapter. Conclusions:              The authors conclude that there are no major problems or obstacles in terms of internal management accounting in Swedbank, at least not in the departments such as the HR and the GF. The authors note that there are no significant communication problems between information providers and decision makers within Swedbank in particular between the investigated departments. The information that the decision makers are provided with is considered as sufficient to base rational decisions on, although there is a desire for improved information. The authors have concluded that both agents and principals within the investigated departments in Swedbank behave professionally and responsibly. Information security and quality of the information is taken very seriously in Swedbank and there are established procedures and good structure and culture within Swedbank guaranteeing secure information with high quality. The authors also believe that the code of conduct is more regulated by the law, sanctioning punishments, than the American or British counterpart, which reduces the risk of adventure thinking of corporate managers and majority shareholders, not least in terms of Swedbank. Key words:  Internal Accounting, information quality, information exchange.

The published literature indicates that large information system implementations are often expensive failures with costs to human safety largely because of missing or corrupt information. This has generated the overall research question of “What do Key Informants think about Information Quality in Acute Care?” This dissertation research examined information quality using a Grounded Theory analytic method for coding and analyzing semi structured interview responses from ten clinical (nurses, physicians, pharmacist) and ten non-clinical (IT support) interviewees in several public sector health organizations across Canada. The semi structured interview questions focused on five key areas: information quality, acute care setting, information systems, risk (as a function of poor information quality) and patient safety. A key finding from the interview data is that information is missing and unstable within the two key health care information systems: the paper chart, the main repository of narrative unstructured data, and the electronic health record system, of structured data. The interviewees mentioned pressure to information standardization such as fixed patient identity information anchoring patient data in the rest of the patient record. However, there is resistance to standardizing other information because the users, nurses and physicians, resist fettering in order to be able to tell the patient’s story in narrative unstructured data form. A descriptive socio-technical model, the Systems Engineering Initiative for Patient Safety (SEIPS) Model that organizes elements for analysis under the headings of person, task, technology and tools, organization, external environment and patient outcomes, was considered for further discussion in the context of the study. The SEIPS Model analysis also helps to identify gaps in the Model including what missing and uncertain information might mean. Key points from this discussion include how the information system maps to the real world, the patient, and to the user’s perception of the real world. This mapping can never be totally accurate and complete so gaps exist. The discussion of information and information flow lead to enhancements of the SEIPS Model, placing information and information quality in its rightful place as a “glue” for the acute care system. This is an important contribution to knowledge that can lead to future research so there can be a better fit between the real world, information, information systems and people to provide safer care. / Graduate

High information quality is a paramount requirement for wireless sensor network monitoring applications. However, it is challenging to achieve a cost effective information quality solution due to unpredictable environment noise and events, unreliable wireless channel and network bandwidth, and resource and energy constraints. Specifically, the dynamic and unreliable nature of WSNs make it difficult to pre-determine optimum sensor rates and predict packet loss. To address this problem, we use information quality metrics presented by [26, 11] which characterize information quality based on the sampling frequency of sensor nodes and the packet loss rate during network transmission. These fundamental quality metrics are based on signal-to-noise ratio and are therefore application independent. Based on these metrics, a quality-aware scheduling system (QSS) is developed, which exploits cross-layer control of sensor nodes to effectively schedule data sensing and forwarding. Particularly, we develop and evaluate several QSS scheduling mechanisms: passive, reactive and perceptive. These mechanisms can adapt to environment noise, bandwidth variation and wireless channel collisions by dynamically controlling sensor rates and sensor phase. Our software and hardware experimental results indicate that our QSS is a novel and effective approach to improve information quality for WSNs.

El texto completo de este trabajo no está disponible en el Repositorio Académico UPC por restricciones de la casa editorial donde ha sido publicado. / This current research revealed the need to design an information architecture model for Data Governance In order to reduce the gap between the Information Technology versus the Information Management. The model designed to make a balance between the need to invest in technology and the ability to manage the information that is originated from the use of those technologies, as well as to measure with greater precision the generation of IT value through the use of quality information and user satisfaction. In order to test our model we take a case of study in the Higher Education sector in Peru in order to demonstrate the successful data governance projects with this model. 1

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Yes / Mobile applications are becoming a preferred delivery method for the government sector and contributing to more convenient and timely services to citizens. This study examines the intention to use mobile applications for the government services (mG-App) in Oman. This study extended the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model by including two constructs namely trust and information quality. Data were collected from 513 mobile application users across Oman. The research model was analysed in two stages. First, structural equation modelling (SEM) was employed to determine significant determinants affecting users’ acceptance of mG-App. In the second stage, a neural network model was used to validate SEM results and determine the relative importance of determinants of acceptance of mG-App. The findings revealed that trust and performance expectancy are the strongest determinants influencing the acceptance of mG-App. The findings of this research have provided theoretical contributions to the existing research on mG-App and practical implications to decision-makers involved in the development and implementation of mG-App in in Oman.

A falta da qualidade da informação resulta em prejuízos para as organizações. No entanto, a mensuração desses prejuízos é uma tarefa complexa e, muitas vezes, não é do interesse das organizações. Apesar de várias pesquisas de abrangência global sobre qualidade da informação confirmarem seu impacto sobre o desempenho organizacional, muitas das organizações que atuam no Brasil parecem não estar interessadas na gestão da qualidade da informação de maneira formal. Do ponto de vista acadêmico, há que se definir indicadores apropriados para a mensuração dos impactos da qualidade da informação sobre as organizações, bem como, contextualizar essas medidas de forma a propiciar sua generalização. O objetivo desta pesquisa é, portanto, evidenciar que a qualidade da informação impacta o desempenho de organizações que atuam no Brasil e indicar parâmetros que possam moderar essa relação. A medida de impacto organizacional foca o nível individual, para que seja possível avaliar quais características do knowledge worker e de seu ambiente de trabalho interferem na sua percepção da qualidade da informação e do desempenho de seu trabalho. O estudo é de natureza descritiva, portanto, os construtos utilizados são conhecidos e anteriormente validados. No entanto, o arranjo desses construtos e a utilização de variáveis externas, que podem influenciar na relação entre qualidade da informação e impacto individual percebidos são o diferencial desta pesquisa. A unidade de pesquisa é o indivíduo que trabalha em uma organização e utiliza, no mínimo, um sistema de informação para realizar o seu trabalho. Foi realizada pesquisa de levantamento social, por meio de questionário eletrônico autoaplicado, em duas organizações atuantes no Estado do Paraná. A análise dos dados se deu por modelamento de equações estruturais, com a utilização de análise multigrupos. Os resultados confirmam a relação positiva direta da qualidade da informação sobre os impactos individuais e apontam para possíveis variáveis moderadoras dessa relação. A complementação futura desta pesquisa pode-se dar com a avaliação de organizações de diferentes setores econômicos e com a inclusão de outras variáveis externas que diferenciem melhor os indivíduos que atuam nas organizações. / Low-quality information negatively impacts organizational performance. However, the measurement of such impacts is a complex task which not all the organizations perceive as worthwhile accomplishing. Although many worldwide researches about information quality confirm its impact over organizational performance, many organizations that operate in Brazil seem not to be interested in managing information quality. Concerning academic research, it is necessary to define proper indicators to measure the organizational impacts of information quality, considering contextual characteristics. The aim of this research is to confirm that information quality impacts organizational performance of organizations operating in Brazil and show which external variables may moderate this relationship. In this research organizational impact is measured at the individual level, in order that it is possible to define which personal and workplace characteristics influence knowledge workers perception of information quality and individual performance. This research is descriptive and the constructs used are known and previously validated. However, the research model, that includes external variables that may influence the relationship between perceived information quality and individual impact, has never been proposed nor validated by other researchers. The research unit is the individual that work in organizations and use at least one information system to do his job. A survey using self employed electronic questionnaire was applied to two large organizations that operate in Paraná State. Structural Equation Modeling was used to analyze the data. The results confirmed the positive influence of information quality over individual impacts and suggested possible moderators of that relationship. Future studies could include the evaluation of organizations operating in different industries and could test other external variables tha differentiate the individuals better.

A falta da qualidade da informação resulta em prejuízos para as organizações. No entanto, a mensuração desses prejuízos é uma tarefa complexa e, muitas vezes, não é do interesse das organizações. Apesar de várias pesquisas de abrangência global sobre qualidade da informação confirmarem seu impacto sobre o desempenho organizacional, muitas das organizações que atuam no Brasil parecem não estar interessadas na gestão da qualidade da informação de maneira formal. Do ponto de vista acadêmico, há que se definir indicadores apropriados para a mensuração dos impactos da qualidade da informação sobre as organizações, bem como, contextualizar essas medidas de forma a propiciar sua generalização. O objetivo desta pesquisa é, portanto, evidenciar que a qualidade da informação impacta o desempenho de organizações que atuam no Brasil e indicar parâmetros que possam moderar essa relação. A medida de impacto organizacional foca o nível individual, para que seja possível avaliar quais características do knowledge worker e de seu ambiente de trabalho interferem na sua percepção da qualidade da informação e do desempenho de seu trabalho. O estudo é de natureza descritiva, portanto, os construtos utilizados são conhecidos e anteriormente validados. No entanto, o arranjo desses construtos e a utilização de variáveis externas, que podem influenciar na relação entre qualidade da informação e impacto individual percebidos são o diferencial desta pesquisa. A unidade de pesquisa é o indivíduo que trabalha em uma organização e utiliza, no mínimo, um sistema de informação para realizar o seu trabalho. Foi realizada pesquisa de levantamento social, por meio de questionário eletrônico autoaplicado, em duas organizações atuantes no Estado do Paraná. A análise dos dados se deu por modelamento de equações estruturais, com a utilização de análise multigrupos. Os resultados confirmam a relação positiva direta da qualidade da informação sobre os impactos individuais e apontam para possíveis variáveis moderadoras dessa relação. A complementação futura desta pesquisa pode-se dar com a avaliação de organizações de diferentes setores econômicos e com a inclusão de outras variáveis externas que diferenciem melhor os indivíduos que atuam nas organizações. / Low-quality information negatively impacts organizational performance. However, the measurement of such impacts is a complex task which not all the organizations perceive as worthwhile accomplishing. Although many worldwide researches about information quality confirm its impact over organizational performance, many organizations that operate in Brazil seem not to be interested in managing information quality. Concerning academic research, it is necessary to define proper indicators to measure the organizational impacts of information quality, considering contextual characteristics. The aim of this research is to confirm that information quality impacts organizational performance of organizations operating in Brazil and show which external variables may moderate this relationship. In this research organizational impact is measured at the individual level, in order that it is possible to define which personal and workplace characteristics influence knowledge workers perception of information quality and individual performance. This research is descriptive and the constructs used are known and previously validated. However, the research model, that includes external variables that may influence the relationship between perceived information quality and individual impact, has never been proposed nor validated by other researchers. The research unit is the individual that work in organizations and use at least one information system to do his job. A survey using self employed electronic questionnaire was applied to two large organizations that operate in Paraná State. Structural Equation Modeling was used to analyze the data. The results confirmed the positive influence of information quality over individual impacts and suggested possible moderators of that relationship. Future studies could include the evaluation of organizations operating in different industries and could test other external variables tha differentiate the individuals better.