The Information Explosion.

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Abstract
Contrary to prevailing belief, access to masses of data has not made the manager's job easier. If anything, the rapid availability of data to answer the manager's questions has highlighted the intrinsic difficulty of his job. He is on the spot now. If he asks the wrong questions, his faulty analysis will lead him down endless byways of data. The abundance of data has made it increasingly difficult to camouflage slipshod thinking. The manager's job is to ask crucial questions. The data explosion is making this painfully clear. The information value of data depends on the questions the manager asks. Frequently, the existing data system can't answer these questions, but this doesn't make the questions any less crucial. Fortune magazine in a recent issue reports the current financial crisis of a major aircraft manufacturer which decided to develop long-range commercial jets but failed to ask crucial questions about the likely strategies and actions of its major competitors. These were questions difficult to answer but none the less crucial. The challenges to the manager's creativity have not changed. They stand out clearer than ever. There is still the need to define goals, to conceive strategies, and to provide conditions conducive to responsible,, rewarding human performance. Without doubt information can help the manager meet these needs better; but first he must see it in perspective. It cannot decide for him, it cannot think for him, and it cannot pose questions that he does not ask. Information is nonetheless vital, but its usefulness depends entirely on the manager.

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