The Intelligent Organisation ─ Realising the Value of Information

The Intelligent Organization offers a radical model of organization based on the integration of structure, individuals and information. In this game-changing book, leading consultant John Beckford proposes a different way of designing organizations in order to transform their performance and capitalize on the potential offered by contemporary information capability. This book demonstrates how an organization designedbackwards from its customers provides optimised autonomy for individuals and integrated, coherent information.

Drawing on ideas from management science, business information management, organization theory and extensive professional practice, Beckford argues that organizations have not evolved to process and derive meaning from exponentially increasing availability of data, and that the use of data for optimum performance requires fundamental organizational changes, not incremental improvement. Beckford demonstrates how to effect these changes in real practice and the positive results these changes can yield, as well as the challenges in implementation and how to work around them.Beckford’s style is lively and direct, but his arguments are academically rigorous, striking a persuasive balance between accessibility and authority. The text is supported by case studies throughout and a dedicated website, www.intelligentorganisation.com, with support materials for lecturers.

The Intelligent Organization will be of significance to Masters and Undergraduate students reading Business Studies, Information Systems, Business Information Systems, Computer Science, Business Management and Management Science.

John Beckford is an independent consultant and Visiting Professor in the Department of Science, Technology, Engineering and Public Policy at University College London and in the Centre for Information Management at Loughborough University, UK