Systematic Information Sharing in Participative University Management
The computer revolution in postsecondary institutions has generated astronomical quantities of printouts, but the art of integrating massive data into relevant information remains difficult.1 This difficulty arises both from the diversity of information needs and from the diversity of information users. The sharing of information serves management, administrative, and planning functions of institutions, and enhances public understanding and support of these institutions. There is the additional consideration that the prevalent decision-making structure in postsecondary education is participative [6, 10, 11, 14]. A general tendency is to assume that a traditional power pyramid exists within institutions and that authority is vested in the hands of a small group of central administrators. As a result, many academic management information systems follow corporate management models and are designed for hierarchical decision-making [5]. In sharp contrast to industry, the decision-making in postsecondary educational institutions is horizontal. Authority is widely dispersed among various groups. These diverse groups bargain multilaterally to influence the decision-making process [9, 14]. This situation, naturally, impacts upon the information demands within institutions [5, 10]. Saunders observed that "much of American higher education is characterized by a participative style of management in which governance is