Information Systems Management

Information Systems Management

The granularity of information refers to the degree of precision or detail contained in the information. In an organization, the information has three movements; in between people on the same level, known as peer-to-peer movement, lateral movement or horizontal movement, from higher levels to lower levels and from lower levels to higher levels. The granularity of information greatly varies when information is being transferred through either of the channels. When lateral or horizontal communication is being practiced in an organization, the granularity of information rarely changes. This is because the people communicating are of the same rank and therefore are free in communication (Barnett, 1998).

Horizontal communication is advantageous since the flow of messages is maintained at given areas of an organization and the information is communicated directly without going through any other levels of the organization. It gives an organization’s staff goo problem solving, information sharing, and task coordination. When information is being channeled from higher levels to lower levels the detail of the information cannot reduce and can only increase since as it passes through the different levels information can be added on to it by other levels of management in between. This makes the granularity of the information increase.

When information is channeled from lower levels to higher levels of the organization the granularity reduces. This is because the levels of management or organizational levels in between the source and the destination analyze the information to make the most sense out of it while also altering it to their favor. As the information goes through the organizational levels it is also altered into more effective means of communication understood by the level of organization in which it is. It is important to note and remember that as information moves in each level of the organization the peers in each level quickly interpret it and communicate it to the rest (Van der Molen, & Gramsbergen-Hoogland, 2005).

References

Barnett, G. A. (1998). Organization-Communication Emerging Perspectives: Power, Gender, and Technology. Greenwood, AR: Greenwood Publishing Group.

Van der Molen, H. T. & Gramsbergen-Hoogland, Y. H. (2005). Communication in organizations: basic skills and conversation models. New York, NY: Taylor & Francis.