How public managers use information: an experiment examining choices of computer and printed information

Abstract

When a public manager is faced with a decision, how is information selected to aid in the decision-making process? This somewhat fundamental question has received less attention than one might assume.' Case studies of important policy decisions have repeatedly shown the prominent role that information plays in the process.2 With the increased use of computers in managerial decision making, a new dimension has been added to the information choice process. The computer stands out as a technology that will continue to have a significant impact on decision making at all levels of government. The federal government alone spent $13.9 billion in FY 1985 to acquire, operate, and maintain information technology systems. The combination of low-cost, decentralized computing and easily accessed communication networks is reshaping the public manager's decision environment. However, the prediction that computer-based information systems would solve the information needs of public sector decision makers has not been fully realized.3 In terms of routine, structured tasks, such as inventory or payroll systems, the computer has been an invaluable asset. However, the computer has been less successful in helping the manager with ill-structured, policy decisions.4 Consequently, many government organizations are more carefully than ever evaluating the implementation and management of computer-based information systems. The purpose of this study is to address the relationship between information choice and policy decision making. The focus is on ill-structured, nonroutine decisions in a public sector context. This study is limited to individual decision making in part because the emphasis is on predecisional information choice behavior. Of particular interest in this study is the decision to choose computer versus printed information. * Research on the use of information in policy decision making was conducted in an experimental laboratory setting. A general model of decision making and a more specific model of information choice are presented. The article focuses on the choice of computer versus printed information in a policy decision-making environment. Hypotheses on the relationship between information media, information choice, and decision outcome are drawn from the model. To test these propositions, 97 subjects participated in an exercise asking them to decide whether or not flextime should be implemented in a public agency. The subjects chose computer and hard-copy information sets with varying structure and information processing resources to assist them in their decision making. Information processing resources and computer literacy significantly influenced the selection of information media. Information media also affected a person's commitment to a decision.

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