Conclusion

After one decade of rapid technological development, information resource management is still a new concept to managers at the university. Data reports preparation is still a laborious activity, and accepted practices and administrative preferences still drive decision-making. Organizations that anticipate increasing exposure to multi-cultural environments should allow longer time for organizational adjustment to technical development. Information systems, originally developed as productivity tools for data processing and report generation, must undergo radical design evaluation to meet the diversified user expectations and information skills. Information resource manager must also carefully consider data ownership and data distribution issues. Cultural preferences and information values should be carefully considered in the justification of information services. Information system objective should be clearly distinguished from information system capabilities, especially with different cultural interpretation of information value. Management should play an active role in defining organizational data flow, with implementation of appropriate incentives. Special attention should be given to precise data definitions, especially with a workforce with different training backgrounds under different cultural and language settings. Lastly, it is critical to emphasize strict standards for data quality, due to difference in expectations for the information system performance.