© 1970 by Institute of Chartered Foresters
Management Information and Computers in Forestry
Forestry Commission 25 Savile Row, London
Management information is defined as information useful to managers in decision making at three levels—strategic, managerial, and operational. The levels most easily catered for are managerial and clerical operational. The basis of management information in forestry is seen to lie in units of performance and cost of forest operations, in the form of a management account. Codes are needed for each of four dimensions—operation, expenditure, location, and tirne—to enable the information to be analysed.
An information system is concerned with collecting data, processing, storing, and presenting information when required. Computers, originally applied to scientific work, are now widely used in business information systems. The basic features of a computer system are a central store of basic data, the printing of routine reports, the answering of inquiries, and the collection of data at source. Elimination of errors in data collection and rapid communication between the computer and the field are important. A comparison with clerical systems shows differences in control, flow of data, speed, and flexibility. The use of a computer may be justified in any reasonably large and stable organization.
The key man in a computer system is the field recorder responsible for the basic data. He has to record and code data accurately, although he is spared most data–processing work. If possible, data he supplies should be fed back to him in a digested and relevant fashion, to maintain his interest in creating good basic records.