Coming of Age of the Family CReWS : A Ballet in Three Acts / John L. Hayman, Jr. and Barry A. Clemson.

The Center for Cooperative Research with Schools (CReWS) contracted to develop a management information system (MIS) for the National Regional Resources Center of Pennsylvania (NRRCP). The system was originally intended to transform NRRCP data into management--oriented information to support decision-making within the agency. After a year's work, however, the NRRCP was pressured by its funding sources for accountability data and thus requested the fast delivery of a completely different MIS stressing project monitoring, cost analysis, and benefit assessment. The resulting MIS generated voluminous reports, but little useful information, and the cost in staff time was high. CReWS's experience has led to the following four conclusions. First, the demand for accountability generally leads to detailed but incomprehensible reports. Second, a useful MIS cannot be developed until the agency first clearly defines its goals. Third, the expected benefits of new management tools are usually unrealistic. Finally, information and management consultants should be wary of taking the practitioner's word for what he needs. An objective need assessment is more likely to result in the production of a useful, relevant management system. (PB)

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