Znaczenie informacji w procesie kreowania wartości przedsiębiorstwa

For today's economy, information is a factor that affects the company's value as much as traditional production factors: capital, or labour. Next to land, labour and capital, information is considered the fourth production factor, performing various functions, dependent on its use, management level, managers' foresight and activity, and the complexity of the activity's results. Greater value of information results from more intense competition on all the levels and dimensions of business activity. The market economy is characterized by a constant process of interplay between the supply and demand created by market players, hence a great demand for clear, synthetic and relatively comparable information. The economic situation of the company, as well as the conditions specific for the industry also affect the company's results. To maximize the economic effect of the information, the companies should develop fast-reaction systems supported by computer science, which would reduce the gap between the tasks. The information is gathered usually in the environment, hence it is of great importance to realise that not all the company's information needs are rational, and that their full satisfaction leads to an enormous increase in real costs of its acquisition. It is also significant to distinguish between the needs related to decision-making, and the information needs themselves.