'Specific information and the English chartered companies, 1650-1750' in L Muller & J Ojala (eds), Information Flows. New approaches in the historical study of business information

Notes:

Deals with information management in English chartered companies - 'the very existence of the companies depended on people and structures to convey information with accuracy, clarity and detail sufficient to allow for successful decision making in London. In sum decisions ... depended on specific information that had to be transferred across members of the firm who were widely separated in time and distance'. Discusses structure of companies; framework of decision taking; steps taken to assess and improve information quality; organisational consequences; etc. Has sections: 'Information and organisational form'; 'Information management in the long distance trading companies'; 'Alignment of decision rights'; 'System of performance evaluation'; 'From information to performance standards'; 'Reward systems'. Touches on Hudson's Bay Co' East India Co, Royal African Co