Conclusion – What Have we Learned?

The key purpose of this book is to examine the need for accurate personnel data, identify barriers and provide solutions to supply good quality data that can be used for sound decision-making. Good quality data are the backbone of any organization and impacts institutional decision-making capacity, which in-turn impacts policies at all levels of an organization (Strong, Lee, & Wang, 1997). Thus, the importance of accurate human resources data cannot be underestimated. The data can be used for operational and compliance purposes since public entities are responsible for reporting employee data to the federal and state agencies. Any sizable public organization will need to have an information system to manage human resources information. However, there are several challenges in getting good quality data as indicated by this research. HRIS in the public sector is often used for data collection and storage more than for strategic decision-making (Beadles et al., 2005; Kovach & Cathcart, 1999). According to Guan et al. (2002, p. 174) “what is needed in developing effective information support for institutional decision making is a ‘paradigm shift’ that re-conceptualizes information systems as critical to decision making.”