| This paper is the first research to synthesize situation theory and database logic into a methodology for managerial decision making. Fundamental to this research is the recognition of management's reliance on regularities in their environments to arrive at decisions and to support their actions. The methodology, called InfoType Logic, introduces a pseudo-logic that offers management an imprecise logic for a less than perfect world. A framework for advancing information as a science is introduced by unifying the notions of information flow and interpretation into an applied managerial decision making model. The research are suitable and purposeful to management.; The methodology is based on the fundamental concepts of type, token, classification, and constraint. Typing involves the identification of common characteristics, or properties, about things of managerial interest. Tokens represent the instances, or particulars, that are typed by the manager. The mental act of identifying tokens and types is known as classification. Constraints are regularities between types that support information flow. The linking of classifications is accomplished through pairs of bidirectional functions known as infomorphisms. The grouping of two or more classifications into a composite structure forms an information channel. InfoType Logic extends these concepts into an ontologically-based managerial decision making logic and introduces the notions of metatypes, telereasoning, and the Bidirectional Translation Model (BTM). Metatypes recognize the fact there are types of types. Telereasoning, or the act of reasoning through information channels, helps managers use proximal classifications to reason about distal classifications. Through telereasoning, information channels are employed to enable managers to make inferences about remote unobservable situations from externally observable situations. For this reason, telereasoning is also known as reasoning from afar. BTM, generalizes the concept of interpretation, through the notion of an infomorphism, by structuring part-whole relationships between classifications (i.e. views or situations). Through the BTM model, managers can design, construct, and test information channels to improve the reliability of their decision making. |
