Abstract: A management system for managing information, in which information is first captured from an original source having an original format, and then converted into an information component. The information component is a software object which includes a pointer to the original information, a method for manipulating the original information and a property of the original information. The information component can be stored in, and retrieved from, a database. Upon being retrieved from a database, the original information can be extracted from the information component and displayed in a substantially similar format as the original information.