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Information and ICT

Higher Business Management2008-2009

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Unit Outline• What is information?• Sources of

Information• Types of Information• Value of Information• Uses of Information

in Business

• Types of ICT• Business Software• Costs and Benefits of

ICT• Effects of ICT• Legislation

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Data and Information

Data:

• collections of facts or quantities, which have been assembled in some formal manner

Information:

• data that has been processed into a form that will assist in decision-making and planning

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Sources of Information

• Primary

• Secondary

• Internal

• External

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Primary Information

• first-hand information gathered and processed for a particular purpose

• mainly collected by observation, interview, questionnaire etc

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Secondary Information

• second-hand information gathered for one purpose but reused for another

• mainly collected from reference books, business and government statistics, market research companies, competitors, newspapers, Internet

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Internal Information

• data and information that come from the organisation’s own records eg sales records

• only people within the organisation can use this information

• used for control purposes within the organisation

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External Information

• data and information that come from sources outwith the organisation

• used for decision-making and planning

• analysis of factors outwith the organisation’s control

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Primary InformationAdvantages

• Specific for purpose• Information is private• Up-to-date• Source can be verified

Disadvantages

• Market research costs are high

• Research flawed eg sample size

• Respondents may have lied

• Time consuming• Researcher bias

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Secondary Information

Advantages

• Inexpensive• Ease of access• Wide variety of

sources

Disadvantages

• May not be relevant• May have author bias• May be out-of-date• Available to

competitors

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Internal Information

Advantages

• Accurate information after the business is established

• Accurate records help achieve targets

• Ease of access

Disadvantages

• Costs of setting up a recording system

• New organisations have no information

• Regular updating required

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External InformationAdvantages

• Wide range of sources available

• Relatively inexpensive• Useful for strategic

decisions when used with PESTEC

Disadvantages

• May contain bias• Can’t guarantee

integrity• May be out-of-date• Available to

competitors• Time consuming to

gather

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Types of InformationQuantitative

• Definable

• Measured

• Expressed in figures

• Used for comparisons eg target monitoring

Qualitative

• Descriptive

• Value judgements

• Opinions

• Useful to analyse people’s views

• What can be done to improve a service?

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Types of InformationPresentation

• WrittenWritten – text eg reports, memos, letters

• OralOral – verbal eg telephone calls, presentations, meetings

• PictorialPictorial – pictures and photos

• GraphicalGraphical – graphs/charts eg pie, line, bar

• NumericalNumerical – numbers eg tables, spreadsheets

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Value of Information

Timely

Accurate

Appropriate

Available

Complete

Concise

Cost-effective

Objective

CccOAaaT

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Uses of Information in Business

• helps to monitor and control

• assists in decision making

• measures performance

• identifies new business opportunities

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Types of ICT

Mainframe computer:expensive and powerful computers eg Ministry of Defence and NASA

Server computer:runs server applications, often under heavy workloads, unattended, for extended time

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Types of ICTPersonal Computers (PC):

computers found in homes and offices – their power has increased significantly over recent years

Computer Network:PCs can communicate across networks (cabled or wireless in either a LAN or WAN)

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Local Area Network (LAN)

• computers within an organisation or within a local area

• owned by one organisation only

• useful to share files and manage resources eg printing

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Wide Area Network (WAN)

• computers in remote locations are linked by telephone lines or satellite links

• there can be many owners/organisations linked to the system

• communication is the main use rather than data transfer

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The Internet

• a worldwide system of computer networks

• includes:– Web pages (www) – ability to cross reference– File transfer (ftp)– Email facilities– IRC (Internet Relay Chat) eg MSN

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The Internet• can be used to advertise products

• banking services - including e-commerce

• staff may use the Internet inappropriately – need company policies in place

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E-commerce• products displayed on a website

• customers can order online and can pay electronically

• enables a worldwide market place

• internet-only businesses cut costs as they don’t have the burden of large premises and high numbers of sales staff

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Electronic Mail• fast and efficient method of communication

• can be sent to more than one person

• can attach files eg graphs, electronic forms etc

• messages can be prepared in advance

• can be printed if necessary

• can be forwarded onto others

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Electronic Mail

Some problems:

• increase in unnecessary communications – important messages may get lost

• reduces interpersonal communications

• only of use if everyone is trained in using it and does use it

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Video Conferencing• enables people in different locations to have

meetings without the need to travel

• saves travelling and accommodation costs as well as lost work time due to travel

• connections can be poor or disrupted

• the number of people who can effectively take part in a video conference is limited

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Interactive DVD• used for training exercises

• users make choices and see the consequences of their decision

• a common example is flight simulation

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Computer Aided Manufacture (CAM)

• involves robots and computer-controlled machines in production

• saves on labour costs

• produces consistent quality

• does not stop for rest breaks

__________________________

• breakdowns can halt production

• expensive and time consuming to fix breakdowns

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EPOSElectronic Point of Sale

• records all purchases made throughout the day

• used to predict demand and assist in the placing of orders

• linked with store cards provides customer profiling

• can use customer profiles to alter the marketing mix to suit individual geographical requirements

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Business Software

• Word Processing

• Databases

• Spreadsheets

• Desk-Top Publishing

• Computer-Aided-Design (CAD)

• Personal Productivity Software

• Presentation software

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Costs of ICTCosts• price of hardware/software

• staff training

• loss of efficiency (until familiar)

• errors/glitches

• data loss or corruption

• commercial espionage

• Health and Safety

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Benefits of ICTBenefits

• increased speed of information handling and decision making

• flexibility of integrated systems

• increased productivity and administrative efficiency

• enhanced reputation

• competitive edge

• reduction in staffing costs

• relocation of administrative centres to cost effect locations

• facilitates home-working and tele-sales centres

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Gorfingly Good DeliveriesYou have an unlimited budget! Please advise …

Gorfingly Good Deliveries wish to move into the technology era and invest in ICT

They are a haulage firm providing services to other businesses up and down the country.

They need ICT in order to manage customer lists, finance, win new contracts, communicate with drivers, schedule meetings for managers, prepare final accounts.

In addition they have thought about opening another office in the North of Scotland.

Work in Groups of 3

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Effects of ICT on Employees• greater productivity - fewer staff required

• remaining staff will require retraining

• older staff may feel under pressure being unable to cope

• relations with customers change

• staff do not have the same personal contact with each other

• staff may take advantage of homeworking

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Effects of ICT on Organisations

• can lead to decentralised decision making

• additional departments may be created eg ecommerce

• redundancies and delayering may occur

• the span of control of managers may decrease

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Data Protection Act 1998• obtain and process information fairly and lawfully

• register the purposes for which they hold it

• not disclose the information in any way that is different from those purposes

• only hold information that is adequate, relevant and not excessive for the purposes they require

• only hold accurate information and keep it up-to-date where necessary

• not hold the information for longer than necessary

• give individuals copies of the information held about themselves if they request it – amending/erasing as necessary

• keep information safe

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Computer Misuse Act 1990• accessing computer material without permission e.g. looking

at someone else's files

• accessing computer material without permission with intent to commit further criminal offences e.g. hacking into the bank's computer and increasing the amount in your account

• altering computer material without permission e.g. writing a virus to destroy someone else's data

• writing a virus or deliberately spreading one is illegal.  

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Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988

• It gives the creators of literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works the right to control the ways in which their material may be used.

• The rights cover: broadcast and public performance, copying, adapting, issuing, renting and lending copies to the public. In many cases, the creator will also have the right to be identified as the author and to object to distortions of his work.

• Copyright arises when an individual or organisation creates a work, and applies to a work if it is regarded as original, and exhibits a degree of labour, skill or judgement.

• If a work is produced as part of employment then normally the work belongs to the person/company who hired the individual.

• Only the owner, or his exclusive licensee can bring proceedings in the courts against an infringement.

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Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002

• The Freedom of Information Act came into force on January 1st 2005.

• It gives you the right to ask any public body for all the information they have on any subject you choose. 

• Unless there’s a good reason, they have to give it you within a month. You can also ask for all the personal information they hold on you.

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CongratulationsYou have completed

Information and ICT

in

Higher Business Management