Using Information-Data & Information

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DATA

Back 1

Raw facts and figures e.g 26032009

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INFORMATION

Back 2

(processed data with structure, organisation, context or meaning e.g 26th March 2009

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KNOWLEDGE

Back 3

Is derived from information. Two types IMPLICIT
EXPLICIT

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METADATA

Back 4

data describing data information about a computer file or a data dictionary

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With respect to information, list the 4 categories of its SOURCE

Back 5

primary, secondary, internal, external

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With respect to information, list the 4 categories of its NATURE

Back 6

formal, informal, quantitative, qualitative

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With respect to information, list the 3 categories of its LEVEL

Back 7

strategic, tactical, operational

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With respect to information, list the 3 categories of its TIME

Back 8

historic, present, future

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With respect to information, list the 2 categories of its FREQUENCY

Back 9

continuous, Periodic (hourly, daily, monthly, annually)

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With respect to information, list the 3 categories of its USE

Back 10

planning, control, decision making

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With respect to information, list the 3 categories of its FORM

Back 11

written, aural, visual

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With respect to information, list the 3 categories of its TYPE

Back 12

detailed, sampled, aggregated

Front 13

Identify the 8 characteristics that affect the quality of information

Back 13

relevance (or appropriateness), accuracy, completeness, reliability (or objectivity), timing, level of detail (or conciseness), presentation and availability

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Source

Back 14

Where it came from
Affects judgements of completeness and reliability

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Primary

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" straight form the horse's mouth" e.g Order form completed by customer Fewer errors

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Secondary

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Primary source that has been processed or modified by an intermediary. Prone to more errors because of this

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Internal

Back 17

Originating and processed within the organisation

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External

Back 18

Information which originates outwith the organisation but is processed within it

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Nature

Back 19

formal/informal/ qualitative or quantitative

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Formal

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Official and authoritative. Taken seriously and presented in a formal manner e.g company annual report

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Informal

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Casual, less authoritative/ presented less formally and may not be as reliable. e.g ad hoc comments at break times

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Quantitative

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objective , unbiased hard facts It is a measurement e.g test scores, results of commissioned surveys

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Qualiitative

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information gained from narrative reports, interviews etc. Not directly measurable but allow emergence of unanticipated facts relevant to the organsations operation

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LEVEL

Back 24

WHERE in the organisation information is processed. Uses highly summarised information

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STRATEGIC

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Top level of management. Long term aim + objectives >3 years

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TACTICAL

Back 26

Middle level managers Implement the tactical aims + objectives. Weeks to months. Use summarised information

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OPERATIONAL

Back 27

Staff who complete the short term day to day operations in an organisation from tactical level. Hours to days. Use highly detailed and specific information

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TIME

Back 28

All information is time based

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HISTORIC

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Over a period of time So can identify errors trends etcfor comparison purposes

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PRESENT

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Time frame can be hourly, daily weekly depends on organisation working practices

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FUTURE

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Historic and present information used to predict/ forecast future outcomes

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FREQUENCY

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When information becomes available or the interval between updates

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CONTINUOUS

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Always available in real time e.g statistics created for a website e.g. stock dealing

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Periodic

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data made available at specified intervals eg. hourly, daily, monthly, annually

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Planning

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Planning involves decisions by management about:
*what is to be done in the future
*how to do it
*when to do it
*who is to do it and what resources are required.

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Control

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Process of monitoring the operation of an organisation and taking the necessary action if the outcome is unsatisfactory.

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Decision making

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Process of selecting an action or actions from those possible based on the information available. It involves evaluating the available options in turn.

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Written

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Written information requires a language and a set of written characters, in order for it to be recorded and read

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Aural

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Information in the form of sound is categorised as aural e.g. voice mail, conversation etc.

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Visual

Back 40

Information present in a format that can be seen but is not written is categorised as visual e.g. video, photographs etc.

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Detailed

Back 41

The amount of detail in the information used within an organisation, which decreases as the levels of management are ascending.

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Sampled

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Information can be a Sample of the total amount of information available.

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Aggregated

Back 43

Summarising information in terms of totals and statistics is an example of aggregation

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Revelance

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Information should be appropriate for its intended purpose.

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Accuracy

Back 45

Information should be accurately recorded and stored. If not, then decisions based on it may be incorrect.

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Completeness

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Information used by management should be complete. Omissions may cause it to be flawed and therefore not suitable for its intended purpose.

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Reliability

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If information is to be trusted and used for the purposes of planning, control and decision- making, it must be reliable. Reliable or Objective information should be factual and not influenced by personal emotions or prejudices.

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Timing

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Timing refers to when information is available in relation to its purpose. Information recieved too late is irrelevant.

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Conciseness

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The level of detail in information should be appropriate to the task for which it's to be used. Too much detail and a significant amount of time will have to be spent interpreting the information before a decision can be made. Too little detail and there will be insufficient information for a decision to be made, or it may be made incorrectly

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Presentation

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The way that the information is presented will impact on the quality of the information. If it is poorly presented, it may be illegible or difficult to interpret. Presentation refers to the visual qualities of information rather than the level of detail.

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Availabilty

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Information must be available for use when required. Equally, the source data on which the information is based should also be available when the information is created.

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Value

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For information to be of value it must meet the organisation's information requirements and have the necessary characteristics(eg. Conciseness) to fulfil its intended purpose.

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Cost

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How much the organisation had to pay to get the information or its source data.

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Value vs. Cost

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It is possible for information to cost nothing but to be extremely valuable to an organisation. Equally, it is possible to use large sums of money to gather information which is of very little value to an organisation.