Business Information

Business Information

Int 2 Bus MgtUnit 1 Outcome 2

Int 2 Bus Mgt Bus Info JW May 2009 2

INFORMATION Information is the LIFEBLOOD of every organisation.

Businesses need GOOD information to enable them to make informed decision and to operate to their maximum efficiency.

Without information a business will not survive


What is the difference between DATA and INFORMATION?

Data is a collection of facts or quantities that has been assembled in some formal manner with the objective of processing it into specific information

Information is data that has been processed into a form that assists decision-making and planning.


Quantitative Information

This type of Information is mostly number based.

Eg: Sales in Gap’s Glasgow branch are up by 10%.

This type of information can easily be measured.


Qualitative Information This type of Information is concerned with

people’s feelings and opinions.

Eg. Walkers Crisps carrying out a survey on their new flavour of crisps may get responses like: “I prefer the salt & vinegar flavour”, or, “I like the new taste best”.


1 The lovely green car has an engine capacity of 1299 cc.

2 Our profits are up by 3% this year. This is a really good state of affairs.

3 The cost of replacing your tax disc will be £52.50. This is really cheap.

4 The really old man was 78 years old last week.

5 Mary bought her wedding dress at a bargain price of £522.50.

TASKIdentify quantitative and qualitative statements.


QUICK TASKLook at the data below. What information could you provide to your line manager?

Mary That 50%

Kay O’Resources 55%

Petunia Flower 23%

Fred Bear 66%

Pete Eroot 98%

Colin Akhab 11%


Sources of Information PRIMARY INFORMATION

Information is gathered for a specific purpose for the first time.

Information is often described as being ‘fit-for-the-purpose’.

This source of information is gathered by using questionnaire; surveys; interviews etc.


Primary Information - BENEFITS

Information is first hand

Information collected is for a specific purpose

It is up-to-date

It is accurate

No-one else has access to it


Primary Information - COSTS

Very expensive to carry out market research

Difficult to persuade respondents to participate in a questionnaire etc

Respondents may provide false information

May be difficult for the organisation to collect the information


TASK

1. Suggest how false information could impact on business decisions?

2. Primary information has benefits. Describe 2 of these.

3. Primary information has costs. Describe 2 of these.


Sources of Information SECONDARY INFORMATION

Information has already been gathered

Business will access this information to use it for their own purposes

Egs of this type of information are: newspapers; textbooks; magazines; the internet etc


Secondary Information - BENEFITS

Less expensive to collect

Easy to access

Wide variety of sources of secondary information is available

Quicker to gather this type of information


Secondary Information - COSTS

Information may not be relevant

As it has been collected by someone else it may be biased

May be out of date

Competitors can access the same information


TASK

Secondary information has already been gathered by some other organisation.

1. Identify reasons why an organisation may use secondary information.

(3 marks)

2. Explain the costs and benefits of secondary information.

(4 marks)

3. Distinguish between primary and secondary information.

(3 marks)


Sources of Information INTERNAL INFORMATION

Data has been taken from the organisation’s internal records

Information is only available to the business

This type of information is very important as it helps businesses manage their organisation.

Egs: financial records; employee records; sales figures


Internal Information - BENEFITS

Once an organisation has been established for a number of years, accurate information can be gained.

Accurate information enables targets to be set and assess whether or not targets have been achieved


Internal Information - costs Expensive to set up and produce employee

records; wage records etc.

Someone must be given the authority to ensure that the information is up-dated regularly

New organisations may not have access to internal information


Sources of Information EXTERNAL INFORMATION

Information is gathered from sources outside the organisation

Examples of sources of external information are: market research; government reports; newspapers; competitor’s annual accounts etc.


TASK

What internal records are held in St Ninian’s High School. Try to think of as many as you can.


External Information - BENEFITS

Can give an organisation useful information on the changes taking place outwith their business environment – remember PESTEC from Outcome 1?


External Information - costs Very time consuming to gather

May be out of date

Information may be unreliable

Competitors can access same information


What are the different presentation formats

WrittenVerbal/Spoken

Pictorial

Graphical Numerical


Written Information Egs of written information are letters; memos;

minutes; reports; emails etc

What are the benefits of this type of information? Can be easily referred to and checked Can identify who the information

has come from Keep a record of the information Easy to collect


Verbal/Spoken Information Verbal and sound information Egs: telephone calls; presentations; meetings;

discussions etc. What are the benefits of spoken

communication? Receive a response straight away Ability to respond to body language if

conversation is face to face Ability to give advice and simple

instructions Enables you to ask additional questions


Pictorial Information Information is presented in

the form of photos and pictures

The main purpose of pictorial information is to pass on information that can be easily remembered

Pictorial information makes documents more attractive and helps to further emphasise a point


Graphical Information Information is presented in the form of graphs

and charts eg. Pie chart; bar chart; line graph

Excellent way to display complicated information

Comparisons can be easily made


Numerical Information Information is presented in the form of

numbers – often as tables and spreadsheets

This type of information enables forecasting, calculations and comparisons to be made

Ability to compare own business with competitors


Question for your jotter…… Identify and describe 5 different ways of

presenting information. (10 marks)

Describe one advantage and one disadvantage for each of the ways of presenting information.

(10 marks)


Uses of Information in BusinessMONITORING & CONTROL Businesses will compare the actual

performance of the business to their estimated (budgeted) performance

They will analyse any variances between actual and budget

Records of previous years performance will be used and any changes that have occurred will be taken into account


Uses of Information in Business

DECISION MAKING In order to make an informed decision

managers must receive up-to-date and relevant information

It is very important that the information received is of value otherwise poor decisions will be made which could cost the organisation dearly


Uses of Information in Business

MEASURING PERFORMANCE Information enables companies to compare

their performance against that of their competitors

They would want to look at: Level of sales Rate of staff turnover Position in market Success of advertising strategies


Uses of Information in BusinessIDENTIFYING NEW BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES

Enables businesses to identify the success of their current product range and decide as to how they can expand (introduce new items)

Closely analysing the market will identify opportunities to merge; takeover another company etc


Question for your jotter…….Managers use information for a variety of

purposes.

Explain the main uses of information. (4 marks)

Documents

Business Information