TOPIC1 INTRODUCTION TO INFORMATION AND SYSTEMS

DATA, INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION 1. MEANING OF DATA Refers to raw facts that describe fundamental business system components such as: Entities e.g. doctors, patients, drugs etc. Events e.g. medical examinations, salary payments, drugs ordering etc Operations e.g. attending to patients, registering patients, prescribing drugs etc These facts are usually derived from both internal and external sources Data in isolation is meaningless. EXAMPLES OF DATA Patients details, doctors details, drugs details, examination details, prescription details, registration details etc. CHARACTERISTICS OF DATA Must be captured by some method then recorded e.g. reading, measuring, weighing, counting etc. Data derived form external sources comes already in recorded form while internal sources require special procedures or systems for capturing then recorded. Data must be subjected to some processing method before it is useful 2. MEANING OF INFORMATION Refers to data which has been processed in some meaningful way to make it useful to the person receiving it. Information is meaningful data. One persons information may be another persons data i.e. information concept is relative. Information is a function of data. INFORMATION = DATA + PROCESSING EXAMPLES OF INFORMATION Doctors grouped by specialization Drugs grouped by expiry dates Patients grouped by diseases NEED/FUNCTIONS OF INFORMATION Reduction of uncertainty during planning and decision making An aid to monitoring and control for organizational performance An aid to simplification during problem solving by enhancing understanding Means of communication for plans, developments, forecasts etc VALUE OF INFORMATION 1

Information has value if it improves the results of decisions i.e. derives its value from the value of change in organizational behaviour minus cost of producing the information. (quantitative value) Also, information has value if it is communicated to the right recipient at the right time and most importantly understood by the recipient (qualitative value)

QUALITIES OF GOOD INFORMATION Can be describe using the mnemonic ACCURATE. A Accuracy i.e. has an acceptable level of integrity and appropriate level details C Completeness i.e. must be adequate for taking effective decision C Cost-effectiveness i.e. be produced at an optimum cost U User-targeted ness i.e. be compatible with responsibility of specific managers R Relevancy i.e. relevant to its purpose and relate to the current situation A Authoritativeness i.e. be provided by a reliable source T Timeliness i.e. be provided at a suitable frequency and time E Easy to use i.e. easily understandable by recipient CLASSIFICATION OF INFORMATION Information has many characteristics and can be classified in numerous ways i.e. a) By source internal and external, primary, secondary and tertiary b) By nature quantitative and qualitative, formal and informal c) By level strategic, tactical and operational d) By timeframe historical, present and future e) By frequency continuous, daily, weekly, monthly, annually, etc. f) By use in management planning, control, decision-making etc. g) By form or media written, oral, visual, etc.

LEVELS OF ORGANISATIONAL INFORMATION FOR MANAGEMENT

Strategic Planning Information Tactical Control Information Operational control Information

1.

Strategic Planning Information Is future oriented. Covers a relatively long period of time. 2

Trends and patterns are more important than fine details. Has a wide coverage involving both internal and external sources. Used for forecasting. 2. Tactical Control Information Shows past results and activities and relates this to targets, standards and budgets. Follows organization divisions i.e. concerned with specific functions, operations or departments. Covers short time periods e.g. week, month etc Is often detailed and precise but trends are also important. Used for shot term planning and control. Operational Control Information Is based on the day-to-day activities of a business. Is often based on internal sources. Is often in great detail. Is concerned with individual machine or person performance Is used as prime input for the provision of planning and control information.

3.