Information Flows
Information Accurate, up-to-date, timely information is fundamental to the success of all organisations Information is used to Plan Forecast Make decisions Structure Model and control Strategic planning requires information to make long term decisions eg expanding, new premises Operational Control requires information for the day to day running of the organisation eg weekly sales targets
Information Flows Information flows throughout an organisation from one functional area to another sideways and also up and down between staff and managers Information flows are all triggered by events eg. A customer placing an order.
Information Flow Diagrams These diagrams are used to show the type of information that flows between organisation functions/departments and external influence. Naming parts of your diagram Type of information and direction of flow Department or external influence in a box
Sideways Flow Flow across one area to another Sales person takes order form customer then passes that order to the production department so that the goods can be made 1 Order form Sales Production 2 Delivery Note and goods
Up Flow, Down Flow Between levels of management and staff Sales person also will need to pass the details up to their manager so that the manager can compare the sales person’s performance against their targets and set new targets for sales person
Operational Product Department Internal External
Information flow Diagram Details of the information flow are added to the line of flow Sales Manager 2 Next months target Order details 3 Sales person (internal) Places order 1 Customer (external)
Information Flow for placing an order Supplier Accounts Warehouse (Order stock item that is low in stock) 1. Order 2. Goods (DN) DN Delivery Note 5. Payment 4. Statement 3. Copy of DN 2. Invoice 1. Copy of Order