Data, Information & Communication Part 2

Relevant for its purpose Sufficiently accurate for its purpose Complete enough for the problem From a source in which the user has confidence Communicated to the right person Communicated in time for its purpose That which contains the right level of detail Communicated by an appropriate channel of communication That which is understandable by the user Characteristics of good information

Has a defined over riding quality. Information must be relevant to problem being considered. Far too often reports, messages etc contain irrelevant parts thus making understanding difficult for the user. Relevance can be affected by many of the following qualities. Relevant

Information must be sufficiently accurate to be relied upon by the manager and for its purpose of intent. There is no such thing as absolute accuracy Raising the level of accuracy is costly but does not necessarily increase the value of the information. The level of accuracy must be related to the decision level involved. At operational levels information may need to be accurate to the nearest penny, pound, kilogram or minute. A sales invoice, as an example, will be accurate to the penny. On the other hand, a sales manager at the tactical level will be happy to receive information rounded to the nearest £100, whilst at strategic level rounding to the nearest thousand would be acceptable. Accuracy

Accuracy should not be confused with precision. Information may be inaccurate but precise or vice versa. The following diagram displays this: Accuracy cont….

Precise but inaccurate Accurate but Imprecise Precise and Accurate The distinction between accuracy and precision

All the information required for a decision must be available; this does not always happen in the real world. What is required is that the information is complete in respect of the main elements of the problem. A close relationship between the users and the information suppliers is then required to ensure the main factors are identified for this to be effective. An example would be a supermarket chain making a strategic decision to develop a store on the outskirts of a town, the key elements required would be population data, road access, competitors etc not every detail about the town in their initial analysis. Completeness

For information to have value, it must be used. For managerial use, confidence in that source is important. Confidence is enhanced when: The source has been reliable in the past Good communication between manager and the information provider Good communication and frank discussion about the content, format and timing of reports with possible uncertainties or inaccuracies within will aid that confidence. Within strategic levels, management will cross check information from various sources to increase confidence in the message. Confidence in the source

Each manager has a defined remit and responsibility level and should receive appropriate information to carry out such activities. This is not always the case as superiors may not pass on the relevant information or a subordinate may hold on to information in order to make them seem indispensable. Providers of information need to ascertain the key decision points within an organisation in order to direct the information to exactly where it is required. Communication to the right person

Good information is that which is communicated in time to be used. The use of speed in processing time can conflict with accuracy but modern processing methods can provide both as an outcome. Delays in gathering data, processing or communication can turn potentially valuable information into worthless paper. The timing of regularly produced information is also important. Information should be produced at a frequency which is related to the type of decision associated. Timing

Information should contain the least amount of detail required for effective decision making. Excessive detail and extra characters mean extra storage, processing power and possibly poorer decisions. The level of detail should vary to reflect on the organisation levels with higher the level the greater degree of compression and summarisation. Sometimes the level of detail for the lower levels needs to be in detail but the rule of thumb is as little as possible to be consistent with effective use. Detail