1. Information as a Commodity Information Decisions Profit 1996 Disney & Mattell did not make enough Buzz Lightyear: £300million lost sales

2. Information as a Commodity A COMPANY should: Research Collect information (how??) Process/analyse returns Use results to inform decisions on production Data Protection Act restricts what can be done with the information – i.e. you can’t (shouldn’t) pass the information on UNLESS you are registered for this. This type of information used to be passed around for money…why?

3. Information as a Commodity Buying patterns through loyalty cards can be analysed Your interests can be collected as you visit Web sites (via “cookies”) – unwanted E-mail as a result: targeting you as a potential customer? Complete an application form (on- line or store credit agreement) and you will often see a small tick box for you to tick IF YOU DO NOT want to receive mail/advertising materials

4. Information as a Commodity Usefulness of data Data is of poor quality if it is: Out of date Inaccurate Incomplete Is the mailing list up- to-date? Will the mail- shot get to the intended recipients? Does the patient’s entry show all medication? Does the student’s record show recent assessments?

5. Information as a Commodity Coding Value Judgements Or… how to record your own interpretation of events and conditions In a questionnaire you ask “The television programme was (a)Excellent (b)Very Good (c)Good (d)Poor” What is “Good” and how does it differ from “Very Good”? What one person calls “Good” will be described as “Very Good” by another…

6. Information as a Commodity Value Judgements: Are successful if the questionnaire asks questions when answers are quantitative rather than subjective Tick the income bracket you are in £1000 - £10000 £10001 - £20000 £20001 - £40000 £40001 - £60000 Indicate the income bracket you are in Very High High Middle Low  

7. Information as a Commodity The benefits: Speed of processing Vast storage Ability to search databases in a number of ways to extract information Instant (or near instant) response to queries Accurate results as rules in software are applied consistently Communication – ease of transferring data between systems (including Email) Improved Company Image – looks good!

8. Information as a Commodity Drawbacks Job losses (due to increased efficiency in using the computer systems) ICT infrastructure to pay for Faults in hardware/software can cause problems i.e. the whole process may stop Poorly implemented systems can have bottlenecks that slow processing down