Discuss how organisations can use data to enhance planning and operations

Lecture 2: Sources of knowledge and how this is collected, collated and used.  The role of business and management information systems, how these have evolved and their role in the landscape investigated in week 1  

CW1 Tasks

• This should cover the following tasks:
• Outline the role of information and data within your industry or profession sector
• State what type of data is collected and used by the organisation and if this is primary and secondary data
• Set out how information and data is used within the day to operations of organisations within that sector
• Explain how information is captured and stored with key references to types of databases and information systems

• Give an example of how data is used to deliver insight for business decision making within your sector
• Describe how market research secondary and primary studies can be used in conjunction with MIS and other database systems to increase insight
• You should submit report, as one submission point with your accompanying notes and supporting material, including a detailed group log, registering who has carried what work, for the other submission point (see VLE)

Information and society

• We live in an information society, or so we are often told. But what does that mean?
• As society becomes more complex, so the need for information grows. Accordingly, information is used as a:
• Means of  effective and efficient control:
  • Economic
  • Social
  • Political
• Part of the process of managing  that society  and elements within it
  • Institutions
  • People

Political, Social and Economic Structures reflect these needs 

Database

A database is an ordered collection of structured records, or data, usually stored in a computer system electronically. It is generally managed by a system called database management (DBMS)

Data and ‘247365’ economy

• The need for speed and accuracy of analysis of large amounts of data has necessitated today’s society’s quest for data, to plan  and to pre-empt. 
• What other ways do you think data helps to shape today’s society 
• When last did you experience  an ‘always on society’ ?

Management Information System (MIS)  

• A management information system (MIS) is a computerized financial information database structured and configured in such a way that daily operations reports are generated for all levels of management in a company.  
• MIS is also a computerized database of financial information organized and programmed in such a way that it produces regular reports on operations for every level of management in a company.
• It is usually also possible to obtain special reports from the system easily. The main purpose of the MIS is to give managers feedback about their own performance; top management can monitor the company as a whole.
• (Encyclopedia, 2021)

 

Workshop 2: Students to examine MIS in the context of their own sector  and to see how this relates  to wider strategic organisational goals  and objectives