The Role of Data in Business Lecture - 2

In this module

Understand data and its role in business

Definition of Data

Raw facts that describe the characteristic of an event

Example

111

211

Why Data is important?

• Lifeblood of organization

• Helps drive business current or future needs

• Good companies pay special attention to what data is collected and how it is managed
in the organization

Advantages of good Data Management

• Improved data sharing

• Better data integration

• Improved efficiency

• Minimize data inconsistency

• Improved data access

• Improved decision making

The Role of Information in Business

In this module

Understand information and its role in business

Definition of Information

Meaningful data in terms of relevance and purpose

Example

Student ID – 111
Customer ID – 222

Why it is important?

• Better decisions based on complete information

• Smarter and smoother work practices

• Better resource management

• Preservation of vital and historical records

Importance of Knowledge in Organization

In this module

Understand knowledge and its importance to a growing business

Definition of Knowledge

Combination of analyzed and synthesized information with experience and values

Example

• the experience of your employees

• your file of documents

Basic Sources of Knowledge

• Customer Knowledge

• Employee and Supplier relationships

• Market Knowledge

Value of Information
In this module

Understand that information varies and different levels, formats and granularities of
information exist throughout an organization

Collecting, compiling, sorting and analyzing information can provide insight into how an
organization is performing and can yield potential new markets, new communication means
or new business processes

Information Levels

• Individual

• Department

• Organization

Information Formats

• Documents

• Presentation

• Spreadsheet

• Database

Types of Information granularities

• Transactional information

Its primary purpose is to support the performing of daily operational tasks

• Analytical information

Its primary purpose is to support the performing of managerial analysis tasks

Information granularities

• Detail (report for each sale person)

• Summary (report for the sales department)

 • Aggregate (report for global sales)

Quality of Information
In this module

Understand the quality of information in an organization

Five parameters on which quality of information can be evaluated

• Accuracy

• Completeness

• Consistency

• Uniqueness

• Timeliness

Accuracy

Accuracy determines if all values are correct – is the name spelled correctly?

Completeness

Completeness determines if any values are missing – is the address complete?

Consistency

It ensures that aggregate or summary information is in agreement with detailed information –

do totals equal the true total of the individual fields?

Uniqueness

It ensures that each transaction is represented only once in the information

Timeliness

It determines if the information is current with respect to the business requirement – is the
information updated?