Information Systems Unit 3

What is Data?

• On it’s own, it is random unprocessed facts that have little or no value until they have undergone some sort of processing activity.

Data Processing Information

Examples of Random Data• Date: 15/01/2020• Customer number DY2389/OOPPS• Student registration NC89900000000STG• Booking Reference AAA456TT07

• Relates to what?

• A string of numbers and/or letters is meaningless on its own.

In order for us to make any sense of it additional data needs to be present.

Student NumberStudent Number Student NameStudent Name

CS10037900CS10037900 Jane HerringJane Herring

PJ100379001PJ100379001 Mohammed KhanMohammed Khan

JH100379002JH100379002 David HampshireDavid Hampshire

What is information?• Information is a set of meaningful data that is

of use to somebody. • Information is transmitted every second of

every day, and it is the infrastructure to every organisation.

• If we could not transmit information, nothing in the world would be achieved: how would we know what people and systems want, how they want it and in what quantity?

How is information expressed?Verbal

PhysicalVisual

How is information transmitted?speech, sound

graphics, picturesbody language, writing

sign language.

Information in Organisations

• Information is pivotal to any organisation: without it, a business cannot survive.

• Information is used for many different purposes, such as negotiating contracts, delegating day to day tasks, advising colleagues and instructing third parties on stock requirements or deliveries.

Purpose of Information

• Operational support: monitoring and controlling activity, analysis, identifying patterns and trends.

• Decision making (operational, tactical, strategic)

• Commercial advantage

• Generic and Specialist Information. Generic information is common to any

organisation and the organisational need.

GenericGeneric

FinancialDespatch / Delivery

Personnel

ICT

AdministrativeMarketing

Sales

Operations

• Specialist information is exclusive to the organisation or the organisation type.

• For example: the information required by a bank would be different to that required by a retail organisation.

Organisation Organisation typetype

Generic Generic departmentdepartment

Generic informationGeneric information Specialist Specialist informationinformation

BankBank

Game stationGame station

Further Further education education CollegeCollege

Leisure centreLeisure centre

Task Sheet 1In pairs investigate and find three examples of specialistinformation for the following:•A school/college, •A cinema •A restaurant Using the following headings:•Marketing•Financial•AdministrativeWrite a short summary stating why specialist information is important to each organisation.