P1: Explain how organisations use information
Businesses and organisations are always using data to help the business run smoothly and effectively and the way they store all their data is by putting it into an information system. An information system is a programme such as excel which sorts information so it is clear for the user to see and use which is why it is important for a business to have an information system. In this document I am going to talk how Belfairs use and handle data and how it is effective.
Data is information in its raw form where it is basic but harder to understand. For example codes or surveys as these are numerical pieces of data. Businesses can use data to keep it safe as they could put it into a code so only people with programming can view this. Belfairs would use data such as student’s grades, attendance, address and telephone numbers and they need this data to help see progress around the school and if there isn’t then they have telephone numbers and addresses to contact parents to see why their kids aren’t achieving and how they can help to change this.
Information is a detailed, more in depth version of what the data shows this can be found in a variety of different formats such as letters, speeches and tables. Businesses can use information to show how much they pay employees or how long their employees work and how well they are doing. Also businesses can use information to see how well they are doing in different months and they can compare this to their competitors to see how well they’re also doing. Belfairs use information such as teacher salaries, job applications and graphs of attendance to also do the same as data which is to help the school progress and do well and using information just makes it easier as it is clearer as you can use graphs and charts also you can bullet point information to make it short and clear so everyone can understand and can be used in meetings with other teachers.
Businesses collect data/ information using methods such as surveys, bank cards, interviews and application forms to find out information about a person which helps advertising schemes as you get an idea of what people are like and what their hobbies are. Businesses would find this helpful as it would make it easier to make a product suitable for a specific target audience as the business know what people in the audience are looking for/ expecting. Belfairs would collect data and information about students and teachers so they know information about them and this is good because for example if a student gets injured or feels ill they need their contact details so they can contact a family member. Also if a teacher isn’t in then the school need to phone up to see what is wrong and why they aren’t in.
Belfairs also need to store this data as it may be needed for future reference and they store it by using: Spread sheet, paper and codes. Spread sheets are good as you are able to put passwords on the document which means that it only allows people who know this password to gain access to this. Also spread sheet sorts out all the data so that it is clear and easy to interpret. Also they use paper as they can have a hard copy to which means if the document gets lost on your hard drive then you have a backup hard copy with you, the only bad thing is that this is very easy to lose and is not the most reliable way of storing data. Finally they use codes as this is the hardest to read as you need a specific programme to interpret this meaning that people will find it harder to gain access to this. Belfairs would normally ask administration to store this type of information as these are the people who are looking at attendance and punctuality, recruitment and contacting people and this is why they store the data as these are the people who use the information the most and it will make their jobs easier knowing that it is all stored in a spreadsheet.
Manipulation is used to sort and filter through