MANAGING COMMUNICATIONS, KNOWLEDGE AND INFORMATION Lecturer: Donna O’Connor Lesson 1

MANAGING COMMUNICATIONS, KNOWLEDGE AND INFORMATION LO1: Understand how to assess information and knowledge needs September - October 2014O'Connor2

The Basic Syllabus Understand how to assess information and knowledge needs Be able to create strategies to increase personal networking to widen involvement in the decision-making process Be able to develop communication processes to improve the gathering and dissemination of information and organisational knowledge Be able to design and improve appropriate systems for the collection, storage and dissemination of and access to the information and knowledge gathered

Learning Objectives At the end of the class, students should be able to: – Discuss the range of decisions to be taken – Examine the information and knowledge needed to ensure effective decision taking – Assess internal and external sources of information and understanding – Justify recommendations for improve September - October 2014O'Connor4

Overview Communications do not automatically take place effectively in organisations Information and work-based knowledge is often insufficient when decisions are made Managers often need to improve planning of communications processes and skills IT systems can be used as a management tool for collecting, storing, disseminating and accessing knowledge and information

Communication The root of the word “communication” in Latin is communicare, which means to share, or to make common. Communication is defined as the process of understanding and sharing meaning. [2] At the center of our study “Communication is an activity, skill, and art that incorporates lessons learned across a wide spectrum of human knowledge.” (Saylor.org) Communication is key to your success—in relationships, in the workplace, as a citizen of your country, and across your lifetime. September - October 2014O'Connor6

Understand how to assess information and knowledge needs “Organizations set up systems and services that are designed to acquire, share and disseminate information of all kinds, from the production data from factories to events in the market-place. However, information also reaches the organization by all kinds of routes that are not initially set up as information acquisition mechanisms. For example, the salesman in the field collects information on the contracts made and the discounts provided by competing firms, and the CEO learns of the market difficulties of his/her competitor when playing on the golf course. In other words, organizational (or corporate) information behaviour embraces not only the formal systems set up to manage internal information flows, but also the systems, including libraries and information centres designed to access external information as well as the organizational and personal communication systems through which information reaches the organization and is disseminated.” Maija-Leena HuotariMaija-Leena Huotari & Maija-Leena Huotari (2001)Maija-Leena Huotari

Knowledge We gain knowledge from information We use information to make decisions. Knowledge can be split into two categories: – Explicit knowledge is rules or processes or decisions that can be recorded either on paper or in an information system. – Tacit knowledge exists inside the minds of humans and is harder to record. It tends to be created from someone’s experiences, so again it is based on a set of rules or experiences. September - October 2014O'Connor8

Information Information - required to make good decisions Formal information - created by organisation’s procedures (e.g. filling in application form) Informal information - information that rises naturally (e.g. through conversations). September - October 2014O'Connor9

Information Many ways to classify information: – Source (internal, external, primary, secondary) – Nature (quantitative, qualitative, formal, informal) – Level (strategic, tactical, operational) – Time (historical, present, future) – Frequency (continuous, hourly, daily, monthly) – Use (planning, control, decision making) – Form (written, aural, visual) – Type (detailed, sampled, aggregated) September - October 2014O'Connor10

Sources of Information Primary information – provides data from an original source document. There are many examples of primary sources in many walks of life, but generally a primary source is defined as being where a piece of information appears for the first time – may be as simple as an invoice sent to a business or a cheque received – may be more complex, such as a set of sales figures for a range of goods for a tinned food manufacturer for one week, or it may be a set of sales figures over several weeks and several locations.. Secondary information – provides information from a source other than the original. – processed primary sources, second-hand versions. Examples of secondary sources could be an accounts book detailing invoices received, a bank statement that shows details of cheques paid in and out. – Where statistical information is gathered, such as in surveys or polls, the survey data or polling data is the primary source and the conclusions reached from the survey or the results of the poll are secondary sources. September - October 2014O'Connor11

Sources of Information Internal information – internal information is vital to the successful management of the organisation. – may be available from a number of sources within the organisation, for example: Marketing and sales, information on performance, revenues, markets shares, distribution channels, etc. Production and operational information on assets, quality, standards, etc. Financial information on profits, costs, margins, cash flows, investments, etc. Internal documentation such as order forms, invoices, credit notes, procedural manuals. External information – concerned with what is happening beyond the boundaries of the organisation. – covers any documentation relating to a subject area produced as a summary or detailed report by an agency external to an organisation. – may be obtainable from government agencies or private information providers. Examples might include: census figures, telephone directories, judgments on court cases, computer users’ yearbook, legislation, for example the Data Protection Act, Gallup polls, national opinion polls, trade journals, professional publications, industry standards, the Internet, financial services agencies such as Dunn and Bradstreet September - October 2014O'Connor12

Nature of information Formal information – Presenting information in a structured and consistent manner. – Defined, within an organisation, as the main way of communicating between and within parts of the organisation. – the main way of communicating externally from an organisation. – The main methods are the formal letter, properly structured reports, writing of training materials, etc. – Formal information is communicated in cogent, coherent, well- structured language. September - October 2014O'Connor13

Nature of information Informal information – Less well-structured information that is transmitted within an organisation or between individuals who usually know each other. – It tends to be categorised as ‘unofficial’ information, and is communicated by casual conversations, s, or text messages between colleagues. – The language is less well structured and tends to include colloquialisms and shorthand; and spelling is less important. September - October 2014O'Connor14

Nature of information Quantitative information – This is information that is represented numerically. – Any event or object that can be represented as a set of numbers is an example of quantitative information. Qualitative information – This is information that is represented using words. – Any event or object that is represented using words to describe its attributes is an example of qualitative information. September - October 2014O'Connor15

Levels of information Planning, control and decision-making are carried out at various levels within the structure of the organisation. There is a direct correlation between the levels of importance of individuals or groups within an organisation and the level of information that is being communicated. The three levels at which information can be used are: – strategic – tactical – operational September - October 2014O'Connor16

Levels of information Strategic information – used at the very top level of management – broad based and will use a mixture of information gathered from both internal and external sources. – timescale may be from one to five years or even longer depending on the project – will have little or no detail in them and more detailed strategic plans will be made slightly lower down the managerial ladder September - October 2014O'Connor17

Levels of information Tactical information – tactical planning and decision-making takes place within the guidelines set by the strategic plan. – mostly internal with a few external sources being used. I internal information is likely to be function related: for example, how much ‘down time’ a production line must allocate for planned maintenance. – used by middle management (employees) – timescale is usually at least between 6 months and 5 years (depending on the scale of the strategic project). Circumstances vary but a small project may have a tactical timescale of between one and six months. – have a medium level of detail and will be very specific; they deal with such matters as who is doing what and within what specific budgets and timescales. – have medium scope and will address details at the operational level. September - October 2014O'Connor18

Levels of information – Have medium scope and will address details at the operational level. Operational information – operational planning takes place based on the tactical plans. – The lowest level of management or workers in an organisation implements operational plans. – The timescale is usually very short, anything from immediately, daily or at most a week or month. – Results of operational work will usually be passed upwards to let the tactical planners evaluate their plans. September - October 2014O'Connor19

Be able to develop communication processes Types: Meetings and conferences, workshops and training events, internet and , written, telephone, video-conferencing, one- to-one meetings Approaches: structured and coordinated, planned, formal and informal Strategy: advantages, disadvantages; informal, face-to-face, formal in writing, emotional, intelligence

Be able to improve systems relating to information and knowledge Type: hard and soft, websites and mailings, access and dissemination Style: Trends and patterns, diagrams and text, consistent and reliable, current and valid; legal and confidential

The Decision-Making Process Programmed Decision - a simple, routine matter for which a manager has an established decision rule Nonprogrammed Decision - a new, complex decision that requires a creative solution

Review Questions 1.Describe the differences between data and information. 2.Explain the relationship between knowledge and information. 3.Explain the difference between explicit and implicit knowledge, giving an example of each and of the kind of information that made that knowledge possible. 4.For each of the following situations say whether the information is primary or secondary and internal or external. – the minutes of a golf club committee meeting – a till roll showing the day’s transactions in a corner shop – a university prospectus – the published accounts of a large public business – Secondary & internal – 1 mark 5.Describe the differences between: – formal and informal communication – quantitative and qualitative information September - October 2014O'Connor23

Review Questions 6.There are three levels of information, strategic, tactical and operational. State the characteristics of: – information used for decision making at the strategic level – information used for decision making at the tactical level – information used for decision making at the operational level 7.Explain the differences between information categorised by time: – Historically – In the present time – In the future 8. Describe how information can be used in: – Planning – Control – Decision-making September - October 2014O'Connor24

Review Questions 9.For each of the following characteristics of information explain why that characteristic affects the quality of the information: – availability or accessibility – accuracy – completeness – reliability or objectivity – timing – presentation – value September - October 2014O'Connor25

Additional Reading Daft, Richard. Organization Theory and Design. West Publishing, Graham, John R. "Avoiding Dumb and Dumber Business Decisions: Why Even the Experts Make Mistakes." American Salesman. April September - October 2014O'Connor26