Introduction to
Business Process
Support
L E C T U R E 01
Lecture 1
LO1 Discuss the use of data and information to support business
processes and the value they have for an identified organization
What is an
Organization?
Organization refers to a collection of people, who are
involved in pursuing defined objectives. It can be
understood as a social system which comprises all
formal human relationships. The organization
encompasses division of work among employees and
alignment of tasks towards the ultimate goal of the
company.
What is a Business
A business is an organization or entity that sells goods or services for a
profit. The important part of this definition is that a business is
something that operates in order to make a profit. Not all businesses
actually are successful enough make a profit, but their main purpose is
to generate profits.
Process
Process – A set of logically related tasks or activities
performed to achieve a defined business outcome.
What is Business
Process
A business process is a series of steps performed by
a group of stakeholders to achieve a concrete goal.
Each step in a business process denotes a task that is
assigned to a participant. It is the fundamental
building block for several related ideas such as
business process management, process automation,
etc.
Primary process – A process that
addresses the main value-added
activities of an organization.
Elements of
Business
Process
Support process – A process that
performs necessary, albeit not
value added activities.
Development process – A
process that seeks to improve
the performance of primary and
support processes.
Improving the Business
Process
Some key
attributes that
distinguish
business
processes from
other business
tasks and
activities are:
a process is repeatable
a process is flexible and not rigid
a process is specific and has established start
and endpoints
a process is measurable
The importance of business processes
The need for and advantages of a business process are quite
apparent in large organizations. A process forms the lifeline for any
business and helps it streamline individual activities, making sure
that resources are put to optimal use.
Process
What is Data & Information?
Data is raw, unorganized, unanalyzed, uninterrupted, and unrelated used in different contexts. For instance, facts
and stats gathered by researchers for their analysis can collectively be called data. Data in essence lacks its
informative fervor and relatively renders itself to be meaningless unless given a purpose or direction to acquire its
significance.
But when that data is analyzed, structured, and given composure or context to make it useful, we find information.
Information etymologically dates back to its Middle and Old french roots, which meant “the act of informing,”
mostly used in the context of knowledge, instruction, and education. In essence, information is systematic,
filtered, and useful.
What is Data?
Data is a collection of details or data remaining in the form of either
figures texts, symbols, descriptions, or mere observations of entities,
events, or things with a potential to be analyzed and drawn inferences
from. They are raw which requires rendering to acquire meaningful
information.
The Role of Data in Business
The modern business marketplace is a data-driven environment. The role of data is to empower business leaders
to make decisions based on facts, trends and statistical numbers. But with so much information out there,
business leaders must be able to sift through the noise, and get the right information, so that they can make the
best decisions about strategy and growth.
The Importance of Data
Data is at the core of nearly every business decision made. Human resources directors are gathering data from
online resources to determine the best people to recruit and confirm details about them. Marketing departments
are lasering in on market segmentation data to find consumers who are ready to buy, speeding up the sale-closing
process whenever possible. Business executives must examine bigger trends in the market, such as changes in
pricing of resources, shipping or manufacturing.
Types of Data
Primary Data
•Qualitative Data
•Quantitative Data
Secondary Data
•Internal Data
•External Data
What is Information?
Information is data collated to derive meaningful inferences according to its contextual requirement. Information is
structured, processed, and presented with assigned meaning that improves the reliability of the data acquired.
Information also ensures that there remains no uncertainty or undesirable.
The Role of Information in Business
Its role is to support the key aspects of running an organization, such as
communication, record-keeping, decision making, data analysis and more. Companies
use this information to improve their business operations, make strategic decisions and gain
a competitive edge.
The Importance of Information
And this is the key importance of information - it allows a business to make informed decisions by
presenting data in a way that can be interpreted by management. In this context, customer information
would be useful in providing metrics surrounding client/customer engagement to determine better
ways to engage or work with your clients.
Summary
Data Vs Information
Data builds information, and information builds strategic success. Without the first, you can’t
have the second or the third. A good business is built upon great market research, which can
gather and analyse all of the data that your company is currently gathering, separating the
useful from the useless.
WHY IS DATA/INFORMATION IMPORTANT FOR
YOUR BUSINESS?
Data helps you make better decisions
Data helps you solve problems
Data helps you understand performance
Data helps you improve processes
Data helps you understand consumers
The Key Differences Between Data and Information
•Data contains raw figures and facts. Information unlike data provides insights analyzed through the data collected.
•Information can’t exist without data but data doesn’t rely on the information.
•Data, as an input, goes through a filtration process followed by a meaningful organization to generate output or
information.
•Data doesn’t deliver into specifics since there is rarely any relevance scattered amongst heaps of data unless
processed. Information is particular with correlation to the inferences derived.
•Data doesn’t harbor any real meaning whereas information exists to provide insights and meaning.
Data
Data Vs.
Information
Information
Description
Qualitative/ Quantitative
variables that present
themselves with the
potential to be developed
into ideas or analytical
conclusions.
Data that is structured and
collated to further its
meaning and contextual
usefulness.
Format
Data follows the form of
either letters, numbers or
characters.
Information follows the
format of either ideas or
references
Representation
Data is structured either in
graphs, data trees,
flowcharts, or tables.
Information is represented
as ideas, thoughts, and
languages after collating the
data acquired.
Data doesn’t serve any
purpose unless given to.
Data when interpreted and
assigned with some meaning
derived out of it, gives
information.
Meaning