Chapter Seventeen
Acquiring,
Organizing, and
Using Information
Learning Objectives
1. Understand how information is
organized to help people make
decisions.
2. Describe how business research is
conducted.
3. Discuss management’s information
requirements.
4. Describe the five functions of an
information system.
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Learning Objectives (cont’d)
5. Explain how the Internet, intranet,
standards for communications, and
web pages affect business today.
6. Discuss how the Internet helps
employees communicate, assists a
firm’s sales force, trains and recruits
employees, and conducts financial
activities.
7. Understand how business application
software can be used to collect and
distribute information.
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The Nature of Information
• Information produces knowledge and
empowers managers and employees to
make better decisions
• The relationship between information
and risk
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The Nature of Information (cont’d)
• Information rules
– Information rules based on situational
experience provide guidance in handling
similar situations or circumstances
– Business research continuously looks for
new rules since business conditions are
always changing
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The Nature of Information (cont’d)
• The difference between data and
information
– Data
• Numerical or verbal descriptions that usually
result from some sort of measurement
– Information
• Data presented in a form that is useful for a
specific purpose
– Database
• A single collection of data stored in one place
that can be used by people throughout an
organization to make decisions
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Data versus Information
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Data versus Information
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Business Research
• Secondary research
– Gathering information from sources where the
original research was done by someone else
• Primary research
– Developing and gathering information firsthand
– Qualitative research
• Involves the descriptive or subjective reporting of
information discovered by the researcher
– Quantitative research
• Involves the collection of numerical data for analysis
through a survey, experiment, or content analysis
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Which Research Method to Choose
• Decision factors
– Limitations on time and money
– The need for accuracy and validity
• Managers rely on the results of proven
methods until those methods no longer
work well
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The Information System
• Management information system (MIS)
– A system that provides managers with the
information they need to perform their jobs as
effectively as possible
– Purpose: to distribute timely and useful
information to the decision makers who need it
• Information technology officer
– A manager at the executive level who is
responsible for ensuring that a firm has the
equipment necessary to provide the information
the firm’s employees and managers need to make
effective decisions
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The Information System (cont’d)
• Managers’ information requirements
–
–
–
–
Summary of future possibilities
Summary of present situation
Summary of past performance
Information about 5 principal areas of
management: finance, operations, marketing,
human resources, and administration
• Size and complexity of the system
– Must be properly sized to provide sufficient
information resources without being simple or too
complex to be useful
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Management Information System (MIS)
Source: Management, 8th ed., by Ricky W. Griffin. Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Adapted with permission.
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Class Exercise
• When using a management information
system, the first step is to collect the data
needed to establish the firm’s database. What
is the most appropriate source that could be
used to answer the following questions?
– How successful has the promotional campaign
been?
– How much does a competitor charge for a
particular product?
– What is the current population of the state of
Arizona?
– How do customers view the new pricing policy?
– What is the average salary for employees in the
shipping department?
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Chapter Quiz
1. Numerical or verbal descriptions that usually result
from some sort of measurements are referred to as
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
information.
Data.
a database.
information collection process.
computer info base.
2. Observation, interviews, and focus groups are
examples of
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
database research.
quantitative research.
qualitative research.
statistical research.
data collection.
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Chapter Quiz (cont’d)
3. The difference between the highest value and the
lowest value in a set of data is the
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
arithmetic mean.
median.
range.
standard deviation.
mode.
4. __________ software facilitates the management of
large projects among geographically dispersed
employees.
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
Database
Spreadsheet
Collection data
Browser
Groupware
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Chapter Quiz (cont’d)
5. A computer program that allows users to record,
process, and report financial information is a
__________ program.
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
database management
spreadsheet
desktop publishing
Accounting
CIM
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Answers to Chapter Quiz
1. Numerical or verbal descriptions that usually result
from some sort of measurements are referred to as
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
information.
Data.
a database.
information collection process.
computer info base.
2. Observation, interviews, and focus groups are
examples of
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
database research.
quantitative research.
qualitative research.
statistical research.
data collection.
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17 - 19
Answers to Chapter Quiz (cont’d)
3. The difference between the highest value and the
lowest value in a set of data is the
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
arithmetic mean.
median.
range.
standard deviation.
mode.
4. __________ software facilitates the management of
large projects among geographically dispersed
employees.
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
Database
Spreadsheet
Collection data
Browser
Groupware
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
17 - 20
Answers to Chapter Quiz (cont’d)
5. A computer program that allows users to record,
process, and report financial information is a
__________ program.
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
database management
spreadsheet
desktop publishing
Accounting
CIM
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
17 - 21