Contents

What is Business Information? What is it used for? ..................................................................... 2 What types of information / communications are used in business? .......................................... 2 What are the purposes of Business Information? ........................................................................ 2 What are the sources of business information? ........................................................................... 3 What are the methods of presentation to meet the needs of user in business? ....................... 3 What are the output requirements of Presentation? .................................................................. 4

What is Business Information? What is it used for? Business information is one sector of information industries working with intensive and intellectual processing of information. Up-to-date business information is used for market research, competitive intelligence, human resources, strategic planning along with other strategic business functions. What types of information / communications are used in business? Verbal or spoken: Verbal communication requires the use of spoken words to convey the intended message. Tone of voice, intonation and body language play an important part in verbal communication. Advantage It is easier to communicate verbally than any other way because one can ask questions in case he/she cant understand the information clearly. Disadvantage Sometimes the meaning of what someone says can change completely. Spoken communication can easily be forgotten, misunderstood and misinterpreted. Written or printed: Written communication includes anything expressed through written words such as documents, e-mails, pen and paper letters etc. Advantage Carefully edited and scrutinized written message can be incorruptibly clear. Disadvantage Written message does not answer questions and there is no instant feedback. Visual or optical: Visual communication relies on visual aids such as signs, drawing, design, typography, illustration, multimedia and other electronic resources for effective communication. Advantage One can present a lot of information through visual communication and it is very flexible and easy to use. Disadvantage Visual communication is unable to transmit information to the blinds and people with disabilities. What are the purposes of Business Information? Information in business is used for: Updating knowledge. Offering competitive insight. Communicating sales promotion. Inviting support for activities. Informing future developments. Swot analysis. Strategic direction.

What are the sources of business information? Internal Sources: Accounting Finance Marketing Sales Administration Human resources Production Purchase

External Sources: Government Legal areas Market research Commercial databases Trade association News

What are the methods of presentation to meet the needs of user in business? - Documents or writing that provides information: It can be text file, written paper documents or anything serving as a representation of a persons thinking by means of symbolic marks. Style guide or style manual:

It is a set of standards for the writing and design of documents. The implementation of a style guide provides consistency in style and formatting of a document. Verbal presentation:

This method uses voice, body language and visual aids to capture and hold the interest of audience. Multimedia presentation:

Multimedia presentation is an instructional message consisting of words, pictures or videos that is designed to promote meaningful information. Web based presentation:

Web based presentation utilizes various applications which can be accessed over a network such as the internet or intranet. It uses software packages for example Microsoft power point to display content. Role play:

Role playing refers to the changing of ones behaviour to assume a role to perform an imaginary action within a fictitious setting. What are the output requirements of Presentation? - Resolution of images Image should be compatible to the screen it is going to appear on. Page layout

Page layout should offer easy navigation and proper table of contents Text formatting

Text formatting for instance bold or upper case text should represent information accordingly. Combining information from applications

To accomplish basic tasks and goals one can use varied computer machinery and software used to digitally create, collect, store, manipulate and relay office information. Use of tables

Tables, graph, commercial charts or other visual materials can be presented to clarify difficult concepts and emphasize important points during discussion. Use of specialist software and hardware

Electronic data processing can be used to process large volumes of similar commercial information for example stock updates, banking transactions, billing etc. What is Corporate Communication? Corporate communication manages internal & external communications of an organization. It includes advertising, marketing, marketing communications & public relations with a managed perspective. Corporate communication is all about getting an organizations messages to the customers. It communicates an organizations image & objectives with the end users via several different methods. What are the methods of presenting business communication? - Mission statement - Advertising - Packaging - Logos - Livery - Strap lines - Endorsement - Sponsorship

The Nature of Information: 1. Quantitative and Qualitative information:

Quantitative information is hard factual data like statistics, numbers gathered with the use of survey instruments. It gives objective, unbiased, hard facts aboutsomething specific. Qualitative information is individual narrative reports gathered from personal experiences. Example: case study, personal interview. This type of information can help one understand perception and interpretation of circumstances and events. 2. Formal and Informal information: Formal information is official, convincing, and presented in a formal manner. Example: companys annual report. Informal information is more casual, less authoritative, and less formally presented. Example: a quick email to a friend. Range of decisions to be taken/ Levels of decisions: As a means of understanding the significance of a decision, three levels of decisions have been identified: 1. Strategic:

Strategic decisions concerns general direction, long term goals, philosophies and values. For example: whether a business should produce a low priced product to gain major market share or produce a high priced for a niche market. 2. Tactical: Tactical decisions support strategic decisions. They tend to be medium range, medium significance, with moderate consequences. For example: if a company decided to produce low priced product, then a tactical decision might be to build a new factory to produce them at a low manufacturing cost. 3. Operational: Operational decisions are basically everyday decisions, used to support tactical decisions. Their impact is immediate, short term, short range, and usually low cost. Operational decisions can be pre-programmed, pre-made, or set out clearly i policy manuals. For example: if a business is producing low cost goods, its operational decisions would be buying materials from supplier with the lowest cost for current production. The information and knowledge needed to ensure effective decision taking: Decision making steps to ensure effective decision taking:

1. Gather the facts and data. 2. Make your assumptions and ask yourself; are your assumptions valid? If so, why? If not, why not? 3. Identify the options that are available. 4. Combine logic and common sense with facts and data, assumptions, knowledge and experience. Ask yourself questions like: does the decision make sense? Are there any risks involved? 5. Integrate your feelings backed up by knowledge, logic, and common sense. 6. Make your decision using a yes no decision or from selecting options available. Once you have gathered the facts and data, made good assumptions, used logic and common sense, and incorporated your feelings you are ready to make a good decision. 7. Frequently, new facts and data become available after you have made a decision. If the new information would have changed your mind if received earlier, then you have two possibilities: modify or change your decision. If your decision is difficult to change then determine a way to handle it. Levels of Decision making / justifying recommendations for improvement: Five levels of leadership involvement when making a worthy decision to accomplish a desired goal: Level 1: Leader makes the soul decision leaders possess the ability to take individual decisions in case of any emergency situation where immediate action is required without additional support, others input, and immediate compliance to get the things get done. Level 2: Leader count opinion of key stakeholders A good leader always seeks important information and detail from key stakeholders just to make a solid decision. It covers blind spots and increases the productivity of the work in a team building activity. Level 3: Leader initiates consensus formation In a corporate event a leader needs to establish harmony in a team just to ensure a fruitful decision to be carried out. He convinces others to get the benefits by approaching a particular process. Level 4: Leader delegates the right decision to others In a team building activity, leader acts as a bridge and carefully entrusts the responsibility and authority of decision to others to produce the desired results. Level 5: Clear understanding Leader informs other team members about the prospective situation by judging the pros and cons of a situation. This requires thorough understanding, excellent communication skills, and other abilities just to make the working of a team truly profitable.