ITE 1412 – Information Management Week 02

1.0 Data and Information

Introduction

This is the initial lesson in Information Management. This course will provide the basic and
fundamental concepts you need to know to learn Database Management Systems in Level 02.
At the end of this lesson there will be a quiz to check your understanding on the key points
learned during this lesson.

In this lesson we will discuss about proper storage of data by explaining how data is converted
to generate information. Proper storage of data therefore helps efficient and effective
retrievals to process and produce desired information appropriately in an organization
perspective.

Learning Outcomes

After completion of this lesson, the student will be able to explain the differences between
data and information with the context of the organization it uses. The lesson outline consists
of:

- The definition of data and information

- Why and how we store data

- Importance of data and information in an organization perspective

- How to use data for day-to-day operations

1.1 The Definition of Data and Information

Data and information plays a major role in our lives for day-to-day activities. Therefore we
need a clear understanding on the terms data and information and how and which time those
will be used in our day-to-day activities. Hence, in this section we will discuss the meaning of
data and information and how it will be applied by using practical examples.

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1.1.1 Data

Data is a representation of facts, concepts or instructions in a formalized manner suitable for

communication, interpretation or processing by humans or by automatic means. Therefore
these data are informative to someone depends on the extent to which it is unexpected by
that person. For example: age, date of birth, name of a person are related data to describe a
person and computer parts, table color, book name are some of the non related data to
describe a person. The following activity helps to understand the meaning of data in detail
manner.

Activity 1.1

From the following details underline what are the data you want to select in order to describe Saduni
Gamage.

Saduni Gamage

1T Hard Disk

Born in 15th July 1976

Pink Color Table

Tale of two cities

43 years old

From this activity it is highlighting:

• Only some amount of data is necessary to process information for a particular problem.
• Data can explain about any form of items, such as people, places and things.

Now let’s discuss about the attributes of data, need to consider for quality data to be use for
given organization or application.

1.1.1.1 Attributes of Data

In this section, we will explain seven attributes which need to consider for quality data for a
given organization or application.

• Accuracy and Precision

This refers to the exactness of the data. It should not contain any erroneous items and need
to convey the message correctly without misleading. Accuracy and precision needs to be

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ITE 1412 – Information Management Week 02

relate with how the data will be used. Otherwise, maintaining accuracy and precision will be
costly and off the underline objective.

• Legitimacy and Validity

Requirements governing data set the boundaries of this characteristic. For example, on
surveys, items such as gender, ethnicity, and nationality are typically limited to a set of
options and open answers are not permitted. Any answers other than these would not be
considered valid or legitimate based on the survey’s requirement.

• Reliability and Consistency

A stable mechanism need to be placed within the organization to maintain the reliability of
the collected data and its consistence of the data.

• Timeliness and Relevance

To maintain the quality of the data, it should be collected on right time and collected data
need be relevant to the purpose of the organization or the process.

• Completeness and Comprehensiveness

Incomplete data is as dangerous as inaccurate data. Gaps in data collection lead to a partial
view of the overall picture to be displayed. Without a complete picture of how operations are
running, uninformed actions will occur. It’s important to understand the complete set of
requirements that constitute a comprehensive set of data to determine whether the
requirements are being fulfilled.

• Availability and Accessibility

By considering the legal and regulatory constraints, the required data need to be available
and accessed by right set of people within the organization.

• Granularity and Uniqueness

An appropriate level of granularity must be defined to provide sufficient uniqueness and

distinctive properties to become visible. This is a requirement for operations to function
effectively.

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1.1.2 Information

Information is the ways and means to show processed data in an organization. Information is
useful to make correct decisions for any given problem. Hence, the availability of correct
information at exact time is necessary for good decision making process.

Activity 1.2

Suppose you need to purchase a computer. Out of the following, select the pieces of information that
will be useful to make a right decision. Give your answer by underlining your selection. (Please read
advertisements in newspaper in order to get some idea about different items one need to consider
when buying a computer)

- The price of a computer varies from Rs. 4,000 to Rs. 150,000.

- Valves were used in early computers.

- Capacity of the hard disk.

- Type of the processor.

- Number of keys in a keyboard.

- Size of the monitor screen.

- Capacity of the peripheral devices.

From this activity it is highlighting:

• The information important for decision making.

• Only some information is relevant for decision making.
• Without information it is difficult to do decision making.

In the same manner like quality of data, different attributes are focused to maintain the
quality of information. In the next section we will discuss these attributes in detail.

1.1.2.1 Attributes of Information

In this section we will discuss in detail different attributes which information should contain
to maintain the quality of the information.

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• Timeliness

Timeliness means that information must reach the required party within the prescribed time
frame. Timely information can ensure correct executive action at an early stage and it helps
for good decision making process as well.

• Accuracy

Information needs to be free from mistakes and errors, is clear and accurately reflects the
meaning of data on which it is based. Therefore it conveys an accurate picture to the target
audience.

• Relevance

With the use of information, the receipt able to answer questions relate to ‘what, why, where
and who’. Therefore this one of the key attribute that helps for good decision making in an
organization.

• Adequacy

Adequacy means information should be enough in quantity wise for decision making.

• Completeness

Information should be complete and it should meet all the requirements of the higher
authority to make accurate decisions with the use of information.

• Explicitness

A good quality report does not require further analysis by the recipient for decision-making.
Thus the reports should be such that a manager does not waste any time on the processing of
the report, rather he should be able to extract the required information directly.

1.2 Why and how we store data

This section will describe the importance of store data and different methods we use to store
data within an organization in detail manner.

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1.2.1 Why we store data

Data is stored mainly to carry out day-to-day operations smoothly and efficiently and this
section we are going to talk about the main reasons for storing data.

We store data mainly for:

• Management of resources (Resources: human, finance and supplies)

In order to carry out our daily activities a clear idea about resources of that particular
organization is needed. Each organization comprises human, finance, and supplies resources.
For example while employees will make-up human resource in an organization, office
equipment will be supplies resources. To manage these resources productively and cost
effectively we need data related to organizational resources.

• Forecasting future developments and trends

Forecasting future development related to the organization is an important function. To

predict its future development, the organization must store data regarding the strengths and
weaknesses of the organization, and the future trends which affect the movements of the
organization.

• Monitoring service provision

Daily activities should be monitored in order to measure their quality of the activities and
they stored for future use.

• Evaluation of services provided

Different services may be provided by an organization and they should be evaluated

periodically. For future use, evaluated data should be stored.

• Maintain the quality

To maintain the quality of the organization all data should be properly documented.

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1.2.2 How we store data

From the previous section you would have been able to get an idea about the importance of
storing data. Now we will discuss the methods of storing data. In an organization data can be
stored in printed media as well as electronic media.

• Printed media

Organizations can store data as printed hard copies. These hard copies will be categorized
subject-wise and stored for future use.

• Other media

There are different media to store the data. Some store data in electronically and some store
data in biological media.

Hard disk

We can store large amounts of data in a hard disk. A hard disk is a non-volatile storage device
which stores digitally encoded data on rapidly rotating platters with magnetic surfaces. By
using the hard disk we can access the stored data quickly. Data stored in an electromagnetic
surface are called platters. In a single hard disk there can be more than one platter.

Floppy disk

Presently the capacity of a floppy disk is 1.44 megabytes. This is an easy method to transfer
data from one source to another. But compared to hard disks floppy disks store do not store
much data. But with the development of other digital media, the use of floppy disks is not in
demand. In January 2007, only 2% of computers sold in stores contained built-in floppy disk
drives.

Tape storage

In the past, this was a popular method to store data. But today it is not used frequently. This
method helps store data, as well as moves it from one source to another.

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Optical disks & Compact Disk (CD)

In optical disk we could write and read data using a low-powered laser beam. We can use
compact disks to write and read data. Using both optical disk and compact disk we can store
and transfer data. Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc, a DVD is an optical disc of high
density with large capacity for storing pictures, data and sound. The data storage capacity of
a single layer, single sided DVD disc is 4.7 GB, which is about seven times larger than the
storage capacity of a compact disc. Furthermore, Blu-ray discs are often used for high-
definition video storage and also by gamers. In terms of physical dimensions, these discs are
similar to CDs and DVDs.

Cloud Storage

Cloud storage is a model of computer data storage in which the digital data is stored in logical
pools. The physical storage spans multiple servers (sometimes in multiple locations), and the
physical environment is typically owned and managed by a hosting company. These cloud
storage providers are responsible for keeping the data available and accessible, and the
physical environment protected and running. People and organizations buy or lease storage
capacity from the providers to store user, organization, or application data.

Store data on DNA

This will store digital data in the base sequence of Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) with the use
of oligonucleotide synthesis machines to store data and DNA sequencing machines to retrieve
data. DNA is the molecule composed of two chains which coil around each other to form a
double helix carrying the genetic instructions used in the growth, development, functioning
and reproduction of all known living organisms and many viruses.

1.3 Importance of data and information in an organization perspective

In an organization perspective data and information is important in so many different ways. In
this section, it will describe some of the basic sections where data and information plays a
major role.

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• Better decision making

Any organization makes decisions based on the data which is generated by the organization.
Hence, to make better and appropriate decisions for the good will of the organization data
and information plays a major role.

• Helps problem solving process

By tracking and reviewing data from business processes helps the management to identify
performance breakdowns and able to understand each part of the process and know which
steps need to be optimized and which are performing well.

• Helps to improve processes

Data helps to understand and improve business processes and which lead to reduce wasted
money and time. Since, any organization feels the effect of wasting time and money and it is
up to the management to control the waste by improving the business processes.

• Understand consumers and market

By analyzing product data within the organization, it helps to identify which products are
currently hot items and which are not. Knowing a product is in demand allows the
organization to increase the inventory of that item to meet the demand.

1.4 How to use data for day-to-day operations

In an organization, data is collected to be used, and efficient data use will increase its
efficiency and effectiveness. Let us now examine how the systematic use of data could
contribute to the efficiency and effectiveness of an organization. Proper data use has an
influence on the service provision, manpower recruitment and development, etc. of an
organization. Therefore based on data analysis, the required information is identified for
relevant activities. Hence let us consider these different situations individually.

• Service provision

Different organizations provide varied services to the community and data is generated in the
process.

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e.g.: An educational institute provides different types of education programmes for students.
Students can enroll for any of these courses. The details of the students can be considered as
data.

• Man-power recruitment and development

The organization should collect the data about the present staff competencies, and the future
staff needs, in order to decide on staff allocation within the organization.

e.g.: Academic and non-academic staff has to be recruited in order to provide different
educational programmes.

• Financial capability

In order to identify the financial capability of the organization, it should collect data
regarding the capital amount needed to begin the organization, working capital, assets (fixed
and variable) and liabilities related to the organization.

e.g.: An institute must consider all the assets and expenditure related, to the conducting of
educational programmes.

• Progress monitoring

The organization should identify relevant data needed to monitor the progress of the day-to-
day activities. This will help the future development of the organization.

• Projection of future activities

To project future activities of the organization, it should first collect data related to the
strengths and weaknesses of the organization. The organization should also have a clear idea
about the trends (threats and opportunities) which would affect the organization.

• Identify strengths and weaknesses

This is important to every organization. It should therefore collect data which will enable it
to measure the strengths and weaknesses of the organization.

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• Correction of weaknesses

To correct the weaknesses of the organization, the organization needs to have a clear idea
where its errors are, and how to correct the identified errors to improve the services given by
the organization.

• Evaluation of current programmes and activities

To evaluate the current activities and programmes in the organization, it should collect data
related to the day-to-day activities. Evaluation will help to improve the quality of the current
programmes handled by the organization.

• Evaluation of personnel

Personnel are the most important asset of every organization. In order to evaluate personnel
in the organization, the management should take note of the progress of the daily
responsibilities carried out by different individuals.

• To improve the resource allocation within an organization

The organization must have a clear idea about the present resource allocation within the
organization. If the organization has the needed data then it can analyze it to improve the
resource allocation within the organization.

Summary

Now we have completed the Lesson 01. In this lesson we have learned what is data and
information means and how and why we store data in an organization. Then, in the later part
of the lesson we have covered the importance of data and information in an organization
perspective and how we use data in day-to-day operations within an organization.

In Lesson 02 we are planning to learn what is data management means and different data
representation methods in detail. Before, next lesson starts, please complete the self-
assessment quiz 01 in the moodle to check what you have learned in lesson 01.

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