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John Obison Stevens
Introduction
In this essay, I will give an in depth review of data, information and knowledge with respect to
contemporary organizational requirements. I will also explain how the three elements can be
managed and processed successfully to improve organisational performances. In doing these, I will
buttress the need for integrated information systems. The activities of the ‘As seen on Screen’
(ASOS), an online retailer, which specialises in selling products and clothes over the internet will be
reviewed in terms of their tactical, strategic and operational activities. I will give an insight into how
they could enhance their business and staff performances, which will in turn help the organisation to
grow and dominate their market.
Data, Information and knowledge
Data
Raw facts that can be interpreted into variables and entities is known to us as data (Bellinger et. al.,
2015). A business organisation data is kept in files. The files could contain: information about
customers, stock supplies and employees. Files will be regularly updated depending on the activities
of data surrounding the customers, stock supplies or employees. Data file organization is classified
like a family tree that consists of bit, byte, field, record, file and database. Bit represents data as a
number with a single binary number, that can be either 0 or 1. Byte in data is an individual symbol,
letter or number which represent one character (Cobham and Curtis, 2008). More than one byte can
be classified as a field, and fields that are related to each other, will be transformed into a record
which is an entity.
A data record is a selection of field that are structured to merge into a record (Cobham and Curtis,
2008). A file consists of organised records classified and related to the same type. Data manual files
are files that are physically stored (pre-printed documents) and are updated by an individual rather
than a computer system. Files in a computer based system will be saved in disks or tapes. Data from
file records will be automatically processed and updated by a computer program (Cobham and
Curtis, 2008).
Organisations that manage data resources in a traditional file will likely experience problems and
difficulties. For example, a company has various departments, each department has their own tasks,
data files and their own developed systems. The absence of an integrated information systems
results in data duplication, data redundancy, lack of flexibility, lack of data sharing and poor security.
Data processing involves manipulation. This could be in the form of re-arrangement, sorting,
classification and performing calculations on data. It is used to convert data to information.
Knowledge can be captured from information.
A database can be defined as collection of data that is organised to be accessed, managed and
updated easily (Cobham and Curtis, 2008). Database warehousing is an example of integrated
information system. Various softwares exist to manage a database. Three examples to be discussed
are The Database Management Software (Laudon and Laudon, 2015), RedPraire (RedPraire, 1975)
and the Hadoop (Laudon and Laudon, 2015). The Database Management Software (DBMS) enables
an organisation to manage and retrieve data easily in different ways. The software allows data to be
stored in a single location. It is an integrated information software. However, DBMS cannot handle
big data that are in the extra-byte range. The Hadoop software is suitable for processing and
analysing big data. Large firms are likely to use the Hadoop software. The benefits of using a
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John Obison Stevens
database structure includes implementing access code, limitation for authorised users, data
consistency and eliminates the duplication of data (Cobham and Curtis, 2008).
Information
Information is data processed for a purpose. According to Cobham and Curtis (2008), since the 19 th
century, the information-processing sector has been steadily growing. The developments of faster,
flexible and cheaper technology for information transmission and processing has allowed and caused
the information sector to grow. The capital investment on information technology has been rising
since the 1980s, with hundreds of billions of pounds invested each year. Laudon and Laudon
(2016:35) made a strong statement as to why organisations invest heavily on information
technology: “If you make wise choices, your firm can outperform competitors. If you make poor
choices, you will be wasting valuable capital”.
Beynon-Davies (2009:2) defines information systems as ‘A system of communication between
people. A system involved in the gathering, processing, distribution and use of information’.
Information, therefore is a key factor to the successful management of any business “The primary
purpose of information is to aid decision making. An understanding of the way decisions are taken
and the level of managerial activity involved will cast on general properties of the information used ”
(Cobham and Curtis, 2008:81).
To improve the performance of an organisation, specific, reliable and current information is
required. This allows an organisation to have less doubt when making a decision and actually
enables them to act fast because the decision will be easier to make (Davenport and Prusak, 2000;
Bellinger et. al., 2015). The quality of information is essential, to avoid making deficient decisions.
This arises when there is uncertainty in the decision-making process. This could have a negative
impact on the firm. Uncertainty in the decision-making will lead to low quality actions being taken.
In contrast, having quality information will be of value to the organisation as It improves and
enhances the decision-making which can help the organisation save money, improve customer
service, interactivity and solve customers’ problems faster and effectively, take action fast and make
profit.
Knowledge
Knowledge can be interpreted as understanding and using information either to determine or to
base upon accurate decision-making. “More recently there has been an emphasis on organisational
knowledge: how organisation learn and to what degree they can manage their knowledge ” (Beynon-
Davies, 2009:93).
Capturing knowledge will certainly improve organisational performances. The value of the
information transform into a critical resource to assist organisations or individuals to have advantage
over the market force and to improve their competitive performances. Knowledge can be
designated and distinguished into: level of abstraction, purpose and accessibility. Polanyi (1962)
asserts that most human knowledge and organisational knowledge are tacit. While, Nonaka and
Takeuchi (1995) contend that it is vital to transform internalised tacit knowledge into explicit
codified knowledge, so that the knowledge can be documented, organised or made readily
accessible. This can reduce problems caused by staff errors and turnover.
