INFORMATION PROCESSING
Information
Processing is the acquisition, recording, organization, retrieval, display, and
dissemination of information. In recent years, the term has often been applied
to computer-based operations specifically.
Information
processing refers to the manipulation of digitized information by computers and
other digital electronic equipment, known collectively as Information
technology (IT).
Information
processing systems include business software, operating systems, computers,
networks and mainframes.
A computer
information processor processes information to produce understandable results.
The processing may include the acquisition, recording, assembling, retrieval or
dissemination of information. For example, in printing a text file, an
information processor works to translate and format the digital information for
printed form.
PROCEDURE FOR INFORMATION PROCESSING
Information can
be processed in four steps:
1.
Collation of
information – Gathering
of information together from different sources.
2.
Organization of
information – This
is when the arrangement of information is determined.
3.
Analysis of
Information: Inspecting,
cleaning, transforming, and modeling data for useful information.
4.
Interpretation
of information: This is when the
new information has been determined
Collation of Information
Collation: is to gather information together,
examine it carefully, and compare it with other information to find any
differences. It is the assembling of written information into a standard order.
Collation differs from classification in that classification is concerned with
arranging information into logical categories, while collation is concerned
with the ordering of items of information, usually based on the form of their
identifiers.
The main
advantage of collation is that it makes it fast and easy for a user to find an
element in the list, or to confirm that it is absent from the list.
The gathering of
relevant and up-to-date information is a key business process. Information
consists of organized facts and figures that have meaning within the context
that the information is intended to be interpreted by people.
Information can be gathered:
1. Internally within an organization -
e.g. about production performance, sales performance, standard operating
procedures, manufacturing systems, etc.
2. Externally i.e. outside the organization
- e.g. information about customers and markets. The firm may contract out the
collection of such information to an appropriate organization such as a market
research company.
Organization of information:
Term used to
refer to the standard protocols by which information is arranged. Other terms
that are sometimes used are cataloging and classification, technical services,
etc. Data can be organized in various ways. The processes of organizing data
should include non-electronic means such as paper- based forms, as well as
electronic forms.
Ways of Organizing Information
1. Category organization through
similarity and relatedness (categories, tags, taxonomies). Organize your
content by categories when there are clusters of similarity in you information
or when people will naturally seek that information based on perceived
similarities.
2. Time organization in a chronological
sequence (step-by-step instructions, blog Posts, news). Organize content by
time when presenting or comparing events over a specific duration of time or
when time based sequence is important to the information.
3. Location organization through
geographical or spatial reference (maps, travel guides). Organize content by
location when orientation or way finding are important or when your information
relates to a geographical place.
4. Alphabet organization in an
alphabetical sequence (dictionary, glossary, index). Organize content by
alphabet when the information is referential, when nonlinear access is
required, or when no other means of organization is acceptable.
Continuum organization by magnitude (baseball
statistics, search results, ratings). Organize content by continuum when
comparing things across a common measure; highest to lowest, best to worst,
first to last.
Analysis of Information: is a process of
inspecting, cleaning, transforming, and modeling data with the goal of
highlighting useful information, suggesting conclusions, and supporting
decision making. Information can then be analyzed by using computers or by
manual methods. The analyzed is accurate, streamlined and not overwhelming.
Databases and
spreadsheets make it very easy to analyze information. For example, information
about the market e.g market growth, market share, etc. can be entered using a
spreadsheet package. The information can be presented in line graphs, histograms,
bar charts, pie charts etc.
PROCESS FOR ANALYZING INFORMATION
1. Skim and scan
2. Determine
accuracy, relevance an$ reliability of information
3. Differentiate
4. Identify
propaganda, bias
5. Recognize
omissions and faulty logic
6. Recognize interrelationships
Interpretation of information: Information
interpretation is the process through which organizations make sense of new
information that they have acquired and disseminated.