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  • Essay / Types of Information and Management Hierarchy.

    Table of ContentsRelevanceAccuracyUsefulnessDeletionCompletenessThere are generally three types of information required in the decision-making process within a typical organizational hierarchy, namely operational information for the operational level , tactical information for the intermediate level. -organization level and strategic information for the upper level of the organization. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay on the types of information required at different levels of the managerial hierarchy. Operational Information Operational information relates to the day-to-day operations of the organization and is therefore very useful in the process of controlling the operations that take place on a daily basis. As these activities are normally controlled and managed by lower levels of management, operational information is required by lower management (Arrowsmith, James, 2013). For example, information regarding the cash position on a daily basis is supervised and monitored by lower levels of management. Similarly, in the marketing department, information regarding daily and weekly sales is used by lower-level managers to monitor the performance of sales representatives. It is worth mentioning that operational information generally concerns activities that are supposed to be measured according to specific standards set by the company. Operational information comes primarily from current and historical performance records and is largely based on internal data sources. The predictive nature of operational information is relatively weak, so it has a short-term horizon. An information system linked to this type of information is constituted by operations support systems. Operational support systems (OSS) generate a variety of information products for internal management purposes, such as processing business transactions, controlling production processes, and effectively supporting inter-communications and collaborations. businesses. They do not focus on a specific information product, but further processing by management information systems is usually required (Abdel, AATS & Kadir, 2013). Tactical information Tactical information helps mid-level management resolve issues such as allocating resources and establishing controls to support the organization's higher-level plans. For example, middle levels of management need information about alternative sources of funds and their use, as well as potential opportunities for deploying excess resources in short-term securities. Tactical information generally has a predictive nature while focusing on short-term trends. This information may be partly current and partly historical, and can be found from internal as well as external sources. The information system that processes this information would be a management support system and a management information system. Management information systems and management support systems produce information in the form of reports which will then be presented to managers to support their daily decision-making needs. Most of the time, information is processed in a way that adequately meets expectations at both the operational and tactical levels of the organization, where decision-making is generallystructured and well-defined (Anon, 2014). information is needed to research how to better manage business, strategic information is needed to make choices about business options. Strategic information helps determine and evaluate these options so that managers can make wise choices that are better than those of competitors and the limitations of what they do. Strategic information is used by managers to determine objectives and establish priorities, conduct new programs and initiate acquisition policies. For example, information about the capital requirements for the company's current and possible future projects in the long term can be used by top managers to make the decision whether to go public or obtain a loan from financial institutions. Strategic information has a predictive nature, making it rely heavily on data sources outside the organization, has a long-term perspective and is primarily summarized. This can sometimes include assumptions. However, strategic information is not only about external information. In the past, strategic information was thought to refer only to information about the external environment. However, it is now well recognized that information gathered from the internal environment is equally crucial to the success or failure of a strategy and that, therefore, internal information is also necessary for strategic decision making . Strategic information generally appears in the following information systems: Decision support system (DSS) is a computerized information system that provides informational assistance to managers and business professionals during the decision-making process decision-making interactively. DSS uses analytical models, well-structured databases, the insights and judgments of a typical decision maker, and an interactive process to support business decisions. Executive information systems (EIS) or Executive Support Systems (ESS) are information systems that integrate most of the future of MIS and DSS. Here, information is presented in a way specific to the preferences of the executives using the system, such as a personal user interface. Each type of information has its role to play in helping to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of management. They are necessary to varying degrees determined by managers at all levels. It is therefore natural that some operational information is used even by the CEO of a company. The difference occurs in the proportion of different types of information in the total information needs of management at the lower, middle and upper levels of the organizational hierarchy. Decision makers access various internal and external information sources to acquire the information needed to assist in the daily decision-making process (Dragan Sutevski, 2013.) These information sources include: data-driven reports, analytics and advice presented to committees, as well as relevant information. ministerial or government documents. These are the main sources where management can obtain timely and useful information for the company. Data-Driven Reporting Thanks to advanced information technology, managers now rely mostly on data and reports from software. Such software provides a wide variety of financial and non-financial information necessary for decision-making. Unprocessed data will be entered into theseprograms, which will then allow management to track all available departmental information and activities. These reports may include: monthly departmental financial statements, specific liability reports, and accounts receivable timeline reports. Analysis and advice presented to committees Information necessary for decision-making can also be collected through regular committees such as the financial management committee and the executive committee. Presentations at these meetings provide management with the context needed to shape policy options, making early decision-making processes more practical. Information needed for decision-making can be gathered from committee discussions which are recorded in the minutes. Relevant ministerial or government documents Publicly available government documents can also be used to facilitate the decision-making process. These speeches delivered to parliament and the national budget. Such documents provide management with knowledge of possible and potential changes and therefore opportunities for further growth of the company. At each level of the organizational hierarchy, there are different desired qualities of the information received, but in most cases, relevant and useful information shares the same characteristics across different levels of the organizational hierarchy (Thakur, D. 2012) . . Here are the common characteristics desirable at each level of the organizational hierarchy. Relevance The information received by management must be linked to the decisions that the manager must make in order to make an informed choice. An effective MIS will take data from the areas of activity that concern the manager at any given time and transform it into forms that are meaningful and useful for decision making. If a manager needs to make a pricing decision, for example, an MIS can take sales figures from recent years and display the sales volume and profit margin for different pricing scenarios. Accuracy A key factor in the effectiveness and efficiency of a MIS is the accuracy of its information. The accuracy of the data used and the calculations applied in the request will determine the effectiveness of the information obtained. The sources where the data was obtained will make a difference to the reliability and trustworthiness of the information. Historical performance is typically part of a GIS's database and too often serves as a useful measure of the accuracy and reliability of its results. Usefulness The information that management receives from an MIS may be relevant and accurate, but it will only be useful if it serves to help them make a particular decision they need to make. For example, if a manager needs to make a decision on which employee to lay off due to a bad economy, information regarding the cost savings from reducing that employee is crucial and relevant, but information about employee performance in question are much more useful and important. This is why the SIM must make useful information more easily and easily accessible. Timeliness Management must make decisions about the future of the organization based on current performance data, especially when evaluating trends. The more recent the data, the more the decision taken will reflect current reality and good anticipation of the effects on the company's performance. When data delays its availability, it must be taken into account that this may lead to inaccuracies.