Managing Information 

​

The purpose of research 

​

Research is important in business,it provides information that will inform business decisions. If information is not collected or is partially collected,then this can cause the decisions made to be poor quality. Business conduct research for all sorts of reasons, including:

• Customer research

• Research into business equipment and costs

• Researching market trends 

​

Researching,organizing and reporting information 

​

When researching information there are several things that need to be done if the research is to be successfully completed, i have listed them below 

• Ensure the researcher knows what they are looking for

• Discover how the information should be presented 

• Source the correct document

• Confirm the document is up to date

• Use documents efficiently

• Read relevant information carefully

​

Before research can be provided to a recipient,the following must also be established:

• The recipient and what they already know

• The type of information required

• Why it is required and

• When it is required 

​

 

Organising research 

​

When conducting research it is important that the information being collected is kept in an organized fashion. Ideally your information should be kept in clearly marked files(paper or electronic).

​

Within the files the information should be kept in an order that will make it easy to use when the information is passed on to the recipient. Information can be organised in several different ways, such as alphabetical, or numerically. The most important thing is for a researcher to be able to find the information they need quickly.

​

It helps to have in mind the way the information will be reported 

​

​

Archiving,retrieving and deleting information 

​

All businesses benefit from being able to store and retrieve information, and handle information in a consistent way.There are generally three different processes that business go through with information-Archiving,Retrieving and Deleting information.

 

Archiving

​

There will be information where there is a legal or long-term business obligation to keep it for an extended period-this is known as archiving. By archiving you can free  up storage space for information that needs to be accessed on a more regular basis

​

Retrieving

​

When information is used from a file or folder,it has been retrieved. It is important that information used on a regular basis can be retrieved easily  

​

Deleting

​

There will also be information that does not need to be kept as it has no value to the organization.This information may be deleted and shredded. It is important that staff have guidance on deleting information in case they get rid of important

documents 

​

Retrieving information 

​

When information is to be retrieved it is important that the person wanting it has the authority to request it. For example, confidential information should not be available to everybody.

​

Some businesses use a sign out procedure to assign the document to the person who has requested them. This makes it possible to track the file and know its whereabouts until it is returned 

​

Information to be archived or deleted 

​

When something is archived it is put into storage. This is associated with paper based files. To avoid storage problems, a business can periodically review its information systems and take appropriate actions. These may include:

• Removing and deleting duplicate documents and leaving a single copy

• Removing and deleting unimportant documents that will never be used again and

• Archiving files that have been retained 

Most well businesses specify in the procedures when archiving and deleting can take place and who has the authority to make decisions on what can be achieved 

​

Legal considerations 

​

When storing information there are some important legal requirements. These include:

• The Data Protection Act 1998

• Retention periods and

• Industry-specific legal requirements

All businesses must carefully consider the way information is managed. the requirement to keep important records AND respect the privacy of people places considerable responsibility on business and organizations 

​

Failure to get it right may be result in the business breaking the law.