Introduction
One of the most important assets in organizations is information. Organizations obtain large amounts of information, both internal and external factors, for this reason, it is a priority to make efforts to provide and acquire the appropriate knowledge to be able to process this set of data and thus make it clearer, more coherent and with authenticity.
Proper information management provides benefits such as: competitive advantages with clients, product lines and development by obtaining business solutions and monitoring of daily activities.
This article will address the importance of information classification, as well as different issues for its management so that it is beneficial to the organization, saving time and effort in decision-making.
List of concepts
Information. What is it and what is it for?
The information is made up of a group of data already classified and ordered, which serve to build a message. Information allows solving problems and making decisions, since its rational use is the basis of knowledge.
Therefore, information can be defined as a resource that provides meaning or a sense of reality, through data and models of human thought. There are various species that communicate through the transmission of information for their survival; The difference for human beings lies in man's ability to put together codes and symbols with complex meanings, which make up the common language for coexistence in society.
Knowledge generation process
Information in organizations
In today's society, the use and access to information constitutes a transcendental change for organizations, from the economic and intellectual point of view.
The correct development of an organization's resources depends on an adequate flow of information between the company and its environment, on the one hand, and between the different units of the company. A company is more competitive the more it stands out in the exploitation of environmental information.
Timely access to it facilitates the decision-making process, represents a guide to problem solving, and lays the foundation for production progress.
The information in the organization must meet two important characteristics, for example:
That they fulfill their primary function, that is, that of increasing the user's knowledge or reducing their uncertainties.
However, the value of the Information may be classified according to:
- Administrative Value: When the information allows senior management to make effective decisions.Operational Value: When the information documents the detailed activities of the organization.Documentary Value: When the information serves as evidence of events that have occurred previously.Historical Value: When the information documents past events.
Generator of new competitiveness factors: Competitiveness does not depend solely on the ability of the company to offer a product at a better price than its competitors, but what it really wants is to satisfy what the consumer wants (quality, service, post-customer service). sale)
Integrator of the units of the organization: The information obtained by a department can be very useful for others, even for those that apparently are not related to each other.
To the extent that it improves the productive and administrative processes: It is all that information that is increased through the technology of knowledge of human resources.
Information classification
The information of a company can be classified according to various criteria, depending on the degree of source it can be divided by:
- Primary: The information is in its origin, does not present changes and must be prepared for the first time and in a specific way. the company.
The information can also be classified according to its nature:
- Qualitative: It is the information that is obtained by means of the investigation by means of the description, and the observation. Quantitative: It is the information with which they obtain data numerically.
Depending on availability, the information can be:
- Internal information: Internal information refers mainly to all that generated within the company. This information is stored within the same company through a database and is spatially addressed to individuals in senior management for decision-making. External information: It is the information found in the organizational environment or external environment. The information captured by the company and which participates directly in daily activities is about the market to which it is directed.
Fuzzy information
The organized set of data that constitutes a message has to be clear, exact and concrete data.
For many organizations, information is a fundamental element since today the correct handling of information allows us to optimally face future success and business competition .
Fuzzy information makes it difficult for organizations to grasp the true value or meaning of information. The information can be diffuse in cases where the interrelated data cannot be measurable for its analysis and consequently its understanding.
The process to reach the point where the information available to the company is useful and reliable for decision-making is very complex and can be carried out with the help of the following elements, which are very helpful for this process:
Need for information
The success of an organization depends not only on the management and administration of tangible assets as materials, but on the use of its intangible assets. The correct development depends on there being an adequate flow of information between the organization and this can be represented and understood internally and externally, that is, in its environment and between the different units of the organization.
One of the characteristics of the information is is it can flow and it does so in a vertical or descending direction, horizontally and also diagonally within the organization.
There is a classification of five basic information flows in organizations:
1.- Formal authority: this flow is hierarchical and is formed according to the organization chart of each organization.
2.- Regulatory flows: Information required to fulfill functions in each department.
3.- Informal communications: interpersonal relationships of the organization (primarily external to it)
4.- Work constellation flows: work teams.
5.- Decisions: information to make unique decisions and solve problems.
Information search
For a successful and adequate search for information, it must be very clear what the information needs are, it is advisable to draw up a Gantt chart containing the following variables:
- The tasks to be carried out to achieve the organizational objectives. Order the activities according to priority of action. Determine time, means and resources of the action.
Obtaining all kinds of information
It is very common that when searching for information, a large amount of information is obtained from it without having been classified, disorganized, unstable, without background and form.
In order to determine if the information obtained is diffuse, the organization should ask the following questions:
This information…
- Is it adequate for the needs of the firm? Is it accurate according to what is being sought? Is it complete? Is it reliable according to the source? Is it accessible to all members of the organization who require it?
Tools
Obtaining information (need)
The methods mostly used according to the need for information can be classified into two approaches: direct and indirect. Direct methods mainly use techniques that allow obtaining direct information from the organization. Among the most recognized techniques are the use of interviews and questionnaires; the observation of the search habits that are presented and the use of the information, as well as the technique of the critical incident.
Direct
- The questionnaires:A questionnaire is understood as the set of questions, carefully prepared beforehand, about facts and aspects that are interested in finding or implementing research. It can be divided into two classes: the self-administration questionnaire and the interview. The self-administration questionnaire is the one in which the respondents, after reading, answer the questions in writing without any direct intervention from the people who collaborate in the research. In the interviews, the questionnaire is applied to the subjects investigated by people specialized in this task, who are recruited and prepared by the research management. It is usually done face-to-face in person or by phone.The use of observation techniques is an effective tool for research based on obtaining information. This technique consists of observing within the context in which information is normally generated, for example, externally from the organization such as markets, customers and suppliers, and internally to collaborators in their respective departments. Observation is a technique that allows you to collect information that is impossible to obtain using any other technique. The observation can be:Observation is a technique that allows you to collect information that is impossible to obtain using any other technique. The observation can be:Observation is a technique that allows you to collect information that is impossible to obtain using any other technique. The observation can be:
- Participant -OpenCoveredNon-participant -OpenCovered
- Critical Incident Technique: The Critical Incident Technique consists of a series of phases in order to collect direct information on the behavior of different individuals, which is usually of interest to the organization (collaborators, customers and suppliers) so that its The results can be used to solve practical problems and for decision making. This technique collects information about incidents with a special meaning and that meet specifically defined criteria. The technique basically consists of two steps: collecting and classifying information about the incidents, and making inferences based on the information obtained.
Indirect
- Analysis of documents: This is an indirect method that, without consulting the people involved, allows them to know their habits, needs and uses of information. Types of document analysis: analysis of cited references; analysis of document requests.
Fuzzy information tools
Quantitative data analysis
Quantitative information is much clearer and easier to understand since its representation is numerical. Its measurement and analysis can be performed having knowledge of the use of various software that facilitate the obtaining and compression of information for decision-making.
Qualitative data analysis
Qualitative data is more difficult to analyze since many times they are usually abstract and their classification is usually difficult to carry out since they are based on subjective concepts and can be diffuse. Using different heuristic methods, various solutions can be proposed that improve the obtaining of information and in some cases the use of specialized software that can process the data and produce an ideal result can be implemented.
Diffuse logic
Fuzzy logic is a procedure that provides a simple and attractive way to obtain a conclusion from scanty, vague, imprecise or, if not incomplete, information. It is a computational intelligence technique that allows information to be processed with a high level of efficiency.
Prosecution
In this stage the information is processed from having selected the most convenient method for the previously established objective or goal. Information processing seeks to benefit the organization in some way since the purpose is to understand, signify, locate, know the information with which it is working.
These are some of the actions to be carried out at this stage:
- Synthesize, organize and present the information obtained Be able to carry out an analysis and synthesis of information It is important not to copy and paste information Use diagrams, synoptic charts, tables and graphs for a better understanding of the information Know how to make, structure and write a report or test.
Decision making
Decision making is very common in day-to-day organizations. The moments in which a decision has to be made are significant for a firm, since by means of these a specific problem or situation can be studied that is valued and deeply considered to choose the most appropriate path to follow according to the different options and operations..
When a manager faces decision making in his organization, in addition to widely understanding the situation that arises, he must have the ability to analyze, evaluate and gather the necessary information in order to find reasonable solutions; that is, trying to make the best decisions based on rationality and in a reliable way.
One of the bases on which good decision-making is sustained in any organization refers to the use of knowledge, since if the decision-maker has previously evaluated knowledge, either of the events that contain the problem or in a context both internal as external to it. It is important to mention that the decision-making that takes place within organizations must meet certain characteristics such as:
- Be fast and timely Based on concrete information Low cost for the company
conclusion
Currently in the kind of dynamic and changing economy that companies face; Competitiveness and the use of information are an important and indispensable element for the organization, since for it to achieve permanence and the ability to respond as well as adapt to change, it must make use of all its competences.
The speed with which a company adapts to changes generates a competitive advantage where human capital, as well as the analysis of qualitative and quantitative information, are a vital part of increasing said competitiveness, so it is important that the company has the capacity of facing certain changes.
Therefore, it can be interpreted that the diffuse information creates a series of problems within the organization, since it slows down the operations causing significant losses within the organization, which is why the importance of the analysis of the diffuse information is considered. It is essential to have a clear knowledge to make timely decisions within the company.
Thesis topic
Classification of the fuzzy information of the 2017 sales of the company XY SA de CV
Thesis objective
Discerning and classifying the diffuse sales information of 2017 in the company XY SA de CV to achieve a much more objective sales projection according to the decision-making of marketing strategies.
Bibliography
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Thanks
To God, for all his blessings.
To my parents, they have been a fundamental support in every step I take. My pillar, my livelihood. Infinite thanks!
My sisters, Marilyn, Vicky and Jessy since the responsibility came with you.
To CONACYT and PNPCC for accepting me in their program and allowing me to realize the dream of studying a postgraduate degree.
To the Orizaba Technological Institute for allowing me to face a new challenge, for professionalizing me and obtaining new knowledge.
To Dr. Aguirre y-Hernández, for his interest in training quality professionals, for the motivation, for his classes at 7 in the morning, for his punctuality.
To each and every one of my teachers who taught me so much. Example of teaching and life.
