It is well known that a company is an organization. And that in turn organizations are a set of different factors that come together in order to achieve various activities always taking into account order and work. However, in order to carry out some activities within organizations, they are seen in the need to investigate some factor of interest or they can even generate some new type of knowledge, and that is why the search tasks must be carried out of information.
Likewise, when we personally find ourselves in the task of exploring what a certain organization is, we have to make sure that what we are finding with our research methods is as clear and as close to reality as possible, since failure to do so runs the problem. risk that our information obtained is erroneous.
Returning to what organizations are, it is well known that they have the need for information at all times since they need to understand the environment that surrounds them and if so, be able to detect opportunities that arise to have a competitive advantage over others. companies that have the same line of business.
This is how sometimes it is possible to find information that is not very convenient or that in some way is not clear for the needs of the organization in question and this is how we arrive at diffuse information and in turn finding this type of Information can represent a barrier or obstacle to the achievement of the objectives of an organization.
DIFFUSE INFORMATION
Before being able to interpret what diffuse information is, it must be understood in the best way what information is and what this concept comprises, that although we believe we know it in depth, we will see that it is not so.
Information. “It is made up of a group of data already supervised and ordered, which serve to build a message based on a certain phenomenon or entity. Information allows solving problems and making decisions, since its rational use is the basis of knowledge. " (definition of, SF)
As could be seen in the previous definition, the information is a set of supposedly revised data, however, on many occasions the information is of doubtful origin, therefore it must be mechanized very well in the search for information.
Once the information has already been acquired by the interested party, an analysis of said information is carried out, with which the interested person may establish a decision-making process according to the knowledge that he has been able to acquire from the information already collected.
Below is a diagram by which a person or organization can gain knowledge through data.
Knowledge acquisition. Diagram
As can be seen in the previous figure, the process to acquire knowledge begins by obtaining different data that are of interest to the person or organization. The data obtained is processed continuously by carrying out a study of what was obtained. After having processed the data obtained, conclusions can be drawn and useful information obtained. Finally, the information obtained through the previous steps is studied and thus some kind of knowledge can be obtained.
Now, once we have broadly understood what the concept of information is and what it comprises, let us continue with the concept of "diffuse".
Diffuse. "Vague, blurred, unclear" (www.wordreference.com, 2005). As can be seen, the aforementioned definition of diffuse refers to something that is not well known or that it can be said that it is incomplete or that it is not clear at all, it is for them that organizations must avoid that the information they seek is of this way.
Once the concepts of information and fuzzy are understood, a joint definition can be obtained for the term fuzzy information, it is a well-organized set of data which is not clear or precise at all.
It is because of the above that the correct management and information within a company can give the organization better hope of being successful in the future and being able to have some kind of advantage over the competition.
The information obtained by organizations must meet certain characteristics which are listed below.
- The information obtained by the organizations must fulfill the main function for which the search is made, which is to provide new knowledge to people and the organization in general so that uncertainty and ignorance can be reduced. of stakeholders. It is in this case that the usefulness of the information for the organization can be measured according to the help it provides to individuals so that they can carry out a correct decision-making process for the purposes and objectives that are convenient for the organization. In addition, the information obtained by companies must generate a certain margin of competitiveness, since the capacities that a company has to create products not only depend on the external market,customer tastes and demands, but it is also important to know the information that comes from the external environment of the organization.
Even to improve the competitiveness of an organization it is essential to obtain information before the companies with which there is a certain point of competence, either directly or indirectly.
Now, the information that is diffuse after some type of investigation with which a company seeks a benefit or knowledge, must be handled in a different way from other types of information that is rich or complete.
The process for handling fuzzy information is shown below:
Process of handling diffuse information (Osorio Cortés, 2013)
This process that is mentioned to be able to treat the diffuse information that can be obtained through an investigation process must be established from the top management of the organizations, since that is where the information and knowledge needs arise, these needs arise from the cover some interest or goal.
INFORMATION NEEDS
Within the information systems cycle, there is a process called “information needs analysis”. These information needs are "investigations capable of providing relevant information to carry out an adequate planning of the information system". (Castillo, 2004)
Now, the information that is needed can be obtained from different sources and can be required by each of the levels of the company, since each level usually requires different types of information, for example:
- Upper level. This level is mainly made up of all executives, managers and all the people who have high command within the organizations. At this level, the information that can usually be required is for the design of strategies that thus guide the direction that the company will follow in the future, and that if necessary allow it to expand. The information required at this level is also usually very specific and punctual.
- Medium level. This level is made up of area managers, administrators and all those mid-level positions.At this level, the information that is needed is almost always to be able to establish commercial strategies, such as advertising campaigns, offers and promotions in the event that a new product is required to be marketed. Also the information required at this level can become more refined than at the higher level.
- Operative Level. This level is regularly made up of the lowest positions in the organization, which can be salespeople, operators, workers, etc. The information that is required at this level is usually for the execution of different tasks of the organization, such as maintenance tasks of some equipment or things like that.
The information required at this level is even more detailed and specific than at the two highest levels, since these jobs are more immersed in the most fundamental activities of the organization, such as the production processes or quality controls.
To obtain the information that is needed at all levels of the organization, all four sources that exist can be used, which are:
- Internal sources. They are sources that are within the organization. Clear examples of these sources of information can be internal databases, financial statements, inventory records, sales records, cost records, organization personnel, etc.
- External sources. They are sources that are outside the organization. Such as the internet, government offices, competitor businesses, suppliers, distributors, clients, newspapers, magazines, news, publications, etc. In these sources you can obtain information regarding statistics, trends, preferences and other things that are being presented in the market.
There is also a sub-classification of these sources of information which are:
- Primary sources. The primary sources of information are those obtained first-hand by the company.
These sources of information are usually more expensive than secondary sources. These sources are used when there is no presence of secondary sources or when the information obtained from these sources turns out to be diffuse.
Clear examples of information obtained through primary sources are "people surveyed, interviewed or probed for market research, company personnel, sales records, sales personnel, etc." (Grow Business, 2012)
- Secondary sources. These sources are those that provide information which already has a support because it is information that has already been published and also used for some purpose similar to that needed by the organization.
These sources of information do not have an economic impact as high as the primary sources, in addition to that they can be obtained more quickly, so these sources of information must be sought and analyzed before the primary sources.
Clear examples that can be seen from secondary sources are: "company databases, commercial databases, government entities, associations, chambers of commerce, statistical institutes, universities, research centers, trade fairs, libraries, books, newspapers, magazines, publications, etc. " (Grow Business, 2012)
CONCLUSIONS
As it could be analyzed, fuzzy information is an essential part that must be avoided when an organization searches for information, since having fuzzy information can lead to some kind of bias in the objectives to be achieved through the use of This information that is being collected, which is why it must be stated very clearly what is to be resolved in order to avoid having diffuse information.
In the same way, it was observed that one way to avoid contracting this type of information is through the use of secondary sources, since these sources have already been published and approved by different organizations, whether they are government agencies, statistical institutions or even indexed journals.
REFERENCES
- Castillo, L. (2004). it is. Retrieved on February 28, 2016, from http://www.uv.es/macas/T11.pdfCrece Negocios. (2012). com. Retrieved on February 28, 2016, from http://www.crecenegocios.com/fuentes-de-informacion/de. (SF). Retrieved on February 28, 2016, from definicion.de/informacion/Osorio Cortés, CA (2013). com. Retrieved on February 28, 2016, from http://www.gestiopolis.com/manejo-de-informacion-difusa-enlas-organizaciones/wordreference.com. (2005). Retrieved February 28, 2016, from
