Question 1: What is the nature of Information? Explain how individuals interpret data to become information.

Answer: Data that is (1) accurate and timely, (2) specific and organized for a purpose, (3) presented within a context that gives it meaning and relevance, and (4) can lead to an increase in understanding and decrease in uncertainty, is called an information.

Information is valuable because it can affect behavior, a decision, or an outcome. For example, if a manager is told his/her company's net profit decreased in the past month, he/she may use this information as a reason to cut financial spending for the next month. A piece of information is considered valueless if, after receiving it, things remain unchanged. For a technical definition of information see information theory.

Data analysis is a practice in which raw data is ordered and organized so that useful information can be extracted from it. The process of organizing and thinking about data is a key to understanding what the data does and does not contain. There are a variety of ways in which people can approach data analysis, and it is notoriously easy to manipulate data during the analysis phase to push certain conclusions or agendas. For this reason, it is important to pay attention when data analysis is presented, and to think critically about the data and the conclusions which were drawn.

Raw data can take a variety of forms, including measurements, survey responses, and observations. In its raw form, this information can be incredibly useful, but also overwhelming. Over the course of the data analysis process, the raw data is ordered in a way which will be useful. For example, survey results may be tallied, so that people can see at a glance how many people answered the survey, and how people responded to specific questions.

In the course of organizing the data, trends often emerge, and these trends can be highlighted in the writeup of the data to ensure that readers take note. In a casual survey of ice cream preferences, for example, more women than men might express a fondness for chocolate, and this could be a point of interest for the researcher. Modeling the data with the use of mathematics and other tools can sometimes exaggerate such points of interest in the data, making them easier for the researcher to see.
Charts, graphs, and textual write ups of data are all forms of data analysis. These methods are designed to refine and distill the data so that readers can glean interesting information without needing to sort through all of the data on their own. Summarizing data is often critical to supporting arguments made with that data, as is presenting the data in a clear and understandable way. The raw data may also be included in the form of an appendix so that people can look up specifics for themselves.
When people encounter summarized data and conclusions, they should view them critically. Asking where the data is from is important, as is asking about the sampling method used to collect the data, and the size of the sample. If the source of the data appears to have a conflict of interest with the type of data being gathered, this can call the results into question. Likewise, data gathered from a small sample or a sample which is not truly random may be of questionable utility. Reputable researchers will always provide information about the data gathering techniques used, the source of funding, and the point of the data collection in the beginning of the analysis so that readers can think about this information while they review the analysis.
Turning monitoring data into useful information a process that involves several steps:

1) Data Entry: This involves getting your raw data into a computer so that you can store it and retrieve it for analysis. It includes two steps:
a. Entry: Data should be entered into a computer data management application.
b. Validation: The entered data must be checked against the field and lab sheets to assure that it has been entered correctly.

2) Summary: The data is put into a form that allows you to view it as a whole, such as simple statistics, tables, and graphs.

3) Data Interpretation: This involves asking a series of questions about your data that relate to your study question(s). Your answers to these questions are organized as findings and conclusions. Based on these, you may develop recommendations for action or further study.

4) Presenting Your Results: Present your findings, conclusions, and recommendations in a form that best tells the story of your river. This story can be told in text and selected tables and graphs that are organized into an oral presentation and/or a written report.
Your presentation or report should be geared to the audience you are trying to reach.

Question 4: Explain the stages in Decision Making Process.

Answer: Decision making is a daily activity for any human being. There is no exception about that. When it comes to business organizations, decision making is a habit and a process as well. Effective and successful decisions make profit to the company and unsuccessful ones make losses. Therefore, corporate decision making process is the most critical process in any organization.
In the decision making process, we choose one course of action from a few possible alternatives. In the process of decision making, we may use many tools, techniques and perceptions. In addition, we may make our own private decisions or may prefer a collective decision. Usually, decision making is hard. Majority of corporate decisions involve some level of dissatisfaction or conflict with another party.
Stages of Decision Making Process:
Following are the important steps of the decision making process. Each step may be supported by different tools and techniques.
Step 1: Identification of the purpose of the decision:
In this step, the problem is thoroughly analyzed. There are a couple of questions one should ask when it comes to identifying the purpose of the decision.
• What exactly is the problem?
• Why the problem should be solved?
• Who are the affected parties of the problem?
• Does the problem have a deadline or a specific time-line?
Step 2: Information gathering:
A problem of an organization will have many stakeholders. In addition, there can be dozens of factors involved and affected by the problem. In the process of solving the problem, you will have to gather as much as information related to the factors and stakeholders involved in the problem. For the process of information gathering, tools such as 'Check Sheets' can be effectively used.
Step 3: Principles for judging the alternatives:
In this step, the baseline criteria for judging the alternatives should be set up. When it comes to defining the criteria, organizational goals as well as the corporate culture should be taken into consideration. As an example, profit is one of the main concerns in every decision making process. Companies usually do not make decisions that reduce profits, unless it is an exceptional case. Likewise, baseline principles should be identified related to the problem in hand.
Step 4: Brainstorm and analyze the different choices:
For this step, brainstorming to list down all the ideas is the best option. Before the idea generation step, it is vital to understand the causes of the problem and prioritization of causes. For this, you can make use of Cause-and-Effect diagrams and Pareto Chart tool. Cause-and-Effect diagram helps you to identify all possible causes of the problem and Pareto chart helps you to prioritize and identify the causes with highest effect. Then, you can move on generating all possible solutions (alternatives) for the problem in hand.

Step 5: Evaluation of alternatives:
Use your judgment principles and decision-making criteria to evaluate each alternative. In this step, experience and effectiveness of the judgment principles come into play. You need to compare each alternative for their positives and negatives.
Step 6: Select the best alternative:
Once you go through from Step 1 to Step 5, this step is easy. In addition, the selection of the best alternative is an informed decision since you have already followed a methodology to derive and select the best alternative.
Step 7: Execute the decision:
Convert your decision into a plan or a sequence of activities. Execute your plan by yourself or with the help of subordinates.
Step 8: Evaluate the results:
Evaluate the outcome of your decision. See whether there is anything you should learn and then correct in future decision making. This is one of the best practices that will improve your decision-making skills.
When it comes to making decisions, one should always weigh the positive and negative business consequences and should favor the positive outcomes. This avoids the possible losses to the organization and keeps the company running with a sustained growth. Sometimes, avoiding decision making seems easier; especially, when you get into a lot of confrontation after making the tough decision. But, making the decisions and accepting its consequences is the only way to stay in control of your corporate life and time.
Question 2: Explain the major trends that have drastically altered the way organizations use technology.
Answer:
A major feature of information technology is the changes that IT brings. There are about 6 major trends or changes that have radically transformed the way technology is used. These trends make it influential that a manager becomes familiar with both the practice of technology and how to control it in the organization. These trends are as mentioned below.

1. The Use of technology to transform the organization: - The collective effect of what all the technology organizations are installing is to alter the organization and allow new types of organizational structures. Sometimes the transformation occurs slowly as one unit in an organization begins to use groupware. This ability of IT to transform organization is one of the most powerful tools available to a manager today.

2. The use of information processing technology as a part of corporate strategy: -
Organizations implementing information systems that give them an edge on the competition, Firms that prosper in the upcoming years will be managed by individuals who are able to develop creative, strategic applications of technology.

3. Technology as a pervasive part of the work environment: - From the largest corporations to the smallest business, technology is used to reduce labor, improve quality, provide better parts and control production.

4. The use of technology to support knowledge workers: - The PC has tremendous appeal. It is easy to use and has a variety of powerful software programs available that can dramatically increase the user’s productivity. When connected to network within the organization and to the internet, it is a tremendous tool for knowledge workers.

5. The evolution of computer from a computational device to medium for communications: - Computers first replaced punched card equipment and were used for purely computational tasks. From the large centralized computers, the technology evolved in to desktop, personal computers. When users wanted access to information stored in different locations, companies developed networks to link terminals and computers to other computers. These networks have grown and become a medium for internal and external communications with other organization. In Today’s time, for many of the workers communications aspects of computers are more important than their computational capabilities.

6. The Growth of the internet and World Wide Web: - The internet offers a tremendous amount of information on-line, information that you can search from your computer. Networks link people and organizations together, greatly speeding up the process of communications. The internet makes expertise available regardless of time and distance, and provides access to conformation at any location connected to internet. Companies can expand their geographic scope electronically without having to open branch offices. The internet leads naturally to electronic commerce- creating new ways to market, contract for, and complete transactions.

Question 5: Explain the Impact of Information Technology on organization.

Answer:

Information Technology is essentially a wide and varied field. In fact, it’s not farfetched to say that Information Technology is practically involved in every aspect of one’s life. So it’s only natural that something as ubiquitous as I.T. plays a major part in business.
There are several macro trends that IT is enabling in our economy that will have a transformational impact on business and the family entrepreneur:
• The globalization of intellectual capital -- with the availability of high-speed networks and English increasingly as a universal language, it is easier than ever to have intellectual work such as research and analysis performed by specialists anywhere in the world. In today's global market, Indian doctors analyze x-rays for U.S.-based patients and Filipino analysts write Wall Street investment reports, as work gets outsourced to the lowest cost, highest-skilled workers. The threat of this trend is that someone with similar skills may "underbid" you in their willingness to work at a lower rate, while the opportunities include selling your intellectual capital to a broader, global market
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• The accessibility of information -- the availability, quality, and speed of information are all combining to transform our work and personal lives. Whether you are "Googling" to find a local pizzeria or researching a service provider, information access has never been easier. The threat is that many traditional information-based business models will be replaced by online digital business models, while the opportunities include the ability to work faster and deliver a higher quality product, often independent of employer location.
• The replacement of labor -- low skill jobs that involve repetitive, non-cognitive processes are increasingly "automated away" by technology. Whether it is production robots that weld auto frames 24x7 or computer software that can analyze reams of information in a split second, jobs with lower skill content continue to be replaced by IT. This threatens lower-skilled workers that are candidates for replacement, while the opportunities mean a lower-cost, higher quality product for product-based companies.
• The increase in spans of control -- IT enables faster and easier communication and better monitoring of worker's activities, allowing supervisors to manage larger numbers of workers in disparate locations. While this threatens the jobs of lower-level supervisors, the opportunities for flatter organizations and leaner, lower cost production means companies that are more competitive in the marketplace.
• The collaborative work environment -- more information-based services are delivered through collaborative efforts of others, many times unknown to each other. From networking sites such as LinkedIn to collaborative information and product communities such as Wikipedia and Linux, information is increasingly delivered collaboratively, creating new venues for work. The threats include a loss of market share by companies without collaborative mediums and the opportunities are for companies to tap into a vast knowledge pool that directly apply their services via contract work that results in faster and richer results.

The massive impact of the new economic realities made possible by IT is literally creating a tectonic shift in business. Given this, opportunities exist for a creative entrepreneurial family leader to translate his skills and experience into a new lifestyle and integrate his work and family life by reordering the means through which he produces value. This is easier for knowledge workers in information-based industries, but possibilities also exist in service- and product-based industries. The key is to focus on critical processes that can be leveraged with IT and outsourced to the benefit of the customer organization. It could be as simple as redefining the terms of your current employment to work from home, or as much as launching a new venture that delivers a better price and/or quality than is currently offered.