...Information Flow and its use in Business Organizations John J. Miller II CIS 207/Information Systems Fundamentals University of Phoenix Information Flow and Business Use Historically information flowed into organizations via many different methods, and often still is, and was very difficult to access, verify, and otherwise use the information simply because many of the systems in place did not communicate with each other. The purpose of this paper will be to briefly describe how information moves into, around, and out of an organization and why that information is important to the organization. I will also discuss how this information is safe guarded from unauthorized use. Information “Information refers to data that have been organized so that they have meaning and value to the recipient.” “Data items refer to an elementary description of things, events, activities, and transactions that are recorded, classified, and stored but not organized to convey any specific meaning.” (Rainer, Cegielski, 2011, pp. 13) The purpose of Information Systems (IS) is to gather data from various sources and compile it into information that is of use to the person requesting it. As stated above though, this has not always been the case. In the matter of Executive Information Systems (EIS) data was not outputted into a standardized format, and it was extremely difficult to generate customized or ad hoc reports. Information Technology (IT) architecture...
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...of Phoenix INFORMATION USE PAPER IT/205 Ivy Chiangwa Matthew Juliana April 24, 2015 This paper will discuss various aspects related to how information is used and how it flows in an organization. I will try to gain further insight by identifying the information flow in my current place of employment. Other than discussing the use of information, this paper will also discuss the various challenges in controlling the information flow and how can organization keep it safe from unauthorized use. Information flow and use in an organization It is important to first discuss information before describing its uses and how it flows. Information refers to data that has been organized in a way to give meaning and value to the recipient (Rainer & Cegielski, 2011). In an organization, the information can refer to various events, activities in a workplace or various transactions that are recorded and organized to convey a meaning. Information can also be contained in facts, ideas, imagination, opinions which can be present in various media such as print, audio and video (Olowu, 2004). Data is gathered using information systems which further process this data to convert it into useful information. Information is a necessity in every part of the organization such as finance, human resource, management, sales etc. Without information, the organization would collapse since information is the life blood of modern organizations (Opara, 2003). Usually information flows in two ways in...
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...Statement of Cash Flows Statement of Cash Flows Accounting is the major means of organizing and summarizing information regarding economic activities. The information provided by the accounting practices through financial reporting helps decision makers make appropriate business decisions. The statement of cash flows is one of the three primary financial reports that companies should include in external financial reports to its users according to the generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). The statement of cash flows provides pertinent information to its users. The Primary Purpose of Cash Flows “The primary purpose of the statement of cash flows is to show the changes in cash of a company from one period to the next” (Kieso, Weygandt & Warfield, 2007, p. 1121). The statement of cash flows focuses on the sources and uses of cash during a period. Another important purpose of the statement of cash flows is to explain the changes in cash and provide information related to the company’s operating, investing and financing activities to provide means for a company to implement strategies in short-term analysis and cash planning of the business for future benefit. Information Provided by Cash Flows “The statement of cash flows provides information to help creditors, investors, and other stakeholders to assess the company’s ability to generate future cash flows, assess the company’s ability to meet obligations and pay dividends, to understand the reasons for...
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...Information Use Crystal Mays-Hammond IT/205 July 27, 2014 Juan Vega Information, an essential asset for organizations, is always difficult to manage effectively—and it is even more so in periods of economic turmoil and transition, when complexity increases and the stakes are higher. For the past decade or more, organizations have been striving to build more open and collaborative relationships with their customers, partners, suppliers, and other stakeholders. When the recession took hold, many such initiatives took a back seat as cost-cutting became first priority. Organizations collect and distribute information. An organization uses information strategically in three areas: to make sense of change in its environment; to create new knowledge for innovation; and to make decisions about courses of action. These apparently distinct processes are in fact complementary pieces of a larger canvas, and the information behaviors analyzed in each approach interweave into a richer explanation of information use in organizations. Through sense making, people in an organization give meaning to the events and actions of the organization. Through knowledge creation, the insights of individuals are converted into knowledge that can be used to design new products or improve performance. Finally, in decision making, understanding and knowledge are focused on the selection of and commitment to an appropriate course of action. By holistically managing its sense making, knowledge building...
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...Information Use Paper Anthony Michelli IT/205 May 12, 2014 Michael Peterson Information Use Paper Information runs in a circular pattern. Much like how water cycles through a water plant, into a plumbing system, which can then go into different buildings and those buildings pass the water down back into the plumbing system. Organizations use information in a similar fashion where a customer will give information of a purchase, that purchase information is then stored into a database. From the database, the credit card information or other needed information when regarding purchases goes to the appropriate destinations such as banks, warehouses, distribution centers, etc. From those destinations, the information is passed back into a database. These patterns are referred to as information flows. The information flows allow an organization to carry out their services or distribute products. The more effective an information flow, the more effective an organization operates, flourishes, and expands and a business or non profit organization. Due to what information can do for an organization, information is kept closely guarded and is treated as a valuable piece of any organization and is considered a material resource. The information flow patterns are heavily secured as one organization would not want their information, nor their consumer’s sensitive information, to be compromised by an outside entity. Information, when treated as a material resource, helps managers...
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...of cash flow's primary purpose is to provide information regarding a company's cash inflows and outflows during a specified accounting period. This paper will focus more on how cash flow is helpful to external users. The statement of cash flow complements the income statement and the balance sheet. When credit decisions are made, many factors must be assessed. According to FASB (SFAS-95, paragraph 5) the information on actual cash flows is useful to help creditors, investors, and other external parties asses (1) the ability of an enterprise to generate positive future net cash flows, meet its obligations, and pay dividends; (2) the needs for external financing; (3) the reasons for the differences between cash flow from operating activities and net income (or change in net assets); and (4) the effects on financial position of cash and non-cash investing and financing activities. Cash flows are classified as operating, investing, or financing activities. Operating activities relates to company’s primary revenue generating activities such as cash generated from the sale of goods and cash paid from merchandise. Investing activities includes lending money and collecting on loans related to noncurrent assets. For example, cash generated from the sale of land. Financing activities include borrowing and repaying money from creditors related to noncurrent liabilities and owners’ equity. The goal is for company to have a positive cash flow from operating. This is the area that a company...
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...Statement of Cash Flows Paper ”What is the purpose of the statement of cash flows? What information does it provide”(Kieso, Weygandt, & Warfield, p. 1253)? Companies provide four statements to abide by the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). These financial statements are the income statement, equity statement, the balance statement, and the statement of cash flows. Each statement provides different types of information necessary to make a knowledgeable decision about a investing in company. The statement of cash flows is useful because it ” provides information on a cash basis about an organization operating, investing, and financing activities” (Kieso, Weygandt, & Warfield, p. 1213). Each of these methods is important to users and provides different information. It also provides information on the inflow and outflow of cash during an accounting period. The statement of cash flows presents this information in either the indirect method or the direct method. The statement of cash flows uses is to provide information about its ability to generate cash in the future. This information may come from three sources the income statement, the balance sheet, and select cash transaction data. The income statement provides the operating activities cash flow. The balance sheet provides the changes in assets, liabilities, and equities. It also shows how the company pays dividends and meets it financial obligations to creditors and investors. Select cash transactions have...
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... | |U10230366, U1008620 ,U0929909 | Table of Contents 1. Brief History of British Airways 3 The decision making process 4 British Airways uses the following information tools at its strategic level. 4 Executive Support System (ESS) 5 Senior management in BA use the following information tools. 6 Transaction Processing Systems (TPS) 7 Roles for Management Information Systems in British Airways 8 References: 9 Entity Relationship Diagram (ERD) 10 The Entities: 11 Entities and Attributes: 11 Entities and Attributes 2 12 First cut ERD Diagram for ELRSC. 13 Normalisation Diagram 14 Requirement Specification for the E L R C System 16 Use case Description for ELRSC 18 Screen shot of use case For ELRSC. 34 Screen Shot Turnitin Report 35 1. Brief History of British Airways The purpose of this project is explore how information systems helps organisations to make decisions at different levels to achieve set objectives and...
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...Information Use Information Use Information can be used in a variety of ways in today’s world. Companies use it to track profits and losses others use it to see into future trends so they can make informed decisions about where their business should be in a certain market. According to Opara (2003) “Information is the life blood of modern organizations.” Without information organizations would be making decisions blind. Information in a modern organization flows in a circular motion. For an example of how a major car dealership uses information it gathers. A customer who is prospecting for a new vehicle enters a car dealership not sure of what kind of vehicle he or she may want. An associate greats the new customer and asks a few question to discover what the customer is looking for. This would be the input information that the associate will use to enter into an information system (IS) from this system the associate can help the customer choose what vehicle he or she may be looking for. The information is presented to the customer, after looking at the information the customer chooses a vehicle he or she wants to purchase. The associate inputs his or her personal information into an IS to qualify the customer for financing the vehicle. The information is used by the finance department to set up the financial obligation that the customer will have to pay. Once again the information is cycled back to the customer for his or her input. After the sale of the vehicle the information...
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...CHAPTER THIRTEEN The Cash Flow Statement and Decisions Review Previous chapters examined the information provided by the income statement, balance sheet, and statement of changes in owners’ equity. Fits Where This Chapter In addition, a brief introduction to the cash flow statement was provided in Chapters 2 and 3. Where This Chapter Fits This chapter examines the cash flow statement in depth and focuses on how the information provided by this important statement is used for financial decisions. Looking Ahead Chapters 14 and 15 complete an in-depth look at the Looking Ahead financial statements and how the information provided is useful for decision making. 492 The Personal View The Business View Why am I always broke? My job pays a de- The German company Siemens is a $60 cent salary, but somehow I never have billion conglomerate that manufactures cash when I need it. I get paid on the first everything from power stations to semi- of the month, but most of that goes for rent conductors. The company is known for its and food. My car payment is due on the expert cash management and earns as tenth, but I don’t get paid again until the fif- much from interest income as from manu- teenth. Once I make my car payment and facturing. It is sometimes regarded as “a pay the late charges, I’ve used up most of bank with an electronics department at- that paycheck. Then come the credit card ...
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...How Information Is Used and How It Flows In an Organization Student’s Name Class Title Due Date Instructor’s Name How Information Is Used and How It Flows In an Organization Information flows in different directions and different means: formally and informally, downward, upward and even horizontally through various levels. According to Opara, “information is the life blood of modern organizations” (Opara, 2003). Without “information”, organizations would most likely collapse as information is required to run the day-to-day doings of a business. Olowu states that “information entails data, facts, imaginations, ideas, opinions and cultural values in a variety of media which includes print, audio-visual materials and electronic processes” (Olowu, 2004). This shows how information flows within and between cultural groups. This represents an important part of “alternative conceptualization” (Nissen, 2002), which focuses on transaction (e.g. data to information, information to knowledge). This means data is necessary to produce information which, in turn, is necessary for creating knowledge that is conveyed (e.g. via paper, network, speech and observable action). And C.C. Aguolu feels that information is “the message of human experience” (Aguolu, 2002); rather, what is basically a stimulus assumes a response in the receiver, and possesses a response itself. This message can be made in any medium, in any language or in any subject. Some psychologists have even described...
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...the main data and process modeling techniques. During data and process modeling, a system analyst develops graphical models to show how the system transforms data into useful information. The end product of the data and process modeling is a logical model that will support business operations and hopefully meets user needs. Data and process modeling involves three main tools: data flow diagrams, a data dictionary, and process descriptions. Many analysts use a four-model approach, which involves physical model of the current system, a logical model of the current system, a logical model of the new system and a physical model of the new system. * Sequence: One or many of the steps might represent a sub process that contains additional logical structures. * Selection: The completion of one of two or more process steps based on the results of a test or condition. * Iteration: The completion of a process step that is repeated until a specific condition changes. * An example of iteration is a process that continues to print paychecks until it reaches the end of the payroll file. Iteration also is called looping. 2. Describe Gane and Sarson symbols used for processes, data flows, data stores, and entities. Give four examples of typical names for processes, data flows, data stores, and entities. The Gane and Sarson symbol set is used for drawing a DFD’s; Yourdon is another set. A Process Symbol receives input data and produces output...
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...Direct and Indirect Cash Flows Rochelle Hicks XACC/291 Rashad Abdullah The cash flow statement provides information for managers and investors of how well a business is managing its cash that is coming in and going out. Businesses need liquid assets to pay bill and buy inventory. If assets are not readily available, bills cannot get paid and new inventory cannot be purchased (Petryni, 2016). The direct method and indirect method of cash flows are different due to the cash flows from operating activities, the first portion of the statement of cash flows. There is no difference in the cash flows in the investing and financing activities portion of the statement of cash flows. The cash flows from operating activities include cash from customers and cash paid to suppliers using the direct method. Net income, followed by adjustments needed to convert the total net income to the cash amount from operating activities is reported using the indirect method. A reconciliation of net income to the cash provided by operating activities is reported under the direct method but under the indirect method it is done automatically. For the most part corporations, us the indirect method of cash flows (Averkamp, 2016). The Financial Accounting Standards Board recommends the direct method of cash flows but allows corporations to use the direct and indirect method of cash flows because they both report net cash flow from operating activities. A statement of cash flows is a requirement as part...
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...Direct and Indirect Cash Flows XAC/291 When a company has to revenue and expenses on its income statements, they often have the choice of using a direct or indirect presentation of cash flow. Direct presentation of cash flow begins with cash from sales and is deducted from the operating expenses to conclude to a net cash flow from expenses. Cash from operations come from customers, cash paid to suppliers, employees and other expenses. One of the reoccurring problems with the direct presentation of cash flows is the inability to find or track information in regards to the cash flows. Companies would have to make alterations in order to find where cash and credit would have come from in hopes to narrow down their search for specific information. The indirect presentation of cash flow begins with the net income from the income statement, unlike the direct presentation of cash flow, and separated into three sections known as Expenses, ash, and Revenues. Ultimately, what is being done is that the net income would be adjusted from accrual to cash. Accounts that fall into the use of the indirect method are inventory, supplies, accounts receivable, unearned revenues, liabilities, and prepaid assets. Depreciation, amortization, and losses are some of the methods that would be typically used while performing an indirect presentation of cash flows. The indirect method uses all available information to come to a conclusion and is often said to be the...
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...The chart of accounts lists all the accounts that a company uses in its accounting system. The accounts are usully organized into the following sequence. 1. Asset accounts Examples: * Cash | (Amount of cash on hand) | * Accounts Receivables | (Amount owed to the company for services performed or products sold, where the cash has not yet been received) | * Property and Equipment | (Amount of land, buildings and equipment) | * Prepaid Insurance | (Insurance paid in advance, but not yet used) | 2. Liability accounts Examples: * Accounts Payable | (Amount owed to suppliers of goods or services that the company received but has not yet paid) | * Unearned Revenues | (Amount received in advance for goods that the company did not deliver yet or for services that the comapny did not produce yet) | * Salaries Payable | (Amount owed to employees for work performed but not yet paid) | 3. Stockholders' Equity accounts Examples: * Capital Stock | (Amount the company received from investors when it issued stock) | * Retained Earnings | (Accumulated net income that has not been distributed as dividends) | * Dividends | (Amount distributed to stockholders) | 4. Revenue accounts Examples: * Sales | (Amount earned from selling goods to customers) | * Service Revenue | (Amount earned from providing services to clients) | 5. Expense accounts. Examples: * Salaries...
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