Principles of Managing Information and Producing Documents free essay sample

Principles of managing information and producing documents Assessment You should use this file to complete your Assessment. †¢ The first thing you need to do is save a copy of this document, either onto your computer or a disk †¢ Then work through your Assessment, remembering to save your work regularly †¢ When you’ve finished, print out a copy to keep for reference †¢ Then, go to www. vision2learn. com and send your completed Assessment to your tutor via your My Study area – make sure it is clearly marked with your name, the course title and the Unit and Assessment number. Please note that this Assessment document has 5 pages and is made up of 4 Sections. IMPORTANT: All attachments referred to within this assessment (attached at the end of this document) are to be treated in strictest confidence. Name: Section 1 – Understand the purpose of information technology in a business environment 1. In relation to your current business environment (or one that you are familiar with), identify at least two different types of information technology that may be used when completing work tasks. We will write a custom essay sample on Principles of Managing Information and Producing Documents or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Information technology is a broad term which encompasses computer hardware, networking, computer security applications, internet and web technologies, and application software development. Some forms of information technology that I use when completing work tasks are: †¢ Spreadsheets †¢ Word processing †¢ Databases †¢ Mobile technology †¢ Presentation software 2. What are the benefits to businesses (and others) of using information technology for doing work tasks? Information technology benefits a business by allowing it to work more efficiently and effectively to maximise productivity. Benefits are: Faster communication for example email communication †¢ Electronic storage †¢ Enhanced protection of information †¢ Information sharing is made easier through electronic storage and communication †¢ Geographical barriers are removed †¢ Cost savings †¢ Streamlined business processes †¢ Time Savings †¢ Cultural gaps are reduc ed, as Information Technology has led to a worldwide language Section 2 – Understand how to manage electronic and paper-based information 1. Explain the purpose of agreeing objectives and deadlines when researching information. If possible, refer to specific examples from research tasks you have worked on to support your answer. It is important to agree objectives when doing research to ensure that the required information is researched. By having these objectives agreed, is allows the researcher to focus on getting the desire result and thus not wasting resources and time. Objectives which should be agreed are: †¢ Deadline †¢ What information is required †¢ Who will be reviewing the information †¢ How is the information to be displayed A personal example of this is the data requirements for a campaign that has been requested. The full details of what is required of me, and the outcomes are detailed within the mailing design – Appendix 1. This document will have been produced with my feedback as well as stakeholders, to ensure that we are all looking at the same outcome. What I produce at the end of this, through the databases for which I conduct this research is a full list of who should be communicated too in the desired layout. 2. Identify the different ways of researching, organising and reporting information. †¢ Outline Method This is a very tidy, structured and useful method for researching, organising and reporting information. It is however, difficult to maintain if you are not using it in an electronic format. When using it in its electronic format is it easy to move and edit text as you work. †¢ Note cards This is manual way of recording the information that your have researched. They can be easily shifted and reorganised to create a final order for the information you have researched. Cards can be various colours to identify importance. There are however some drawbacks for using this method: a) Difficult to transport b) Can easily get out of order, unless appropriately stored c) Difficult to relay information to an audience †¢ Highlighting and Book marking This method is most practical when researching with books. If the books are not your own, it does mean that some photocopying is required. Highlighting could be done with different colours to represent importance and relevance. Book marking is to show where highlighting has taken place, this enable you to not have to page through the books again, when you are creating your report. †¢ Writing as you read Most people find this the easiest method when trying to create a report when researching information. The reason that this is found to be the easiest is that the word processing software enable the user to easily edit and move text as you work. Whilst this method eliminates the step of collecting your research and then transposing it to the computer, it doesn’t work for everyone. Not one method is the correct method, and they can be comibined. I myself combine all of the above methods, when researching, organising and reporting information. 3a) For your own organisation (or one you know well), describe the procedures that need to be followed when archiving, retrieving and deleting information. Your answer should cover procedures for both electronic and paper-based information. Information storage, retrieval and destruction procedures for my company are detailed within the Records Management Policy (Appendix 2). For us records are defined as either relevant or Non-relevant. Non-relevant records, either electronic ore paper, have no legal requirement to be kept and are therefore required to be disposed of as soon as is practical. Archiving – dependant on the Record type, will define for how long the record should be archived before it can be destroyed. The retention period is determined by referring to the retention schedule (Appendix 3) †¢ Archiving (Electronic based) Within our organisation there is no process required for us to archive our emails, as this is automatically done and managed through our email programme. For other electronic documents there is a specific process to be followed: All records need to be logged on the appropriate Business Log with all relevant information and the folder appropriately names with the destruction date at the end. The files themselves are not actually archived but continue to be held on the electronic drive until the destruction date. †¢ Archiving (Paper based) 1. Use the standard filing boxes 2. Do not store non-relevant records . Complete the box label (include the destruction date as defined by the Retention schedule) 4. Remove the Bank’s copy of the bar code 5. Stick the bank’s copy of the bar code to the Master Record Form 6. Use the bar code Master Record Form to record what is in the box and its destruction date. 7. Contact the Barclays National Records transport department to orga nise to collection of your archive boxes. 8. Send a copy of the Master Record Form to the Barclays National Records Department, remembering to keep a copy for your own records (in case of a retrieval request being received) Retrieving (electronic based) When a retrieval request is received, the leadership team has 24 hours to identify the records to be retrieved. The formal retrieval of the records should take place within 5 working days of the request being received. To retrieve the record: 1. Refer to the Business list of Records to determine which folder the information is stored in. 2. Go to the folder and retrieve the record. 3. Send to the requester, as defined within the request. †¢ Retrieving (Paper based) When a retrieval request is received, the leadership team has 24 hours to identify the records to be retrieved.