Unit 5 Revision - Alness Academy Business Studies



Standard Grade

Administration

Area of Study 1: Administrative Support

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Unit 5 – Sources of Information

Student Name

CONTENTS PAGE

Lesson 1 – Identify, access and extract information 3

The type of information organisations require 3

Sources of information used by organisations 3

Paper-based sources of information used by organisations 4

ICT-based sources of information 5

Lesson 2 – Interpret information 9

Lesson 1 – Identify, access and extract information

identify, access and extract information – paper-based & electronic: CD ROM, the Internet, computer files, remote databases, reference books, directories and people F

The type of information organisations require

• train/air/ferry services and times

• weather forecasts

• road conditions

• hotels

• garages

• services, eg courier, office supplies, printing agency, service engineer and taxi

• foreign exchange rates

• spelling and meaning of words

• phone and fax numbers

• Royal Mail postal services

Sources of information used by organisations

People

Face-to-face conversations, meetings, phone conversations, etc.

Paper-based

Books, directories, newspapers, brochures, leaflets, manuals, catalogues, lists, records, files, etc.

ICT-based

TV (teletext), e-mail, electronic diary, CD-ROM, company files, company intranet, the Internet, etc.

Paper-based sources of information used by organisations

Whitacker’s Almanack

Previous year’s main events, government, local government, UK statistics, countries of the world, finance, royal family, peerage, parliament, education, defence, etc.

Pears Cyclopaedia

Historical events, prominent people, public affairs, politics, science, etc.

Roget’s Thesaurus

Synonyms (words of similar meaning) are arranged together – refer to when an alternative work is required.

Who’s Who

Biographies (brief life histories) of famous living people.

The Phone Book

• Names, addresses and phone numbers of subscribers (business and residential)

• Business fax numbers

• Information on phone services

• Useful numbers (Police, Citizens’ Advice, Hospitals, etc)

• National codes

• International information

Yellow Pages

Names, addresses, phone and fax numbers classified by trades and professions.

Chambers Dictionary

Meanings of words, spellings of words, parts of speech, derivation of words, abbreviations, etc.

Atlas of the World

Maps of countries, climate, transport, population, land use, agriculture, etc.

AA/RAC Handbooks

Road travel, road maps, hotels, garages, etc.

Hansard

Verbatim (word for word) reports of proceedings in Parliament.

ICT-based sources of information

TV (Teletext/Ceefax)

News, finance, TV guides, entertainment, share prices, weather, road conditions, sports news, foreign exchange rates, train and air services, etc.

Computer Files

Word-processed documents, spreadsheet worksheets, database files and records, etc.

CD-ROM

Some examples of the types of information available on CD-ROM includes: road maps and routes, census information, back issues of newspapers, magazines and journals, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Who’s Who, etc.

E-mail

Electronic Diary

Times and dates of meetings and appointments, names and addresses of customers, phone and fax numbers, e-mail addresses, priorities lists, etc.

Intranet

• An intranet is a form of internal computer network – information on an intranet is usually available only to the organisation’s employees.

• An intranet allows an organisation’s employees to share software applications and data.

• The intranet server stores all the data – workstations are connected to the server.

• Access to the organisation’s intranet is controlled by the organisation.

• Most intranets use the same technologies as the Internet – data is likely to be displayed in the format of web pages.

• Employees can create pages of information, eg employees’ phone numbers, to be viewed by other employees.

|Advantages of Intranets |Disadvantages of Intranets |

|Employees are provided with fast and easy access to the same, |Staff require training to set up pages and to use the intranet. |

|up-to-date information from any of the organisation’s workstations. | |

|Should reduce costs of reproducing and circulating information, eg |If the network breaks down, staff may be unable to access software |

|the internal phone directory can be placed on the intranet, |applications or data. |

|eliminating the need to issue paper copies to all employees. | |

|The same versions of applications are accessed from the intranet |Computer network may be costly to set up. |

|server. | |

|Reduced software application costs. | |

|Staff can access training packages/electronic diary/policy | |

|documents/email, etc | |

|Standardised documents/templates can be stored for employees to | |

|access etc | |

|Incoming mail can be scanned and accessed electronically | |

Uses

• Any frequently-consulted document (eg price lists, newsletters, customer/ supplier lists, organisational policies/procedures, internal job vacancies, staff handbooks and annual reports) can be placed on the intranet.

• Newsgroups can be set up which allow groups of employees to exchange information.

• A site can be set up to display answers to ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ (FAQs).

Internet

What is the Internet? The Internet is an open-access worldwide communications network which links vast numbers of computers and computer networks. The computer networks which make up the Internet are operated by governments, universities, colleges and commercial organisations.

What do you need to access the Internet? To access the Internet you will need a computer, modem (internal or external) to connect the computer to the phone network, a phone line, an account with an Internet Service Provider (ISP – eg AOL) and communications software.

What services are available on the Internet? E-mail, newsgroups (allowing users who have common special interests or hobbies to ‘talk’ to each other and share information), e-commerce (the sale and purchase of goods and services on the Internet), etc.

Internet Terminology

Search Engines (Eg Yahoo, Google, Alta Vista, Lycos) - These help users to locate information by looking through the opening words of each website and creating an index of sites. This index is then matched with the search word(s) keyed in by the user.

Hyperlinks – Links to other web pages through highlighted words or images. By clicking on a hyperlink the user jumps to another page on the same website or to a different website.

Encryption – Encryption software puts messages into code so if the message being sent is intercepted it cannot be read. This is useful for confidential or sensitive information being sent over the Internet or through e-mail. The recipient must, of course, have the necessary software and password/key to decode the message.

Home Page – The first web page which a user sees when he/she accesses the World Wide Web. A user can choose any web page as his/her Home Page.

Web Browser – Software used to access the World Wide Web (eg Microsoft Internet Explorer).

Favourites/Bookmarks – A facility which allows the users to save the addresses of web pages which they are likely to visit frequently. Instead of keying in a long web page address each time, the user simply has to click on the saved address.

Advantages of using the Internet as a Source of Information

• Access to a wide range of information

• Information is usually up-to-date

• Using a search engine and key words/phrases allows speedy access

• The Internet is available 24/7

• Information is available instantly (eg, availability of rooms/flights)

Disadvantages of using the Internet as a Source of Information

• There is no guarantee that websites contain accurate information

• Internet connections are not always available

• Accessing required information may be time-consuming

How does an organisation create its own website?

1. Rents space on an ISP’s host computer.

2. Designs the web pages which are to make up the website.

3. Places the pages on the ISP’s host computer.

4. Advertises the existence of the website (on letterheads, business cards, mailshots, etc).

Information to be included on a Website

• Contact details

• Product information – pictures/specifications/prices etc

• History of her business/About us

• Frequently Asked Questions

• Dance information such as dance schools in the area/dance teachers in

• local area

• Jobs available

• Shipping information – delivery times and dates

User-friendly Websites will include:

• Search facility

• Contents/menu

• Hyperlinks/Hotspots

• Graphics/Pictures of products (if not used above)

• Easy to remember URL

• E-commerce

• Secure site

Browser Buttons

[pic] Takes user back to previous web page.

[pic] Takes user forward again

[pic] Stops a web page being loaded

[pic] Loads a fresh version of the current web page

[pic] Takes user back to his/her Home Page

[pic] Allows user to search for information

[pic] When selected, a list of stored web page addresses is shown – user then selects the web page to be loaded

[pic] Prints web page

[pic] Activates e-mail facilities

Lesson 2 – Interpret information

interpret information – paper-based & electronic G

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