Information Sources
Sources of information are those items which you can obtain information necessary for decision making in the company.
At each level of the company, it usually requires different types of information, including:
- At the top level (made up of executives, managers, etc.) May require information necessary to design strategies that determine the course of the company, or allowing their expansion (often require specific and timely information.)
- At the middle level (made up of leaders, managers, etc..) May require information necessary to design business strategies (often require more detailed than the previous level).
- At the operational level (made by operators, vendors.) It may require information necessary for the execution of tasks (often require more detailed than the previous level).
And to obtain the required information is used sources of information, which can be divided into internal and external sources:
Internal sources
Sources are found within the company.
Examples of internal sources can be the internal database (which, for example, allow information relating to customers), financial statements (which, for example, can obtain information regarding the financial situation of the company), records inventory, sales records, records of costs, the company staff, etc.
External sources
They are the sources that are outside the company.
Examples of external sources may be Internet (web pages from government agencies, competitive websites, etc.), Government offices, local competition, suppliers, distributors, customers, newspapers, magazines, etc., Where You can obtain information regarding statistics, trends, preferences, etc.
Also, sources of information also can be classified into primary and secondary sources:
Primary Sources
They are the sources that provide information or data “first hand”, ie information obtained directly from the company.
Primary sources, generally are more expensive than the secondary sources should be used when there are no secondary sources, or when the latter provided information is insufficient or inadequate.
Examples of primary sources can be the people surveyed, interviewed or surveyed for market research, personnel of the company, sales records, sales staff, etc.
Secondary sources
They are the sources that provide information or data that have already been published or collected for different purposes at present.
Secondary sources, in general, are inexpensive and are obtained quickly, so it must be sought first before the primary sources.
Examples of secondary sources are the databases of the enterprise database business, government, associations, chambers of commerce, statistical institutes, universities, research centers, trade fairs, libraries, books, newspapers, magazines, etc.