Make an outline of the text.

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 606.

TEXT 2

Think of an appropriate title for the text.

Read the definitions and find corresponding words or expressions.

From: media.techtarget.com

1. computer software
2. particular use something has
3. an imaginary point separating two different qualities, ideas etc
4. to perform operations (e.g., handling, merging, sorting, and computing) upon data in accordance with strictly defined procedures
5. to change something into something else
6. to communicate ideas, feelings etc indirectly
7. not interpreted facts and figures
8. an understanding of the true nature of something
9. consisting of facts that have not been examined or organised

4. Explain the difference between data, information and knowledge, providing examples from the sphere of management.

Informix, a software development company, carried out a survey in 1999 to examine how decisions are made in different organisations around the world, and to find out how well the available information, in all its forms, supported the decision making process.

A general finding was that managers, even when they are supported by a multitude of different information sources, find decision making extremely stressful. Most of these managers quoted examples of major decisions that were made incorrectly in the previous six months, and the larger the organisation, the more likely it was to have had a problem. Among the most important negative effects on decision making was using limited, incorrect or misinterpreted data. Some key findings of the survey:

♦ 32 per cent of the sample had made an important business decision in the past six months based on hope or luck.

♦ 33 per cent of managers ignore relevant data either when making a decision in the first place or when it becomes apparent that a decision has been incorrect.

♦ the single biggest cause of stress in decision making is a lack of information.