Internal Information and External Information

Internal Information

This is information held within the organisation. e.g. Sales figures, employee records, manager reports.

Advantages of Internal Information

It is easily accessible
It is only available to the organisation

Disadvantages of Internal Information

May be out-of date
It is limited in nature

External Information

This is information gained outwith the organisation such as Goverment statistics or competitor accounts.

Advantages of External Information

used with PESTEC analysis
wider amount of information available

Disadvantages of External Information

Could be biased
Irrelevant
Can be expensive to gain

Uses of Information in Business

There are 4 main uses of information in organisations.

Monitoring and control
Decision-making
Measuring performance
Identifying new business opportunities

Monitoring and control

Businesses will compare actual performance against its predicted (budgeted) performance. Then they will act upon it.

Decision-making

When managers are ready to make tough choices (decisions) they need good, accurate and up-to-date information. If they act without relevant information it could lead to disaster, and failure.

Measuring performance

Organisations can compare their sales figures with their competitors or indeed against their own previous years.

Identifying new business opportunities

Organisations are always on the lookout for gaps in the market. They fill these gaps with suitable products or services to satisfy customer needs.