Managing Communications, Knowledge and Infromation

Assessment Brief
Unit and Assessment Details Course Title: Unit Number: Unit Title: Assessor: Internal Verifier: Assessment Title: Assessment Method: Assessing in: Number of Words: Outcomes Covered: Issue Date: Pre-Submission Date(s): Due Date: HND Business 16 Managing Communications, Knowledge and Information Bilal Ahmad Naveed Ali (Center Head) Knowledge workers in 21st century Report Individually 3500 1,2, 3,4 8th January, 2013 25th February, 2013

Statement of authenticity College No. Learner Name Learner Signature

Learners Declaration: I confirm that the work submitted for this assignment is my own. Date

Outcomes Covered Outcome No. 1 2 3 4 Description Assess information and knowledge needs internally and externally to improve decision making and taking Create strategies to increase personal networking to widen involvement in the decision-making process Develop communication processes to improve the gathering and dissemination of information and organisational knowledge Design and improve appropriate systems for the collection, storage and dissemination of and access to the information and knowledge gathered.

NOTE: Attach this page as first page of your report and the remaining pages at the end of your report. Page 1/8

Managing Communications, Knowledge and Infromation

Purpose The purpose of this assignment is to make student learn about Information and knowledge needs and communication processes of organizations and is asked to document his/her findings in a report. Select one organization from the following list; 1. Rehman Medical Institute 2. Pakistan Railways 3. Daewoo 4. National Bank of Pakistan 5. Tourism Corporation Khyber Pakhtunkhwa http://www.kptourism.com/ 6. Soneri Bank 7. ChenOne 8. Junaid Jamshed 9. Jubilee Insurance 10. Wateen

Information and Knowledge Needs For you selected company; Reference Material- Chapter 7: Information and knowledge needs

Identify which Organizational Decisions are taken and (how are they taken) Classify Organizational Decisions as o Structured o Unstructured o Semi-structured Classify Organizational Decisions according to the Management Level o Strategic o Tactical o Operational Identify information and knowledge (relevant and available for your selected organization) needed to ensure effective decisions are taken o At Strategic Level ( future demand estimates, new product development plans, competitor analysis, forecast sales growth, profitability, market share, population demographics, public attitudes) o At Tactical Level (Stock turnover, Customer satisfaction rating, percentage spent on administration) o At Operational Level (material and labor used and stock levels, customer waiting time, and individual customer feedback, staff timesheets, attendance record) o Knowledge in the form of; (attach as evidence and comment about the document/finding) Presentations and reports Patents and licences Manuals, policy documents, and catalogues Meetings and training materials Page 2/8

Managing Communications, Knowledge and Infromation

Assess what specific information is provided by various departments (production, finance, HR, marketing, sales etc) for making effective decisions Identify what external information is collected and used by your selected company from government reports, newspapers, magazines, TV, Radio, and internet on (daily, weekly, monthly basis) Categories the data collected by your chosen company as primary and secondary data Identify which Management Information System is used by your selected company Identify one issue (in any department) in your selected company (the information that you have collected will help you to determine). Suggest strategies for making an effective decision to tackle/solve the identified issue

Assessment Criteria 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4 Personal Networking For your selected company; Assume you are hired as ambassador in your selected company in one of the departments (production, finance, HR, marketing, sales etc) Reference Material- Chapter 7: Information and knowledge needs Identify personnel including customers, other stakeholders and other experts Make contact with those identified and develop business relationships. (Provide evidence) You can network: o Holding a meeting with an identified person o By phones o Email o Using Social Network Involve those identified in decision making as appropriate (For this task, use the issue identified in the 1st outcome, assuming you are a manager in one of the departments. Suggest networking strategies to management of your chosen company for improving business relationship

Assessment Criteria 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4

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Managing Communications, Knowledge and Infromation

Communication Processes For your selected company; Reference Material- Chapter 8: Develop communication processes

Identify communication tools (for example conversation, meeting, memorandum, letter, report, presentation, telephone, Email etc.) Evaluate the advantages and limitations of identified tools in your chosen company After evaluation, suggest improvements in the tools used by company considering following factors o Choosing the communication channel (time, complexity, distance, written record, feedback, confidentiality, recipient, cost) o Changing environment (new working practices, flat management structures, MNCs, people working from home, downsizing) o Changing communication (higher speed, wider access to information, 24-7 communication, use of multimedia content, personalization Propose an implementation plan for your improvements Justify your implementation plan ensuring greater integration of systems/processes of communication in your selected organization Assuming you work in one of the departments of your chosen company, Identify your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (Refer to page 295-302) and develop a personal plan to improve your own communication skills

Assessment Criteria 3.1, 3.2, 3.3

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Managing Communications, Knowledge and Infromation

Appropriate Systems for Information & Knowledge For your selected company; Reference Material- Chapter 9: Improve systems relating to information and knowledge
For your chosen company; Identify methods of collection, formatting, storage, disseminating information and knowledge. Which Systems approach is being used and why? (Hard, soft or both) Has company got through (or going through) a change brought by IT (Information Technology)? Types of changes are automation, rationalization and re-engineering etc. (Refer to figure 9.5 p-320) Comment if there is a system for Knowledge Management in your chosen company? What kind of database is used and why? How is company its website and email system for disseminating knowledge and information?

Based on what you collected/reported in the last task, propose and justify appropriate changes to improve the collection, formatting, storage, disseminating information and knowledge. Please do mention your implementation strategies for your chosen company. Implement a strategy to improve access to systems of information and knowledge to others as appropriate (pg 337-340)

Assessment Criteria 4.1, 4.2, 4.3

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Required Evidence Report (Your report should be approximately 3000 words and you are likely to be penalized if it exceeds 3500 words. If you feel it is essential to include detailed information, put it in an appendix and refer to this appendix in the text. Your sources of information should be clearly identified) Notes to Students The Assignment should have a cover page that has assignment title, assignment number, course title, unit title, lecturer / tutor name and students name. Attach all the pages of assignment brief with your report Ensure that statement of authenticity has been signed Contents sheet with a list of all headings and page numbers Use 12 point Arial or Times New Roman font Your assignment should be word-processed and should not exceed 3000 words in length. Exhibits / appendices are outside this limit Use the Harvard Referencing System All work should be comprehensively referenced and all sources must be acknowledged fully. This includes books & journals used as well websites visited. Details such as page numbers, publishers and publication year should also be stated, in addition to the name of the author(s) and publication. Books, articles and journals should be the main sources; online sources are allowed up to 05% Pages should be numbered (bottom right hand corner) Spell-check the document and read thoroughly for grammatical errors 1.5 line spacing is preferred

Required Resources HND Course book General Instructions Books and online resources can be accessed at the College Library and Central Computer Lab Visits need to be arranged and made to the organizations. For meeting the respective managers, the college will provide a reference letter for the project and the manager of the organization is welcome to contact the administration at the college

Plagiarism Policy The college has strict penalty for plagiarism and the assignment will be cancelled if the assignment is observed for this. The definition and scope of plagiarism are presented below: Plagiarism occurs when a student misrepresents, as his/her own work, the work, written or otherwise, of any other person (including another student) or of any institution. Examples of forms of plagiarism include: Page 6/8

Managing Communications, Knowledge and Infromation

The verbatim (word for word) copying of anothers work without appropriate and correctly presented acknowledgement; The close paraphrasing of anothers work by simply changing a few words or altering the order of presentation, without appropriate and correctly presented acknowledgement; Unacknowledged quotation of phrases from anothers work; The deliberate and detailed presentation of anothers concept as ones own.

All types of work submitted by students are covered by this definition, including, written work, diagrams, designs, engineering drawings and pictures. Grading Statement (For Report) Pass
1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 3.1 3.2 3.3 4.1 4.2 4.3 Identify the range of decisions to be taken Review information and knowledge needed to ensure effective decision taking Assess internal and external sources of information and understanding Make recommendations for improvement Identify personnel including customers, other stakeholders and other experts Make contact with those identified and develop business relationships Involve those identified in decision making as appropriate Suggest strategies for improvement Evaluate existing processes of communication in an organisation and look to ensure and improve appropriateness Implement and justify improvements to ensure greater integration of systems of communication in that organisation On a personal level, identify weaknesses and develop a personal plan to improve communication skills Evaluate existing approaches to the collection, formatting, storage, disseminating information and knowledge Implement and justify appropriate changes to improve the collection, formatting, storage, disseminating information and knowledge Implement a strategy to improve access to systems of information and knowledge to others as appropriate

Merit
M1 M2 Identify and apply strategies to find appropriate solutions An effective approach to study and research has been applied Select and apply appropriate techniques Report should have proper citations and reference list to all sources including your field-visit observations, books, magazines and other material used for research Present and communicate appropriate findings A range of methods of presentation has been used and technical language have been accurately used

M3

Distinction
D1 D2 D3 Use critical reflection to evaluate own work and justify valid conclusions Conclusions have been arrived at through synthesis of ideas and have been justified Take responsibility for managing and organizing activities Substantial activities, projects or investigations have been planned, managed and organized Demonstrate creative thinking - Self evaluation has taken place

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Feedback to Learner

Criteria

Feedback to learner (Evidence presented against the published criteria)

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