Symbols

These symbols may be used throughout this guide

Activity: complete an activity before you read any further, and on

completion you may need to seek feedback from your facilitator.

Audio: listen to the audio clip as it is relevant to the topic being discussed.

Case study: information relating to the unit case study with examples of
procedures and documentation.

Did you know? an interesting fact that is relevant to the topic being
discussed.

Discussion: this means a discussion topic to participate in, follow the

instructions for where this discussion should take place.

Document: a document containing further information.

Example: an example to help you understand.

Important: take special note of the information provided because it is an

important point or concept.

Legislation: related legislation (statutory law).

Reading: indicates information either in the learner guide or linked to

external content relevant to topic being discussed.

Reflection: think about what you have learnt.

Research: conduct external research.

Safety: important information relating to workplace health and safety.

Scenario: an imagined or projected sequence of events, with detailed plans

or possibilities.

Self-check: check your understanding of the material you have covered.

Sustainability: useful tips for sustainable work practices.

Tip: indicates helpful ideas or tips relevant to the topic being discussed.

Video: view the media clip as it is relevant to the topic being discussed.

Web link: follow the web link displayed as it is relevant to the topic being
discussed.
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................5
Chapter 1. Identify key information sources..............................................................6
Identify information repositories across the business............................................6
Review current organisational documentation.......................................................6
Develop critical questions to elicit information from key stakeholders using a
mixture of open and closed questions....................................................................6
Chapter 2 Gather data..............................................................................................17
Use a wide range of information gathering techniques........................................17
Review reports and other data sources for business information........................17
Confirm with stakeholders business critical factors relating to current and future
directions of the organisation...............................................................................17
Chapter 3. Prepare data analysis for review.............................................................30
Analyse group and individual responses to clearly define business priorities......30
Document data analysis for review according to organisational standards..........30
Bibliography:.........................................................................................................41
INTRODUCTION
This workbook is about the skills and knowledge required for:

 Identify key information sources

 Gather data
 Prepare data analysis for review

This learner guide will help students to learn about identifying key
information of the business including information repositories,
organisational documents including financial, annual report. You will also
learn how to write critical questions for the survey.

You will learn different techniques to collect stakeholder information, review different report, identify
business critical success factors.
CHAPTER 1. IDENTIFY KEY INFORMATION SOURCES
This chapter will help you learn about the following:

 Identify information repositories across the business

 Review current organisational documentation
 Develop critical questions to elicit information from key stakeholders using a mixture
of open and closed questions

1.1 Identify information repositories across the business

What is repository?

In information technology, a repository is a central place in which an aggregation of data is

kept and maintained in an organised way, usually in computer storage. The term is from the
Latin repositorium, a vessel or chamber in which things can be placed, and it can mean a
place where things are collected.

Depending on how the term is used, a repository may be directly accessible to users or may
be a place from which specific databases, files, or documents are obtained for further
relocation or distribution in a network. A repository may be just the aggregation of data
itself into some accessible place of storage or it may also imply some ability to selectively
extract data. Related terms are data warehouse and data mining.

Information repository

Common internal repository is the business documentation that the business produces or
works with. This can include such things as sales data, financial data, policies and
procedures, websites, forms and other documents that the business uses.
 Common methods of identifying business documentation that is relevant is to talk to
stakeholders, observer employees doing work tasks, and instructions in policies and
procedures.

The importance of information repository

Over the past few years, a large number of organisations have initiated some type of
Business Process Management strategy. These strategies have taken many different forms
from requiring individual business units or departments to document work procedures to
enterprise-wide recognition of the importance of aligning business processes with the
financial and operational health of the organisation.

At one end of the spectrum countless binders detailing individual work procedures line the
cubicle shelves while at the other end automated tools are used to maintain and integrate
business processes with the daily execution of critical applications. In the latter case, they
are often considered core assets of the organisation.

How an organisation stores the information about its business processes presents a clue as
to whether they are considered merely nice-to-have documentation or true business assets.
As documentation, they are used primarily as reference material for the daily activities of
the organisation. However, as often happens with documentation, it quickly becomes out of
date and adherence is difficult to monitor and enforce. As assets, integration with the
automated tools of the organisation provides a means to ensure timely maintenance and
adherence.

A Business Process Repository is a central location for storing information about how an
enterprise operates. This information may be contained in various media including paper,
film or electronic form with a storage mechanism appropriate to the medium. Electronic
repositories range from passive containers which store process artifacts (also referred to as
process objects) to sophisticated tools that serve as active participants in monitoring,
executing, managing and reporting on business processes.

They come in the form of Document Management Systems, Process Modelling Tools and
Business Process Management Systems. Administration of a Business Process Repository
includes activities such as storing, managing and changing process knowledge (objects,
relationships, enablers, attributes, business rules, performance measures and models) for an
enterprise. It includes creating the repository structure; defining and maintaining
procedures to ensure changes are controlled, validated and approved; mapping processes to
applications and data, and providing the required infrastructure to enable effective and
consistent use of the models in the repository.

A repository of business processes provides a central reference location to ensure consistent

communication about what each process is, how it should be applied, who is responsible for
its successful execution, a clear understanding of the inputs or triggers and what the
expected results should be upon process completion. It maintains information needed to
adequately define measure, analyse, improve and control business processes. It helps to
promote and support the understanding and acceptance of the cross-functional nature of
many of the enterprise’s business processes and facilitates collaboration across functional
business units by enabling and enforcing a methodology that focuses on the end-to-end
process.

A centralised Business Process Repository is critical to the success of the enterprise’s

business process strategy by providing a blueprint to manage and control how process
change is introduced and implemented into the enterprise. It also becomes the system of
record for information on process ownership, technological enablers, business rules and
controls, both financial and operational. It may serve primarily as documentation about the
enterprise’s business processes or may be used to simulate various scenarios to evaluate
process improvements and to detect and analyse problems. It can also be used to identify
and validate the appropriate solution. Sophisticated repositories can be interfaced with the
enterprise’s applications to enforce defined business rules.

Google site as an information repository

Today, a growing number of businesses are using Google Sites as part of Google business
apps to build their company intranets and internal project sites. Google Sites makes it easy
for businesses to create secure web pages with the capacity to support intranet, team
projects or client extranets. Easy in the sense that you really do not need HTML coding or
web design experience to get your Google Sites operating system up and running.

With Google Sites you can use its cloud-based capability to centralise your presentations,
documents, spreadsheets, slideshows, videos, and more--which is good for business
collaboration requirements. Google Sites comes with Google business apps as a fully hosted
offering. You really do not need any software to deploy or servers to maintain. All that is
provided for you with Google Sites is retention of full control of your documents and with
whom you share any information is protected.

Core benefits of google sites:

Many small to medium business employees, C-level executives (CEOs, CFOs, and COOs) as
well as IT/email managers and administrative assistants have found Google Sites as part of
Google business apps easy to integrate into business systems. Google sites is the ultimate
Google cloud solutions provider with three major benefits that can be discussed this way:

 The anywhere/anytime access capability to the corporate intranet for distributed or

remote users: Google sites is securely powered by the web which means you can
access company pages from your desk, on the road, at home and on your mobile
phone. As an end user of Google Sites, you can even update content yourself
anywhere, any place and you don't have to be the expert with web design skills. And
sure enough, there is no additional software to purchase, all you can get from Google
Sites is included in Google apps subscription. The Google Drive (GDrive) operating
system will allow you that unrestricted access to files "anywhere", "anytime". It is an
"any" file backup system you can roll out with a desktop client and web access. What
is great about Google Sites is that it provides you the capacity to integrate your
operating system with all your online services and personal devices--granting you
 unlimited storage and access which is just what your business needs to be agile in
ways that will support your growth.
 Google Sites capacity to work across operating systems: Google sites has the
flexibility to work primarily with web applications. What Google Sites does best is to
keep everything synced so you can access the same data from any operating
platform. Google's Android-based operating system allows your business to have a
uniform look and feel across the many devices you may have from multiple
manufacturers and your contacts, calendar, and other data among employees
become properly synchronised. Of course, the Android platform have proven to be
more flexible, reliable and cost effective for small businesses. And to date, there are
more and more Android activations--up to 900 million activations with 48 billion apps
downloaded according to a recent Google report. You may think that Apple owns the
mobile market, but there is data to show that 75% of all smart phones sold are
Android based. Even more, the beauty with Google Sites operating system is that it is
more open for developers to continue to create new custom applications for
businesses and the system itself works efficiently in any browser--be it a PC, Mac, or
Linux computers.
 Google Sites functionality with system and site-level security controls: With Google
Sites you have a full documents security controls built-in system. Your data remain
secure and Google has a commitment to respect the privacy of information placed in
their systems. As such, Google Sites operating system offers end users the capacity to
manage site sharing permissions across the business, and authors can share and
revoke file access at anytime that help keep information safe. Google Sites
functionality with system and site-level security controls is a Google's security
objective is made whole by a multi-layered security strategy that provides controls at
multiple levels of data storage, access and transfer. Google values the privacy
confidentiality, integrity and availability of data which is key for business
sustainability and growth.
1.2 Review current organisational documentation

Why It Is Important to Review Policies and Procedures

For some people, the idea of an employee policy manual brings to mind an image of a dusty
binder sitting on a shelf.

These people tend to think of policies and procedures as inflexible and unchanging. Once
they are created, they are in place for good.

But this is a flawed and problematic view of policies and procedures. Effective policy and
procedure management requires far more than just creating a manual to sit on a shelf.

Policies and procedures are living documents that should grow and adapt with a company.
While the core elements of policy may stay the same, the details should change with the
industry and the organisation.

Policy review and revision is a crucial part of an effective policy and procedure management
plan.

Outdated policies can leave your organisation at risk. Old policies may fail to comply with
new laws and regulations. They may not address new systems or technology, which can
result in inconsistent practices.

Regularly reviewing policies and procedures keeps your organization up to date with
regulations, technology, and industry best practices. Policy review ensures that your policies
are consistent and effective.

Reviewing policies and procedures is especially important for high-risk or highly regulated
industries such as healthcare, public safety, banking, and more. But organizations in every
industry should regularly review and revise their company policies.

When to Review Policies and Procedures

With all the pressing daily tasks in the workplace, it’s easy for policy review to fall through
the cracks. Administrators may know that it’s important to review policies and procedures,
but other tasks take precedence.

However, policy review is best when it’s done regularly and proactively. Company leaders
shouldn’t wait for an incident to occur before they review and update company policies.

Regular policy and procedure review

The best way to proactively tackle policy and procedure review is just to build it into the
corporate calendar.

As a general rule, every policy should be reviewed every, one to three years. But most
experts recommend reviewing policies annually.
Policy review doesn’t have to be as daunting a task as it sounds. A good policy management
software will let you set up workflows to collaborate with your policy review committee,
gather feedback, and track approvals.

Organisational changes

When your organization goes through large-scale changes, it’s a good idea to review
relevant policies. Policies should line up with the company’s mission, vision, and values. So, if
you have a change in strategic direction or a reorganization, it’s important to review policies
to make sure they align with the changes.

These kinds of changes won't affect every policy. For example, a new structure probably
won’t impact a vacation policy. But it may change other day-to-day policies and processes.

Changes to laws or regulations

Corporate laws and regulations change constantly. Compliance teams need to be aware of
the changes and know which policies they impact.

If there is a big regulatory change, you may need to gather your policy review committee for
a special meeting instead of waiting until the regularly scheduled review time.

Adopting the changes into your policies as soon as possible helps you start to adjust your
workplace to the new regulations. If you build them into your policies early on, you’ll have a
smooth transition into compliance when the new laws go into effect.

Identifying Policies and Procedures That Need to Be Updated

Policy review doesn’t always result in policy revision. Sometimes, you may need to make big
changes to address new regulations or gaps in policy. Other times, you may just make a few
small tweaks.

And sometimes, the policy works as-is, with no revisions.

You’re not going to change or rewrite your policy manual every year. So how do you know
which policies need to be updated?

How to Update Policies

Once you’ve established a regular policy review schedule and identified policies that need
updating, it’s time to get to work on policy revisions.

Here are some best practices for updating policies and procedures:

Determine who is involved with this policy

Your policy writing team will differ depending on the policy. It could include supervisors who
oversee the procedures, managers, HR directors, or executives. Try to gather a diverse group
of people from different departments who have a say in that part of the business.
Once you’ve decided on your team, explain why a change is needed, and what needs to
happen.

If it’s a small change, it may be as simple as recommending the specific changes in language
or phrasing. In other cases – especially in the case of changes to laws or regulations – it may
be a more involved change process. You may need to gather input from subject matter
experts or general counsel.

If your organisation is accredited, be sure to include the accreditation manager as well so

they can ensure the wording meets the accreditation standards.

Document all comments and changes to the policy

As you consult with your policy writing team, make sure to document all comments, notes,
and input from every team member.

Often, it’s helpful to appoint one policy owner to gather all the feedback and make the final
edits. But you don’t want any essential feedback to slip through the cracks.

PowerDMS

PolicyHub

myPolicies
1.3 Develop critical questions to elicit information from key stakeholders using a
mixture of open and closed questions

Open and closed questions

Closed questions are those which can be answered in a few words or less. They fish for facts
and are akin to multiple choice questions on a test.

Open questions, on the other hand, solicit the other person’s thoughts, feelings, and/or
interests and can be answered in ways that are more diverse and expansive. They’re more
like essay questions, and the genius of them is that they’re accordion-like in nature: rather
than putting people on the spot, open-ended questions allow them to reveal more or less
about themselves, depending on their comfort level.

As Alan Garner lists in Conversationally Speaking, open and closed questions tend to begin
with different respective words:

Close-Ended

 Are?
 Do?
 Who?
 When?
 Where?
 Which?

Both

 What?

Open-Ended

 How?
 Why
 In what way?

One closed question fired right after another can make a conversation feel more like a
shallow, stilted interview.

In contrast, open questions cause the responder to reflect and reveal a little more about
themselves, which people generally enjoy doing. And because they demonstrate the asker’s
curiosity and interest in the other person, the other person reciprocally becomes more
interested in the asker. Plus, open-ended questions take the conversation deeper, which
makes it a more satisfying experience for both parties.

How to Ask Questions that Prompt Critical Thinking

 Avoid questions that have an easy one-dimensional answer.

  Plan your questions in advance, utilise Bloom's Taxonomy to identify whether they
are likely to prompt, “higher order thinking”.

Example Question Constructs

1: Knowledge Exhibits previously learned material by recalling facts, terms, basic concepts
and answers.

 What is . . . ?
 When did ____ happen?
 How would you explain . . . ?
 Why did . .. ?
 How would you describe . .. ?

2: Comprehension Demonstrating understanding of facts and ideas by organising,

comparing, translating, interpreting, giving descriptions and stating main ideas.

 How would you compare . .. ? contrast.. ?

 Explain in your own words . . . ?
 What facts or ideas show . .. ?
 What evidence is there that…?

3: Application Solving problems by applying acquired knowledge, facts, techniques and rules
in a different way.

 What examples can you find to . . . ?

 How would you show your understanding of. .. ?
 What approach would you use to ... ?
 What might have happened if. . . ?
 4: Analysis Examining and breaking information into parts by identifying motives or causes;
making inferences and finding evidence to support generalisations.

 What inference can you make from. . . ?

 How would you classify . . . ?
 How would you categorise . .. ?
 Can you identify the difference parts... ?

5: Evaluation Presenting and defending opinions by making judgements about information,

validity of ideas or quality of work based on a set of criteria.

 How would you compare ……?

 Which do you think is better….?
 Evaluate contribution of ….. to …………….
 What was the value or importance of …….. in …………..?
 What would you have recommended if you had been ……?

6: Creation / Synthesis: Compiling information together in a different way by combining

elements in a new pattern or proposing alternative solutions.

 What might have happened if… ?

 Can you propose an alternative interpretation to that of ……. . ?

Use Google Forms to create a survey

Google Forms provide a fast way to create an online survey, with responses collected in an online
spreadsheet. Create your survey and invite respondents by email. People answer your questions from
almost any web browser - including mobile smartphone and tablet browsers. You view each response in
a single row of a spreadsheet, with each question shown in a column. And Google Forms is free.

Please follow the ink to create a survey through Google Form.

https://www.google.com.au/forms/about/
CHAPTER 2: GATHER DATA
This chapter will help you learn about the following:

 Use a wide range of information gathering techniques

 Review reports and other data sources for business information
 Confirm with stakeholder’s business critical factors relating to current and future
directions of the organisation

2.1 Use a wide range of information gathering techniques

What is Information Gathering?

Information gathering helps the individual and the organisation to undertake complicated
tasks that would otherwise be extremely hard to accomplish if not outrightly impossible
without the benefit of gathered information. information gathering is the act of collecting
information from various sources through various means.

In the literal sense, information gathering is a basic human skill necessary for undertaking
basic human activities such as eating, sleeping, working etc. For in order to eat, one must
know if the food is edible or not; and in order to sleep, one must know if the sleeping place
is comfortable or not.

As applied in the fields of business and other specialised organisations (scientific, military,
academic) however, information gathering is an advanced skill which requires the training
and education of personnel in the procedures and methods of gathering information from
sources that are of higher level than ordinary sources. In the case of interviewing
personalities for example, a researcher usually gets to interview authorities and proper
officials, and thus, he must know the proper ways to address distinguished personalities of
the community and the society in general.

In general practice, information gathering is the collection of data for dealing with the
individual’s or the organisation’s current situation. More data means more and better ways
of dealing with the current situation. More data broadens the minds of those who will use
the data to solve current organisational problems. New ideas come more easily if there are
lots of facts to be used as bases.

There are two main types of sources in the field of information gathering, namely:

 Existing sources – existing sources are those sources of information that can be found
in the printed, in video, in audio and other materials that are available to the public
or upon request to proper bureaucracy.
 Natural sources – natural sources are first hand sources such as those who have tried
products, services and methods, and expressing their experience and opinions to the
researcher.

Information gathering techniques

One-on-one interviews

The most common technique for gathering requirements is to sit down with the clients and
ask them what they need. The discussion should be planned out ahead of time based on the
type of requirements you're looking for. There are many good ways to plan the interview,
but generally you want to ask open-ended questions to get the interviewee to start talking
and then ask probing questions to uncover requirements.

Group interviews

Group interviews are similar to the one-on-one interview, except that more than one person
is being interviewed -- usually two to four. These interviews work well when everyone is at
the same level or has the same role. Group interviews require more preparation and more
formality to get the information you want from all the participants. You can uncover a richer
set of requirements in a shorter period of time if you can keep the group focused.

Facilitated sessions

In a facilitated session, you bring a larger group (five or more) together for a common
purpose. In this case, you are trying to gather a set of common requirements from the group
in a faster manner than if you were to interview each of them separately.

Joint application development (JAD)

JAD sessions are similar to general facilitated sessions. However, the group typically stays in
the session until the session objectives are completed. For a requirements JAD session, the
participants stay in session until a complete set of requirements is documented and agreed
to.

Questionnaires

Questionnaires are much more informal, and they are good tools to gather requirements
from stakeholders in remote locations or those who will have only minor input into the
overall requirements. Questionnaires can also be used when you have to gather input from
dozens, hundreds, or thousands of people.

Prototyping

Prototyping is a relatively modern technique for gathering requirements. In this approach,

you gather preliminary requirements that you use to build an initial version of the solution --
a prototype. You show this to the client, who then gives you additional requirements. You
change the application and cycle around with the client again. This repetitive process
continues until the product meets the critical mass of business needs or for an agreed
number of iterations.
Use cases

Use cases are basically stories that describe how discrete processes work. The stories include
people (actors) and describe how the solution works from a user perspective. Use cases may
be easier for the users to articulate, although the use cases may need to be distilled later
into the more specific detailed requirements.

Following people around

This technique is especially helpful when gathering information on current processes. You
may find, for instance, that some people have their work routine down to such a habit that
they have a hard time explaining what they do or why. You may need to watch them
perform their job before you can understand the entire picture. In some cases, you might
also want to participate in the actual work process to get a hands-on feel for how the
business function works today.

Request for proposals (RFPs)

If you are a vendor, you may receive requirements through an RFP. This list of requirements
is there for you to compare against your own capabilities to determine how close a match
you are to the client's needs.

Brainstorming

On some projects, the requirements are not "uncovered" as much as they are "discovered."
In other words, the solution is brand new and needs to be created as a set of ideas that
people can agree to. In this type of project, simple brainstorming may be the starting point.
The appropriate subject matter experts get into a room and start creatively brainstorming
what the solution might look like. After all the ideas are generated, the participants prioritize
the ones they think are the best for this solution. The resulting consensus of best ideas is
used for the initial requirements.

Surveys

A survey is a data gathering method that is utilised to collect, analyse and interpret the
views of a group of people from a target population. Surveys have been used in various
fields of research, such as sociology, marketing research, politics and psychology.

The Survey Process

A systematic method of gathering information from a target population, a survey makes use
of statistical techniques mainly used in quantitative research. The following steps are
included in the process of conducting a survey, as well as several questions to ask one's self
during each step:

1. Clarify the purpose.

Why should a survey be done? What are the pros and cons? What issue/s should
be studied? How should you plan a survey?

2. Formulate survey goals.

What are the aims of the survey? Who should be the participants (target
population)? How long should the survey be conducted?

3. Verify the resources.

Are the budget, human power and other resources sufficient?

4. Choose a survey method.

What type of survey can satisfy the purpose, survey goals and available
resources? Are there similar methods that are more suitable, such as Focus
Groups or Panel Studies?

5. Perform the sampling.

Which sampling technique is appropriate for the survey goal and method? How
should you design the survey?

6. Write the questionnaire.

What questions should I ask? What type of response formats and scales should
be included? How should the survey layout look?

7. Pilot test and revise or change the questionnaire.

Is the questionnaire suitable for the sample? Are there any errors that need to be
redone? How can the response rate be improved?

8. Administer the questionnaire.

Is the interviewer trained enough to administer the questionnaire to the sample?

9. Process and store data.

How should the data be handled? Where should the information be kept for
future reference?

10. Analyse and interpret the survey results.

What does the information gathered say?

11. Make a conclusion.

What synthesis can be formed from the entire survey?

 12. Report the survey results.

How can the results be conveyed effectively? What media presentation should be
used in reporting the survey results?

2.2 Review reports and other data sources for business information

How to review business reports

Without a doubt, annual reports are at the pinnacle of corporate communication. The
point of the annual report is to provide a summary of exactly how a company has
performed in the preceding year, and to provide a glimpse of the future. Building a
compelling annual report is a real art and science, and more than a few consulting firms
are doing very well, thank you, by hiring themselves out to create reports for all kinds of
companies.

Annual reports are generally written for shareholders and other investors, although they
are also required reading for lenders, banks, potential employees, and MBA students
working their way through gruelling accounting and finance classes. For the most part,
annual reports are produced by public, not privately held, companies. Chances are, you
won’t see a private company’s annual financial statements unless you’re an owner. For
most of the public, the annual report contains the only financial documents they are
likely to see. It is, therefore, the best source of information for most people to determine
the financial health of a company and to learn of any potential problems or
opportunities.

The final format of the annual report depends on the needs of a company, its industry,
and any legal disclosure requirements. Regardless, an annual report contains a selection
of the following nine parts:

Letter from the chairman: The letter from the chairman of the board is the traditional
place for a company’s top management team to tell you what a great job it did during the
preceding year and to lay out the company’s goals and strategies for the future. It’s also a
great place to find apologies for problems that occurred during the year, which may or
may not have been solved.
Sales and marketing: This section contains complete information about a company’s
products and services, as well as descriptions of its major divisions and groups and what
they do. By reading this section, you should be able to figure out which products are
most important to a company and which divisions or groups are most critical to a
company’s success.

Ten-year summary of financial results: Assuming that a company is at least ten years old,
many annual reports contain a presentation of financial results over that period of time.
This is a terrific place to look for trends in growth (or non-growth) of revenues and profit
and other leading indicators of a company’s financial success.

Management discussion and analysis: This is the place where a company’s management
has the opportunity to present a candid discussion of significant financial trends within
the company over the past couple years.

Letter of CPA opinion: To be considered reliable, a company’s financial statements have

to be reviewed and audited for accuracy by a qualified Certified Public Accountant (CPA).
In this letter, a CPA firm states any qualifications that it has with the financial statements.
These statements can have great bearing on the reliability of the data or of
management’s assessment of it.

Financial statements: Financial statements are the bread and butter of the annual
report. This is where a company presents its financial performance data for all to see. At
minimum, expect to see an income statement, a balance sheet, and a cash flow
statement. Be sure to watch for footnotes to the financial statements and read them
carefully. You can often find valuable information about an organization’s structure and
financial status that has not been publicized elsewhere in the report. For example, you
may notice information on a management reorganization or details on a bad debt that
was written off by the company.

Subsidiaries, brands, and addresses: Here you find listings of company locations —
domestic and foreign — and contact information, as well as brand names and product
lines.

List of directors and officers: Corporations typically have boards of directors — senior
businesspeople from both inside and outside the organization — to help guide them and
provide a broader view of markets and business environments than that seen by internal
managers. Officers include the president, chief executive officer (CEO), vice presidents,
chief financial officer (CFO), and so forth.

Stock price history: This section gives a brief history of stock prices and dividends,
showing upward and downward trends over time. Included is information on a
company’s stock symbol and the listing stock exchange, for example, the New York Stock
Exchange or NASDAQ.
How to review financial statement

A financial statement is the lifeblood of any business. You rely on these financial
statements to know the condition, performance and ability to efficiently sustain past and
future operations of a particular business. But how do you read the things?!

1. Use the balance sheet to review the financial condition of a business, as of a given
period, by looking at how it manages its Asset, Liabilities and Equity.

Basic Equation of a Balance Sheet: Asset = Liability + Equity

Asset = Remember that asset adds worth to a business. You look at how well it manages
its asset by checking the financial value allocated to cash, receivables, short-term and
long-term investments, inventory, fixed assets, furniture and fixtures, land and building.
By doing so, you can determine if a business is able to sustain and grow operation or it
will close down.

Liability = Take note that liability consists all the outstanding loan obligations of a
business. Obtaining loans is one of the ways to generate capital to support a business
operation. Liability account will enable you to look at the balances of the account’s
payables, bills payables, notes payables and all other payables. Most often, depending on
a given situation, when you see that a business has high amount of liability, it may be a
sign of trouble and inability to sustain its operation.

Equity = Equity meant to be the capital of a business. It is the major source of money to
support and sustain a business operation. When you look at the equity account, check
the number of stocks, common and preferred, that were issued. In the equity account,
you will be able to see the real value of a business in terms of ownership. When you see
a high equity balance, it can be a good indicator that the business is able to sustain and
grow. The opposite means it is in trouble of closing down its operation.

2.Review the income statement report to understand the overall performance, profit or
loss, of a business in a given period. Basically, it comprises of the following:
Revenue = This account will show you the amount of sales derived in a given period. It
may come from the service fees or sales price of goods sold, depending on the type of
business being run. Take note that when a business have a high amount of revenue, it
indicates good marketing and sales process that resulted to high sales volume of product
or service. However, beware for it doesn't necessarily mean the business is profitable.

Expenses = Signify the amount of cost to produce an item sold. It includes cost of the
materials used, cost of the service rendered, interest expense, depreciation, bad debts
expenses, etc. When you verify expenses account, you can check if the business is
spending on improving its product, investing a lot of money on marketing (like
advertisement), gives high salary and benefits to employee, or just plainly wasting
money.

Profit (Loss) Before Tax = Remember that revenue alone doesn't necessarily means the
business is profitable. Because of the expense account, even if the business has high
revenue, if it spends just the same level, it wouldn't be as profitable as it should be. Here
are the guidelines to know if a business is profitable or not: Profit means the amount of
sales was higher than the amount of cost to produce (Revenue > Expense). When there’s
profit, it means the operation of the business was doing good. On the other hand,
Loss means the amount of sales was lower than the cost to produce (Revenue <
Expense). When there’s loss, it means the operation of the business was doing bad.

Income Tax = the amount of obligation the business have to pay to the government. In
determining the income tax, check the country in which the business operates because
Income tax is derived by the tax rate given by a particular country multiplied against the
Profit Before Tax.

3.Use the Cash Flow Statement to understand the movement of cash in a given
period. There are two types of Cash Flow Statement, an indirect method and direct
method.

Direct Method = presents you a condensed cash receipts and cash disbursements
statement.

Indirect Method = presents you cash movements by adjusting net income for items that
affected reported net income but didn't affected cash.

4.Look at the Notes to the Financial Statement to read the narrative explanation of the
whole financial statement.

It will explain to you the standards that were used to measure each account in the
previous four financial statements, the balance sheet, income statement, cash flow
statement and stockholder’s equity. Also, you will be able to check the future plans and
operations of a business.
2.3 Confirm with stakeholder’s business critical factors relating to current and future
directions of the organisation

Critical success factors

A critical success factor (often abbreviated “CSF”) may sound complicated, but it’s
actually a pretty simple concept. A CSF is a high-level goal that is critical for a business to
meet. In order to be effective, a critical success factor must:

B e vital to the organisation’s success.

B en efit the com pany or departm ent as a w hole.

B e synonym ous w ith a h igh -level goal.

L ink directly to the business strategy .

Documenting and updating an organisation's critical success factors allows a corporation

to respond to outside forces, redirect internal focus and plan for that success, now and in
the future. Communicating your organisation's goals and strategies to the entire
company provides a relevant starting point and focus for all individual, team and
corporate decisions and directives.

Internal Factors

Internal critical success factors add direction to strategic choices and allow businesses to
reach goals and achieve new milestones. Consider internal critical success factors when
positioning your company for gains related to marketing efforts, the development of
production strategies and dealing with internal barriers and influences.

Examples of internal critical success factors include cultivating stronger supplier

relationships to enhance market share and meeting quality standards set forth to meet
production schedules and demands. When it comes to internal barriers and influences,
critical success factors, such as implementing a successful training program or providing
advancement opportunities to current employees, can help your company meet or
exceed goals.
External Factors

Various factors influence external critical success factors. They include environmental
factors, such as economic health and vitality, the current business climate and
technological advancements. Changing economic times may lead to the need to adjust
production levels and differentiate your products and services. The critical success
factors that may help your corporation achieve adjusted goals and meet new challenges
in this arena include attracting new customers with value added services or securing
financing for a new product line.

Remaining competitive within the current marketplace also requires keeping an eye on
the industry and competition. Capitalizing on new developments, technologies and
services may serve as a critical success factor when it comes to securing your share of the
market.

How to set CFS’s for your organisation

CSFs are those items that influence your business more than any other. They should tell
you whether you are on track, without the need to review detailed Profit and Loss
Statements or Balance Sheets which are prepared well after the event. Also, you should
not need to be an accountant to understand whether you have achieved your CSF
(though you may need their helping setting one or two of them).

A few key points here:

 The 5 CSFs should fit on one page – ideally in the palm of your hand.
 They should be meaningful to your business and your desired outcomes. Not
something generic you’ve heard before or your friend measures.
 Preferably easy to measure and track but aren’t always Profit and Loss based.
 Think about the lead up and try to set CSFs that are as close to the front of the
process as possible. This will ensure you “have the pulse” of the business and can
correct quickly if need be. For example, revenue is based on sales… so what
drives those sales? Advertising dollars spent, client visits, leads so-on. Use this
lead activity (i.e. new client appointments sat) as a CSF, not the revenue dollars.

The easiest way to develop your list is to review your current year budget…. yes, I know,
boring. However, it is vital ingredient to business success. After all, how do you know
you have reached your goal or missed a target, if you can’t see it or didn’t set it in the
first place. Have you ever tried playing a game of football blindfolded and not knowing
where the goal / try-line is…? I will give you tips on how to set a business budget.

If you have not yet prepared a month by month budget for the 2018calendar year, then
this is your starting point. Give it a go, its not too hard. Ask your accountant to help.
Next, perform a simple SWOT analysis on your business. A SWOT analysis reviews
the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats to your business, with particular
focus on those items that impact your ability to hit that budget you just set. This is the
vital bit….. Ask yourself “What will stop me hitting that budget?”

So, some examples to get you started…. CSFs for your business could include:

L eads received per w eek/m onth, quotes provided so-on

N ew C lients per m onth of x

N ew C lient $ per m onth of x

R e-w ork/W arranty w ork perform ed

A verage sale $

C om puter/m anufacturing equipm ent dow n tim e hours

CHAPTER 3. PREPARE DATA ANALYSIS FOR REVIEW
This chapter will help you learn about the following:

 Analyse group and individual responses to clearly define business priorities

 Document data analysis for review according to organisational standards

3.1 Analyse group and individual responses to clearly define business priorities

Steps to analyse responses

Take a look at your top research

questions

Cross-tabulate and filter your

results

Crunch the numbers

Draw conclusions

Take a look at your top research questions

First, let’s talk about how you analyse the results for your top research questions. Did
you feature empirical research questions? Did you consider probability sampling?
Remember that you should have outlined your top research questions when you set a
goal for your survey.

For example, if you held an education conference and gave attendees a post-event
feedback survey, one of your top research questions may look like this: How did the
attendees rate the conference overall? Now take a look at the answers you collected for
a specific survey question that speaks to that top research question:
Notice that in the responses, you’ve got some percentages (71%, 18%) and some raw
numbers (852, 216).

The percentages are just that–the percent of people who gave a particular answer. Put
another way, the percentages represent the number of people who gave each answer as
a proportion of the number of people who answered the question. So, 71% of your
survey respondents (852 of the 1,200 surveyed) plan on coming back next year.

This table also shows you that 18% say they are planning to return and 11% say they are
not sure.

Cross-tabulating and filtering results

Recall that when you set a goal for your survey and developed your analysis plan, you
thought about what subgroups you were going to analyse and compare. Now is when
that planning pays off. For example, say you wanted to see how teachers, students, and
administrators compared to one another in answering the question about next year’s
conference. To figure this out, you want to delve into response rates by means of cross
tabulation, where you show the results of the conference question by subgroup:

From this table you see that a large majority of the students (86%) and teachers (80%)
plan to come back next year. However, the administrators who attended your conference
look different, with under half (46%) of them intending to come back! Hopefully, some of
our other questions will help you figure out why this is the case and what you can do to
improve the conference for administrators so more of them will return year after year.

Using a filter is another useful tool for modelling data. Filtering means narrowing your
focus to one particular subgroup and filtering out the others. So instead of comparing
subgroups to one another, here we’re just looking at how one subgroup answered the
question. For instance, you could limit your focus to just women, or just men, then re-run
the crosstab by type of attendee to compare female administrators, female teachers, and
female students. One thing to be wary of as you slice and dice your results: Every time
you apply a filter or cross tab, your sample size decreases. To make sure your results are
statistically significant, it may be helpful to use a sample size calculator.

Benchmarking, trending, and comparative data

Let’s say on your conference feedback survey, one key question is, “Overall how satisfied
were you with the conference?” Your results show that 75% of the attendees were
satisfied with the conference. That sounds pretty good. But wouldn’t you like to have
some context? Something to compare it against? Is that better or worse than last year?
How does it compare to other conferences?

Well, say you did ask this question in your conference feedback survey after last year’s
conference. You’d be able to make a trend comparison. Professional pollsters make poor
comedians, but one favourite line is “trend is your friend.”

If last year’s satisfaction rate was 60%, you increased satisfaction by 15 percentage
points! What caused this increase in satisfaction? Hopefully the responses to other
questions in your survey will provide some answers.

If you don’t have data from prior years’ conference, make this the year you start
collecting feedback after every conference. This is called benchmarking. You establish a
benchmark or baseline number and, moving forward, you can see whether and how this
has changed. You can benchmark not just attendees’ satisfaction, but other questions as
well. You’ll be able to track, year after year, what attendees think of the conference. This
is called longitudinal data analysis.

You can even track data for different subgroups. Say for example that satisfaction rates
are increasing year over year for students and teachers, but not for administrators. You
might want to look at administrators’ responses to various questions to see if you can
gain insight into why they are less satisfied than other attendees.

Crunching the numbers

You know how many people said they were coming back, but how do you know if your
survey has yielded answers that you can trust and answers that you can use with
confidence to inform future decisions? It’s important to pay attention to the quality of
your data and to understand the components of statistical significance.
In everyday conversation, the word “significant” means important or meaningful. In
survey analysis and statistics, significant means “an assessment of accuracy.” This is
where the inevitable “plus or minus” comes into survey work. In particular, it means that
survey results are accurate within a certain confidence level and not due to random
chance. Drawing an inference based on results that are inaccurate (i.e., not statistically
significant) is risky.

The first factor to consider in any assessment of statistical significance is the

representativeness of your sample—that is, to what extent the group of people who
were included in your survey “look like” the total population of people about whom you
want to draw conclusions.

You have a problem if 90% of conference attendees who completed the survey were
men, but only 15% of all your conference attendees were male. The more you know
about the population you are interested in studying, the more confident you can be
when your survey lines up with those numbers.

At least when it comes to gender, you’re feeling pretty good if men make up 15% of
survey respondents in this example.

If your survey sample is a random selection from a known population, statistical

significance can be calculated in a straightforward manner. A primary factor here
is sample size. Suppose 50 of the 1,000 people who attended your conference replied to
the survey. Fifty (50) is a small sample size and results in a broad margin of error. In
short, your results won’t carry much weight.

Drawing conclusions

When it comes to reporting on survey results, think about the story the data tells.
Say your conference overall got mediocre ratings. You dig deeper to find out what’s
going on.

The data show that attendees gave very high ratings to almost all the aspects of your
conference — the sessions and classes, the social events, and the hotel — but they really
disliked the city chosen for the conference. (Maybe the conference was held in Chicago
in January and it was too cold for anyone to go outside!) That is part of the story right
there — great conference overall, lousy choice of locations. Miami or San Diego might be
a better choice for a winter conference.
Analyse focus group discussion

1. Transcribe all of the focus group

comments.

2. If you do more than one focus group,

rearrange the comments so that you
have answers together for each
interview protocol question.

3. For each question, note the main

ideas that occur in the answers.

4. Review the main ideas to identify

ideas which occur again and again. Note that sometimes the same basic idea
occurs in answers to multiple questions.

5. Perform critical thinking about these recurring main ideas to identify themes.
Sometimes a theme may include more than one main idea.

6. Identify quotations that illustrate each theme.

7. Write your "findings" in an engaging narrative to describe the themes and

include the quotations.

8. On your "discussion" section, show how the themes in your study are similar to,
or different from, related previous studies and use the literature to explain the
"why" behind the themes.

3.2 Document data analysis for review according to organisational standards

Effective document management

The way in which you handle day-to-day documents and files can have a huge impact on
your business. Get it right and you’ll find yourself on the road to success with a bulging
bottom line and customer satisfaction to tell the world about. Get it wrong and you could
easily lose vital information, watch as a client walks away or even find yourself face to
face with a judge.

Yet plenty of companies neglect their file management, blaming time constraints, lack of
storage space, and a dozen other excuses.

Managing your documents and files is essential and the last thing you should do is watch
a mountain of paperwork grow around you. Some of the advantages of effective
document management include:
 Im proved access to docum ents

Im proved office efficiency

R educed day-to-day operation costs

B etter use of office space

S afeguarding of confidential inform ation

R educed custom er com plaints

Step 1: Designate a file management team

As with so many other aspects of the business world, effective document management
requires clear and precise planning, and that starts with designated a team to be
responsible for overseeing it from start to finish.

Don’t let the word ‘team’ put you off though. In this case, team doesn’t mean a full troop
of workers dedicated to document management and nothing else. In most cases, a team
here will mean a lead and an assistant; the lead oversees everything that follows and the
assistant learns the process thoroughly, deputising when the lead is away.

You can of course add other members to your team, a move that is well-recommended if
you deal with huge amounts of paperwork or electronic files on a daily basis, but the key
is to have somebody that knows exactly what is going on, what needs to happen and
where everything is at all times.

Step 2: Establish your file management procedures

With a lead and team in place, your next step should be to establish the exact
parameters and processes you will adhere to in terms of your document and file
management.

In many cases, these parameters will be set out for you. Most official bodies set very
specific guidelines for companies to follow when it comes to data management, including
how long certain documents should be kept for and which documents should be kept in
the first place. You’ll also be governed by the Data Protection Act (DPA), which governs
how you use and store personal information relating to employees, clients and
customers.

Take the time to read through the applicable guidelines and use these to help create a
full file management procedure. Be explicit in what should and shouldn’t be kept, how
long it should be kept for, and where it should be stored. Establish whether you will need
a document on a day-to-day or regular basis, or if it can be archived off-site until
required.

A copy of your file management procedure should then be made available to anybody
that might need it. Be sure to keep both an electronic and hard copy in case of computer
malfunctions and other potential obstacles.

Step 3: Create a file plan & schedule

With your file management procedures identified, it’s time for some further
preparations, at this stage you should create a file plan as well as a schedule.
A file plan is designed to make referencing any particular file or document easier.

In essence, it serves as an organisation tool or index. Your file plan should act as a
checklist, documenting exactly what is contained within a file, folder, archiving box or
anything else you opt to store important information in. You should then create a
catalogue of file plans (either copies of the original plans gathered in a file or on a
computerised spreadsheet) which allows for quicker reference.

Ultimately, a file plan can be as simple or thorough as you deem fit, but at the end of the
day it should allow you to lay your hands on any piece of information with minimal fuss.
With a detailed and up-to-date file plan in place, you will be able to answer client and
customer questions without wasting time, which can only be a good thing.

In terms of document and file retention, once you know how long you need to keep
something for (see above) then it’s easy to know when you need to get rid of it; including
a destruction date on your file plan and corresponding catalogue will make it easier to
keep track of which files you need to dispose of and when.

With a disposal plan in place, ensure that you regularly check the plan and dispose of
those documents listed. In the event that a file becomes ‘live’ once more, be sure to
designate this on the file plan; you do not want to destroy a file that you still require.

Step 4: Organise existing files

Unless you’re starting afresh, it’s likely that you already have a good supply of existing
documents and files, both electronic and in hard copy; in order to get the best out of
your document management these need to be organised to fit in with your new
management procedure.

At the very least, you should add file plans to each document or file and record the
details in the catalogue you have created (see above). However, this offers an excellent
opportunity to reorganise and audit your files and documents, which can help you
recognise if you’re missing anything important or, at the other end of the scale, you have
documents and information you no longer require (see below).
It may not be a job any of us truly relishes, but organising documents and files has a huge
upside.

Step 5: Purge existing files for out-of-date, unnecessary content

Organising your existing documents will give you a great opportunity to dispose of some
deadwood, so to speak.

Establish if everything you are storing is required. If you have archaic folders filled with
out-of-date material, it might be worth disposing of it, likewise old floppy disks and
cassette tapes. Basically, anything that is no longer required under your new file
management procedural guide can be put to one side and prepared for disposal.

Of course, just because it’s old doesn’t mean it needs binning. Certain official bodies
require documents to be kept for 5 years or more, so it’s vital you’re clear on the
guidelines. However, if it is old but does need to be kept, it might be worth sending it for
archiving.

Step 6: Arrange storage, disposal

With your existing files and documents thoroughly organised and material no longer
needed identified, it’s time to talk storage and disposal.

In terms of storage, you will need to make a decision about whether to utilise onsite or
offsite archiving. This decision – which can be made when you’re establishing your file
management procedures (see above) – will depend on the quantity of material you have
for storing. Small companies can often easily store their records onsite, in secure filing
cabinets and cupboards. Larger companies may designate an office or room to archiving,
or look to outsource their filing needs.
As a rule of thumb, you should always keep documents and files you use on a regular
basis onsite to avoid any delays in accessing the information; anything else really can be
stored anywhere safe and secure.

In terms of electronic files, you should consider using an offsite server to store all
computer files and material or invest in a heavy duty external disk drive; even then it’s
vital to backup all files regularly (for example, at the beginning/end of the working day)
or face the very real prospect of losing work.

In terms of disposal, it’s vital you adhere to the Data Protection act and securely dispose
of all confidential information. Shredding documents and erasing hard drives should be
used at the very least. If you decide to employ a third party to dispose of such materials,
ensure that the company you choose has a solid track record and can demonstrate that
they securely destroy the documents you give them.

Step 7: Ongoing maintenance

All of the hard work you’ve undertaken above will quickly unravel if you fail to keep on
top of your file and document management.
If you’re in the business of sending and receiving reams of correspondence and working
with paper files, take 15 minutes a day to file everything away. 15 minutes a day is far
better than losing a whole week later down the line.

If you’re more of a computer-based company, ensure you use well-labelled folders in

easy to find directories, and try not to leave to many documents on your ‘desktop’. Your
colleagues will have a hard time trying to find those same files.

Finally, as part of your ongoing maintenance, be sure to train your colleagues and co-
workers – and especially trainees and new employees – with relation to your document
management procedure. The more people understand your system, the more they will
adhere to its policies and procedures.

Electronic document storing process example

 Document the business process in which electronic records support the business
activity, stating how the process demands that electronic documents be managed

 Conduct regular audits and ensure the security of the information system

 Document procedures for: imaging and capture of information, security, and audit
trail of changes to the electronic documents

 Demonstrate that the records in question are treated in a manner consistent with
other records (e.g., demonstration of routine rather than ad‐hoc records
destruction)

 Ensure that the structure (layout or format and links to attachments), content (the
information contained in the message), and the context (information pertaining
to the sender and recipients and transmittal date) are retained as evidence of the
business

 Create appropriate indexing data concerning the document (“meta‐data”) and

enter the meta‐data into a suitable database.

Indexing and Saving Electronic Documents

 All staff create, index, save, retrieve, distribute, and refer to electronic documents.
Staff will create document folders on the computer systems (Quickplace, Lotus
Notes Document Libraries, LAN Directories, e‐mail systems, C drives) that align
with the retention requirements and records series titles as indicated in the
Directory of Records.
 Staff will ensure that the privacy protection provisions of the legislation are
adhered to in the distribution, filing, and retrieval of electronic documents.

 Electronic documents will be indexed and classified such that all staff with a need to
know can access the documents.

 Each staff member will ensure that transitory electronic records are destroyed
immediately after use.

 The specific techniques and procedures for achieving this objective will depend on
the information system applications. Additional procedures may be written to
tailor the business practices to the technology products that will be
implemented.
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 https://searchoracle.techtarget.com/definition/repository
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open-ended-questions/
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How_to_Ask_Questions_that_Prompt_Critical_Thinking
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