ILM5610 - BUSINESS INFORMATION

Module Identifier	ILM5610
Module Title	BUSINESS INFORMATION
Academic Year	2002/2003
Co-ordinator	Mr Michael A Lowe
Semester	Semester 2
Course delivery	Lecture	10 Hours 10 lectures x 1hour
	Practical	5 Hours
	Seminars / Tutorials	5 Hours
Assessment	Semester Assessment	Company Profile	100%

Learning outcomes

At the end of the module, students should be able to:

demonstrate a detailed understanding of the relationship between a business and its commercial environment;
describe and explain the nature, role, and bibliographical control, of sources which report on that environment;
describe and explain the nature and role of sources of information on companies, the City, markets, products and relevant non-business topics;
translate information needs into solutions; applying the skills acquired in the module to exploit efficiently the above sources

Brief description

Business decision makers must have information on their commercial environments in order to respond to them. Much information exists, but it requires expertise to exploit it efficiently. The module is intended for business people themselves, and for those who may become business information specialists in companies, national and public libraries, independent information brokers, and various public and private sector business support agencies. Although the principles and skills are transferable to other countries, the module takes a British perspective. No prior business or economics knowledge is expected, though it is a useful substitute for prior studies in librarianship and information management.

Aims

The overall aim of the module, is to gain the knowledge and skills necessary to provide a business with the information it needs on its external commercial environment; more specifically:

to develop a critical awareness of the sources of information on the commercial environment, including knowledge of their origin, content and role;
to acquire specialised information retrieval and interpretation skills through practical work and seminars using a range of mainly electronic sources

Reading Lists

Books
** Essential Reading
Lowe, Michael. (1999) Business Information at Work. London: Aslib

Journals
** Recommended Consultation
Business Information Review.
Information World Review.
Financial Times.
Managing Information.
UKOLUG Newsletter.