Managing Information: Core Management

Diana Bedward, John Stredwick

Managing Information: Core Management covers the areas of Finance, Information Systems and Statistics and is specifically designed to cover the CIPD syllabus. These fields of study often cause considerable fear amongst students, however they must attain a working knowledge of Finance, Information Systems and Statistics as these subjects are essential in every organisation. Managers and supervisors are faced with a barrage of data from a variety of sources that affect the way they operate. All HR practitioners need to have a good grasp of information and its sources. They need to know how accounts are put together, how statistics are collected and analysed, and how projects are costed. Basic principles of the concepts and applications of information systems, including designing systems and processing data are required.

Managing Information: Core Management focuses on the following topics:

Information Systems
· Contribution of IS/IT to organisations, Systems concepts and attributes, Planning, reviewing and controlling with IS, Serving the end user - spreadsheets, databases, e-mail and DTP, Software application for HR and other areas, Legislation and Security

Finance
· Sources and application of funds, Accounting documentation - cash statements, profit and loss accounts, balance sheets, Interpretation of accounts - management ratios, Costing and budgeting

Statistics
· Sources and uses of statistics, Presentation of statistics, Interpretation - measures of average, measures of distribution, correlation, time series, index numbers, significance tests, Use of current software for computation of statistics

Diana Bedward, Former Head of Dept of HRM and Graduate Business School and currently runs her own business.

John Stredwick, Senior Lecturer, Luton Business School and a consultant on Reward and Flexible Working Practices.