1. Presented by
MPHIL Students
INS 814

2.  The aim of this research is to explore the
various forms and sources of industrial and
business information that are in existence
globally and to identify those available in
Kenya and therefore enable one to utilize
them in service provision.

3.  To outline and identify the sources of
industrial and business information
 To outline and identify the forms of industrial
and business information
 To examine the trends of conventional
information sources to the current
information sources in industrial and business
information
 To explore and evaluate the different sources
of industrial and business information

4.  API – A particular set of rules ('code') and specifications that software programs
can follow to communicate with each other
 The Bullwhip effect - Occurs when the demand order variabilities in the supply
chain are amplified as they moved up the supply chain
 Business – An economic system in which goods and services are exchanged for one
another or money, on the basis of their perceived worth
 Company –A group of firms that offer a product or a class of products that are close
substitutes to one another
 DLX - Data Link Express Software
 DTIC – The Defense Technical Information Centre
 EIU - Economist Intelligence Unit
 IEEE - Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, is a professional association
dedicated to advancing technological innovation and excellence for the benefit of
humanity
 Information - Is processed data that is meaningful
 IRS – Internal Revenue Service, the revenue service of the United States Federal
Government
 NSS – National Statistical System
 ODG – Open Government Data
 Product –A set of basic attributes assembled in an identifiable form
 SWOT Analysis – An analysis of strengths, weaknesses, external opportunities and
threats of a business unit

5.  Information found in different forms – e.g.
general
surveys, data, articles, books, references, comp
any records
 Examples of information sources:
reports, brochures, journals, reference
materials, pamphlets, books, directories, etc.
 Poor quality information – a loss to society and
stake-holders, affects safety, well-being
 There is a shift from industrial economy to
knowledge economy – knowledge sources are
critical
 With transnational trade enterprises are
increasingly seeking information on the nations
of their business interests

6.  Print– e.g.
reports, brochures, journals, reference
materials, pamphlets, books, directories
 Electronic forms – e.g. databases, company
websites, audio visual and DVDs

7. Ranganathan’s Views
 Conventional Document
 Neo-conventional Documents
 Non-Conventional Documents
 Meta Documents
Grogan’s Views – (commonly used
today)
 Primary Sources – original or nascent contribution
e.g. periodicals, websites, conference
proceedings, patents, theses, standards, specifications
 Secondary Sources – primary information sources
repackaged eg. Indexes & abstracts of
periodicals, books,
 Tertiary Sources – secondary sources processed into
year books, bibliographies, union catalogues

8.  Business Information – Internal & External
Information – company staff, consumers
- information that a business can use to guide its
planning, operations and evaluation of its activities
- Okello-Obura et al. (2008) observes that whatever source of
business information may be, such a source must be credible and
acceptable
- Important for Strategic Planning
- External - information that is obtained from outside the
business, used at strategic level of the organization. Eg.
catalogues, books, trade journals, newspapers and brochures
- Internal - sources generated from and found within the
business/organization. significant at the operational level in
organizations. E.g. transaction records such as sales and production
records

9.  Company Information - stakeholders
- Information generated by the company with information
about the company. E.g. brochures and pamphlets,
company websites, company profiles, company reports and
accounts, strategic plans, business plans, business and
industrial directories and indexes, company prospectus
 Product Information – for consumers
- Information about a product, its characteristics and how it
should be used and supported
- It is everything that the buyer needs to know to obtain the
product and use it to achieve the desired result
- Today, product information is provided to improve on
public image of its firm.
- Examples – pamphlets, advertisements, brochures,

10.  Market Information
- must be timely, organized, useful and in a simple form if it is
to ease decision making
- Marketing information is about how we understand, think
about and deal with the environment, i.e. the customer, the
partner and the competitor
- Eg. Market Research, Advertisments
 Technical Information
- information related to the momentum of a particular variable
- Technical information is engineering, evaluation and research
and development information associated with
design, production, operation, use, and/or maintenance of an
equipment, machine, process or system
- Forms - manuals, standards, technical
reports, guidelines, books, technical related journals, periodicals and
pamphlets
- Sources – IEEE Digital Library, CIGRE

11.  Financial Information
-helps an investor evaluate investment alternatives based on
his risks and rewards and selects those investments that
meet his objectives
- Sources - are financial statements, financial
reports, business and financial news, annual reports and
accounts, company websites, etc.
 Statistical Information
- Statistics are concerned with the
collection, classification, analysis, and interpretation of
numeric facts or data
- Sources - standard reference sources from the
almanac, and encyclopedia to a financial service and
statistical abstracts. Eg. Business Periodicals
Index, Statistical Record Of Asian Americans

12.  Trade Marks & Trade (brand)Names
- A trade mark is a sign which can distinguish your goods and
services from those of your competitors
- It will serve to protect, differentiate and add-value to
what you do – and therefore make your business stand out
in the crowd
- Trade name is a name used to identify a commercial
product or service, which may or may not be registered as
a trademark

13.  Patent
- An intellectual property right
- Its purpose is to support research and development and to
expose and avail creations of new knowledge of public use
and development
- It’s frequently used in product oriented fields
- Used in the field of medicine, chemistry and technology
 Standards
- Standards help to make sure that products and services are
fit for their purpose and are comparable and compatible
- Groups of standards – dimensional, quality, standard test
methods, standard terminology, Code of practice, physical
and scientific.

14.  Trade Literature
- that which disseminates information on the latest
advances in material production and in occupations not
dealing with the production of material goods
- always intended for a specific group of specialists
- Trade publications soon become outdated owing to
scientific and technical progress.
- Sources – house journals, catalogues, guides, handbooks
and manuals, monographs and serial publications, etc.

15.  Bharat Book Bureau
 Haver Analytics
 CBRNIAC – CBRN START, CBME, DTIC, OCLC
 IHS Global Insight
 IEEE Xplore Digital library
INFORMATION SOURCES IN KENYA
 The Kenyan Open Data
 World Bank Enterprise Surveys
 The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics
 Kenya Bureau of Standards
 Institute of Economic Affairs – Kenya

16.  What forms are available and
appropriate for the different sources
of information?
 What modes and media are available
to ensure the different sources of
information reach its specific
recipients?
 How can public libraries ensure
accessible of different sources of
information by the users?

17.  Business and industrial sectors need to have
access to adequate information to enhance
productivity and to facilitate market access
 What is Crucial for economic growth
- Information systems
- Utilization of quality business information
- Sufficient and timely access to information
- Awareness of relevant information sources
- Appropriate means for access to information