There is a new and powerful way to manage your business Business information organization and your business Ten Steps to Best Business - a strategy for success About our books, ebooks, articles and materials About us, how to make contact and FAQs To the home page and our short movie Some businesses have started to better manage their business information just by concentrating on those areas of the business that may be at risk from lost or badly controlled information. Others have chosen some crucial high performance areas to start this level of order and control. None have wanted to go back the old way of trying to make sense of chaos. If you have the time and the interest you can begin by taking on an area of personal interest. A dentist, well served by his client management database and financial systems that took care of his ordering and accounting, took on organizing his home computer and files that were about his investment hobby. One day he realized that he had been collecting information about dentistry and equipment use and he could share them with his partners and his surgery staff. All of the policy in the business was on scraps of paper pinned to the notice board and he had always wanted to create 'something about what to do in the event of...' What he had learnt from the task he had set for himself at home was used to create a business information system at work. That's what BIO is all about.   DISCLAIMER: The information in this documentation has been made available for general business use only and is provided without any express or implied warranty as to its accuracy or currency. All access to, and use of, the information is at the user's risk. The publisher accepts no responsibility for the results of any actions taken on the basis of information in this documentation, nor for the accuracy or completeness of any material contained herein. The publisher expressly disclaims all and any liability and responsibility to any person or business in respect of the consequences of anything done or omitted to be done by such person in reliance, whether wholly or partially, upon this documentation.

Business Information Organization (BIO), the case for order and control and the four pillars of business information management best practice. If your business information is in chaos your business is missing out. You can have great software, document management and records management and still have chaos. Chaos can easily be avoided but it remains while you have no order and control. Why have order and control?   1 There is no other way of controlling business information;   2 There is no other way to easily set policy and establish compliance processes in the context of the work being done in a way that is immediately available and relevant;   3 There is no better way to both manage tasks and communicate with your employees;   4 This is the best way of distributing and providing access to resources positioned for maximum effect;   5 There is no other way to be sure that groups and teams can and do monitor what is on the business computer network, to see what is there, to see what is there that should not be there, to identify what is missing and to see what is needed to make it easier to do the job they were hired for.   6 There is no better way to be delivering training across the board in the context of the work being done and with all of the information and knowledge that supports that work. Sample generic structures for general business areas: Any business can design its own structure. It should be quite unique. Some are simple. Others are complex. This sample was created for a particular government-based business and is a guide only. No two businesses are the same and every time an intelligent network has been established it has its own unique features. Some of the businesses have chosen to concentrate on project areas and to spend time in creating the kind of folders and sub-folders that really work. This has involved using filing arrangements to get the right folders at the top of the list. These generic structure examples are for those areas that appear to be used on a variety of businesses and each of these will have what are CORE business areas as well. For example, CORE business areas are about what makes the business unique such as in a manufacturing company where core business is about production, supply etc. Function folder: Administration Other title: Administration processes within the business Description: Office related activities and general administrative functions as day to day activities of the business. Class here all office processes which are not of a policy, planning, financial or information content nature. Distribution; Equipment; Office; Safety; Secretarial; Technology; Transport; Travel Function folder: Finance Other title: Financial management Description: Financial management, financial record keeping and compliance. Class budget preparation and budgeting in this function but include financial planning and reporting in 'Management' Accounts; Audit; Banking; Budgets; Credit; Insurance; Payroll; Returns; Taxation; Tenders Function folder: Information Other title: Information content, management, systems Description: Include all aspects of information including resources, storage systems, management process, ownership, distribution and publishing Disclosure; Infrastructure; Ownership; Privacy; Publicity; Records; Resources Function folder: Management Other title: Organizational management Description: Management, planning, staffing, performance, authority, accountability, customer relations and reporting. Delegation; IT; Legal; Liaison; Operations; Planning; Policy; Quality; Reporting; Representation; Research; Security; Staffing Function folder: Personnel Other title: Personnel or human resources Description: Staff and human resources management including everything about the person but not related to management of the business. Include here training and education of employees but place organizational policy in the 'Management' function folder. Place links to that information in appropriate 'Personnel' sub-folders, where available. Class here issues such as equal opportunity, discrimination and sexual abuse but class actual claims and legal processes in Management. Conditions; Employment; Entitlements; Health; Industrial; Performance; Superannuation; Training; Welfare