ABSTRACT
This is another key unit, which is focused on the Information that needs to be gathered to solve specific shorts/medium-and long-term problems identified by marketing managers. As can be seen above, several specific problem areas have been listed. Howeven as with unit Information and communication technologies supporting marketing decisions*. The key words 'wouid include* suggest that there are others, In unit Information and communication technologies supporting marketing decisions', The means by which information and communication technologies could be used to collect, store and distribute the information was the main focus. However, brief reference was also made as to what data would be collected for conversion into information A theme running through the whole of the MIMD unit is that of decision-making, not only for marketing managers but also for other functional managers such as accounting, personnel, etc. The main emphasis has been on marketing managers, Marketing decisionmakers need information, They either have it already or they need to collect it. The source of the Information is either internal or external, The first step in the process of developing information is to define the problem, which needs to be solved. The next step is to determine the objectives of the research. This is followed by the construction of a plan to collect the information. The implementation of the plan is the next step, followed by interpretation and a reporting. By now you will have noticed that this is very similar to the model of the decision-making process used in this workbook, The development of the information may come from marketing intelligence, marketing research and internal records* Each of these areas wiH be reviewed in depth against a backcioth of the information needs of marketing decision-makers. As mentioned in the other units, marketing managers face problems which can be categorized into four different levels: strategic, management, knowledge and operation. This needs to be borne in mind when developing information and information systems to solve these problems.
