M41ManageManagement Systems· Module 3
Management Information
Every report comes from a different spreadsheet. Meetings are spent arguing about whose numbers are right.
- Manage
- Fix
- Scale
- Technology
- Finance
- Governance
- ~5 min · Map
The business problem
In many businesses, management information is compiled manually by different people using different definitions. Reports conflict, arrive late and absorb hours of staff time. Managers stop trusting data and fall back on intuition.
Why it matters
Reliable management information — one version of the truth, on time — is what allows a management team to run the business instead of debating it.
What you will learn
- Map the information management needs and where it comes from
- Agree single definitions for key figures
- Design a reporting calendar
- Reduce manual compilation
Core questions
- What information does each management role need, and how often?
- Where does each figure come from?
- Which figures are defined differently by different people?
- How much time does reporting take each month?
Work through the module
CaseWhat is happening?
Security services company, 400 guards · Illustrative teaching case
A security company's operations and finance teams report different headcounts, which leads to billing disputes with clients. Agreeing a single definition of active guard, a single roster source and a weekly reconciliation removes the disputes and shortens month-end billing by several days.
DecisionWhat does the leader need to decide?
Keep reconciling reports manually, or agree definitions and a single source for each figure?
FrameworkHow should they think about the problem?
One version of the truth
For each key figure: one definition, one source system, one owner, one reporting schedule. Management information is designed, not assembled.
ToolWhat can they use?
Management information mapMap
- List management reports and their audiences
- For each figure: definition, source, owner
- Mark conflicts and manual steps
- Build a reporting calendar
ApplicationHow does it apply to their business?
Apply it to your own business:
- List the reports your management team uses
- Find figures with conflicting definitions
- Agree definitions for the top five
ImplementationWhat changes?
What should change in the business:
- Publish a data dictionary of key definitions
- Automate compilation where possible
- Fix the reporting calendar
ReviewDid it work?
How to tell whether the change worked:
- Have report conflicts stopped?
- Has reporting time fallen?
- Are reports arriving on schedule?
After this module you should be able to decide
Keep reconciling reports manually, or agree definitions and a single source for each figure?
And leave with: A management information map: what is reported, from where, to whom.
Sequence · Management Systems