Page 216 - Foundations of Learning, 4th Edition (Revised)

The customer representative (CR) possesses knowledge about how to operate her workstation, how to talk
to customers, how to verify that caller is an authorized person, how to interpret customer request, how to
interpret account data, and how to explain it to customer. That knowledge may be considered “how-to”
knowledge. In addition, the CR possesses (or can obtain from others or from support systems) other kinds
of knowledge, such as dealing with customers, customer accounts, and brokerage in general (e.g., different
kinds of balances, margin status, legality of trades, etc.)

The Information Processing Methodology

The Information Processing Methodology is a key tool to help you become better at collecting, organizing,
and retrieving information. Every day you must make decisions that require information processing: which
e-mail to read, save, delete, or answer, how you’re going to catch up with current events and news, or even
what library books you want to check out. In each of these instances, you’re faced with a situation where
you must make a decisions based upon specific information. But with the exception of information that
is presented directly to you, you must also 1) determine what information you need, 2) decide how you’ll
obtain it, 3) decide which sources for that information are your best bet, 4) determine how you’ll organize
the information you do obtain, 5) work to obtain the information, and finally 6) check to see if you’re
actually getting the information you wanted.

The ability to use the Information Processing Methodology will reduce the anxiety associated with
“information overload” and give you confidence about finding important information when you need it.
It is important to note that every other methodology in this book includes a step that requires information
to be processed.

METHODOLOGY

Step Explanation
1 Perform a needs analysis
Analyze who needs the information, why it is needed, when it
2 Create a collection plan is needed, what the user will do with the information once it is
3 Evaluate the resources received.
4 Organize the information
5 Retrieve the information Create a plan to collect the information from various sources.

6 Assess and review Create a method to evaluate the quality of the information.

Develop a plan for storing and organizing the information that
is collected.

Search and collect the information. Provide it where and when
it is needed.

Assess the process and the outcomes. Determine if the needs
have been met. If not, determine what more is needed and
repeat the process starting at Step 2.

210 Foundations of Learning