The MIS Course Work on Qatar Airways

1 Introduction.....................................................................................................................2 2 Management Information System (MIS) ......................................................................3 2.1 Characteristics of Information..................................................................................3 2.2 Value of Information................................................................................................4 2.3 Role of Information in ecision ma!ing..................................................................4 3 Various "e#els of Management and ecision Ma!ing $rocess......................................4 4 %he &rganisational Conte't ( )atar *ir+ays................................................................., , *nalysis of MIS at )atar *ir+ays..................................................................................,.1 %he MIS in )atar *ir+ays is com.rehensi#e..........................................................,.2 MIS in )atar *ir+ays is strictly Coordinated........................................................../ ,.3 MIS in )atar *ir+ays is Integrated........................................................................./ ,.4 ata Security and Management in )atar *ir+ays...................................................0 ,., MIS at )atar *ir+ays 1nhances $roducti#ity.........................................................0 - Conclusion and Recommendation.................................................................................12 3 Reference.......................................................................................................................12

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Introduction

4ast de#elo.ments in technology made the mar!et more com.etiti#e and the organisations are 5ecome more information dri#en to com.ete in the mar!et. *s a result the information 5ecame more critical in the o.erations and management of organisations. %he a#aila5ility of the right information at the right time is #ery crucial in the .erformance of #arious critical managerial functions such as organising6 .lanning6 control and leading. 7o+e#er6 the collection of coordinated and integrated information is a challenge to the organisations. *n information system (IS) interconnects almost all com.onents of the organisation and .ro#ides most a..ro.riate and rele#ant information for 5etter o.erations and managerial decisions for the sur#i#al of the organisations in this highly com.etiti#e mar!et en#ironment (Scott6 10/-). Management Information System (MIS) is a com.uter 5ased information system focuses on information technology (I%) and that interconnects and integrates all legacy information systems and data5ases in the organisation to enhance the 5usiness o.erations of the organisation. %he MIS ma!es the organisation and .eo.le more creati#e and .roducti#e 5y .ro#iding timely rele#ant information in consistent +ith the 5usiness o58ecti#es of the organisation. 7o+e#er6 the successful and effecti#e deli#ery of this MIS re9uires coordination of .eo.le and human 5eha#iour6 organisational .rocesses6 !no+ledge of I% and a..ro.riate dynamic 5usiness en#ironments (:a5u6 et al., 2220). %he )atar *ir+ays6 +hich is a ser#ice;5ased organisation6 has 5een selected as a com.any of choice for in#estigation. %his re.ort loo!s into the integrated MIS a..lications that is using in )atar *ir+ays. %his re.ort dee.ly in#estigates into the #arious information systems in )atar *ir+ays that come under the integrated MIS a..lication as an 1nter.rises resource .lanning (1R$) system6 and its uses. %his re.ort analyses ho+ this MIS .ro#ide information to #arious de.artments and .ro#ide su..ort to #arious le#els of management and its decision ma!ing .rocesses. %his re.ort also e#aluates the effecti#eness of MIS in managing #arious 5usiness .rocesses in the organisation and ho+ it im.ro#es the ser#ice efficiency6 .roducti#ity and .rofita5ility of the organisation. %his re.orts ends +ith recommendations for effecti#e utilisation of MIS and also for its further enhancements.

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Management Information System (MIS)

MIS is fundamentally used for .ro#iding managerial su..ort to the managers and to the organisation. *n information system (IS) 5asically used for in.utting6 storing data rele#ant to an en#ironment or a .ro5lem and also used for .rocessing the stored interrelated data into information for the managerial .ur.ose. decision ma!ing .rocesses (<e5.2,). *ccording to =eorge M. Scott6 an MIS is a comprehensive and coordinated set of information systems +hich are rationally integrated and +hich transform data into information in a variety of ways to enhance productivity in conformance with managers style and characteristics on the 5asis of established quality criteria (Scott6 10/-6 .. 03; 122). %he MIS is designed for meeting s.ecific .ur.oses in the organisation in consultation +ith the concerned managers6 in +hich the style and the characteristics of the managers ha#e a great im.act. %he MIS can 5e considered as an essential com.onent em5edded in the o#erall internal control of the 5usiness .rocesses includes technologies6 documents6 a..lication of .eo.le and different .rocedures that im.lemented 5y the managers for sol#ing #arious 5usiness issues. %he MIS is integrated +ith other information system su5sets that are im.lemented in the o.erational .rocesses of the organisation and is used for analysing and communicating information .rocessed 5y that IS ("audon and "audon6 2223). MIS is generally used for re.resenting the information and !no+ledge management techni9ues focused to the automation of #arious decision ma!ing .rocesses of managers6 eg. 1'.ert systems (1S)6 ecision su..ort systems ( SS) ("audon and "audon6 2223). 2.1 Characteristics of Information %his .rocessed information is then communicated and made a#aila5le to different de.artment in the organisation for a.t

%he information that collected from #arious sources should 5e useful for decision ma!ing .ur.ose if it maintain certain characteristics such as> the information should 5e rele#ant and relia5le to the .ro5lem in hand6 and should 5e timely6 cost effecti#e6 correct6 com.lete6 e'hausti#e6 usa5le and aggregati#e. In other hand the information collected should not meet the re9uirements of the com.any and the management and also it +ill misguide the managers in their decision ma!ing .rocesses (:a5u6 et al., 2220).

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2.2

Value of Information

%he information normally has no #alues if it is not rele#ant6 relia5le6 timely6 correct and com.lete6 and also if it is not utilised in the right +ay for the right .ur.ose. %he #alue of the information in this sense com.letely de.ends on +hat situation and .ur.ose it is used6 +hen it is used and +ho it is used6 and also can 5e considered as similar to other commodities (:a5u6 et al., 2220). 2.3 ole of Information in !ecision makin"

%he decision ma!ing .rocesses normally .ass through #arious stages6 such as intelligence6 design6 choice and re#ie+. %he intelligence stage the organisation collect6 classify and .rocess the data in consistent +ith the 5usiness o58ecti#es. %he .rocessed interrelated data .ro#ide information and that is analysed through #arious means at the design stage. %he most #alua5le6 rele#ant6 relia5le and economically feasi5le information is selected 5y the managers for the decision ma!ing .rocesses. for maintenance6 if re9uired (:a5u6 et al., 2220). %he im.lemented decision is re#ie+ed through collecting information and feed5ac!s from #arious sta!eholders and de.artments

Various Levels of Management and Decision Making Process

%here are 5asically three le#els of management and decision ma!ing .rocesses in an organisation6 such as o.erational le#el6 tactic le#el (middle le#el)6 and strategic le#el (to. le#el). %he nature of management decision and the information re9uired for decision ma!ing are #arying in each le#el ($etrides6 2224). %he 5asic le#el is the o.erational le#el6 +here the day;to;day acti#ities are ta!ing .lace6 such as transaction of commodities6 recording attendance of em.loyees etc. %he managers at this le#el are ha#ing short;term information need for accom.lishing their daily acti#ities ( eg. $ro#ide o#ertime to em.loyees6 order more stoc! etc. %ransaction $rocessing System (%$S) is using at this le#el for .rocessing data and .ro#iding information. %he information gathered through %$S is using for ta!ing short;term decisions 5y the &.erational le#el managers and are communicated to the ne't higher le#el ( middle le#el managers ("audon and "audon6 2223). %he second le#el of management is !no+n as tactic le#el or the middle le#el managers. %he information re9uired at this le#el is managerial information6 and is for ma!ing ta!e short;term decisions and .lans to meet the 5usiness o58ecti#es of the organisation.

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Information a5out the sales analysis of .ast one year6 or yearly .rofit of the com.any etc are the managerial information. Management Information System .lays #ital role in meeting the information needs of this le#el. MIS 5ecome central to the organisation due to its high .otential in meeting the information needs of the organisation. *s a result6 ma8ority of 5ig organisations are !ee.ing se.arate MIS de.artment for meeting the needs of managerial information. ecision Su..ort Systems are also used at this le#el for hel.ing the managers in their decision ma!ing .rocesses ("audon and "audon6 2223).

4igure 1> Information systems and #arious le#els of &rganisation Source> Reference ("audon and "audon6 2223)

%he third le#el of the management in an organisation is the strategic le#el6 +here the to. most managers are ma!ing the strategic decisions or ma!ing .olicies for meeting com.any o58ecti#es. %he information .ro#ided to this le#el is not accessi5le 5y the managers of other t+o le#els. 1'.ert information System (1IS) meet the information needs of this le#el and SS hel.s managers for ma!ing a..ro.riate and timely strategic decision or ma!ing .olicies ("audon and "audon6 2223).

!"e #rganisational $onte%t & 'atar (ir)ays

)atar *ir+ays is started in the year of 1004 5y the State of )atar +ith one aircraft. Currently6 )atar *ir+ays is ha#ing -/ ne+;generation aircrafts and is .lanned to ac9uire 112 aircrafts 5y 221, (<e5.21). %he )atar *ir+ays fly to /2 destinations across the glo5e and connects .eo.le6 5usiness6 .laces and leisure ca.itals across all continents and 4ar 1ast (<e5.22). )atar *ir+ays is honoured +ith ?, ( Star@ ran!ing for their e'cellent ser#ice6 and also the ca5in cre+s +ere ran!ed ?:est in the Middle 1ast@ 5y AS!ytra'B for .ast si' years for their customer ser#ice e'cellence6 through a sur#ey carried out a5o#e 1, million .assengers (<e5.21). %hese .ro#e that the )atar *ir+ays is one of the great successful

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and fast gro+ing a#iation industry in the +orld. %hey ha#e achie#ed this through timely and a..ro.riate managerial decisions that ha#e ta!en 5ased on the e'cellent information .ro#ided through their efficient MIS in .lace in the organisation. )atar *ir+ays is conducting a Customer Relationshi. Management (CRM) .rogramme connected +ith their codeshare;.artners !no+n as ?$ri#ilege Clu5@6 meant for .ro#iding greatest care and e'cellent ser#ices to their customers (<e5.23). %he mem5ers of the clu5 and their family mem5ers are .ro#ided +ith 5est .ri#ileged 5enefits on a .ersonalised +ay intended to .ro#ide a re+arding and unforgetta5le tra#elling e'.erience (<e5.24). %he )miles earned through tra#elling and .urchases +ith )atar *ir+ays and their .artners can 5e redeemed for other .urchases +ith the com.any and their codeshare;.artners. %he heart of the CRM .rogramme is a centralised data5ase integrated +ith the main MIS6 +hich is used for storing customer details6 their .urchase history6 their .ersonal interests etc for the real;time customer management and also for #arious other 5usiness o.erations (*ryal6 et al., 2220).

(nalysis of MIS at 'atar (ir)ays

%he main integrated Management Information System using in )atar *ir+ays is the $R&S &C Re#enue o.timisation solution suit6 de#elo.ed 5y the $R&S 7oliday Inc6 head9uartered in 7uston6 %e'as. %his information system is lin!ed +ith many other su5set information systems to im.ro#e the .erformance of the organisation6 thus the .roducti#ity and .rofita5ility. %he $R&S &C Re#enue &.timisation Solution suit is fundamentally meant for de#elo.ing a..ro.riate .ricing strategies as +ell as for de#elo.ing a..ro.riate 5usiness strategies and .olicies for the im.ro#ed .erformance of the organisation. %his they achie#ed through ma!ing o.timised .ricing decisions and also im.ro#ing the 5usiness .rocesses of the organisation for the 5etter financial .erformance (*ryal6 et al., 2220). %he strategic information .ro#ided 5y the MIS suit can 5e accessed 5y the %o.;le#el managers for the strategy or .olicy ma!ing .rocesses. #.1 The MIS in Qatar Airways is com$rehensi%e

MIS fundamentally contains #arious information systems that are ca.a5le of .ro#iding information to all le#els of the organisation. %he $R&S &C #arious information system su5sets such as> (*ryal6 et al., 2220). soft+are is also contains

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I:S Soft+are ( +hich is an a#iation control suit de#elo.ed 5y I:S I% com.any of India. %his is an integrated solution for the a#iation industry and it interconnects #arious other su5 information systems6 such as> (*ryal6 et al., 2220). o e.arture Control Systems ( CS)6 +hich is highly sensiti#e in controlling the aircrafts and its de.artures. %his .ro#ide information to the middle le#el managers o :aggage Reconciliation System (:RS) ( &.erational "e#el System o )uality Information System ()IS) ( <hich .ro#ide information to the to. le#el managers a5out the 9uality of the ser#ice that .ro#ided 5y the )atar *ir+ays6 and hel.s the managers to de#elo. ne+ 9uality .olicy and standards o Cargo Management System (CMS) ( %his .ro#ide information to the tactic le#el for ma!ing short;term decisions to sol#e #arious intermediate issues6 and also .ro#ide information to the strategic le#el for de#elo.ing ne+ .olicies and strategies for im.ro#ing the Cargo ser#ice of the organisation.

Su..ly Chain Management System (SCMS) ( %he I:S soft+are is used for the managing the needs of agents6 codeshare;.artners6 su..liers and customers and also for the managing the .rocurements.

Customer Relationshi. Management (CRM) ( o $R&S Real;%ime Customer Management System (R%CM) ( this is used for forecasting the ynamic .ricing 5ased on $assenger Dame Records ($DR). %he $R&S R%CM analyses the trends of the .assenger and #arious mar!et attri5utes to target the right customer +ith right .rice at the right time. %his .ro#ide information to the middle le#el for dynamic .ricing and to the to. le#el for de#elo.ing ne+ .ricing strategies (*ryal6 et al., 2220).

1nter.rises Resource $lanning System (1R$) ( %his integrates all information systems that are im.lemented and a..lied in #arious de.artments of )atar *ir+ays.

&n;"ine %ransaction $rocessing System (&"%$) ( %his is im.lemented and a..lied in the &.erational le#el of the organisation for recording information a5out #arious

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transactions and also .roducing information a5out these transactions to the to. le#els. %his .erforms #ariety of tas!s such as> (*ryal6 et al., 2220). o $ro#ide mostly u.dates o Record many small %ransactions o Store Ra+ data o Record u.;to;date data o Consistency 4rom these it can 5e clearly seen that the MIS im.lemented and a..lied in )atar *ir+ays is com.rehensi#e in its nature6 as it incor.orates many su5sets of information systems. #.2 MIS in Qatar Airways is strictly Coor&inate&

%he integrated MIS in )atar *ir+ays is strictly coordinated in such +ay that it ensures the recording and .rocessing of data6 office automation .rocesses6 .eo.le management6 intelligence and decision ma!ing .rocesses are carrying out effecti#ely. SS are a..lied in such a +ay that the other 5usiness com.onents are coordinated #ery effecti#ely to .roduce a..ro.riate decisions and 5usiness e'cellence. %he central MIS is coordinated effecti#ely to ensure that the information can 5e communicated and flo+ 5ac! and forth among the su5systems and to the central MIS. %his ensures the effecti#eness of information systems (*ryal6 et al., 2220)6 (Scott6 10/-). #.3 MIS in Qatar Airways is Inte"rate&

%he central MIS and other su5systems in )atar *ir+ays are integrated to du.lication of .rocesses and data6 and also to .ro#ide more rele#ant6 relia5le6 timely and com.lete information. %he 1nter.rises Resource $lanning (1R$) system that im.lemented in the )atar *ir+ays ensures the integration of all information systems and data5ases that connected to the MIS. %hat co#ers all functional areas and de.artments such as mar!eting de.t.6 sales de.t.6 finance and accounting de.t etc. *s a result of the 1R$ im.lementation the MIS .erforms all core 5usiness acti#ities of the com.any6 and .ro#ides e'cellent customer ser#ices increasing cor.orate image of the com.any (*ryal6 et al., 2220)6 (Scott6 10/-).

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#.'

!ata Security an& Mana"ement in Qatar Airways

%he )atar *ir+ays is maintaining t+o ty.es of security for their data ( Det+or! security and ata5ase security. %he net+or! security at )atar *ir+ays is managed 5y the SI%* %hey are %his %rans.ort Communications and I% Solutions for a contract of ESF32m.

maintaining a #ery ad#anced net+or! infrastructure for telecommunications.

interconnects all locations of *irlines to its reser#ation system6 through the e'tensi#ely and com.letely managed net+or!. %his has accom.lished through %C$GI$ .rotocol suit that run o#er the I$ ( V$D (Virtual $ri#ate Det+or!) of SI%* (*ryal6 et al., 2220)6 (:aner8ee and Sachde#a6 100,). %he )atar *ir+ays has an integrated central data5ase6 +hich is held 5y )tel through a technology .artnershi. agreement6 and the data5ase is managed 5y the I% de.artment of )atar *ir+ays. %hey ensure .rotection6 security and com.rehensi#e connecti#ity for the *irlines and its #arious locations and de.artments (*ryal6 et al., 2220). #.# MIS at Qatar Airways (nhances )ro&ucti%ity

%he integrated MIS in )atar *ir+ays is central to the com.any for .ro#iding e'cellent ser#ices to their customers6 indi#iduals6 .artners and other e'ternal organisations. %his is #ery hel.ful for early identification of e'ternal threats and internal .ro5lems. %his is also #ery hel.ful in .redicting and identifying the forth;coming o..ortunities of the com.any. MIS also .ro#ide a.t solutions for enhancing the 5usiness .rocesses of the organisation and also !ee. su..orts to their normal management .rocesses (:aner8ee and Sachde#a6 100,). %he MIS in )atar *ir+ays .ro#ides #arious facilities to the organisation for enhancing their .roducti#ity6 such as> (*ryal6 et al., 2220). Increased Det+or! &.timisation 4acilitate ynamic $ricing 1nhance the total efficiency of the organisation %hat analyses the mar!et and .assenger attri5utes 7el.s to target the right customer and segment +ith right .rice 7el.s to de#elo. .ro.er sales .lan and 5usiness strategy

%his sho+s that the MIS using in )atar *ir+ays facilitate #arious 5usiness functions of the organisation to increase the .roducti#ity and thus the .rofita5ility of the organisation.

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$onclusion and ,ecommendation

%he MIS im.lemented in )atar *ir+ays is fully integrated and com.rehensi#e. %his is incor.orated +ith #arious su5systems connecting #arious de.artment of the organisation. %he integration of #arious su5systems in MIS is done through 1nter.rises Resource $lanning6 +hich eliminates the du.lication of the data and .rocesses. %he MIS is centrally coordinated to ensure the storing and .rocessing of data6 data and information flo+ among #arious su5systems and de.artments of the organisation6 and also .ro#ide a..ro.riate su..ort to the managers on their decision ma!ing .rocesses. %he system .ro#ide su..ort to all le#els of the organisation6 +hich facilitate the decision ma!ing .rocess of managers in #arious le#els. %he MIS in )atar *ir+ays enhances the .roducti#ity of the organisation through .ro#iding effecti#e ?.roduct differentiation@6 +hich considered as the !ey to their success. %he MIS also hel.s to .ro#ide customer focused or .ersonalised ser#ices to the customers6 +hich is accounted as the mechanism of their success. %he technologically u.dated Management Information System is accounted as the reason 5ehind their success (*ryal6 et al., 2220). 7o+e#er6 there are many .itfalls in the system6 as it demonstrates many times the style and characteristics of the managers. %he system is mainly constructed in accordance +ith the distincti#e style and 5eha#ioural .atterns of the managers6 +ho contri5uted to the re9uirements of the system6 and also it +ill ha#e a great influence of the .erson +ho uses the system. %he com.any is recommended to consider these dra+5ac!s in the creation and im.lementation of the system to ma!e it inde.endent of indi#iduals and also common to the +hole com.any.

,eference

*ryal. D.6 Shrestha6 D.6 =himire6 H.6 and :harad+a86 D.6 (2220)> ?)atar *ir+ays> Current Scenario@6 presented by Qatar Airways on Autherstream :a5u6 *.R.6 Singh6 I.$.6 and Sachde#a6 R.H.6 (2220)> ?1sta5lishing a management information system@6 Indian Institute of ublic Administration, !ew "elhi, India :aner8ee6 E.H.6 and Sachde#a6 R.H.6 (100,)> ?#anagement information system$ A new frame wor%, De+ elhi> Vi!as $u5lishing 7ouse "audon6 H.C.6 and "audon6 J.$.6 (2223)> #anagement Information &ystems, (12th 1dition) $rentice;7all International (EH) "imited6 "ondon6 IS:D> 2;13;21,-/2;,

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$etrides6 ".*.6 (2224)> ?Hno+ledge Management6 Information Systems and &rganisations@6 '"()A(&' )entre for Applied *esearch, Volume 22246 Issue 22 Scott6 =.M.6 (10/-)> rinciples of #anagement Information &ystem, (Second 1dition) Mc=ra+;7ill :oo! Com.any6 IS:D> 2;23;I--,42;36 .. 03;122

.e/Pages (ccessed0 <e5.21> +and a ,reat )areer with Qatar Airways6 K*ccessed on 2,;2,;2212 at /.22.mL a#aila5le on MER"N htt.>GG+++.9atarair+ays.comGglo5alGenGcareers.html <e5.22> )orporate &ocial *esponsibility, K*ccessed on 2,;2,;2212 at /.32.mL a#aila5le on MER"N htt.>GG+++.9atarair+ays.comGglo5alGenGcsr.html <e5.23> rivilege )lub, K*ccessed on 2,;2,;2212 at 0.32.mL a#aila5le on MER"N htt.>GG+++.9atarair+ays.comG.ri#ilegeclu5GenGa5out;us.html <e5.24> -amily rogramme, K*ccessed on 2,;2,;2212 at 12.22.mL a#aila5le on MER"N htt.>GG+++.9atarair+ays.comG.ri#ilegeclu5GenGfamily;.rogramme.html <e5.2,> .ypes of Information &ystems, K*ccessed on 2-;2,;2212 at 12.22amL a#aila5le on MER"N http>GG+++.freetutes.comGsystemanalysisGty.es;of;information; system.html

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