AVS College of Arts & Science

(Recognized under Section 2(f) & 2 (B) of UGC Act 1956 and Accredited by NAAC)
(Affiliated to Periyar University, Salem & Approved by AICTE, New Delhi)

Attur Main Road, Ramalingapuram, SALEM – 636106

Study Material
Management Information
Paper Name :
System
Paper Code : 19UBXA01
Batch : 2019-2020
Class & Semester : III BBA(CA) & 5th Semester

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 MODEL QUESTION PAPER SPECIMEN
SUBJECT NAME: MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM

TIME : 3 HOURS MAXIMUM : 75 MARKS

PART – A (10 x 2 = 20 Marks)
Answer all Questions
Answer to each question shall not exceed six lines
1. From Unit – I
2. From Unit – I
3. From Unit – II
4. From Unit – II
5. From Unit – III
6. From Unit – III
7. From Unit – IV
8. From Unit – IV
9. From Unit – V
10. From Unit – V
PART – B (5 x 5 = 25 Marks)
Answer all Questions
Answer to each question shall not exceed three pages
11. a. From Unit – I
(or)
b. From Unit – I
12. a. From Unit – II
(or)
b. From Unit – II
13. a. From Unit – III
(or)
b. From Unit – III
14. a. From Unit – IV
(or)
b. From Unit – IV
15. a. From Unit – V
(or)
b. From Unit – V
PART – C (3 x 10 = 30 Marks)
Answer all Questions
Answer to each question shall not exceed six pages
16. a. From Unit – I
17. a. From Unit – II
18. a. From Unit – III
19. a. From Unit – IV
20. a. From Unit – V

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 MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM

UNIT – I

Introduction – environment of organizations – management informationSystem –

information flow – need and sources – management decisions – importance and role.

UNIT – II

Characteristics of computer information system – importance of computer – role of

the computer – types of computer – Software – Hardware – CPU – MU – Input – Output –
application and operations

UNIT – III

System classification – concept characteristics – elements – feedback control –

boundary – function and operations – system design – function of system analyst assignment
and investigation – implementation – evaluation and maintenance of MIS.

UNIT- IV

Transactions processing information systems – information systems formanagers –

intelligence system – decision support system – integration –data collection and preparation –
database – components – utility of the operation of the data base technology

UNIT-V

Functional Management information systems – production, marketing accounting,

personnel, financial, relationship – impact and their role in the managerial decision – making

TEXT BOOK:

1. CVS Murthy, Management Information System, HPH.

2. Davis & Olson, Management Information System, MGH.

REFERENCE BOOKS
\
1. R. Senapathi, MIS, Lakshmi Publications.
2. Lucas, The analysis, design and implementation of information system, MGH.
3. G.M. Scott, Principles of management information system, MGH.
4. Dr. S.P. Rajagopalan, Management information system, Margham
publications.

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 UNIT-I

[Introduction – environment of organizations – management informationSystem –

information flow – need and sources – management decisions – importance and role.]

MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM

Introduction:

 An MIS can be defined as a combination of people, computers and procedures for

collecting and organizing information to facilitate decision making.
 In any organization a reasonable amount of time and effort is devoted to data
collection, documenting, processing and communication.
 Every individual looks for information that is relevant to her duties.
 Thus, information is people oriented and varies with the nature of people's work in the
organization.

DEFINITION OF MIS

Gordon B.Davis defines Management Information System as:

(i) An integrated user machine system,

(ii) For providing information ,
(iii) To support the operations, management analysis and decision-making functions.

The system utilizes:

(i) Computer hardware and software,

(ii) Manual procedures
(iii) Models for analysis, planning, control, and decision-making, and
(iv) A database.

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Other definitions are as under:

A Management Information System is used to transform data into useful information

as needed to support managerial decision making with structured decisions which are those
that are based on predictable patterns of activity. The typical MIS is based on four major
components.

(i) Data gathering: Data pertinent to the operations of the organization are gathered
from both external and internal sources.
(ii) Data entry: the above data is inputted and stored in database as the information
processing core of the system.
(iii) Data transformation: Data is transformed into useful information through the
application of computer software programs and judgments made by technical
support staff and other system users.
(iv) Information utilization: This useful information is retrieved as needed by the
management and technical personnel and applied to a wide variety of decisions
related to the conduct of organizational operations.

BENEFITS OF MIS:

 Each of the levels of organization needs information systems. The specific needs vary
from level to level.
 Organizational information systems are the oldest and best for study purpose. The
other two systems are working group information system and personal information
system.
 Information systems exist, because they provide organizations with a competitive
advantage. Even in non-profit and service oriented organization, information systems
are key to the organization’s ability to provide greater and better quality service.
 A number of researchers have identified three levels or types of activity that can
benefit.
 An organization can be pictured as a three layered cake.

Top
Layer (3)

Middle
Layer (2)

Bottom
Layer (1)

Figure: Different layers in an organization

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  Layer3: the non-programmed (unstructured) decision-making processes are found
here that are required t design and redesign the entire system, to provide it with its
basic goals and objectives and to monitor its performance.
 Layer 2: we have the programmed (structured) decision-making processes; the
processes that govern the day to day operations of the manufacturing and distribution
system.
 Layer 1: here, the processes procure raw materials, manufacture the physical product,
store them in warehouses and ship it.
 Robert Anthony also identified three levels in a subsequent publication as:
(i) Operational control,
(ii) Management control, and
(iii) Strategic planning.

MIS FUNCTIONS/COMPONENTS:

 Many organizations design management information systems to provide managers with

the necessary information to make intelligent decisions.
 A management information system is used to collect data, store and process data, and
present information to managers.
 Management Information System is a combination of computers and procedures for
providing information that manager’s use in making decisions.

Collect data

Store and process data

Present information to
managers

Figure: Functions of an MIS

1. Collect data: Massive amount of information are available to organizations- personnel
records, information about customers, information about competitors, sales data,
accounting data and so on.
 The first function of an MIS is to determine the information needed to make decisions
and to organize it into a database.
 A ‘Data Base’ is an integrated collection of data stored in one place for efficient
access and information processing.
2. Store and process data: After creation of data, a database must be stored and processed
in a form useful to managers. Data are generally stored on magnetic tape or hard disks
when mainframe computers are used. The data can be loaded into computers in seconds
for easy access by the user.

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3. Present information to managers: After collection of data, storing and processing of
data, the next step is to present the information to managers for their use.

TYPES OF MIS:
There are four types of management information systems:
 Transaction processing systems
 Operations information systems
 Decision support systems
 Expert systems

Transaction processing systems:

These systems process a large volume of routine, recurring transactions. Example: a
bank's system for recording deposits and payments.
Operations information systems:
These systems gather comprehensive data, organize it and summarize it in a form that
is useful for managers. Example: an inventory management system.
Decision support systems:
These systems help mangers with the necessary information to make intelligent
decisions. They have three fundamental components: database of relevant information,
decision making models and a user friendly interface.
Expert systems:
Are meant to mimic humans in making decisions in a specific field

ENVIRONMENT OF ORGANIZATIONS
MIS is a system which:
(i) sub serves managerial functions
(ii) collects information systematically and routinely
(iii) supports planning and control decisions
(iv) includes files, hardware, software and operations research models.

MIS helps the organization to handle the required information by four common concepts
namely:

(i) management accounting

(ii) management science
(iii) management theory
(iv) data processing

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 LEVEL OF MANAGEMENT

1. Top management …………………. Strategic level

2. Middle management ……………… Tactical level
3. Supervisory management…………. Operational level
4. Data processing…………………… Transactional level

Top management

 The main responsibility of top management is in the direction of determining the

overall goals of the business, dealing with the long term plans, policy matters and
broad objectives of the organization.
 It establishes a framework under which the various departments will operate.
 Top management needs information of the external environment like economic,
political and social aspects etc., and on the functioning of the internal organizational
subsystems.
 It needs historical information along with ongoing or current information which is
generated through forecasts.
 The information used is futuristic and external in nature.
 The decisions at this level are non programmed and strategic.

Middle management
 It is concerned with the elaboration, classification and transformation of
organizational goals into action plans and policies.
 It formulates the pragmatic operating policies and procedures for the guidance of
the supervisory staff.
 It needs information for short-term planning. Information is internal in nature, fed
fro top management/supervisory management.

Supervisory management
 It is concerned with the implementation of the operational plans, policies and
procedures for converting the inputs to outputs.
 Decisions are routine (day to day decisions) taken by manages and are mostly
programmed and the functions and processes at this level are standardized and
structured.
 It is also known as ‘operational management’ and is concerned with operational
plans, policies and procedures.

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 MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM

Management

 Management define ‘the art of getting things done through people’

 Management emphasizes the ultimate use of information system for managerial
decision making
 Managers direct and coordinate resources effectively and effectively to achieve the
goals of an org.
 In essence, managers get the job done through other people
FUNCTIONS OF MANAGERS

 Planning

 This step involves mapping out exactly how to achieve a particular

goal
 The manager’s first needs to decide which steps are necessary to
accomplish that goal
 This may include increasing advertising, inventory and sales staff
 The necessary steps are developed into a plan
 Organizing
 It involves evolving the structure of the people working in the org and
their roles
 Building a meaningful effective structure of authority and the
relationship is known as organizing
 Staffing
 Defining the manpower needs for position or centre of activity
 That is, staffing by recruiting, selecting, training and developing
employees
 It requires appropriate selection of the person or person ensuring that
they together will achieve the goals and objectives of organisation
 Directing
 Its require to guide, clarify and solve the problems of the people and
their activities.
 It is necessary to motivate the people to work for the goal with an
interest and a confidence.
 It is the process of managers.
 Coordinating
 It synchronizes individual actions and the efforts which may differ
because of the differences in the personal goals and the common goals.
 Controlling
 It is a process of measurement of an output, comparing it with the goal,
the objectives and the target, and taking corrective actions.

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Information Flow

 Many kinds of manipulations and transfers of information support daily operations

and decision-making in a manufacturing company.
 Gathering information, analyzing it and reporting it are the main jobs of an MIS.
 To do so, Management Information System collects raw data facts, statistics, opinions
and predictions from both inside and outside the company and then organizes them so
that they can be stored.
 Not all of these are useful to each manager; a lot may be too detailed or perhaps
irrelevant.
 So the MIS must pull out from the flood of data that pours in each day, only the
selected piece of data that a particular manager needs.

Figure: Information flow

NEEDS OF MIS

MIS help the management at various levels and it is a means of communication where
data are collected, processed, stored and retrieved later for making decisions regarding
planning, operation and control of an organization.

Decision-making is an important requirement in every organization, wherein there are

different types of information obtained from different functional areas of management like
finance, marketing, production, personnel, planning and control etc.

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 The information needs of managers depend on their place in the management
hierarchy. Lower level management, who are concerned with operational control, requires
frequent and highly detailed information – predominantly from internal sources.

Top managers are primarily concerned with strategic planning and control, so they
need information that is highly summarized and focused on identifying general trends and
performance. The information needed by managers to make decisions and solve problems
varies in accordance with their level in the organisation.

Managers at the top of the organization’s hierarchy have a unique need for
information related to the formulation of strategy, policies, long-range plans, and long-term
objectives. Middle managers tend to have greater need for information required to formulate
tactical and operation plans and objectives, to implement strategies and to make operational
decisions.

Finally, first level managers, that is lower level managers have unique needs for
information that will help them implement operation plans, make short-term decisions and
conduct day-to-day business.

CHARACTERISTICS OF MIS

Management oriented

 The design of MIS takes care of managers

 The development of the system starts after deciding the management needs
and keeping in view the overall objectives

Management directed

 After planning and investment, management is involved in the design,

implementation and maintenance of the system

Integrated

 5 M’s-Men, Money, materials, Machines, and Methods are the basic responses
of MIS
 It has member of number subsystems, in order to make sub systems effective,
they have to be viewed as an integrated system
 It binds together databases of subsystem, integrates the organisation

Avoids redundancy

 It avoids unnecessary duplication and redundancy in data gathering and

storage.

Common data flows

 Common data flow tries to utilizes minimum data processing efforts and to
minimize the number of output documents and reports.

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Strategic planning

 MIS requires detailed planning activities like acquisition and deployment of

hardware, software human processing

Subsystem concept

 MIS gives provision for breaking into various subsystem based on the activity
as well as fictional of organisation

Common database

It acts as master that holds the functional subsystem together

Computerization

This provides speed in creating and accessing files, accuracy, consistency in data
processing, reduction in clerical work, avoid human errors etc.

SOURCES OF MIS

 The source could be

 Internal
 External
 For the management control functions top managers, however, the sources of
information must be both internal and external.
 Top managers are generally concerned with the overall financial performance of their
organizations. They therefore need information on quarterly sales and profits, on the
other relevant indicators of financial performance and on the performance of
competitors.
 Internal control report, for top managers come in at monthly, quarterly and sometimes
even annual internals.
 There are firms which require computer based reports on an hourly basis.
 External information originates outside the organization. Such information is needed by
upper levels of management to plan and to guide the organization in a profitable
direction. Examples are;
 Description of customer satisfaction with products and services.
 Demand for new products or services.
 Knowledge of promotions, price changes or products planned by competing firms.
 Details of changes in government regulations.
 Information describing changes in suppliers or policies of suppliers.
 Many firms supply information to external users. A few common ones may include:
 Sales revenues and profits to the internal revenue service.

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 MANAGEMENT DECISIONS

 Decisions vary with reference to the structure that can be provided for making them.

Figure: Management Information System for decision-making

 In MIS there are two way of passing information to managers for taking decisions.
 One is Internal and another one is External.
 Internal is nothing but within the organization activities will give information for take
decisions through staff specialists, sales representatives and production people.
 External is without an organization (outside) through the peoples of customers,
distributors, competitors and consultants.
 A highly structured decision can be preplanned or prespecified , whereas a highly
unstructured decision cannot.
 A structured decision can be said to be programmable, in the sense that unambiguous
decision rules can be specified in advance.
 The structured, programmable decision tends to be routine and frequently repeated,
whereas the unstructured decision is vice versa.
 Many decisions are more or less structured and have some elements that are
programmable.
 The well-known model proposed by Herbert A Simon ‘The New Science of
Management Decision’ in 1960, has been strategically used as the basis for describing
the decision-making process.
 The model consists of three major phases: Intelligence, Design, and Choice.
Here are seven steps that will help you consistently make wise management decisions:

1. Make sure it’s your decision to make. Sometimes the most stressful decisions of all
are the ones that belong to someone else. Make sure you’re the one responsible for
finding a solution.
2. Consider and write down your alternatives. If you know your options, making
decisions becomes more of a strategy and less of a stressful event. Writing them down
turns those options into reality, and gives you the freedom to consider something

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 without actually doing it. Think of your options as pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, one that
will help you identify the best possible solution for a particular situation.
3. Collect more information. After you’ve jotted down your options, gather more data
and try to imagine the outcome of each alternative. This is a safe way to experiment
without putting anything or anyone in jeopardy.
4. Don’t underestimate the value of a gut feeling. You’re visceral — or gut —
response to something should never be dismissed. That response is based on your own
knowledge and experience. Indeed, if you minimize your intuition regarding a
management decision, you may regret it when it’s too late. If you’re comfortable, then
go for it, or perhaps you can reality-test it with a colleague. If you’re still unsure, you
might need more information, or it might be time to abandon that alternative. What’s
important here is that you learn to trust your instincts and stand firmly by them.
5. Don’t underestimate your employees’ input. If you want to be informed, it’s a good
idea to listen to everyone’s input. Remember, you can learn from your employees.
Later, you can filter out what’s useful and what’s not. Belittling someone’s input can
be especially damaging and can result in low morale and decreased productivity.
Make sure your employees know that you value their input. Remember, some of the
biggest “mistakes” in business have become big sellers like penicillin and Post-it.
6. Don’t overestimate, either. Just as you might underrate the information you glean
from one source or another, you also might rely too heavily on what you perceive to
be someone’s expertise. Sometimes people seem smarter than they are, or the
information they’re providing — while persuasive-sounding — may be out-of-date or,
worse, inaccurate. To avoid this trap, try to obtain information from as many sources
as possible. This will give you more to work with when it comes down to making
wise management decisions.
7. Perform a cost-benefit analysis. Make sure that your decisions make good financial
sense. Attaching a finance filter to your decision-making process will help you weed
out alternatives that may seem wise on the surface, but in reality, aren't good for your
business. You need to add up the value of the benefits and then subtract the costs. If
you’re in the red, then it’s time to start over, or at the very least, cross that particular
option off your list. Basically, you want to ask yourself, “Is this worth it?”
IMPORTANCE OF MIS

 MIS is always management oriented and keeps in view every level of

management and gets desired information’s
 Integrated-refers to how difference components (Subsystem) are actually tied
up together.
 Useful for planning-as every organisation makes long-term and shot-term
plans with the help of information like sales & productions, capital
investments, stocks etc management can easily plan.
 Effective MIS helps the management to know deviations of actual
performance from pre-set target and control things.
 It’s important for increasing efficiency.
 MIS provides updated results of various departments to management.

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  MIS adds to the intelligence, alertness, awareness of managersby
providingthem information in the form of progress and review reports of an
ongoing activity.
 MIS is highly computerized so it provides accurate results.

ROLE OF MIS

 The Management Information System is to produce information so that people within

the firm can use it in their decision-making.An MIS must manipulate great quantities
of data in various ways, often with the aid of computers.

 MIS plays exactly same role in the organisation. The system ensures that an
appropriate data is collected from the various sources, processed, and sent further
to all the needy destinations.

 The MIS helps the junior management personnel by providing the operational data
for planning, scheduling the control, and helps them further in decision-making at
the operational level to correct an out of control situation.

 The MIS helps the middle management in short term planning, target setting and
controlling the business functions. It is supported by the use of the management tools
of planning and control.

 The MIS helps the top management in goal setting, strategic planning and evolving
the business plans and their implementation.

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 QUESTION BANK (UNIT – I)

PART – A (2 MARKQUESTIONS)

1. Define MIS.(APRIL 2015 & 2016)

2. Define information system?(APR 2017)

3. Explain about the Information Flow?(NOV 2015)

4. What is management?(APR 2017)

5. What is hardware? (APRIL 2015)

6. Short note on decision making?

7. Define system? (APRIL 2016 & 2016)

8. Write any two benefits of MIS?(NOV 2016)

9. What is role of an MIS?(APR-2018)

10. What are the two types of information system?(APR-2018)

11. What is data? ( April – 2019)

12. What is information system? ( April – 2019)

PART – B (5 MARKQUESTIONS)

1. Narrate the various features of information? (APR 2017)

2. Explain the MIS functions?(NOV 2016)
3. MIS as a system explain? (APR 2017)
4. Write the needs of MIS? (APRIL 2015)
5. What are the roles of MIS?
6. Discuss the components of MIS?(NOV 2015)
7. What are the benefits of MIS?(NOV 2016)
8. What are the objectives of MIS?explain(APR-2018)
9. Describe the relationship between decision making and MIS(APR-2018)
10. What are the main characteristics and importance of MIS.?( April – 2019)
11. Explain the importance of decision making. ( April – 2019)

PART – C (10 MARKQUESTIONS)

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ANSWER ALL THE QUESTION

1. What are the Types of MIS?(NOV 2016)

2. Illustrate Decision making in MIS?(APR 2017)

3. What are the Sources of MIS?

4. Mention important characteristic features of MIS, explain how the components of an

MIS are interrelated.(APR-2018)

5. Explain types of Software? (APRIL 2015)

6. Briefly explain the characteristics of MIS in detail?(NOV 2016)

7. Various types of computer?(APRIL 2016)

8. What are the basic requirement of MIS? Explain in details.( April – 2019)

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 UNIT-II

[ Characteristics of computer information system – importance of computer – role of

the computer – types of computer – Software – Hardware – CPU – MU – Input – Output –
application and operations ]

CHARACTERISTICS OF COMPUTERS:
Computers are not just adding machines; they are capable of doing complex activities
and operations.

Word length
 A digital computer operates on binary digits – 0 and 1.
 A binary digit is called a bit. A group of 8 bits is called byte.
 The number of bits that a computer can process at a time in parallel is called word
length.
 Commonly used lengths are 8, 16, 32 or 64 bits.
Speed
 Computers can calculate at very high speeds.
 For examples microcomputer and supercomputers can execute millions of instructions
per second without any mistake.
 As the power of the computer increases, the speed also increases.
Storage
 A computer can store a large amount of data.

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  The capability of storing and retrieving huge amounts of data in a fast and efficient
manner is one of the important characteristics of computers.
Accuracy
 The accuracy of a computer system is very high.
 Errors in hardware can occur, but error detecting and correcting techniques will prevent
false results.
 In most cases, the errors are due to the human factor rather than the technological
flaws.
 A wrong input is given; the output also will be wrong- GIGO (Garbage In Garbage
Out).
Versatility
 Computers are very versatile machines.
 They are capable of performing almost any task.
 Computers can communicate with other computers and can receive and send data in
various forms like text, sound, video, graphics etc.
 This ability of computer to communicate to one another has led to the development of
computer networks, internet, WWW and so on.
Automation

 The level of automation achieved in a computer is phenomenal.

 Once a task is initiated, computers can proceed on its own till its completion.
 Computers can be programmed to perform serious tasks involving multiple programs.
 Computers will perform these things flawlessly.
Diligence

 Diligence means being constant and earnest in effort and application.

 Being a machine, a computer does not have any human weaknesses.
 They won’t get tired or bored.
 They will not go into depression or loose concentration.

IMPORTANCE OF COMPUTER
1. Planning
 In order to be competitive, mega corporations, large-workforce organizations and even
small and medium businesses need to do long range corporate planning in a systematic
manner.
 Such organization development initiatives encompass human resources development,
finance and budget allocation, procurement and supply chain, sales and marketing,
research and development.

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 Automated business processes, advanced computer systems and allied software
applications provide companies with reports, tools and practices to address strategic
objectives and the techniques and methods to achieve organizational goals.
2. Communication
 Computer networks connected over an intranet-based system or Web-based environment
can communicate with one another.
 In modern businesses, business owners and enterprise decision makers need employees to
communicate instantly with each other, collaborate and share files, information and
relevant documents quickly in order to execute work-related tasks and pursuits.
 Use of e-mail systems, instant messaging tools and more recently social networking
applications has also enhanced swifter communication with business partners, customers,
suppliers and other key external stakeholders.
3. Transactions Management
 Organizations and businesses perform thousands of transactions at varied customer and
business partner --facing interfaces.
 Purchase managers, inventory system professionals and accounts and financial personnel
need to keep track of invoices, purchase orders, payment gateways on organization
websites and all transactions at the operational level.
 Computer systems integrate varied transaction processes and activities and facilitate real-
time tracking of transactions.
 IT applications speed the process of transaction activities and help in calculations,
generation of accurate summaries and reports.
4. Decision Making
 In contemporary businesses, gigabytes and masses of data and information is generated
on a daily basis.
 Computers, IT systems and allied software programs help companies to classify, arrange,
systematize and analyze information.
 Use of CRM solutions, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems Management
Information Systems (MIS) and database systems enable companies to operationally
manage business processes and functional areas.
 Market intelligence, sales reports and customer insights generated from such systems aid
business managers, top management and project heads in important decision making
processes.
5. Improve Productivity
 One of the primary purposes of deploying large-scale computer systems, software,
networking and IT tools is to gain productivity on all levels in an organization.
 All departments, manufacturing and production facilities and offshore centers should be
able to leverage the capabilities and of modern IT systems and technologies and function
more effectively and efficiently.

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 Used strategically, computers streamline employee workflows, operational activities and
functional processes, ensure better control in business management and impact the
bottom-line.

ROLE OF THE COMPUTER

 Computer has changed the way we are working and play a vital role in every field

 Computers aid industrial process

 Computer find applications in medicine
 Computers are the heart of the software industry
 Computers play a vital role in education

 Role of computer in Education

 Role of computer in Business
 Role of computer in CAD (Computer-Aided-Design)
 Role of computer in Managements
 Role of computer in Accounting
 Role of computer in Medicine
TYPES OF COMPUTERS
Computer systems are classified as Microcomputer, Minicomputers, Mainframes
and Supercomputers.

 Microcomputers
 The most familiar kind of computer is the microcomputer.
 It considered being of two types, Personal Computers and Workstations.
Personal computers (PCs):
 PCs were desktop or portable machines.
 These machines ran comparatively easy-to-use applications software such as the word
processors, spreadsheets, etc.
 They were usually easier to use and more affordable than workstations.
 Most important, they did not have the processing power that workstations did.
Workstations:
 Workstations are expensive, powerful machines used by engineers, scientists, and
other professionals who processed a lot of data.
 Workstation also use powerful networking links to other computers.
 The more powerful workstations are called super micros.

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 Portable Computers
 Personal computing market is seeing the miniaturization phenomena.
 Now, computers are becoming smaller yet more powerful.
 One type of pc that is rapidly growing in popularity is the portable computer, which
can be easily carried around.
 Three categories of portable computers:
 Laptops or Notebook PCs
 Subnotebooks
 Personal Digital Assistants.
 Minicomputers
 Minicomputers, also known as mid range computers were first developed as special
purpose mainframe computers.
 They were used, for instance, to control machines in a manufacturing unit.
 The more powerful minicomputer models are called super minis.
 Also, the increasing powers of microcomputer workstations have made it harder to
distinguish between minis and microcomputers.
 One of the popular minicomputer systems is the VAX made by Digital Equipment
Corporation.
 Minicomputers work well in what are known as Distributed Data Processing (DDP).
 That is, a company’s processing power is decentralized, or distributed across different
computers.

 Mainframes
 Mainframe computers can process several million-program instructions per second.
 Large organizations rely on these room-size systems to handle large programs with
lots of data.
 Mainframes are mainly used by insurance companies, banks airline and railway
reservation systems, etc.
 An advanced mainframe made by IBM is S/390.

 Super Computers
 Supercomputers are the fastest calculating devices ever invented.
 A desktop microcomputer processes data and instructions in millionths of a seconds,
or microseconds.
 A supercomputer, by contrast, can operate at speeds measured in nanoseconds and
even in picoseconds-one thousands to one millions times as fast as microcomputers.

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  Most supercomputers are used by government agencies.
 These machines are for applications requiring very large programs and huge amounts
of data that must be processed quickly.

Network Computers
 Network computers are computers with minimal memory, disk storage and processor
power designed to connect to a network, especially the Internet.
 The idea behind network computers is that many users who are connected to a
network don’t need all the computer power they get from a typical personal computer.

HARDWARE
Primary and secondary storage
All data and programs must be placed in this unit or memory of the computer before
they can be used in processing. In modern computer, this unit consists of micro-electronic
semiconductor storage circuit
Peripheral hardware
Peripheral is the name given to a wide variety of input/output equipment and
secondary storage devices that depend on direct connections or telecommunication links to
the CPU.
Telecommunications hardware
Many computer systems consists of peripheral devices interconnected by
communication links to one or more central processing units.
Multiprocessor hardware
Many current computers from micro-computers to large mainframes use multiple
processors for their processing functions. Instead of one CPU with a single control unit, the
CPUs of these contain several processing units. The major types of multi-processor computer
systems are:
(i) support processors
(ii) coupled processors and
(iii) parallel processors
Software
The disk operating systems developed by software specialty firms have found
widespread acceptance due to standardization. There are large collections of programs, not
stored in the main memory at the same time, which would limit the space in RAM to store
application programs and data.
An example of widely used system software is the CP/M i.e. controls program/
microprocessor, which is a product of Digital Research Corporation, standardized for a 8 bit

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personal computer, whereas MS DOS is a standard for a 16-bit personal computer, and both
use popular Intel 8088 or 8086 microprocessor chips.
Software packages are becoming increasingly ‘user friendly’ which is written in the
language of the user instead of the machine. The use of menu which provides the user with
clearly labeled options enhance user friendliness.
Eg: A program designed to assist an instructor in keeping records of the class grades
will display the following master menu on a CRT screen

Make a selection from the master menu

1 Create a Class File

2 Change a Class File
3 Enter Grades
4 Compute Grades and Statistics
5 Print a Report
6 Exit from the main program
Enter the number of your selection

Similarly, more detailed menus would guide the instructor

CENTRAL PROCESSING UNIT (CPU):

 The part of the computer that executes program instructions is known as the processor
or central processing unit (CPU).
 A microcomputer’s system cabinet will also house disk drives, hard disk, etc., but
these are considered separate from the CPU.
 The CPU has two parts –the control unit and the arithmetic-logic unit (ALC).

Control Unit

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  The control unit tells the rest of the computer system how to carry out a program’s
instructions.
 It directs the movements of electronic signals between memory –which temporarily
holds data, instructions and processed information – and the ALU.
 It also directs these control signals between the CPU and input/output devices.
Arithmetic-Logic Unit (ALU)

 ALU performs two types of operations – arithmetic and logic.

 Arithmetic operations are the fundamental mathematical operations consisting of
addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.
 Logical operations consist of comparisons.
Memory

 It also known as the primary storage or main memory - is a part of microcomputer

that holds data for processing, instructions for processing the data program and
information.
 Part of the contents of the memory is held only temporarily, that is, it is stored only as
long as the microcomputer is turned on.
 The capacity of the memory to hold data and program instruction varies in different
computers.
 The original IBM PC could hold approximately 6,40,000 characters of data or
instructions only.
 But modern microcomputers can hold millions, even billions of characters in their
memory.

Registers

 Computers have several additional storage locations called registers.

 These appear in the control unit and ALU and make processing more efficient.
 Registers are a sort of special hi-speed storage areas that hold data and instructions
temporarily during processing.
Addresses

 To locate the characters of data or instructions in the main memory, the computer
stores them in locations known as addresses.
 A unique number designates each address.
 Addresses can be compared to post office mailboxes.
 Their numbers stay the same, but contents continuously change.

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 MEMORY UNITS:
 Memory units are internal storage areas in a computer.
 The term memory identifies data storage that comes in the form of chips, and the
word storage is used for memory that exists on tapes or disks.
 The term memory is usually used as a short form for physical memory, which refers
to the actual chi capable of holding data.

There are several different types of memory,

1. RAM (Random Access Memory)
2 .ROM (Read Only Memory)
3. PROM (Programmable Read Only Memory)
4. EPROM (Electrically Programmable Read Only Memory)
5. EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory)
RAM:
 The term RAM refers to read and write memory, that is wrote data into RAM and
read data from RAM.
 RAM is volatile, which means that it requires a floe of electricity to maintain its
contents.
 As soon as the power is turned off, data was in RAM is lost.
 RAM is the most common type of memory found in the computer and other devices,
such as printers. There are two types of RAM:
 Dynamic RAM(DRAM)- being the more common type. Dynamic RAM needs to be
refreshed thousands of times per second.

 Static RAM (SRAM)- needs to be refreshed less often, which makes it faster, but it
is more expensive than Dynamic RAM.
ROM:
 ROM refers Read Only Memory, a computer memory on which data has been
prerecorded once data has been written onto a ROM chip, it cannot be removed and
only can be read.
 ROM retains its contents even when the computer is turned off.

26
  ROM is referred to as nonvolatile.
 Most personal computers contain a small amount of ROM that stores critical
programs such as the program that boots the computer.
 ROMs are used in calculators and laser printer.
PROM:
 PROM pronounced as Programmable Read Only Memory.
 A PROM is a memory chip on which data can be written only once.
 Once a program has been written onto a PROM, it remains forever.
 PROMS retain their contents when the computer is turned off
 The difference between PROM and ROM is that a PROM is manufactured as blank
memory, whereas the ROM is programmed during the manufacturing process.
 To write data onto a PROM chip we need a special device called PROM programmer
or a PROM burner.
 The process of programming a PROM is sometimes called burning the PROM.
EPROM:
 It is known as Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory, it is a special type of
memory that retains its contents until it is exposed to ultraviolet light.
 The ultraviolet light clears its contents, making it possible to reprogram the memory.
 An EPROM differs from a PROM in that a PROM can be written only once and
cannot be erased.
 EPROM is used widely in personal computers because they enable the manufacturer
to change the contents of the PROM before the computer is shipped.
EEPROM:
 It is known as Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory.
 It is a special type of PROM that can be erased by exposing it to an electrical charge.
 EEPROM retains its contents even when the power is turned off. It is not fast as
RAM.
 EEPROM is sometimes called flash EEPROM.
Flash memory:
Flash memory is a special type of EEPROM that can be erased and reprogrammed in
blocks instead do one byte at a time modern PCs have their BIOS(Basic Input Output
System) stored on a memory chip so that it can be updated if necessary. Such a BIOS is
sometimes called as flash BIOS.
INPUT

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Input devices are meant for presenting the information to the computer in machine readable
form. A computer system may have many input devices depending upon its size, type and
use:
(i) Magnetic tape
(ii) Magnetic disk
(iii) Floppy disk
(iv) Punch card reader
(v) Teletypewriter
(vi) Optical scanners
- Optical mark reader
- Optical character reader
(vii) Magnetic Ink character reader
(viii) Visual display unit
(ix) Voice data entry terminal

Keyboard-characters and standards

 An important part of micro computer systems is the keyboard used to key in data for
processing.
 Each personal computer keyboard will differ slightly in size, number and type of
characters and their positioning.
 Two special features of many keyboards are:
 Numeric pad
 Functional control keys
 Numeric pad is a supplementary keyboard which appears on many keyboards.
 Functional control keys are also known as Program Function (PF) keys.
(i) Issues commands to the microcomputers to begin, eg: Instead of typing
the word RUN to begin a program’s processing.
(ii) It controls monitors or stops processing the activities.
Magnetic tape system
 This tape was developed in the 1950s as an alternative to punched cards for storing and
processing data. Magnetic tape could store millions of characters of data on one reel.
 The data was stored on one tape card at a time. each card followed by blank space and
this space is called ‘Inter Record Gap’ (IRG), which serves two purposes:
(i) Separates one record from the next.
(ii) Helps to maintain the current speed for reading data.
 Paper and card readers

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  Punched paper tape is a continuous strip of paper about one inch wide and the data is
recorded by punching round holes across its width.
 Paper tapes can be punched using special keyboard devices.
 Card readers are the punched card which has been used to input data into primary
storage. Two types exist:
(i) The 80 column holerith card (measures 7 ½” long x 3 ¼” wide x 0.007” thick).
(ii) The 96 column IBM card.
 The collection of cards forming the input to a computer is called as a deck.
 Two types of card readers are:
(i) Brush Reader
(ii) Photo Electric Reader

Optical Mark Reader (OMR)

 It detects the presence of ordinary pencil or pen marks on special documents.
 Using these devices, data can be direct transferred to the computer.
 The speed varies from 100 to 1600 documents per minute.
Mouse and joy sticks
 These are alternatives to the keyboard.
 They can be used to move to cursor about the screen.
 As the mouse is moved about the desk top, the cursor moves about the screen.
 The joy stick can be moved either ways to move the cursor and also has a button used
like that on the mouse.
 Track ball is sphere set into a pocket in a base and rolled with the palm of the hand.
 The other accessories are light pen, tough terminal, voice data entry, scanners
(optical), optical character reader, optical mark reader, bar code readers, magnetic ink
character recognitions (MICR- for the banking industry), pads and tablets.

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 OUTPUT
MONITOR
 Monitor is another term for the display:
 Classification
 Based on color
 Based on signal
Based on color
 MONOCHROME-it actually displays two color, one background and one for the
foreground (eg-black & white, green & black)
 Gray-Scale-it’s special types of monochrome monitor capable of displaying different
shades of gray
 Color-colour monitors can display anywhere from 16 to 1 million different colors,
color monitors are sometimes called RGB(RED, GREEN, BLUE) monitors
Based on signals
 Digital monitors-a digitalmonitor accepts digital signals. It translates the digital
signals into analog signals that that control the actual display.
 It is fast & produces clear images
 Analog Monitors-it uses CRT technology VGA (Video Graphics Array) and SVGA
(Super VGA) analog monitors.
 Printers provide information in a permanent, readable form. They are the most
commonly used output device and are components of all computer systems.
 The basic classifications are:

30
 (i) Character printers
(ii) Line printers
(iii) Page printers
 Printers are also described as either impact or non-impact.
 Impact printers use electro mechanical mechanisms which causes the hummers to
strike against a ribbon and the paper, are called impact printers.
Dot Matrix printers
 Each letter is formed with a series of dots.
 Standard characters are produced in a 5x7 (7 pins high and 5 pins wide) or 7x9
dot matrix with a single print head (a device containing a matrix of needle like
hammers.
 The print head moves across the paper and the needle strikes the paper through an
inked ribbon to produce an impression on paper.
 It has a lower quality of typing but are faster in the range of 50 to 300 characters
per second.

Daisy Wheel printer

 The Daisy Wheel is a flat disk.
 The disk has a set of spokes and having a single character embossed at the tip.
 They produce the output that looks like that it has been typed.
 They are also known as letter quality printers.
 It has a slower printing speed than the Dot Matrix printer.
 Both can print left to right to left and hence called bidirectional printers
 They have the speed ranging from 10 to 50 characters per second and mainly used
for word processing applications.
Thermal printers
 These are non-impact character matrix printers which print on to special paper using
a heated print head.
 They are noiseless and of much use in hospitals.
Inkjet printers
 These are non-impact matrix printers which spray small drops of ink on to paper to
form printed characters.
 Produced a high quality output and can any kind of character, and even allow
different kinds of ink for multiple color printing.
Line printers
 These are electro mechanical, used for high production to generate high volume of
printed documents.

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  These are impact printers and speed varies from 100 to 2500 lines per minute.
 The typical line length on computer printed paper is 132 characters.
 Two of the most common print mechanisms are:
(i) Drum printers
(ii) Chain Printers
 ‘Drum Printers use a solid, cylindrical drum rotating at high speed characters which
are raised in bands around the drum, with each band containing all the possible
printed characters.
 ‘Chain Printers’ have their character set on a rapidly rotating chain called a print
chain.
 Each link in the chain is a character font.
Laser printers
 Laser printers are non-impact printers which use electrostatic or optical methods of
printing.
 These are page printers and their printing rates are so high that output appears to
emerge from the printer a page at a time.
 They use the combinations of laser beam and electrographic techniques to create
printer output having the rate of 18,000 lines per minute.
Plotters
 These are quite useful when a graph or pictorial representation of the result is
required.
 There are three basic types of plotters:
(i) Drum
(ii) Flat bed
(iii) Electronic
 The drum plotter consists of a drawing paper stretched over the outside cylinder.
 A pen moves along the outside of a cylinder parallel to the axis in the ‘y’ direction.
 The flat bed plotter operates like a drafting machine.
 The electrostatic plotter uses a fixed writing head with addressable electrodes.
 The process makes very little noise and handles drawings and letters equally well.
VDU types and graphic cards
 The most popular types of input/output device are the ‘visual display terminal’.
 It consists of a typewriter like keyboard for inputting and a Cathode Ray Tube (CRT)
for displaying output data.
 Each character from the keyboard is displayed on the CRT.
 Most PCs have single colour CRTs that display data in a green-white or black-white
colour format.

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  Three major uses of VDUs
(i) Alpha numeric displays
(ii) Graphic displays
(iii) Input through a light pen
Arithmetic and Logic Operations
 There are two types of operations which have importance both in programming and in
the understanding of the internal operations of the computer.
 Arithmetic operations - these are operated on numerical data.
 There are three main items used. Operation, operator and operand Eg: 3+2.
 The operation is addition, the operator is ‘+’ and the operands are 3 and 2.
 The ‘result’ of the operation is 5.
 The arithmetic operations are addition, subtraction, multiplication and division and
are indicated by the operators +, -, *, and %.
 Arithmetic operations

Normal Symbols used in

Representation Programming languages

+ +
- -
* *
32 3^2 or 3**2

 The result obtained by the arithmetic operations can be stored by using appropriate
‘assignment operator’. Eg: X=A+B.
 The special functions used in scientific applications are also provided with specific
key words. Eg: Square root function Y=SQRT(X); If X=9, then Y=3.
Relational logic operators
 The logical operators can give answer either as True or False.
 They can be applied to numerical data or for alphabetical order.
 Proposition is a statement which can be either true or false.
 They appear frequently in the programming and for the basis of decision-making.
 The propositions
APPLICATION AND OPERATIONS
The uses of microcomputers are so diverse that they cannot be easily classified.
However, Personal Computers (PC) have six major categories of application:
(i) home and hobby

33
 (ii) word Processing
(iii) Professional
(iv) Educational
(v) Small Business
(vi) Engineering and Scientific
(vii) Retailing
(viii) Health and medicines
(ix) Agricultural
(x) Training
(xi) Business
(xii) E-commerce (Business to Business, Business to Consumer, Consumer to
Business)

QUESTION BANK (UNIT – II)

PART – A (2 MARKS)

1. What is software system? (APRIL 2016)

2. Hardware write brief note?(APR 2017)
3. What are super computer?(APR 2017)
4. What is operation system? (APRIL 2016)
5. What is Information? (APRIL 2015)
6. Expand DSS? (APRIL 2015)
7. Distinguish between analog and digital computer.(APR-2018)
8. What are the components of CPU?(APR-2018)
9. What do you mean by DBMS.?( April – 2019)
10. Define internal environment. ( April – 2019)

PART – B (5 MARKS)

1. What are the Characteristics of computer? (APRIL 2015)

2. Explain the importance of computer? (APRIL 2015)
3. What are the importance of computer?(APR 2017)
4. CPU explain the term?(APR 2017)
5. Explain decision support systems?(NOV 2016)
6. List and briefly explain the capabilities of a computer? explain.(APR-2018)

34
7. Differentiate between data and information with example. ( April – 2019)
8. Explain the important component of CPU in short, ( April – 2019)

PART –C(10 MARKS)

1. What are the types of computer?explain?(NOV 2016)

2. Explain the role of computer in MIS?(APR 2017)
3. Explain about memory units?
4. What are the types of computers based on their functions?Explain(APR-2018)
5. Write about the I Explain:

 CPU
 Control units
 ALU
 Write about the Input & Output devices?(APR-2015)

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 UNIT-III
[ System classification – concept characteristics – elements – feedback control –boundary –
function and operations – system design – function of system analyst assignment and
investigation – implementation – evaluation and maintenance of MIS.]
SYSTEM CLASSIFICATION
There are a number of categories of systems and the readers may be confused if they
are told about system behavior and characteristics without identifying and specifying the kind
of system:
The classifications could be:
 Conceptual and empirical
 Natural and manufactured
 Social, People-Machine and Machine
 Open and closed
 Permanent and temporary
 Stationary and non-stationary
 Subsystems and super systems
 Adaptive and non-adaptive
Conceptual systems are concerned with theoretical structures, which may or may not
have any computer part in the world. Conceptual systems for organizations are composed of
ideas as district from empirical organization systems made up of people. Empirical systems
are generally concrete operational systems made up of people, materials, machines, energy,
and other physical things, although electrical, thermal, and chemical, information and other
such systems including intangibles also fall into this category.
Natural systems are plenty in nature. The entire ecology of life is a natural system –
solar system, water system of the world are also examples. Manufactured systems are formed
after people gather in groups to live and hunt together. E.g.: National defence and
transportation system. A business organization is a system with many similar systems include
like production, accounting etc.
Pure machine systems would have to obtain their own inputs and maintain
themselves. e.g.: Development of a self-healing machine system would bring these systems
closer to simulation of living organisms. Such systems would need to adapt to their
environment. e.g.: Electric power generating systems.
An open system is one that interacts with the environment. The company interacts
with its environment; a larger system makes that individual company an open system. The
open system may be further identified by its individually small influence on its environment
and inadequate feedback of information from the environment.
A closed system is one that does not interact with its environment. Whatever
environment surrounds, the closed system does not change or if it does, a barrier exists
between the environment and the system to prevent the system from being affected. In reality,

36
a closed system never exists. Problems in business are resolved as if a closed system existed
to simplify the situation enough so that least, a first approximation can be obtained.
People made systems are generally permanent. However, for practical purposes,
system enduring for a time span that is long relative to the operation of humans in the system
may be said to be ‘permanent’. Temporary systems are designed to last a specified period of
time. These are important for the accomplishment of specific tasks in a business and for
research in science.
A stationary system is one whose properties and operations either do not vary
significantly or else vary in repetitive cycle. Eg: the automatic factory, government agency
that processes social security payments in USA, super market store operations, high school
etc.
An advertising organization, a continental defense system, a research and
development laboratory, and a human being are examples of non-stationary systems. Smaller
systems within the system are called ‘subsystems’. Super system is a term that has at least
two uses:
(i) as opposed to subsystem
(ii) To denote any extremely large and complex system.
A system that reacts to its environment in such a way to improve the functioning,
achievement, or probability of survival is called an adaptive system. Eg: High level living
organisms such as animals and human use adoption in meeting threats or changes in the
physical environment or changes in their societies. Those that do not react or adapt to the
environment are called “Non-adaptive system”.
An 'MIS' is a planned system of the collecting, processing, storing and disseminating
data in the form of information needed to carry out the functions of management. In a way it
is a documented report of the activities that were planned and executed. According to Philip
kotler "A marketing information system consists of people, equipment, and procedures to
gather, sort, analyze, evaluate, and distribute needed, timely, and accurate information to
marketing decision makers."
The terms MIS and information system are often confused. Information systems
include systems that are not intended for decision making. The area of study called MIS is
sometimes referred to, in a restrictive sense, at information technology management. That
area of study should not be confused with computer science. IT service management is a
practitioner-focused discipline. MIS has also some differences with Enterprise Resources
Planning (ERP) as ERP incorporates elements that are not necessarily focused on decision
support.
Any successful MIS must support a business Five Year Plan or its equivalent. It must
provide for reports based up performance analysis in areas critical to that plan, with feedback
loops that allow for titivation of every aspect of the business, including recruitment and
training regimens. In effect, MIS must not only indicate how things are going, but why they
are not going as well as planned where that is the case. These reports would include

37
performance relative to cost centers and projects that drive profit or loss, and do so in such a
way that identifies individual accountability, and in virtual real-time.
CONCEPTCHARACTERISTICS OF MIS:
 Management Information System in short form MIS is an opposite form of Decision
Support System (DSS).
 Basically the information from one level (low) to Many Level (Medium and High) is
managed through this system.
 It supports the flow of information from one level to another with assigned
participants in respective levels.
 The Top Level will finally approve the respective results.
 Applications like Budget Management, Proposal Management, and Project
Management are used for MIS.
 It serves in end number of domain.
 A good MIS will also has many levels, proper communications to members, good
security so no outsider and see through the systems, Good Overriding polices with the
systems for respective authorities.
 It will also have History and Logs of all transactions.

ELEMENTS OF INFORMATION SYSTEM

These can be considered as under:
i. Hardware
ii. Software
iii. Data base
iv. Procedures
v. Operating personnel
Processing functions
i. Process transactions
ii. Maintain master files
iii. Produce reports
iv. Process inquiries
v. Process interactive support applications
Outputs for users
i. Transaction documents or screens
ii. Preplanned reports
iii. Preplanned inquiry responses
iv. Ad hoc reports and inquiry responses

38
 v. User machine dialog results
 Input and output are the peripherals while memory, processor and control
forms the central processing unit.
 Storage is the secondary storage for data bank which can be accessed at the
will of the user. The user of the MIS provides inputs and receives outputs as shown
in the below figure.
Storage

Memory
Input Output
Processor Controller

Figure: Input, central processing and output

Transaction documents are of three types like:

Informational :- (Eg: A sale confirms verifying the receipt of an order from a
customer).
Action oriented:- (Eg: A purchase order initiates a purchase and a cheque instructs the
bank to pay and a production order causes the production to be started).
Investigational:- (Eg: The exception reports and error reporting which initiates for
corrective measures and provides reference material for future reference).
 Pre-planned reports are a regular content like sales analysis, inventory reports and
budget variance reports prepared at a given time.
 Pre-planned enquiries are like pay rate of an employee, balance due from a
particular customer.
 Ad hoc reports and inquiry responses occur at irregular intervals and require
analysis of data whose format has not been preplanned.
 Exception reports are reports produced only when exceptional conditions occur, or
reports produced periodically which contain information only about exceptional
conditions.
 Ad hoc reports are unique, unscheduled, situation specific reports.
 User machine dialogue is a way in which a user can interact with a model to arrive
at a solution.
FEEDBACK AND CONTROL:
 The system concepts can be made more useful by including two additional
components, ‘feedback’ and ‘control’.
 A system with feedback and control components is sometimes called a
‘cybernetic’ system that is a self-monitoring, self-regulating system.
 Feedback is data about the performance of a system.

39
  Control is a major system function that monitors and evaluates feedback to
determine whether the system is moving towards the achievement of its goals.
 It then makes necessary adjustments if any, to the input to ensure that proper
output is produced.
BOUNDARY
A system does not exist in a vacuum; rather, it exists and functions in an environment.
Also, a system is separated from its environment and other systems by its system, boundary.
Open and closed systems
Several systems may share the same environment. Some of these systems may be
connected to one another by means of a shared boundary or interface. The concept of an open
system is a system that interacts with other systems in its environment system that can adjust
their activities to acceptable levels and continue to function. The concept of interaction with
the environment which characterizes open systems is essential for control.
Receiving and evaluating feedback allows a system to determine how well it is
operating. If a business, for example, produces as output products or services that are high
priced and of low quality, people probably will not continue to buy them. Low sales figures
are feedback, telling management it needs to adjust the products and the way they are
produced to improve performance and bring it in line with expectations.

In contrast, ‘closed systems’ sustain their operation only as long as they have
adequate regulatory information and do not need anything from the environment. The
concept is important. A business is a system where economic sources (inputs) are
transformed by various organizational processes (processing) into goods and service (output).
Information systems provide information (feedback) on the operation of the system to
management for the direction and maintenance of the system (control), as it exchange inputs
and outputs with its environment.

40
 FUNCTIONS:
A computer is a system- an interrelated combination of components that performs the
basic system functions of input, processing, output, storage and control, thus providing end
users with a powerful information processing tool. Understanding the computer as a
technological system is vital to the effective use and management of this tool.
Input- involves capturing and assembling elements that enter the system to be processed. Eg:
raw materials, energy, data and human efforts must be secured and organized for processing.
The input devices include keyboards, touch screens, electronic mouse and optical scanners.
Processing-involves transformation processes that convert input into output. Eg:
manufacturing process, the human breathing process and data calculations. The central
processing unit (CPU) is the main processing component of a component system, the central
processor or instruction processor and the main microprocessor, in a microcomputer.
The speed of computer processing is a major characteristic of computer CPUs. For an
average person taking one step each nano second would circle the earth 20 times in one
second.
Output- involves transferring elements that have been produced by the transformation process
to their ultimate destination. Eg: finished products, human services and management
information must be transmitted to their human users.
OPERATIONS:
Operation information systems process data generated by and used in business
operations. The following roles are played by major categories of such systems:
(i) Transaction processing systems record and process data resulting from
business transactions, update databases, produce a variety of documents and
reports.
(ii) Operational decisions that control physical processes are produced by process
control systems.
(iii) Office communications and productivity are supported by office automation
systems.
(iv) Management information systems provide information to support management
decision-making.
Major types of management information systems have the following goals:
(i) prespecified and preplanned reporting to managers is accomplished by
information reporting systems.
(ii) Interactive and ad hoc support for decision-making by managers is
accomplished by decision support systems.
(iii) Critical information for top management is provided by executive information
systems.

41
 SYSTEMS DESIGN
The business man system takes the major activities in designing the system followed
by the project plan. Some of the activities are:
 General system design,
 Input/output and file design,
 Design phase documentation,
 Design phase review.

General system design

As the design phase begins, the system design team refines the flow charts prepared
during the study phase of the system development life cycle (SDLC). Each phase flow chart
is reviewed for accuracy and the team decides upon the best way for the system to perform
the data processing function. The processing function can be performed in one of the three
ways:
 Manual task,
 Equipment (hardware task),
 Computer program (software) task.

The system design team needs a programmable minicomputer at each store because of
the very large number of system to choose from, the study of alternatives to select the best
system. This requires specialists in minicomputers and communications.

 Manual task – eg: Inventory data brought at the central site.

 Equipment task – eg: Online storage and processing symbols.
 Computer program task – eg: Stores sales – inventory programs and central
site- sales-inventory program.

A high level system flow chart is done from this type of flow-chart to go in detail in
the sales inventory program and central site inventory sales program. This is known as
expanded systems flow chart, which is one of the techniques for the team to examine the
system.
The other way is a compatible system flow chart where the expansion is done in a
hierarchy chart with a series of input, and process and output charts are called the ‘IPO chart’.
Combined together, the hierarchy and IPO charts are HIPO charts, which means hierarchy
input process output charts. The system team undertakes the detailed design of inputs,
outputs and files after the allocation of functions between the three tasks indicated above.

42
 FUNCTION OF SYSTEM ANALYST

 A systems analyst researches problem, plans solutions, recommends software and

systems, and coordinates development to meet business or other requirements.
 They will be familiar with multiple approaches to problem-solving.
 Analysts are often familiar with a variety of programming languages, operating
systems, and computer hardware platforms.
 Because they often write user requests into technical specifications, the systems
analysts are the liaisons between vendors and IT professionals.
 They may be responsible for developing cost analysis, design considerations, and
implementation time-lines.
 A systems analyst may:\

 Interact with the customers to learn and document requirements.

 Interact with designers to understand software limitations.
 Help programmers during system development.
 Perform system testing.
 Deploy the completed system.
 Document requirements or contribute to user manuals.

Assignment:
 All assignments are due at the beginning of the class period.
 Late assignments will NOT be accepted.
 All assignments should be submitted in a single 9x12 manila envelope. This envelop
should include the cover letter statement glued to the outside of the envelope.
 Unless otherwise stated, all printed documents should be single spaced, with 1 inch
margins, and times new roman 11 font size.
 Systems Recommendation (SR) reports should have spiral binding. On the inside of
the back cover of your document, attach an envelope that will contain single CD
which contains all the submitted documents in an electronic format.

43
Investigation:
 Definition of an Information System:
An Information System is a combination of hardware, software, people,
procedures and data that provides data processing capabilities for a business or
organization.
More sophisticated information systems provide the decision makers in a
business (eg. the executives or managers) with on-demand reports and inquiry capabilities
as well as routine periodic reports.
 Capabilities of Information Systems:
All information systems have four essential capabilities:
 Input
 Processing
 Storage
 Output
Input can come from:
a) Source data such as recording a transaction or an event (eg. a bank deposit slip or
order form).
b) An Inquiry, which is a request for information (eg. list this week's sales above
$3000).
c) a Response to a prompt (eg. a Y or a N) .
d) An Instruction (eg. "Print File", "Save File") .
e) A Message to another user on the system (g. intranet mail).
f) A Change (eg. editing a record) .
Processing capabilities include:
a. Sorting data (eg. sorting a customer file alphabetically).
b. Retrieving, recording and updating data in storage (eg. A customer record).
c. e. Summarizing processes (eg. totals and subtotals).
d. f. Selecting processes (eg. select employees that have been employed for more
than 5 years).
e. g. Manipulating processes (eg. performing arithmetic calculations and logic
operations).
Storage capabilities enable data, text, graphics, voice, sound, music, and other digital
information to be recalled easily for further processing from secondary storage
devices.

44
 Output capability allows the system to produce output in a
Variety of forms, such as:
 Hard copy (eg. reports, documents, messages).
 Soft copy (eg. displays on monitor screens).
 Control output (eg. instructions to industrialized robots, or automated processes).
Function-Based vs. Integrated Information Systems
 A Function-Based Information System is designed for the exclusive support of a
specific application area, such as stock lists and prices, employee payroll, student
behavior monitoring, or customer referral management.
 Each function-based information system within the same organization has its
own set of database files, which start out being the same.
 However, they easily become different as one is updated but the other ones
aren't.
 Multiple copies of identical database files in an organization are said to be
redundant, even when they are identical. When they are no longer identical, they
are said to lose data integrity.
 The pattern is that as redundancy increases, data integrity decreases.
 Changes to the contents of any one database file must be duplicated on all other
databases with the same data - eg. An organization may have 15 copies of the
same customer file, one in each department.
 As a particular customer's details change, all 15 files must be updated.
 Integrated Information Systems share a common set of database files.
 Only one database file implies zero% redundancy and 100% data integrity, as all
departments use the same database file.
 Database Management System software (eg. MS Access) is used as a tool to
integrate data and information flow through an organization.
Benefits of using Integrated Information Systems are:
 Greater access to information as everyone on the system has access to the latest
up-to-date information.
 Better control as data redundancy can be eliminated.
 More efficient software development as programmers have to deal with only
database file structure for each database file.
 Allows different departments within the organization to coordinate their
activities more efficiently.
YSTEM IMPLEMENTATION

 After a system is designed, it has to be installed and placed it in operation. This

phase of the systems development life cycle is called implementation.

45
 After a system has been implemented, it must be maintained and reviewed. These
are the final steps of systems development.
 In some cases, a systems review calls for a completely new system or major
modifications to an existing system.
 In these cases, the review process will likely initiate new systems development
cycle, starting with systems investigation.
 When once the information system has been designed, a number of tasks must be
completed before the system is installed and ready to operate.
 This process is called systems implementation, includes hardware acquisition,
software acquisition or development, user preparation hiring and training of
personnel, site and data preparation, installation, testing, start up, and user
acceptance.
Hardware Acquisition

Software Acquisition

User preparation

Personal: hiring and training

Site preparation

Data preparation

Installation

Testing

Start up

User acceptance

46
Hardware acquisition
In order to obtain the components needed for an information system; systems
implementation may require purchasing, leasing, or renting computer resources by
identifying and selecting one or more information systems vendors. An information systems
vendor offers hardware, software, telecommunications systems, database, information
systems personnel, and/or other computer-related resources to other companies and
individuals. Types of information systems vendors include:
 General and small computer manufactures
 Peripheral equipment manufacturers
 Computer dealers and distributors
 Leasing companies
 Time-sharing companies
 Software companies
i. The products that general computer manufacturers produce range from large computer
systems that cost millions of rupees to minicomputer or personal computer systems
that cost thousand of Rupees.
ii. The pricing offered by such small computer manufacturers is typically very attractive,
but the available software and service are often not as complete as with larger
computer manufacturers.
iii. Though it has been difficult for new companies to compete with large general
computer manufacturers in supplying a total line of computer equipment, software
and services.
iv. A computer dealer or computer distributor is a company that only markets computer
equipment and systems and do not manufacture any equipment
v. Computer leasing companies specialize in leasing equipment they have purchased
from a computer manufacturer.

47
 vi. A large number of corporations are using time-sharing companies because they are
cost-effective way to obtain many specialized services, such as investment analysis,
database access, and internet connections.
Software Acquisition
i. Regarding hardware, there are several ways software can be acquired for systems.
Software can be purchased from external developers or developed in-house. The
decision regarding whether to obtain the necessary software from internal or external
sources is often termed the make-or-buy decision.
ii. A company might purchase or lease externally developed software include lower cost,
less risk regarding the features and performance of the package, and ease of
installation.
iii. In-house software development, during which the company’s IS personnel are
responsible for all aspects of developing the necessary programs. Some of the
advantages inherent with in-house developed software include meeting user and
organizational requirement, and having more features and increased flexibility in
terms of customization and changes.
 Structured programming
 Pseudo code
 CASE tools
 Cross-platform development
 Integrated development environments
 Structured walk-throughs
 Acquiring Database and Telecommunications Systems
User preparation
User preparation is the process of readying managers and decision makers,
employees, and other users and stakeholders for the new systems. With the growing trend to
employee empowerment, system developers need to provide users with the proper
preparation and training to make sure they use the information system correctly, efficiently,
and effectively. User preparation can include active participation, marketing, training,
documentation, and support.
Internal and/or external training help users get the most from the new or modified
application. Training is also used to ensure that users are properly interacting with the
application and are not violating any organizational guidelines.
IS Personnel: Hiring and Training
Depending on the size of the new system, a number of IS personnel may have to be
hired and, in some cases, trained. An information systems manager, systems analysts,
computer programmers, data entry operators, and similar personnel may be needed for the
new system.

48
 As with users, the eventual success of any system depends on how it is used by the
information systems personnel within the organization. Training programs should be
conducted for the IS personnel who will be using or dealing with the computer system.
Site preparation
The actual location of the new system needs to be prepared in a process called site
preparation. For a small system, this may simply mean rear-ranging the furniture in an office
to make room for a computer. A special floor may have to be built, under which the cables
connecting the various computer components are placed, and a new security system may have
to be installed to protect the equipment. For larger systems, additional power circuits may
also be required.
Data preparation
If the organization is about to computerize, all manual files must be converted into
computer files in a process called data preparation, or data conversion. All of the permanent
data must be placed on a permanent storage device, such as magnetic tape or disk. Usually
the organization hires some temporary, part-time data-entry operators or a service company
to convert the manual data. Once it has been converted into computer files, the operators or
the service company is no longer needed. A computerized database system or other software
will be used to maintain and update these computer files.
Installation
Installation is the process of physically placing the computer equipment of the site
and making it operational. Although it is normally the responsibility of the manufacturer to
install the computer equipment, someone from the organization (usually the IS manager0
should oversee this process, make sure that all of the equipment specified in the contract is
installed at the porter location. After the system is installed, the manufacturer performs
several tests to ensure that the equipment is operating as it should.

Testing
Testing involves the entire information system. It requires testing each of the
individual programs (unit testing), testing the entire system of programmed (system testing),
testing the application with a large amount of (volume testing), and testing all related systems
together (integration testing), as well as conducting any testing required by the user
(acceptance testing).

Unit testing is accomplished by developing test data that will force the computer to
execute every statement in the program. System testing requires the testing of all of the
programs together. It is not uncommon to the output from one program to become the input
for another. Volume testing is performed to ensure that the entire system can handle a large
amount of data under normal operation conditions.

49
 Finally, acceptance testing makes sure that the new or modified system is operating as
intended. Run times, the amount of memory required, all access methods, and more can be
tested during this phase. Acceptance testing makes sure that this performance objective and
all other objectives defined for the system or application are satisfied.
Startup
Startup begins with the final tested information system. When startup is finished, the
system will be fully operational. There are a number of different startup approaches.
Direct conversion involves stopping the old system and starting the new system on a
given date. These us usually the least desirable approach because of the potential for
problems and errors when the old system is completely shut off and the new system is turned
on at the same instant.
The phase-in approach is a popular technique preferred by many organizations. In this
approach, sometimes called a parallel approach, the new system is slowly phased in while the
old one is slowly phased out.
User acceptance
Most mainframe computer manufacturers use a formal user acceptance document-a
formal agreement signed by the user that a phase of the installation or the complete system is
approved. This is a legal document that usually removes or reduces the information systems
vendor from liability or responsibility for problems that occur after the user acceptance
document has been signed.
System maintenance
System maintenance involves checking, changing, and enhancing the system to make
it more useful in achieving user and organizational goals. In some cases, an organization will
encounter major problems that involve recycling the entire systems development process.
Causes of program maintenance are:
 New requests from stakeholders, users, and managers
 Bugs or errors in the program
 Technical and hardware problems
 Corporate mergers and acquisitions
 Governmental regulations that requires changes in programs
EVALUATION OF MIS
A full fledged information system requires an organized system to collect data at
source measured with precision, process it immediately and keep all the files updated to feed
the managers, with most current, highly accurate information, needing massive investment.
Data is used in the form of raw material and must be subjected to data manipulation or
processing to produce useful information. An information system generates information using
data. If the information systems generate information useful for managers in planning and

50
control, the whole system is called ‘Management Information System’ (MIS). Management
information is reported on an exceptional basis for managerial decision-making or action.
The evolution of MIS, and its fast growth in the last few decades, can be attributed to
the following factors:
 Growth of management theory and techniques.
 Growth of management accounting and its applications in business.
 Changes in the production and distribution methods and the consequent channel
in the organizational structure.
 Development of management science (Operation Research).
 Introduction of computer into business data processing and the developments in
information technology.
Business management is a profession calling for high skills of various kinds like
problem solving skills, interpersonal skills, etc. Lot of theories have been written about
management seeking to impart right kind of theoretical understanding to the future managers
to grapple with daunting problems. Many techniques have been developed to solve
management problems.
Management accounting has a repertoire of tools and techniques, for managers to
analysis financial data, past and projected, for making current decisions.
Another notable contribution to MIS came from Management Science, which is the
application of mathematical and statistical tools, and technique solving problems. This
emerged all the time of World War II, when many statistical tools were designed, tested and
successfully employed in military warfare; since then, it has astronomical growth in the
present century.
Growth in computing technology made modern MIS possible, the speed, accuracy and
the relevant facility in computers, also made it a pivot in modern MIS. Revolutionary changes
are also place in Information Technology, which facilitated rapid growth of MIS.
Another way to study the evolution of MIS is to look at the various application
subsystems forming part of it. Nolons state theory is one that looks at the growth stage of
MIS in firms. In 1968, Gary Dickson proposed a model of information system development
based on the organization structure and its information needs. He categorized application
systems into:
 Clerical systems
 Information systems
 Decision support systems
 Programmed systems.

51
 MAINTENANCE OF MIS
 Effective planning, coordination, and scheduling of the maintenance function can be,
and for many years was, accomplished without computer support.
 However, in these days of high technology and rapid, economical data
communication, job preparation is accomplished far more efficiently with the
support of a sound Information Management System.
 Note to maintenance professionals who follow the field: The generally accepted term
for maintenance computer systems is Management Information Systems.
 Management Information Systems is preferred because current systems by design
and by use are not, for the most part, used to manage maintenance but rather to
inform about maintenance. Both acronyms are used in this text.
 The “I” is inserted into the MIS acronym to emphasize that a computerized support
system is only an informational tool and is only one building block of an integrated
maintenance excellence process.
 Bottom-line impact results from actions taken on the basis of information provided
by the system, not directly from the system itself.
 Fast, flexible access to reliable, current, and comprehensive information is vital if
planners and managers are to control the maintenance function on the basis of
knowledge rather than intuition.
 Simply put, it is no longer an economically sound decision to manage a function as
critical as maintenance without on-line informational support.
 Computer support is essential if the full potential of the maintenance control system
is to be realized.
 Only on-line transaction processing systems and networks—people and programs
simultaneously retrieving and updating information—satisfy the immediacy required
by today’s environment.
 Integration of the entire MIS, supports and fosters the following:

 Efficiency of maintenance resources (both hourly and salaried), thereby

lowering unit cost
 Improvement of responsiveness and service to internal customers
 Improvement of asset reliability, capacity assurance, and equipment up time
 Better delivery performance and product quality to external customers
 Lower unit costs and increased profitability \

 Computerization of the work order system allows easier access to large amounts of
data enabling analyses too time consuming to perform manually.
 A popular phrase regarding many MIS’s on the market is that they “are not user-
friendly.”

52
 The statement is true. It is also true that the functions and persons to which the
systems are least user-friendly are the planner-schedulers.
 The maintenance planning system is generally part of a much larger maintenance
information system.
 It is not the intention in this book to discuss all features and characteristics essential
to an effective MIS, but to concentrate on those capabilities pertinent to work
identification, backlog management, job planning, material procurement, logistical
coordination, and weekly scheduling.
 Of course, planner-schedulers are not the only parties interested in maintenance-
associated information.
QUESTION BANK (UNIT – III)

PART – A( 2MARKSQUESTIONS)

1. What is system? (APRIL 2015)

2. What is database management? (APRIL 2015)
3. Input design present a short note?(APR 2017)
4. What do mean by the term system?(APR 2017)
5. Explain System Design? (APRIL 2016)
6. Components of MIS? (APRIL 2016)
7. What do you mean by open system?(APR-2018)
8. How can business be viewed as a system?(APR-2018)
9. What do you meant by DSS? ( April – 2019)
10. What is open system? ( April – 2019)

PART – B (5 MARKS)

1. Various components of system? (APRIL 2016)

2. Various characteristics of a system? (APRIL 2016)
3. What is system analyst?(APR 2017)
4. Explain “system design”? (APRIL 2015)(APR 2017)(APR-2018)
5. what is system implementation? (APRIL 2015)
6. Explain the fundamental components and characteristics of system.(APR-2018)
7. What are the elements of system classification? ( April – 2019)
8. Differentiate between conceptual and detailed design. ( April – 2019)

PART – C (10 MARKS)

1. What are Various types of systems? And give examples? (APRIL 2016)( April –
2019)

53
2. Characteristics of DSS? (APRIL 2015)
3. Describe in detail system elements ? (APR 2017)
4. Explain the new system designing implementation?(NOV 2016)
5. What are the classifications of system? Explain.(APR-2018)

54
 Unit- IV

[ Transactions processing information systems – information systems formanagers –

intelligence system – decision support system – integration –data collection and preparation –
database – components – utility of the operation of the data base technology ]
TRANSACTION PROCESSING SYSTEM
 A Transaction Processing System (TPS) is a type of information system that collects,
stores, modifies and retrieves the data transactions of an enterprise.
 A transaction is any event that passes the ACID test in which data is generated or
modified before storage in an information system.
 Typically, a TPS will exhibit the following characteristics:

Rapid Processing:
 The rapid processing of transactions is vital to the success of any enterprise – now
more than ever, in the face of advancing technology and customer demand for
immediate action.

55
  TPS systems are designed to process transactions virtually instantly to ensure that
customer data is available to the processes that require it.

Reliability:

 Similarly, customers will not tolerate mistakes.

 PS systems must be designed to ensure that not only do transactions never slip past
the net, but that the systems themselves remain operational permanently.
 TPS systems are therefore designed to incorporate comprehensive safeguards and
disaster recovery systems.
 These measures keep the failure rate well within tolerance levels.
Standardization:
 Transactions must be processed in the same way each time to maximize efficiency.
 To ensure this, TPS interfaces are designed to acquire identical data for each
transaction, regardless of the customer.
Controlled Access:
 Since TPS systems can be such a powerful business tool, access must be restricted to
only those employees who require their use.
 Restricted access to the system ensures that employees who lack the skills and ability
to control it cannot influence the transaction process.
Types of Transactions
 While the transaction process must be standardized to maximize efficiency, every
enterprise requires a tailored transaction process that aligns with its business strategies
and processes.
 For this reason, there are two broad types of transaction:
Batch Processing
 Batch processing is a resource-saving transaction type that stores data for processing
at pre-defined times.
 Batch processing is useful for enterprises that need to process large amounts of data
using limited resources.
 Examples of batch processing include credit card transactions, for which the
transactions are processed monthly rather than in real time.
 Credit card transactions need only be processed once a month in order to produce a
statement for the customer, so batch processing saves IT resources from having to
process each transaction individually.

56
 Transaction
Transactions Key to tape file

Batch of
Transactions
Sorted Sort program
transaction file

Old
TPS Program master
file

New
Reports master
file

On-line System
 It involves a direct connection between the operator and the TPS program.
 They provide immediate results.
 They are used to process a single transaction at a time.
 Example: an order arrives by telephone call; it is processed at that moment and the results
are produced.
 Architecture of a Generic TPS application is an on-line TPS, since the operator has a
direct connection to the TPS program.
 TPS program is to read data about ticket reservations in the order that customers request
them and not in the order in which they are stored on the file.
INFORMATION SYSTEMS FOR MANAGER
 An individual who gets the thing done is a Manager. It is necessary to distinguish
between the task and the functions.
 While manager may perform the task such as accounting, selling, manufacturing,
purchasing, etc.
 These activities are called as tasks and not as functions.
 The activities that are performed through the managerial functions are planning,
organization, staffing, directing coordinating and controlling.
 Planning is a process of determining the goals and objectives and evolving strategies
policies, programmers and procedures for the achievement of these goals.
 The essence of the process is decision making as there are a number of alternatives in
each of these factors.

57
 Organization involves evolving the structure of the people working in the organization
and their roles.
 It specifies an authority structure and assigns activities to the people backed by the
delegation of authority.
 Building a meaningful effective structure of authority and the relationship is known as
organizing.
 Staffing involves manning the positions in the organization structure.
 It requires defining the manpower needs per position or centre of activity.
 It requires appropriate selection of the person or persons ensuring that they together will
achieve the goals and objectives of the organization.
 Directing is a complex task of implementing the process of management.
 In the process, the manger is required to guide, clarify and solve the problems of the
people and their activities.
 It is necessary to motivate the people to work for the goal with an interest and a
confidence.
 Coordinating is the function which brings a harmony and smoothness in the various
group activities and individual efforts directed towards the accomplishment of goals.
 It is a process of synchronizing individual actions and the efforts which may differ,
because of the differences in the personal goals and the common goals, the differences in
the interpretation of methods and directions.
 Controlling is a process of measurement of an output, comparing it with the goals, the
objectives and the target, and taking corrective actions, if the output is falling short of
the stated norms.
 Controlling ensures an achievement of the plan. The essence of the control lies in good
planning.
INTELLIGENCE SYSTEMS
 There are many definitions of intelligence. A person that learns fast or one that has a vast
amount of experience could be called "intelligent".
 However for our purposes the most useful definition is: the systems comparative level of
performance in reaching its objectives.
 A system is part of the universe, with a limited extension in space and time.
 Stronger or more correlations exist between one part of the system and another, than
between this part of the system and parts in the environment.
“An intelligent system learns how to act so it can reach its objectives. “
Structure Of The Functioning Of An IS:
The easiest way to present an overall view of structure is with a representative diagram.

58
 As one can see from this diagram, the IS is fundamentally a type of stimulus-response
system.
 The stimulus is the sum of the communications entering through the senses.
 The brain extracts information from this and represents it as a situation.
 Next, the IS selects a response rule, appropriate to the situation, and performs the
response part of this rule.
 Here we mean by "appropriate" that performing the response permits the system to get
nearer to the situation that is its objective.
 The IS makes its selection of response rules from those that it finds stored in its
memory.

59
  In this memory, the IS has accumulated response rules that it has generated from
earlier experiences and from generalizations based on previously elaborated response
rules.
DESIGN SUPPORT SYSTEM
Definitions of DSS
 An information system that utilizes decision models, a database, and a decision
maker’s own insights in an ad hoc, interactive analytical modeling process to reach a
specific decision by a specific decision-maker.
 A system that allows for a human-machine interface whereby the decision-maker
retains control throughout the decision-making process.
Architecture of a DSS
 Data form the organizations, TPS and MIS applications are input to the DSS programs,
along with data from external sources and DSS model data.
 As stated, the DSS may store and later reprocess its own model data as well.
 The user interacts with the DSS online, requests are made, models are created, or
adjusted and data is manipulated etc.
 The outputs of the DSS program can be text, structured reports or graphics.

MIS Data DSS

Models
TPS Data

DSS Program DSS User

Data request
Responses
External
Data
Graphs Reports

 A variety of program supported by the DSS include spreadsheet programs, personal

database management systems, model base management systems (MBMS), word
processing packages, graphics generators, statistical packages and other special purpose
programs.
 Decision support systems (DSS) are better viewed as facilities having data and data
manipulation tools than as formalized systems.
 DSS are often used to respond on an ad hoc basis to problems and opportunities as they
develop.
 As such, flexibility and adaptability are crucial.
 DSS often involves models of business activity.

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  Sometimes DSS users build models as they use the system.
 Technology to support DSS is evolving.

CHARACTERISTICS OF A DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEM

Following are the characteristics of DSS:

 Ability to support the solution of complex problems:
 Fast response to unexpected situations that result in changed inputs:
 Designed to help support decisions that are formulated as semi-structured, complex
problems:
 May be constructed to support one time decisions:
 DSS is typically designed for either a particular decision-maker or a group of decision
makers:
 Allows the decision-maker to interact in a natural manner due to the careful design of
the interface.
 DSS generator (software) can be used:
 It is a way to organize information intended for use in decision-making:
 A decision support system is best conceptualized as a process instead of a product:
 The following figures show the product orientation of traditional MIS versus the
process oriented DSS.

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 Data input Reports Decisions
MIS

1 3

DSS
4

 Ability to quickly and objectively try different strategies under different

configurations:
 Facilities communication
 Cost savings
 Improving managerial effectiveness
 Extensive range of support to management
 Support of individual/groups
 Graphical display
 Designed and run by manager; incorporated data and models
 Contains and database drawn for internal files/external environment
 Concerned with a small area of managerial activity or a small part of a large problem
 Permits managers to test the probable results of alternative decisions
 Supports either semi-structured or unstructured executive decision-making
 Data and associated models are organized around the executive’s decisions rather than
around existing databases
 Specializes in easy-to-use software that utilizes natural languages
 Employs interactive processing that permits rapid response times

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Components of a decision support system (DSS)
 DSS is a coordinated collection of data, systems, tools and techniques with the
necessary software and computer hardware.
 Manager

Display Decision models

Database Statistics and manipulation

Environment

LIMITATIONS OF DSS
It has several basic limitations;
 Due to its small memories and limited storage capacities, DSS has definite
computational constraints.
 It is slow, compared to the speed of large mainframes.
 Most DSSs are designed for individual use but they can be designed so that several
computers can be linked for limited information sharing.

INTEGRATION
 A system is an aggregation of subsystems cooperating so that the system is able to
deliver the over-arching functionality.
 System integration involves integrating existing (often disparate) subsystems.
 The subsystems will have interfaces.
 Integration involves joining the subsystems together by “gluing” their interfaces
together.
 If the interfaces don’t directly interlock, the “glue” between them can provide the
required mappings.
 System integration is about determining the required “glue”.
 System integration is also about adding value to the system, capabilities that are
possible because of interactions between subsystems.

63
  In today’s connected world, the role of system integration engineers is becoming more
and more important: more and more systems are designed to connect together, both
within the system under construction and to systems that are already deployed.

METHODS OF INTEGRATION
 Vertical Integration is the process of integrating subsystems according to their
functionality by creating functional entities also referred to as silos.
 The benefit of this method is that the integration is performed quickly and involves only
the necessary vendors; therefore, this method is cheaper in the short term.
 On the other hand, cost-of-ownership can be substantially higher than seen in other
methods, since in case of new or enhanced functionality, the only possible way to
implement (scale the system) would be by implementing another silo.
 Reusing subsystems to create functionality is not possible.
 Star Integration or also known as Spaghetti Integration is a process of integration of
the systems where each system is interconnected to each of the remaining subsystems.
 When observed from the perspective of the subsystem which is being integrated, the
connections are reminiscent of a star.
 The cost varies due to the interfaces which subsystems are exporting.
 In a case where the subsystems are exporting heterogeneous or proprietary interfaces,
the integration cost can substantially rise.
 Time and costs needed to integrate the systems increase exponentially when adding
additional subsystems.
 From the feature perspective, this method often seems preferable, due to the extreme
flexibility of the reuse of functionality.
 Horizontal Integration or Enterprise Service Bus (ESB) is an integration method in
which a specialized subsystem is dedicated to communication between other
subsystems.
 This allows cutting the number of connections (interfaces) to only one per subsystem
which will connect directly to the ESB.
 The ESB is capable of translating the interface into another interface.
 This allows cutting the costs of integration and provides extreme flexibility.

FUNCTION-BASED VS. INTEGRATED INFORMATION SYSTEMS

 A Function-Based Information System is designed for the exclusive support of a

specific application area, such as stock lists and prices, employee payroll, student
behavior monitoring, or customer referral management.
 Each function-based information system within the same organization has its own set of
database files, which start out being the same.

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  However, they easily become different as one is updated but the other ones aren't.
 Multiple copies of identical database files in an organization are said to be redundant,
even when they are identical.
 When they are no longer identical, they are said to lose data integrity.
 The pattern is that as redundancy increases, data integrity decreases.
 Changes to the contents of any one database file must be duplicated on all other
databases with the same data.
 eg. An organization may have 15 copies of the same customer file, one in each
department.
 As a particular customer's details change, all 15 files must be updated.
 Integrated Information Systems share a common set of database files.
 Only one database file implies zero% redundancy and 100% data integrity, as all
departments use the same database file.
 Database Management System software (eg. MS Access) is used as a tool to integrate
data and information flow through an organization.

BENEFITS OF USING INTEGRATED INFORMATION SYSTEMS ARE:

 Greater access to information as everyone on the system has access to the latest up-to-
date information. Better control as data redundancy can be eliminated.
 More efficient software development as programmers have to deal with only database
file structure for each database file.
 Allows different departments within the organization to coordinate their activities more
efficiently.
DATA COLLECTION
Bar code data-collection systems fall into three basic types: interactive, batch, and hybrid.
 An interactive system consists of one or more portables connected in real time to a
computer.
 In these systems, the central computer manages data collection and verification as the
user enters data.
 A batch system uses one or more portables to gather data that is stored for later input to
a computer.
 This is the most common and most economical portable system.
 Batch systems can do only limited validity checking.
 A hybrid system is a combination of the two.
Interactive Systems
 Interactive systems have several advantages over batch systems.
 Almost all systems where bar code hardware is in a fixed location are interactive
systems. Advantages include:

65
  Immediate Data Verification: As the user enters data, the computer can check its
validity and give the user variable responses depending on that validity.
 Sophisticated Data Verification: An interactive system can check many more
variables when performing data verification.
 For example, a batch system can check the status of a part number only against the
last part numbers that were sent to the portable.
 An interactive system can check the status of a part number against the entire
inventory at any time.
 User Interaction: Interactive systems can give the user better feedback when an
error occurs. Since the system can check more variables, one can tailor the
responses given to the user to solve problems.
 Error Reduction: All of the above advantages tend to reduce errors in an interactive
system. This reduces the labor cost to correct the errors, as well as the consequences
of acting on incorrect data.
 Easy Setup: Interactive systems use standard programming techniques and error
checking, much like programming for PCs. one can process each transaction and
verify data in real time.
Batch Systems
 Batch systems are generally used with portable readers.
 They are also used in some fixed-mount systems where the reader must continue to
collect data if the computer system goes down.
 While interactive systems are superior in the ways listed above, batch systems do have
some advantages:
 Economical for Standard Portables: Portables can be used for batch or real-time
applications.
 Real-time applications require a costly radio frequency (RF) network.
 On average, setup costs for batch systems are less than half the costs of RF
systems.
 Reliable in Mission-Critical Applications: Since batch processing distributes data
collection to stand-alone units, operation is not dependent on the central computer.
 If a particular unit fails, it can be replaced. If the central computer fails, data
collection can continue.
Hybrid Systems
 Several systems combine attributes of both interactive and batch modes.
 The most common are radio frequency systems and batch/interactive hybrids.
 Radio frequency systems use RF signals to connect portable readers to a central
computer in an interactive manner.
 This gives the advantages of an interactive system combined with portability. There are
different types of RF:
 The simplest RF bar code device is a portable scanner that communicates with a single
receiver connected to a computer or terminal.

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  Another type of RF system connects a portable to a typical computer network through
an RF access point. This has many advantages, such as the ability to "roam" from one
access point to another.
 Batch/interactive hybridsuse local batch processing combined with an interactive link
to a central computer.
 These work primarily as interactive systems, but they can function independently for a
period of time if the central computer fails.
 These systems are best used for mission-critical applications where data collection is
essential.
 Dual mode batch systems can also download data from the computer to the batch
system and use it for data verification and other uses.
 Multiple interactive systems connect more than one interactive system to a network.
This way, if one computer fails, another can still manage critical.
PREPARATION

 We recognize that not everyone has a multi conformer database of fragments readily
available.
 For this reason, we have included a database of molecular fragments to search for
bioisosteres.
 While we are certain that our databases are reasonably complete, we recognize that some
users may want to develop their own fragment databases.
 Fragmentation exercises are straightforward with many cheminformatics toolkits and
strategies are available in the literature.
 User generated databases should contain fragments with at least one external ``attachment
point'' designated by a bond to a dummy atom or ``R-group'' depending on the file format.
 In addition, each fragment in the user defined fragment database should have pre-
generated conformer ensembles.
 The Brood distribution includes two programs to aid users in generating their own
databases, Chomp and dbhelper
DATABASE
 A database is an integrated collection of logically related records and files.
 It consolidates records previously stored in independent files so that it serves as a
common pool of data to be accessed by many different application programs.
 The data solved in a data base is independent of the computer programs using it and of
the type of secondary storage devices on which it is stored.
Objectives of Database Approach
 They provide a guide to the database requirements process and data modeling. The
database objectives are:
 Availability- data should be available for use by applications9both current and future) and
by queries.

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 Share ability- data items prepared by one application are available to all application or
queries. No data items are ‘owned’ by an application.
 Resolvability- the database can evolve as application usage and query needs.
 Data independence- the users of the database establish their view of the data and its
structure without regard to the actual physical storage of the data.
 Data integrity- the database establishes a uniform high level of accuracy and consistency.
Validation rules are applied by the DBMS.
COMPONENTS OF DBMS
According to the wikibooks open-content textbooks, "Design of Main Memory
Database System/Overview of DBMS", most DBMS as of 2009 implement a relational
model.

RDBMS components
 Interface drivers - A user or application program initiates either schema modification or
content modification.
 These drivers are built on top of SQL.
 They provide methods to prepare statements execute statements, fetch results, etc.
 Examples include DDL, DCL, DML, ODBC, and JDBC. Some vendors provide
language-specific proprietary interfaces.
 For example MySQL and Firebird provide drivers for PHP, Python, etc.
 SQL engine - This component interprets and executes the SQL query. It comprises three
major components (compiler, optimizer, and execution engine).
 Transaction engine - Transactions are sequences of operations that read or write
database elements, which are grouped together.
 Relational engine - Relational objects such as Table, Index, and Referential integrity
constraints are implemented in this component.
 Storage engine - This component stores and retrieves data records. It also provides a
mechanism to store metadata and control information such as undo logs, redo logs, lock
tables, etc.
ODBMS components
 Language drivers - A user or application program initiates either schema modification or
content modification via the chosen programming language.
 The drivers then provide the mechanism to manage object lifecycle coupling of the
application memory space with the underlying persistent storage.
 Examples include C++, Java, .NET, and Ruby.
 Query engine - This component interprets and executes language-specific query
commands in the form of OQL, LINQ, JDOQL, JPAQL, others.
 The query engine returns language specific collections of objects which satisfy a query
predicate expressed as logical operators e.g. >, <, >=, <=, AND, OR, NOT, GroupBY,
etc.

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 Transaction engine - Transactions are sequences of operations that read or write
database elements, which are grouped together.
 The transaction engine is concerned with such things as data isolation and consistency in
the driver cache and data volumes by coordinating with the storage engine.
 Storage engine - This component stores and retrieves objects in an arbitrarily complex
model.
 It also provides a mechanism to manage and store metadata and control information such
as undo logs, redo logs, lock graphs.

UTILITY OF THE OPERATION OF THE DATABASE TECHNOLOGY

 Collecting, maintaining, and analyzing large amounts of data, however, involves
expensive technical challenges that require organizational commitment.
 Many commercial tools are available for each of the three major data warehousing tasks:
 populating the data warehouse from independent operational databases,
 storing and managing the data, and analyzing the data to make intelligent business
decisions.
 Data cleaning relates to heterogeneous data integration, a problem studied for many years.
 More work must be done to develop domain-independent tools that solve the data
cleaning problems associated with data warehouse development.
 Most data mining research has focused on developing algorithms for building more
accurate models or building models faster.
 However, data preparation and mining model deployment present several engaging
problems that relate specifically to achieving better synergy between database systems
and data mining technology.

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 QUESTION BANK (UNIT – IV)

PART – A (2 MARKS)

1. Name any two fundamental types of transaction processing system? (APRIL 2015)
2. What is computer software? (APRIL 2015)
3. Define DSS? (APRIL 2015)(APR 2017)
4. What is database?
5. Data – brief out the term?(APR 2017)
6. Define DBMS.(APR-2018)( April – 2019)
7. What is TPS?(APR-2018)

PART – B (5 MARKS)

1. Concept of Information system? (APRIL 2015)

2. Explain Accounting Information System? (APRIL 2015)
3. Explain benefits of expert system?(APRIL 2016)
4. Types of decision support system? (APRIL 2016)
5. Explain briefly transaction processing system?(APR 2017)
6. What are the advantages of data base system?(APR 2017)
7. What are the characteristics of DBMS?(APR-2018)
8. Explain the architecture of a generic TPS application.(APR-2018)

PART – C (10 MARKS)

1. What do you mean by transaction processing cycle?

2. What is the database ?and states the characteristics of data in database? (APRIL 2016)
3. Narrate clearly the various characteristics of DSS?(APR 2017)
4. Define decision support system, Explain the characteristics and components of
Decision support system.(APR-2018)

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 Unit-V
[ Functional Management information systems – production, marketing accounting,
personnel, financial, relationship – impact and their role in the managerial decision – making]

FUNCTIONAL MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM

Management Information System is a combination of computers and procedures for
providing information that manager’s use in making decisions.
Collect Data:
 Massive amount of information are available to the organisations – personnel records,
information about customers, information about competitors, sales data, accounting
data and so on.
 The first function of an MIS is to determine the information needed to make decisions
and to organise it into a database.
 A Data Base is an integrated collection of data stored in one place for efficient access
and information processing.
 Data can be obtained from sources, within and outside the organisation.
 Generally most data collected froan MIS come from internal sources such as company
records or reports and information compiled by managers themselves.
 External sources include trade publications, customers and consultants.
Store and process data:
 After creation of data, a database must be stored and processed in a form useful to
managers.
 Data are generally stored on magnetic tape or hard disks when mainframe computers
are used on hard disks or floppy (soft) disks, when minicomputers are used.
 The data can be loaded into computers in seconds for easy access by the user.
Present information to the managers:
 After collection of data, storing and processing of data, the next step is to present the
information to the managers for their use.

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 PRODUCTION
 The manufacturing function could involve the manufacture of any product from
ordinary pin to build a commercial aeroplane engine, also could be building of
computers, office building etc.
 It is very vast and a complicated subject, involving innumerable activities.
 The processes and machinery used vary from product to product and may be totally
different.
 The various activities involved are inventory management, machinery selection,
machine scheduling, labour managements, robotics, factory automation and quality
control etc.
 The vendor and the customer are from outside the organisation.
 The marketing department, through the integration of product plans, produces a
master production schedule, giving the types of products to be sold and the amounts
and approximate dates of sales.
 This document is used by production scheduling department to coordinate various
activities viz., planning production facilities, inventory levels needed and necessary
labour force.
 This department must have bill of materials or list of material components for each
product (part list together with material list for the same), to work out the raw
materials requirements.

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  As everyone is aware, raw material cannot be procured instantaneously and needs
some time i.e. between the time they are ordered and they are procured
instantaneously and needs some time i.e. between the time they are ordered and they
are procured, called the lead time.
 Hence, the production scheduling department considering this has to take advance
action.
 Customer orders are input to the production scheduling department.
 If items are available, they are drawn from the finished foods inventory; and if the
quantity on hand goes below a specified level, they will initiate the production of
replacement stock.
 Material requirement plan is thus worked out, based on master production schedule
and inventory levels.
 Suppose the item requires production for a stock item, the production scheduling
department will place the order on the production schedule.
 Different companies adopt different policies.
 The product specifications prepared by the engineering department are used in the
production process to manufacture goods in accordance with the production schedule.
 Raw materials are taken from raw material inventory, goods are manufactured and
finished goods are placed in the finished goods inventory.
 Some organisations keep finished goods also in raw material inventory.
 The production department create entries for the general ledger that account for the
transformation of raw material and labour into finished goods.

Information systems required to support manufacturing functions

 There are number of sub-systems which support there main system manufacturing.
These are:
(i) Materials requirement planning (MRP)
(ii) Just in time (JIT)
(iii) CAD/CAM (computer-assisted design/computer assisted
manufacturing)
 ORCIM (Computer Integrated Manufacturing) can substitute all above sub-systems.
Material requirement planning (MRP)
 With MRP, the master production schedule, the bill of materials and the vendor lead
times are knit together to produce a new schedule of raw material purchases, that will
enable materials to be procured on time, reducing the cost of raw materials inventory.
Just In Time (JIT)
 Just In Time (JIT) manufacturing is a broad philosophy of continuous improvement
that includes three major categories of effort that are mutually supportive:

73
 (i) People involvement (including team work, suppliers involvement). it seeks to
utilise more fully the creative talents of employees, supplier, sub-contractors and
others who may contribute to the company’s involvement.
(ii) Total quality control (covers concept of the immediate customer i.e who is the
next person who uses or further process the item or information, quality at the
source, quality as a culture not a programme.)
(iii) JIT production (i.e. production of goods shortly before they are needed to keep the
inventories low.)
 MRP is combined sometimes with an inventory management strategy called JIT
strategy.
 With JIT, raw materials or components arrive on the production line, ideally, just as
they are needed.
CAD/CAM
 Designs from engineering are transformed by an information system into instruction
for machines and robots.
 A design can be transformed from a drawing into commands.
 Ex: A drilling machine can drill a number of holes in various locations or a hacksaw
can cut material in certain ways as per the commands.
 Similarly, robots can also be directed.
CIM
 CIM is an attempt to bring the disparate manufacturing information systems together
into a single system.
MARKETING
 Regarding marketing information system, the discussion here is based on a medium
sized company that produces multiple consumer products grouped into several
product lines.
 The company has sales branches in several locations, each with numerous sales
persons in the field whose customers are both wholesalers and retailers.
 In this company, products are manufactured and placed in the inventory to await sale.
 The major marketing information sub-systems are:

i. The sales information systems:

a. Sales support
b. Sales analysis
c. Customer analysis
ii. The market research and intelligence information systems:
a. Customer research
b. Market research

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 c. Competitor intelligence
iii. Promotion and advertising information system.
iv. New product development information system.
v. Sales forecasting information system.
vi. Product planning information system.
vii. Product pricing information system.
viii. Expenditure control information system.
 The overall objectives of this integrated set of marketing subsystems are to improve
the organisations ability to:
 Identify and evaluate potentially profitable sales opportunities.
 React rapidly to changes in market condition.
 Establish profit maximising product prices.
 Control marketing cost.
 Deploy sales personnel most effectively.
 Assist in allocating expenditure for advertising and other forms of promotion.
 The major sources of information for these activities are:
 Sales invoices and other transactions information.
 Sales person’s customer calls reports.
 Sales history files.
 Customer account files.
 The cost accounting system.
 The profit planning (budgeting) system.
 Market research and intelligence gathering activities.
 Sales forecasts.
 Production schedules.
 Inventory status reports.

ACCOUNTING
 The accounting function is the most important function in any organisation and has
links with the other functions of the organizations.
 Already several of the traditional accounting functions have been in the context of the
other themes:

(i) Accounts receivable (under revenue generation).

75
 (ii) Account payable (under purchasing).
(iii) Payroll (under personnel).
(iv) Budgeting(under product development and planning)

 The general ledger process integrates the information received from all of the other
processes and finally displays this information in the form of financial statements to
management.
 This system can be compared to the flight control panel of an airplane.
 It is information system used in the accounting function.
 It can be a set of manual accounts or maintained by a spreadsheet program or can be
kept by vertical market software designed specifically to maintain in the general
ledger.
 General Ledger systems vary in the degree to which they are integrated with other
information systems.
 Some GL systems require that all input to be expressed in terms of debits and credits
to specific accounts.
 Other products accept input in more general forms such as orders received or PO’s
processed.
 The design varies from package to package.

PERSONNELor HUMAN RESOURCE

 The purpose of the personnel and payroll function is to hire, pay, account for and
administer employees.
 Every business has this function; but the nature of this function varies on the size of
the company, industry, nature and culture of the company, the ratio of salaried to
hourly personnel, the state in which the company operates etc.
 The personnel department will identify the candidates and will work with the
department to interview potential candidates.
 This process culminates in someone being hired. The new employee data is sent to the
payroll department by the personnel department.
 Consider the payroll part of this system. As the employee works, his or her hours will
be accounted for, in some manner.
 Hourly employees punch the time cards. Salaried employees may be required to
complete time sheets to account their time.
 The department will forward hours worked plus vacation, sick leave and personal
time on the payroll department.
 This department will then compute pay, account for sick leave and vacation time and
generate pay cheques.
 The payroll department will take deductions from the employee’s pay and forward the
payments to the proper agencies.

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  Medical, income tax, chequing and savings account deposits, insurances, and
investment deductions are typical.
 The external agencies periodically send reports to the employees detailing the
employee’s contribution to provide a control on the accuracy of payroll department’s
work.
 At the time they are hired, employeesfillout deduction advice forms which are sent to
the payroll department.
 Leave application forms companies filled in by the employees will be sent to the
personnel department to effect deductions if any.

Information system to support personnel

 There are two fundamental subsystems.

 The personnel subsystem keeps track of jobs, people, assignments, employee reviews,
authorised pay rates etc.
 The payroll subsystem produces pay cheques, accounts for vacation and sick leave,
keeps track of taxes and other accounting functions.
 There are companies wherein personnel and payroll are supported by two separate
applications.
 The personnel and payroll departments each maintain their own files and act
independently.
 Some companies integrate these two into a single system and have a database of
employed data. Such a database is known as ‘human resources database’.
 Payroll data is sensitive. Most companies prefer that salaries and pay rates are kept
confidential.
 If the company produces its own payroll, the system users and operators will be privy
to this sensitive data.
 Confidentiality is difficult to maintain.
 To overcome these difficulties, many companies prefer to have their payroll processed
by an outside vendor.
 Control is improved because employees are not processing their own cheques.
 A specialised vendor will maintain professional contacts with local medical
authorities, insurance companies, financial institutions etc.
 The payroll function is an external function and hence represented by a rectangle. The
basic input output remains the same.

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 FINANCIAL
Financial control data systems and payment systems provide different supervisory
information:

i. Payment systems generate action oriented instructions (orders) regarding financial

transactions. They also record these transactions in various subsidiary ledgers.
ii. Financial control systems provide financial status change information to the
management, investors and government agencies.

In the case of financial information,

i. Payment systems provide the supervisory data at lower levels.
ii. Financial control systems provide it at the higher levels.

The general ledger batch summary files serves as a mail box for passing data from
payment systems (and certain operation data systems) to the financial control system.

The operations data systems also input batch summaries to a GL batch summary file
(order processing, receiving, operations data collection systems).
Maintaining the General Ledger
 Financial status information is maintained by the GL file by financial control systems.
 A GL is defined in accounting as a system of accounts that defines the types of assets,
liabilities, equities and transactions that an organization has.
 Maintaining the GL file is a matter of recording period revenues and expenditures and
changes in the status of assets, liabilities and equity interests.
 From the data systems viewpoint, four types of transactions are significant. Each requires
a different type of data system:

 One is large volume, routine type of transaction

 Example: payment of wages and vendor invoice, movement of inventory
from a working process to finished stock status.
 Separate data systems are usually developed for such transactions including
recording them in subsidiary ledgers.

 Second is low volume routine transaction.

 Example: Paying taxes, depositing of loan, and selling a fixed asset.

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  A terminal based data entry system in the accounting department may be
justified, as part of the book-keeping system.

 Third type of transaction is the standard end of period closing entry.

 Example: Depreciation expense charges, allocation of overheads to cost
centre accounts, the closing of revenue and cost accounts to income
accounts.
 To manage these closing entries automatically, the procedures must be
incorporated into a setoff application programs called the closing system. This
system coordinates the functioning of other systems.
i.Depreciation
ii.Cost centre account closing
iii.Book-keeping etc.
 The end-of-period changes in the GL and subsidiary ledgers are correctly
made.
 The fourth type is the non-routine, special entry.
 This is handled similar to the 2nd type, but a more detailed and complete
definition of the required posting to the GL must be entered into the
teleprocessing system by the accountant.

THE ENTITY/RELATIONSHIP (ER) MODEL

The entity/relationship(ER) model is the best known example of a class of data

models usually known as extended or semantic models. In the years later 1970s and early
1980s, semantic modelling was the subject for research.

Database systems-either relational or otherwise-typically have only a very limited

understanding of what the data in the database means: they typically ‘understand’ certain
single atomic data values, and perhaps certain simple integrity constraints that apply to those
values, but very little human user is left to take any more sophisticated interpretation. If
systems could understand a little more and could respond a little more intelligently to user
interactions, and perhaps support more sophisticated interfaces, it would be good.

For example, if the material weight in the bill of material and forecast quantities,
though of course, both numerical values, different in kind (semantically different); so that a
request to join these two values on the basis of matching weights and quantities could at least
be questioned, though not rejected.

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 Domains candidate keys, and foreign keys are all semantic aspects of the existing
relational model. The term semantic model often used to refer to one or other of the extended
models is thus not particularly apt, because it suggests that the model in question has
somehow managed to capture all of the semantics of the situations under consideration.

The ER model describes data as entities, relationships and attributes. The basic object
that the ER model represents is an entity, which is a ‘thing’ in the real world with an
independent existence. An entity may be object with a physical existence, a particular person,
car, two wheeler, house or employee or it may be an object with a conceptual existence. a
firm, a job or an university course. Each entity has particular properties called attributes, that
describe it.
An employee entity may be the employees name, age, address salary and job. A
particular entity will have a value for each of its attributes, that describe each entity as a
major part of the data stored in the database.
Attribute types
Several different types of attributes occur in the ER model which are explained below.
We will define these attribute types.
(i) Composite attributes can be divided into smaller sub part which represent more
basic attributes with independent meanings of their own.
(ii) Attributes that are not divisible are called simple or atomic attributes.
Example: Street name, Zip.

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 (iii) Most attribute have a single value for a particular entity. These are called single
valued.
Example: Age is a single valued attribute of person.
(iv) An attribute can have set values for the same entity. These are called multi-valued.
Example: Colours attribute for the walls of a houses;
College degree attribute for a person
A multi valued attribute may have lower and upper bounds on the
number of values for an individual entity.
Colour of the car can have between one and six values.
(v) Two (or more) attribute values are related

Example: Age and date of birth attributes of a person.

The age attribute (value) can be determined for a particular person entity from the
current (today’s) date and the value of that person’s birth date. Hence the age attribute is a
derived one and hence known as derived attribute and it is said to be derivable from the
birthday attribute which is called a stored attribute.
(vi) A particular entity in some cases may not have any applicable value for an
attribute.

Example: apartment number attribute of an address applies only to addresses that

are in apartment buildings and not to other types of residences.
For such situations, a special value called null is created.
Entities, Attributes, Relationships
An entity is a thing which can be distinctly identified. This can be classified into:
 Regular entities or strong entities
 Weak entities
A weak entity is an entity that is existence-dependent on some other equity, in the sense
that it cannot exist if that other entity does not also exist.
Eg.: An employee’s dependents. (they cannot exist if the relevant employee does not
exist).
A regular entity on the other hand, is an entity that is not weak
Eg: Employees
Properties/Attributes

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 Entities have properties (also known as attributes). The word attribute has a specific
meaning in the relational model. Hence word ‘properties’ is used here. All entities of a given
type have certain kinds of properties in common.
Eg: If we say employees-all employees have a ticket number (employee number), a name,
a salary, and so on.
Properties were already mentioned earlier.
Relationships
Relationships are an association among entities.
Eg: there is a relationship between departments and employees (DEPT_EMP) the fact is
that a given department employs a given set of employees.
The entities involved in a given relationship are said to be the participants in that relationship.
The number of participants in a given relationship is called the degree of that relationship.
There are two types of participation.
 Total
 Partial
Eg: every part is supplied by at least one supplier then the participation of parts in
SUPP_PART is Total.
A given part to be supplied by no supplier at all, then the participation of parts in SUPP-
PART is partial.
An E/R relationship can be one-to-one, one-to-many (Many-to-one also), or many-to-many.
IMPACT & ROLE OF THE MANAGERIAL DECISION MAKING

Management Information System is a network of communication channels and

information processing centre collecting information from its sources of origin.
 Storing, updating, collecting and processing it
 Supplying the processes information to the various users managing the organization
As the specific needs of the management differs from level to level, Management
Information System takes this responsibility.
Since they provide organization with a competitive advantage
Even in non-profit and service oriented organization information systems are the key to
the organization’s ability to provide greater and better quality service.
In the basic layer of the management: the process procures raw materials, manufacture the
physical product, store them in warehouses and ship it later.
In the middle layer, we have structured decision making process, the processes that
govern day-to-day operation of the manufacturing and distribution system.

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 In the top management, the unstructured decision-making processes are found here are
required to design and redesign the entire system, to provide it with its basic goals and
objectives and to monitor its performance.
Management Information System is used to collect data, store and processes data and
present information to managers.

 Mainly it helps to collect data

 ‘Data Base’ is an integrated collection of data stored in one place for efficient access
and information processing
 Used to store the collected data in Database to process thus making it use in the future
 Thus making use of the upsaid information and provide the needed information in the
form of reports to the managers to make decisions.
 The main objective of Management Information System is to
 Verify the allocation of current market
 Products and its offers in the market
 The pros and cons of the product
 The customer set, to which the product should reach
 Rate of advertising and the stage of the product cycle
 These provide opportunities for the development of the overall business.
 Impact: without these things it is highly impossible to decide from a manager’s point
of view.
 Hence, all the above said function is an organization is not an easy task.
 We need an additional and is the basic component called Management Information
System, to move the business towards the upliftment.
Being in a managerial role usually requires prompt decision making. Decision making
process is the process by which managers respond to opportunities, threats, analyze all the
available options and make a sound decision which is commensurate with the goals of the
organization.
The decision taken helps decide the further course of action. Decision making is one
of the core responsibilities of a manager’s job. There are other responsibilities as well which
usually involve problem solving and work distribution. A manager must make informed
decisions based on his expertise, technical knowledge and experience.
Managers use a wide range of decision strategies, often changing these strategies from
one situation to the next. The strategies lead to a wide variety of choices of varying quality,
depending on the decision being made. Managers are equipped with a number of useful
techniques for diagnosing problems, clarifying values and goals, structuring and modeling
decisions, and gathering useful information.
The three kinds of managerial roles include:
 Interpersonal -- which include figure heads and leaders

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  Informational -- who receive and disseminate critical information
 Decisional -- who initiate activities, handle disturbances, allocate resources and
negotiate conflicts.
Decisions made by top managers commit the total organization towards a particular
course of action. Decisions made by lower level managers implement the strategic decisions
of top managers in the operating areas of the organization. Top managers make Category II
decisions.
Operating managers make Category I decisions, while the middle managers
supervises the making of Category I decisions and support the making of Category II
decisions. The success of the decision taken is a function of the decision quality and decision
implementation.
QUESTION BANK (UNIT – V)

PART – A( 2 MARKS)

1. What is mean by marketing decision support system? (APRIL 2016)

2. What is mean by financial information system? (APRIL 2016)
3. What is super computer? (APRIL 2016)
4. Explain personal information system? (APRIL 2016)
5. What is marketing information system?(APR 2017)
6. Write any two sources of financial data?(APR 2017)
7. What is the main purpose of financial control data systems?(APR-2018)
8. What is human resource planning?(APR-2018)

PART – B( 5 MARKS)

1. Who are the users of production information system? (APRIL 2016)(APR 2017)
2. Discuss model of marketing information system? (APRIL 2016)
3. Explain financial information system? (APRIL 2015)
4. What is advertisement and promotion system? (APRIL 2015)
5. Explain financial and accounting information system?(APR 2017)
6. Describe the various forms of input transaction documents for the personnel
department.(APR-2018)
7. Explain the marketing information system. What are its subsystems?(APR-2018)

PART – C (10 MARKS)

1. Who are the users of human resources information system? (APRIL 2016)
2. Discuss in details marketing information system? (APRIL 2015)

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3. How does information requirement various for different levels of management?(APR
2017)
4. Who are the users of production information system? (APRIL 2016)(NOV 2017)
5. Explain about the functions of financial management. (APR-2018)
6. Elaborate the various types of reports generated by financial information system. (
April – 2019)

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