Management Information System: Definition

MIS (management information systems) is a general term for the computer systems in an enterprise that provide information about its business operations. It's also used to refer to the people who manage these systems. Typically, in a large corporation, "MIS" or the "MIS department" refers to a central or centrallycoordinated system of computer expertise and management, often including mainframe systems but also including by extension the corporation's entire network of computer resources. The MIS program is intended to be the first step in a life-long learning experience in the exciting and dynamic field of information technology. It provides a strong foundation for advancement and success in IT careers and ventures. Basically, Management Information Systems is the study of the use of computers in business. This course shows students how Information Systems are used to support critical business operations and achieve strategic objectives. The elements or corporate technology are studied and its application to specific business situations is discussed. Students develop a small information system using Microsoft Access and use Excel as a decision support tool. In the beginning, business computers were used for the practical business of computing the payroll and keeping track of accounts payable and receivable. As applications were developed that provided managers with information about sales, inventories, and other data that would help in managing the enterprise, the term MIS arose to describe these kinds of applications. Today, the term is used broadly in a number of contexts and includes (but is not limited to): decision support systems, resource and people management applications, project management, and database retrieval applications.

Purpose & Scope of Management Information System

The Purpose and Scope of MIS can be defined as The combination of human and computer based resources that results in the collection, storage, retrieval, communication and use of data for the purpose of efficient management of operations and for business planning.

In order to get a better grip on the activity of information processing, it is necessary to have a formal system which should take care of the following points: Handling of a voluminous data. Confirmation of the validity of data & transaction. Complex processing of data and multi-dimensional analysis. Quick search & retrieval. Mass Storage. Communication of the information system to the user on time. Fulfilling the changing needs of the information.

The management information system uses computers and communication technology to deal with these points of supreme importance.

Role of Management Information System In an organization

The role of the MIS in an organisation can be compared to the role of heart in the body. The information is the blood and MIS is the heart. In the body, the heart plays the role of supplying pure blood to all the elements of the body including the brain. The heart works faster and supplies more blood when needed. It regulates and controls the incoming pure blood, processes it and sends it to the destination in the quantity needed. It fulfills the needs of blood supply to human body in normal course and also in crisis.

The MIS plays exactly the 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 system is expected to fulfill the information needs of an individual, a group of individuals, the management functionaries: the managers & the top management.

The MIS satisfies the diverse needs through a variety of systems such as Query Systems, Analysis Systems, Modelling Systems and Decision Support Systems. The MIS helps in Strategic Planning, Management Control, Operational Control and Transaction Processing.

The Functional Support Role in MIS

It can also be called Data Base Management System (DBMS) wherein maximum utilization in an efficient manner based on the organisational needs is obtained by analyzing, processing and referencing of Data Base. Not only for the business, but for all kinds of organisations such as Disaster Management Organisation for using it as Disaster Management Information System. Business processes and operations support function are the most basic. They involve collecting, recording, storing, and basic processing of data. Information systems support business processes and operations by:

Recording and storing accounting records including sales data, purchase data, investment data, and payroll data.

Processing such records into financial statements such as income statements, balance sheets, ledgers, and management reports, etc.

Recording and storing inventory data, work in process data, equipment repair and maintenance data, supply chain data, and other

production/operations records.

Processing these operations records into production schedules, production controllers, inventory systems, and production monitoring systems.

Recording and storing such human resource records as personnel data, salary data, and employment histories.

Processing these human resources records into employee expense reports, and performance based reports.

Recording and storing market data, customer profiles, and customer purchase histories, marketing research data, advertising data, and other marketing records.

Processing these marketing records into advertising elasticity reports, marketing plans, and sales activity reports.

Recording and storing business intelligence data, competitor analysis data, industry data, corporate objectives, and other strategic management records.

Processing these strategic management records into industry trends reports, market share reports, mission statements, and portfolio models.

The bottom line is that the information systems use all of the above to implement, control, and monitor plans, strategies, tactics, new products, new business models or new business ventures.

Impact of the Management Information System In an organization

Since the MIS plays a very important role in the organisation, it creates an impact on the organisations functions, performance and productivity.

The impact of MIS on the functions is in its management. With a good MIS support, the management of marketing, finance, production and personnel becomes more efficient. The tracking and monitoring of the functional target becomes easy.

The MIS creates another impact in the organisation which relates to the understanding of the business itself. The MIS begins with the definition of a data entity and its attributes. It uses a dictionary of data, entity and attributes, respectively, designed for information generation in the organisation.

The MIS calls for a systemisation of the business operations for an effective system design. This leads to streamlining of the operations which complicate the system design. It improves the administration of the business by bringing a discipline in its operations as everybody is required to follow and use systems & procedures. This process brings a high degree of professionalism in the business operations.

Since the goals and objectives of the MIS are the products of business goals & objectives, it helps indirectly to pull the entire organisation in one direction
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towards the corporate goals and objectives by providing the relevant information to the people in the organisation.

Significance

Using an MIS, an organization is able to establish its hierarchical structure and work-flow charts. Every employee in the organization knows the employees he has authority over and to whom he is responsible for work. The work then progresses without glitches. The companys operating and procedures are listed by an MIS. The preparation of audits also gets simplified.

Types

Organizations use different types of MIS for different needs and scenarios. At a given point of time an organization might be using several types in isolation and in combination. Organizations essentially use the TPS. TPS is the acronym for transaction processing system. The business tabulates all its recurring transactions like inventory and customer orders using TPS. The operations information system, or OIS, is used by managers to plan out their production and scheduling activities. The decision support systems, or DSS, is used by the top management to find feasible solutions and options to different scenarios.

Benefits

There are numerous pluses in using an MIS. The organization records and tabulates all its key strategic functions. As and when deviations from the planned course happen, the organization is able to take corrective action at once. Communication channels are enforced. As the authority-responsibility diagrams are well established, the superiors delegate work to their subordinates and the subordinates turn to them for guidance and suggestions. The MIS mechanism enables the organization to weigh the pros and cons of several methods of accomplishing a task and choosing the most practical one.
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Conclusion
Through the MIS, the information can be used as a strategic weapon to counter the threats to business, make businesses more competitive, and bring about the organisational transformation through integration. A good MIS also makes an organisation seamless by removing all the communication barriers.

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