Answer 1

Management information system (MIS) comprises of two words – Management and Information system.
Management is a process of planning, organizing, directing, and controlling resources to achieve
organizational goals and objectives. On the other hand, an Information system refers to collection,
storage, processing, generating and disseminating business information for effective decision making. It
is a set of interrelated components that collects data from various resources, processes it, and
transforms it into meaningful and useful information. Therefore, MIS is a collection of integrated
systems, both manual and computerized that provide an organization’s decision-makers with
information concerning operational activities. As Tanishq Jewellers want to set up an MIS in their
organization, they will be enabled with activity support which will occur through efficient data
processing and effective information supply to relevant people within the specified time.

Following are the characteristics of an MIS:

 Management oriented and directed : It focuses on providing right information to the

right person at a right time. Decision making is in the hands of top management only
which is percolated till the ground levels.
 Integrated system with common data flow : It is a combination of various management
operations and activities that can be accessed by all departments as per their
requirements and management powers. Information is only collected from original
source and is stored, retrieved and captured only once which minimizes data processing
and maximum output generation.
 Heavy planning element and subsystem concept : Successful implementation of MIS
requires Careful planning and design so that there is proper integration between various
elements. These elements or subsystems interact and communicate with each other to
support decision making.
 Common database : An MIS consists of many subsystems with a common database. This
common database acts as an integrator between various subsystems and also serves
information to the different levels of management as and when required.
 Flexibility : It can easily be modified and per the changes in business environment
within a short span of time.

Now, let’s take a look at various components of an MIS:

 People : These are the users such as the ICT department staff, accountants and human
resource managers who operate the information system to perform daily transactions.
 Data : These entail the daily recorded business transactions and information collected
from different operational activities.
 Hardware : It consists of computers, networking devices and printers which provide the
computing power, printing capabilities and networking for data processing.
 Software : refers to programs running on the hardware and it consists of system
software such as the operating system and application software such as banking system.
  Network : It refers to the group of two or more computers which are interconnected for
sharing information.
 Information : Collected data is processed, analysed and is presented in the form of
tables, graphs and figures for the purpose of generating meaningful information.

Following are the advantages of an MIS:

 It converts large amount of data into precise and quality information which can be easily
interpreted.
 It promotes decentralization of authority as it can be accessed at all levels as per their
requirements and powers.
 If facilitates coordination between various departments as all departments can access
the required information anytime.
 It helps in identifying various strengths and weaknesses of the organization with various
types of business reports generation. This leads to customer satisfaction by ensuring
operational excellence.
 It helps in identifying the root cause for any issue or process flaw quickly through
various kinds of quality reports and pictorial representation to identify a trend.

The implementation of MIS can have limitations such as:

The development of information systems can be costly due to technological changes

which require regular upgrades and also skilled staff salaries to operate the MIS
systems.
System crashes might lead to information loss.
As it is difficult to stay relevant in the market with unskilled employees, they need to be
trained on how to use the information system at the expense of the organization.
Greatly sensitive data necessitates continuous monitoring.
Accounting of MIS exceedingly challenging.
Efficiency declines because of regular changes within the top administration.

Answer 2

Expanding to the Europe means Premiere Automobiles will have to manage a large global team. In the
new country, the business will collaborate with people in several different countries. Managers will be
motivated by the opportunities which will be available, but will also be nervous about making cross
cultural faux pas. Cultural differences can act as a barrier to communication, and that they could affect
business’s ability to build connections and motivate people. To lead in the competitive changing
competitive landscape, Premier Automobiles will have to focus on establishing a base in various
countries across Europe. Above all, before setting up a base in European countries, they should analyze
the culture using Hofstede's dimensions of culture, which is the best approach. It understands how
values differences across national cultures can influence human behaviour at work. Hofstede's
dimensions of culture consist of the following components;

a) Power distance - It refers to the degree of inequality existing in a particular country and its
acceptance by the people in that country. This should aid the premier Automobiles in knowing how a
particular culture in either country is willing to accept status and power differences among its members.

b) Uncertainty Avoidance - This, been lack of tolerance for ambiguity and a need for formal rules and
policies would help Premier Automobiles analyze the culture. It measures the extent to which people
feel threatened by ambiguous situations.

c) Masculinity vs Feminity - These dimensions work on values that concern the extent of emphasis on
masculine work-related goals and assertiveness instead of more humanistic goals. Also, it could be used
to analyze different culture in the various countries of Europe.

d) Individualism vs Collectivism - This would help analyze different cultures of various countries of
Europe as the Individualistic cultures people are likely to portray themselves as individuals who pursue
to accomplish individual goals and needs while the collectivistic cultures people emphasize the welfare
of the entire group.

e) Long vs short-term orientation - On the analysis of different cultures of various countries in Europe,
acceptance of Premier Automobiles' business results and the long-term relationship with the clients
based on long-term orientation would aid in analyzing the cultures. On the other hand, short term
orientation would help to set results and achievement within a timeframe for the automobile company.

Answer 3 A

Change is now the natural state of operation, due to the rapid growth of computer computing in this
information era and its effect on an ever-evolving global economy. COVID 19 is a global pandemic
affecting businesses and human migration. The 3D printing firm cannot afford to ignore changes to
remain competitive. Despite the fact that progress is all around us, organizational change is difficult.
Many companies, in fact, refuse to make the required adjustments to ensure their sustainability.
Employee and middle manager reluctance to change is often blamed by senior sponsors of
organizational change for implementation failures. This is valid at times. Senior leaders and
administrators, on the other hand, often overestimate how much transition they can implement on the
company. Some people are still unaware of how difficult it is to successfully lead and execute change.
The firm is facing resistance to change because of the less knowledge your team members have about
the transition and how it will affect them, the more fearful they will be. Leading transition also means
not catching the company off guard! Your business must be ready for the transfer. Besides, there is a
climate of mistrust in the firm. In an atmosphere of skepticism, meaningful organizational change is
impossible. The concept of trust entails having confidence in the motives and actions of others. Mutual
mistrust will sabotage an otherwise well-intentioned reform initiative. Moreover, some people oppose
reform as a political tactic to "prove" that the decision was made incorrectly. They can even resist to
demonstrate that the person in charge of the shift is unfit for the job. Others will object because they
would lose some organizational control. In these cases, these people are dead set on seeing the reform
initiative fail. Nonetheless, the 3D Printing company is fearing failure. Fear is a strong motivator that can
harden people's resolve to fight your reform efforts. You'll need to help your team members overcome
these fears if you want your change effort to succeed.

Answer 3 B

Change management practitioners do not rely exclusively on reactive tactics to deal with opposition to
change. There are a number of constructive measures that can be taken to overcome and reduce
opposition that should be included in a project's change management strategy. Create expected points
of resistance and special strategies to handle them during the development of the change management
plan, based on readiness assessments.

When resistance is managed solely on the basis of symptoms, it is ineffective. Resistance manifests itself
in a variety of ways, including moaning, missing important meetings, failing to provide requested
information or services, or simply refusing to follow a new process or behavior. Although these
symptoms are more visible, focusing on them will not produce results. You must look deeper at what is
actually causing the resistance to be successful at handling resistance. Effective resistance management
necessitates determining the root causes of resistance—that is, identifying why someone is resistant
rather than just how the resistance manifests itself.

Change resistance can be reduced if successful change management is implemented from the start of
the project. Although resistance to change is a natural human reaction, effective change management
will help to alleviate much of this resistance. Change management is more effective as a method for
activating and involving workers in a change than as a tool for handling opposition as it emerges. The
strength of using organized change management from the start of a project is that it can capture and
leverage the excitement and positive energy surrounding a change, which can also avoid resistance.