Structure of Management

Information Systems
Ravi Mohan

1
 PART I
• The Physical Components of MIS.

• Types of Organizational Information Systems.

• Information for Management.

– A. Attributes of quality information.
– B. Internal vs external information.

• Management Reporting Systems (MRS).

– A. Characteristics of MRS.
– B. Reporting by MRS.

2
 PART I
• Decision Support Systems (DSS).

• Executive Information Systems.

• Expert Systems.

• Informational Support of Management.

• Levels of Planning & Control.

– A. Operations Planning & Control.
– B. Tactical Planning & Control.
– C. Long-term Strategic Planning & Control.
3
 PART I
• Functional Departmentation &
MIS.
–A. Organizational Structure.
–B. Information support of a
functional area: Marketing.
• MIS support to Management.

4
 PART II
• The Role of MIS.
• The Evolving Systems Function.
• Conclusion.
• Introduction to Information Systems
Development.
• What is systems analysis and design?
• Tools for Systems Development.

5
 The Physical Components of MIS

• Hardware.
• Software.
• Database.
• Personnel.
• Procedures.

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 AANetworked
NetworkedInformation
InformationSystem:
System:
Three-Tier
Three-TierArchitecture
Architecture

Corporate Corporate Mainframe

Divisional
Databases Headquarters Minicomputers
with Divisional
Databases

Marketing
Finance Production
and Sales
Divisional
Databases

Regional
Office
Work- Plant Minicomputers
stations
Salesforce
Local Area Network: Telecommunications
Notebooks
PCs with Local Databases Link
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 AADownsized
DownsizedNetworked
NetworkedInformation
InformationSystem:
System:
Client/Server
Client/Server Architecture
Architecture

Database
Server
Client
LAN PCs

WAN Workgroup
Server

LAN
Client
PCs
Enterprise Computer
(Central Server)
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9
 Types of Organizational
Information Systems

• Z-1992 Table 3.2.

• Z-1992 Fig 3.2.

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11
Fig 3.2 12
 Information for Management
• A. Attributes of quality information
– Z-1992 Table 3.3; Z-1998 2.1
• B. Internal vs external information
– Internal- information for TPS, MRS,
DSS, OIS.
– External- information for DSS, EIS
• Organizational advantage is gained
from external data.

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14
 Information for Management
• Sources of data are: sales volume of
competitor.
– Customer profiles.
– Questionnaire data (focus groups).
– Demographic data.
• Z-1992 Table 3.4; Z-1998 2.2
• Boundary spanning role.
• Daft and Weick Model.
– Time horizon: past, present & future.

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16
Management Reporting Systems
(MRS)
Objective: provide lower & middle
management operational control
information.
– Monthly/weekly performance reports.
– Attendance reports.
– Sales reports.
– Inventory reports.

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18
Management Reporting Systems
(MRS)
• A. Characteristics of MRS.
– Designed by MIS, large & complex, multiple users
& DB's.
– Support highly structured queries, stable.
– DO NOT necessarily support decision making;
provide.
– information for structure decisions.
– Oriented on past & present.
– Have limited analytical capabilities; summaries.
– Report on internal organization operations.

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 Management Reporting Systems
(MRS)

• B. Reporting by MRS.
Reports produced from main DBMS
and or local DB's.
– Scheduled periodic reports.
– Exception reports.
– Demand (Ad hoc) reports: limited
queries or views of Data.

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Decision Support Systems (DSS)
Support decision making process
(unstructured & semi-structured
decisions); facilitate a dialogue
between user and system; the DB is
generally an extract of the main DB.
– Developed by user and MIS.
– Use application packages (123, etc).
– Generally very flexible (can be modified).
– Support the decision making process.

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Decision Support Systems (DSS)
– Project future states of the "world“.

– Have analytical capabilities.

– Use internal & external data.

– Graphics capabilities.

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The
TheStructure
Structureof
of Decision
DecisionSupport
SupportSystems
Systems

Model
Management

Dialog
Management
Data
User
Management
Decision Support System

...
Internal and External
Databases
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 Executive Information Systems
Provide support for top executives and their
aids. Unstructured and semi-structured decision
making.
– Provide easy access to key information
pertaining to the company and environment.
– User "seductive" interfaces; Users' time is a
premium.
– Provide access to internal & external DB's.
– What if capabilities abound?
– Tailorable systems; cognitive styles.

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25
 Expert Systems
• Knowledge based about a specific
domain.
• Use heuristic in the process.
• New systems use neural nets.
• Expert systems are knowledge based
systems that imitate a reasoning
process (heuristic) to suggest a solution
within a specific domain.

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The
TheStructure
Structureof
of Expert
Expert Systems
Systems

Explanation
Facility
Facts of the Case
User Inference
Interface Engine
Recommendation,
User Explanation

Knowledge Base
Expert System

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Informational Support of Management
– Z-1998 Figure 2.14.
• Gorry & Scott-Morton.
• Planning: Setting measurable objectives
for a period of time.
• Control: Comparing actual to planned
performance objectives and taking action
in response to deviations and making
adjustments to the plan.

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 AASummary
Summaryofof the
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Importance Summarized Time Structured
of External Information Horizon Problems
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29
Informational Support of Management

• Control information:
–status or progress information.
–warning information.
–comfort information.
–FEEDBACK information.

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 Levels of Planning & Control
• A. Operations Planning & Control
– Lower level management.
– Highly structured.
– Repetitive information.
– Examples: Scheduling, inventory
movement, aging reports, cash flow reports,
etc.
– Involves examining the progress of planned
events and dealing with contingencies if
necessary.

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 Levels of Planning & Control
• B. Tactical Planning & Control
– Middle management.
– Semi-structured and structured.
– The acquisition and implementation of resources
to fit the strategic plan.
• The financial plan for a new MIS system;
• The plan to match the labor requirements of an
MRP II run;
• The resources required for the introduction of a
new product.
– Use DSS and GSS systems.

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 Levels of Planning & Control
• C. Long-term Strategic Planning & Control.
– Top Management.
– Unstructured, semi-structured.
– Examples:
• A diversification strategy.
• Downsizing.
• Long-term market strategy.
• Outsourcing.
– EIS systems.
– Internal and external data.

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 Functional Departmentation & MIS
• A. Organizational Structure
– Independent units: Strategic Business
Units (SBU's).
– Each has their own business objectives.
– Each SBU can be subdivided into
functional departments or divisions.
• Figure Z-1992 3.10.
• Figure Z-1992 3.11.

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35
36
Functional Departmentation & MIS
• B. Information support of a functional area:
Marketing
– Marketing objective: Create a market and sell.
– 4 P's( Product, Price, Place and Promotion)
– Marketing MIS Hierarchy.

• Operational:
– weekly scheduling of sales force and
promotions.
– order processing and customer follow-up.

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Functional Departmentation & MIS
• Tactical:
– Sales force and product forecasting.
– Promotional planning & budgeting.
– Comparisons with industry standards.
– Competitive performance analysis.
– MEASUREMENT
• Strategic:
– What is our Market?
– How will we satisfy the customers needs?
– What does the customer want?

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Zwass-1992

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 The Role of MIS
• A. Introduction
– Information technology is partly responsible
– for the PARADIGM shift (A change, a new
model,) from support to contributing to an
organizations profitability.
– From efficient data processing shops.
– to understanding the goals and objectives of
an Organization.
– to participating directly in the decision
making and strategy formulation.

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 The Role of MIS
– The role of the MIS Executive:
• Systems Planning.
• Data Center Management & Operations.
• Management of Remote Equipment.
• Identification of Opportunities for New Systems.
• Systems Analysis, Design, and Construction of
New Systems
• Distributed Systems: The migration of
equipment to user areas and control (selection,
purchase, and ownership). Standards
sometimes set by IS department.

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 The Role of MIS
• Knowledge Users: Users take on increased
responsibility. Identify applications, and conduct
systems analysis and design.
• Better Applications: More specific, user
friendly, functional, lower price, readily
available, and self training. Results: less need
for programmers, IS head count and budget
decrease as a result.
• Outsourcing: Other, external organizations
taking over the management and control of the
data centers. Results:
– cost reductions
– head count reductions
– budget reductions.
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The Role of MIS

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 The Role of MIS
• B. The CIO's Responsibilities.
– 1. Understand the business: products,
markets & customers.
– 2. Establish credibility of the systems
department: responsiveness to needs
and requests.
– 3. Increase the technological maturity of
the organization: "Make it easier to take
advantage of computer and
telecommunications applications,” Spend
money, keep up with technology and
applications.
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 The Role of MIS

– 4.Create a vision and sell it: Create a goal

for the use of IT within the Organization
and sell the goal to others (The Marketing
of IT).
– 5. Implement a systems architecture that
will support the vision and the company in
the future. This is perhaps the most
difficult responsibility (the Tech, and the
Paradigm keep changing).

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 The Role of MIS
• C. Understand the Business.
– Environmental Scanning: Find out what
is happening in the market place.
– Concentrate on the lines of the business.
– Sponsor weekly briefings.
– Attend industry meetings with line
executives.
– Read industry publications.
– Hold informal listening sessions.
– Become a partner with the line manager.

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 The Role of MIS
– 1. Environmental Scanning.
• External
– industry background.
– Pertinent government regulations.
– History & framework.
• Internal
– business goal and objectives.
– major policies and practices.
– The inputs, outputs and resources of
the firm.

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 The Role of MIS

– 2. Concentrate on Lines of Business

– Treat inputs as a request from a customer
and outputs as an order going to a
customer.
– Example: GM sells cars, parts and
financing. Each is a different line of the
business, and each would required different
systems.
– support current operations
– use system to influence future ways of
working.

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 The Role of MIS
– 3. Sponsor Weekly meetings
• IS departments need to understand the
business and the operating departments
need to understand the systems side.
• Meetings (Weekly, monthly, quarterly,
as needed) can help inform and
communicate to all members of the
organization.
• This also help change the culture to one
that is open and accessible to change.

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 The Role of MIS

– 4. Attend meetings with line

managers: PC EXPO.
– 5. Read industry publications: PC
Week, CIO, etc.
– 6. Hold informal listening sessions:
Manage by walking around.
– 7. Become a partner with the line
manager.

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 The Role of MIS
• D. Establish Systems Department
Credibility.
Typically many MIS organizations
have not
• delivered the systems on time.
• built the "best" systems.
• provided timely maintenance or
enhancements.
• controlled costs.

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 The Role of MIS

– IS/IT must become responsive to the

needs of the organization. How?
By providing
• systems on time.
• the "best" system.
• provide for maintenance and
enhancements.
• controlling costs.

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 The Role of MIS
• E. Increase Technological Maturity
In a technologically mature
organization both the organization
and the employees are comfortable
using and managing the technology.
• Ease of use.
• use in intended ways.
• have a good attitude to it.
• have control over it.

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 The Role of MIS
– To get comfortable:

• IS can train and educate.

• provide flexible systems.

• provide "Usable" systems.

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 The Role of MIS
• F. Create a Vision of the Future
– Paradigm shift from reactive to proactive.
– Examples:
• order an elevator in one day.
• design an build a house from a store.
• reprice funds in an hour or less.
– A vision is a statement of how someone
believes the future will be or how he/she
wants the future to be.
• 1. explore the present.
• 2. look at tends and make projections.

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The Role of MIS: Effective visions

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 The Role of MIS
• H. Why develop a vision?
– 1. To set a direction. providing internal stability
for a firm in an unstable environment.
– 2. To help inspire people to take initiative.
– Creating a Vision
• 1. Explore the Present.
– look at prior experiences: ask questions.
– fiddle around: experiment.
– get participation: Communication.
– clarify the vision over time: feedback.
– Listen.

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 The Role of MIS
• 2. Scouting the future
– study trends
– look for shifts in trends
– How?
» look everywhere
» convergent thinking (consensus,
reduction in equivocality
» divergent thinking
» ability to map the future
» imagination and visioning.

58
 The Role of MIS
• 3. Ideas for the Future- Dooley Group
Conference
– Decline in growth of cities.
– Holograms to replace travel.
– Small is better than big.
– Personalized products.
– Portable and personal 2-way communication.
– Small powerful batteries.
– Manufacturing in outer space.
– A power shift from a manufacturing base to a
KNOWLEDGE base.
– Deterrence of the aging process.

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 The Role of MIS
• I. Implement an Information System
Architecture
– The IT infrastructure of an organization)
– Hardware, software, communications.
– Issues:
• IT should focus on simplifying organizations.
• IT should flatten hierarchies.
• IT should shift emphasis on competition to
simplification.
• Link IT with business strategy.

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 The Role of MIS
• J.Six Lessons about selling
–Selling is necessary to advance ideas.
–Selling is how things get done in any enterprise.
–1. Understand your market place.
• reduce uncertainty about the market place.
• identify the need.
• fill the need with a product.
– 2. Listening is a Potent form of selling.
– 3. Make your buyer successful.
• living up to your commitments and making your
customers successful.

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 The Role of MIS

– 4.Keep your buyer informed:

Customer care.

– 5. Bring in a spokesman if
Necessary.

– 6. Personal relationships are the

key.

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The Evolving Systems Function
• C. Where are Systems Departments
Headed?
– 1. One view from CSC (Computer Science
Company)
– an outsource vendor.
• Outsourcing is here.
• IS manages become contracts administers.
• Outsourcing vendor will use "their" platforms.
• IS people are either outplaced or absorbed.

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The Evolving Systems Function
• Strategic alignment.
–lower level empowerment.
–Teams developing the strategy
(Groups).
• The questions that must be asked
is:
• What is the need to support the
business?
• How will the business be
supported?
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The Evolving Systems Function
– 2. Another point of view (A panel
discussion).
• The user has/will the IS power.
• The Guild system.
• An infrastructure for both central and de-
central control.
• Usability, and satisfaction.
• Leadership and direction.
• guidance and coordination.

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 The Evolving Systems Function
• D. Building Relationships with Line
Departments.
– 1. Redefining Roles and Skills.
• development support.
• business support.
• technical services.
• business services.

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The Evolving Systems Function
– 2. Managing Risks.
• IS projects are becoming more complex,
widespread, and expensive.
• IS personnel are beings distributed-
central systems, division systems and
functional systems.
• Thus, top management must assume
responsibility.
• They are more conservative, cautious,
less knowledgeable.

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3.13 The Evolving Systems Function
– 3. Building Relationships.
• Because of costs- build external
relationships with vendors, consultants,
academics.
• Because of complexity- build internal
relationships with senior management.
• Because of competition- build
relationships with users- usability and
satisfaction.

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 CONCLUSION
THE TRANSFORMATION OF IS
"we used to do it to them:" the systems
groups (EDP) required end users to
obey strict rules for getting changes
made to the systems, submitting job
requests, etc.
– Mainframes, transmittals, batch processing,
punch cards, data entry clerks.
– EFFICIENCY.

69
 CONCLUSION
• "Next, we did it for them:" systems groups
moved to service.
– Mainframes, large mini's with custom
systems built by IS without user
involvement.
– EFFECTIVENESS, Efficiency.
• "Now, we do it with them:" the partnership
– Mini's, PC, Windows, application
packages.
– USABILITY, Effectiveness, Efficiency.
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 CONCLUSION
• "We are moving toward to teach
them how to do it themselves:"
– UNIX environments, work
stations, PC, LANs, application
packages.
– SATISFACTION, USABILITY,
Effectiveness, efficiency.

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