1: MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM

INTRODUCTION

 An organization has four major resources namely., Manpower, Equipment,

Inventory and Finance besides Information.

 Management Information System (MIS) deals with information, which is critical

for success of any business organization.

 MIS is all about using information for discharging among others the
management functions of initiating, planning, organizing, forecasting, staffing,
directing, coordinating and controlling.

 MIS is a tool for better management and scientific decision-making.

 MIS helps in providing right information, in right quantity, to right person/s

(managers), at right time.

CONCEPT OF MIS

Management

“Management can be defines as a science of using resources rationally (mobilization,

allocation, combination, utilization of resources in judicious manner using appropriate
skills, approaches and techniques) and economically to achieve the desired results or
meet the targeted performance level ”

A manager may be required to perform the following activities-

 Determination of organizational objectives and developing plans to achieve

them.

 Securing and organizing human and other resources in order to achieve the
desired objectives.

 Exercising adequate control over the functions.

 Monitoring the results to ensure that the targeted goals are achieved as per
the plan.

Prof Jha, Davendranath G – Faculty: Information Systems 1

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Information

“Information is data that has been processed into a form that is meaningful to the
recipient and is of real or perceived value in current or progressive decision”
– Davis and Olson
 A data processing system processes data to generate information. The quality of
information determines the quality of action or decision.
 The data information cycle can be expressed as –

Idea

Intelligence
Data

Knowledge

Information

Information has come to occupy very important position in the survival of business

 The source and destination for any information can be – International, National,
Industry, Corporate, Department and Individual.

System

“A system can be defined as a group of inter-related, often interacting units that

together perform a task in a synchronized manner to provide the desired result”

Some of the examples of the system could be –

 Solar system: The sun and the celestial bodies that revolve around it.
 Respiratory System: Describe organs involved in act of breathing.
 Hydraulic System: Group of interacting mechanical or electrical
components.
 Capitalist Market System: Set of inter-related ideas and principles …
 A business is also a system where resources such as people, money, material,
machines etc., are transformed by various organization processes into goods
and services.

Prof Jha, Davendranath G – Faculty: Information Systems 2

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Conclusion

MIS is a network of information that supports management decision-making. The

role of MIS is to recognize information as a resource so that it can be efficiently and
effectively used to achieve the organizational objectives. Thus, MIS is referred to as
set of procedures that collects, processes, stores and disseminates information to
support decision-making.

The function of MIS can be shown diagrammatically as-

Determination of Information needs

Data gathering and processing

Evaluation, Indexing, Abstraction

Dissemination Storage

Information Use

OBJECTIVE OF MIS

To provide information for decision-making on planning, initiating, organizing and

controlling the functions or the operations of the sub-system of the firm and to
provide a synergistic organization in process.

DEFINITIONS OF MIS

“An approach that visualize the business organization as a single entity composed of
various inter-related and inter-dependent sub-systems* looking together to provide
timely and accurate information for management decision-making**, which leads to
the optimization of overall enterprise goals.”
- Canith

“A system of people, equipment, procedures, documents and communications that

collects, validates, operates on transformers, stores, retrieves, and present data for use
in planning, budgeting, accounting, controlling and other management process.”
- Schwartz

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“An integrated man/machine system for providing information to support the
operations, management and decision making functions in an organization. The
system utilizes hardware and software, manual procedures, management and decision-
making models and a database.”
- G.B.Davis

“A system that aids management in making, carrying out and controlling decisions.”
- Jerome kanter

“An MIS (i) applies to all management levels; (ii) and is linked to an organizational
sub-system; (iii) functions to measure performance, monitor progress, evaluate
alternatives or provide knowledge for change or collective action; and (iv) is flexible
both internally and externally.”
-Coleman and Ritley

MIS INCLUDE

 Capturing and measurement of data

 Recording of data
 Storage of data
 Retrieval of data
 Processing of data
 Presentation of data

*Definition of Sub-system
Sub-systems are the components of the larger systems which can be discussed one at
a time as if they are independent units, while in fact output of one sub-system serves
as input for another.
**Decision-making
Decision-making is a process that enables to solve wide range of problems in
effective and economic way. Decisions should be based on information and not on
casual judgment or assumptions.

REVIEW QUESTIONS:

1. Explain the concept of MIS.

2. “Information has come to occupy very important position in the survival of
business”. Discuss
3. Define System, Sub-system.
4. What do you mean by decision-making
5. Explain the function of MIS.
6. Define Management Information System.

Prof Jha, Davendranath G – Faculty: Information Systems 4

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