Management Information

System
Brajen Kumar Deka
Assistant Professor, Department of Computer Science,
NERIM Group of Institutions, Guwahati-22, Assam.
Issues of MIS
• Management Information System are a concept that has been building in
popularity for the last 20 years. This progress has coincided with technological
innovations that enable information to be used and stored more effectively than
previously. Management needs to understand the issues impacting information
systems if they are to be effective helping the company to realize its goals.
• Proper people organization is basic to the management of any activity or
function. The same thing is true for the development of the MIS. The principles
of the organization and structuring the organization to the specific needs of the
function are a prime necessity. When we talk with reference to the MIS, a
number of issues come up and they are not the same in all organizations. Hence,
the organizational structure of the MIS would differ from one organization to the
other.
 Contd..
• The type, the size and the structure of corporate organization becomes the basis for the
MIS organization for handling the MIS function and management activities. The major
issues involved are:
1. Whether the function should be handled as a centralized or decentralized activity?
2. The allocation of the hardware and software resources.
3. The maintenance of the service level at an appropriate level.
4. Fitting the organization of the MIS in the corporate organization, its culture and the management
philosophy.
• The question of the centralization versus decentralization is resolved by accessing the status
of information resource in the organization, i.e., whether the status is the information
systems management or the information resource management. When it is a case of
information systems management then the organization of the MIS would be centralized,
but if it is a case of information resource management, it will be decentralized organization.
 Contd..
• In a centralized set, the responsibility of acquisition of the data, of
providing the information to the users, becomes the centralized
function. The centralized organization is also recommended when the
information needs are more or less static. In such cases, the user of
the information is free from the responsibility of designing the
systems and also from deciding the hardware and the software.
• However, if the information needs are varying and is more strategic in
nature, the reliance on the centralized set-up becomes a difficult
workable proposition. When such a situation exists, a decentralized
organization is more effective.
 Contd..
• Depending upon the situation, hardware and software solutions are available. In
a decentralized set-up the allocation of hardware is a centralized decision but the
collection of data and its processing becomes the user’s responsibility. Training,
problem-solving and system development, however, is a centralized function. In
all such situations, the information processing is based on the database
management system. Therefore, the management of the database becomes the
centralized responsibility and its use becomes the responsibility of users.
• In a real life situation, the variations of these two approaches are found, mainly
on account of the variety of hardware, software solutions. One can develop two
models of the MIS organization, and its variations can be further developed
suitable to the corporate culture, the management style and philosophy of the
management.
 Selection, Upgrade,
Hardware and Software Expansion Decisions
Technology Upgrade
Decisions
Managing Director
Information System
Planning

Centralized System
Head of MIS Training
Development

Management and
Development

Running day-to-day
Operations, backup
Operations Maintenance
System Maintenance,
Software Maintenance

Figure 1: Centralized Organization of MIS

 Distributed or
Management of Decentralized Decision
Hardware Maintenance of
Hardware and Software
Managing Director

Selection of Hardware
Solution
Advise on Hardware and
Head of MIS
Software Technology Selection of Language,
OS

Corporate DBMS Assist users in System

Development
Training and Support
Training and Problem-
solving

Figure 1: Decentralized Organization of MIS