Shruti Speak's

Management information systems do not have to be computerized, but with today's large, multinational corporations, computerization is a must for a business to be successful. However, management information systems began with simple manual systems such as customer databases on index cards. As early as 1642, the French mathematician and philosopher Blaise Pascal invented the first mechanical adding machine so that figures could be added to provide information. Almost two hundred years later, Charles Babbage, a professor of mathematics at Cambridge University in England, wanted to make a machine that would compute mathematical tables. He attempted to build a computing machine during the 1880s. He failed because his ideas were beyond his technical capabilities, not because the idea was flawed. Babbage is often called the father of the computer. With the advent of the computer, management information systems became automated. In the late 1890s, because of the efforts of Herman Holleri...

Dictionary: management information system n. ( Abbr. MIS ) A computer system designed to help managers plan and direct business and organizational operations. Accounting Dictionary: Management Information System (MIS) Computer-based or manual system that transforms data into information useful in the support of decision making. MIS can be classified as performing three functions: (1) To generate reports-for example, financial statements, inventory status reports, or performance reports needed for routine or non-routine purposes. (2) To answer what-if questions asked by management. For example, questions such as "What would happen to cash flow if the company changes its credit term for its customers?" can be answered by MIS. This type of MIS can be called Simulation . (3) To support decision making. This type of MIS is appropriately called Decision Support System (DSS) . DSS attempts to integrate the decision maker, the data base, and the quantit...