Shruti Speak's

THE ACCURACY IN REPRESENTATION - The test of accuracy is how closely it represents a situation or event. The degree of precision will decide the accuracy in representation. THE FORM OF PRESENTATION - Forms are qualitative or quantitative, numeric or graphic, printed or displayed, summarized or detailed. Appropriate form is important. THE FREQUENCY OF REPORTING - How often the information is needed? How often it needs to be updated? THE SCOPE OF REPORTING - The coverage of information in terms of entities, area and range, and the interest shown by the recipient or the decision maker. THE SCOPE OF COLLECTION - Internal from organization or external to organization. THE TIME SCALE - It may relate to the past, the current and the future and can cover the entire time span. THE RELEVANCE TO DECISION MAKING - The information has relevance to a situation and also to a decision making. The irrelevant information is a data. COMPLETE FOR THE DECISION CONSIDERATION S - The informatio

Systems analysis play a central role in the development of MIS. Since the MIS is a conglomerate of various system, a systematic approach in its development help in achieving the objectives of the MIS. Each system within the MIS plays a role which contributes to the accomplishment of the MIS objective The tools of the system and the method of development enforce a discipline on the designer to follow the steps strictly as stipulated. The possibility of a mistake is almost ruled out. The success of MIS lies in meeting the information needs of the various personnel in organization across all levels of the management. The system analysis with its structural analysis and design approach ensures appropriate coverage of the sub systems. The data entioties and attributes are considered completely keeping in view the needs of the systems in question and their interface with other systems. The system analysis begins with the output design which itself ensures that the information need s are con

MANAGEMENT LEVELS USING MIS I) Strategic Planning Level The strategic planning level involves mangers at the top of the organizational hierarchy. The term strategic indicates the long-term impact of top managers’ decisions on the entire organization. The term executive is often used to describe a manager on the strategic planning level. II) Management Control Level Middle-level managers include regional managers, product directors, and division heads. Their level is called “management control level” due to their responsibility of putting plans into action and ensuring the accomplishment of goals. III) Operational Control Level Lower level managers are persons responsible for carrying out the plans specified by managers on upper levels. Their level is called the “operational control level” because this is where firm's operation occur.

NEED FOR MIS IN MANAGEMENT OF BUSINESS 1. Increasing complexity of business activity a) International economy Firms of all sizes are subject to economic influences that can originate anywhere in the world. Such influences can be seen in the relative values of the currencies of each nation, where purchases are made in those countries with the highest currency value. b) Worldwide competition Competition exists on a worldwide scale. Its effects can be seen in the imports from foreign countries. c) Increasing complexity of technology Technology is used everywhere in business. Examples are bar code scanners, computer based airline reservation systems, automated teller machines, factory robots ..etc. d) Shrinking time frames All phases of business operations are performed more rapidly than ever before. (telemarketing, electronic sales orders, “just in time “ delivery of raw materials ..etc) e) Social constraints Some products and services are found undesirable by society.

Modern management is based upon a systems approach to the organization. The systems approach views an organization as a set of interrelated sub-systems in which variables are mutually dependent. A system can be perceived as having: · some components, functions and the processes performed by these various components; · relationships among the components that uniquely bind them together into a conceptual assembly which is called a system; and · an organizing principle that gives it a purpose (Albrecht, 1983). The organizing system has five basic parts, which are interdependent (Murdick and Ross, 1975). They are: · the individual; · the formal and informal organization; · patterns of behaviour arising out of role demands of the organization; · the role perception of the individuals; and · the physical environment in which individuals work. The interrelationship of the sub-systems within an organization is fundamental to the systems approach. The different components of the organiz

MIS design should be specific to an organization, respecting its age, structure, and operations. Six strategies for determining MIS design have been suggested by Blumenthal (1969): Organization-chart approach Using this approach, the MIS is designed based on the traditional functional areas, such as finance, administration, production, R&D and extension. These functional areas define current organizational boundaries and structure. Integrate-later approach Largely a laissez faire approach, it does not conform to any specified formats as part of an overall design. There is no notion of how the MIS will evolve in the organization. Such an MIS becomes difficult to integrate. In today's environment - where managers demand quick and repeated access to information from across sub-systems - the integrate-later approach is becoming less and less popular. Data-collection approach This approach involves collection of all data which might be relevant to MIS design. The collected da

SPECIAL KINDS OF DSS Although all DSS are designed to tackle fairly specific types of problems, there are a number of recognized subcategories of DSS. Among them group decision support systems (GDSS) and executive information systems (EIS). At times these can be hard to distinguish from a "conventional" DSS, but both continue to enjoy solid backing in corporations and the separate terminology persists. GROUP DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEMS. As the name implies, GDSS are used to assist groups of decision makers who have common or overlapping responsibilities, such as executive committees, task forces, and work teams. Some of these tools are designed to be used directly when the group is convened. One example is tallying and processing group member preferences, and then presenting output for the participants to discuss. In other cases the group may never meet, but a centralized system is available to each member for common tasks they perform, such as financial monitoring and repor

The MIS implementation process (Table 3) involves a number of sequential steps (Murdick and Ross, 1975): 1. First establish management information needs and formulate broad systems objectives so as to delineate important decision areas (e.g., general management, financial management or human resources management). Within these decision areas there will be factors relevant to the management decision areas, e.g., general management will be concerned about its relationship with the managing board, institute-client relationships and information to be provided to the staff. This will then lead the design team to ask what information units will be needed to monitor the identified factors of concern. Positions or managers needing information for decision making will be identified. 2. Develop a general description of a possible MIS as a coarse design. This design will have to be further refined by more precise specifications. For efficient management of information processing, the MIS should b

A decision support system is a way to model data and make quality decisions based upon it. Making the right decision in business is usually based on the quality of your data and your ability to sift through and analyze the data to find trends in which you can create solutions and strategies for. DSS or decision support systems are usually computer applications along with a human component that can sift through large amounts of data and pick between the many choices. The key to decision support systems is to collect data, analyze and shape the data that is collected and then try to make sound decisions or construct strategies from analysis. Whether computers, databases or people are involved usually doesn't matter, however it is this process of taking raw or unstructured data, containing and collecting it and then using it to help aid decision making. There are a number of Decision Support Systems. These can be categorized into five types: 1) Communication-driven DSS Most commu

1. Model-driven DSS - A model-driven DSS emphasizes access to and manipulation of financial, optimization and/or simulation models. Simple quantitative models provide the most elementary level of functionality. Model-driven DSS use limited data and parameters provided by decision makers to aid decision makers in analyzing a situation, but in general large data bases are not needed for model-driven DSS. 2. Data-driven DSS - In general, a data-driven DSS emphasizes access to and manipulation of a time-series of internal company data and sometimes external and real-time data. Simple file systems accessed by query and retrieval tools provide the most elementary level of functionality. Data-Driven DSS with On-line Analytical Processing provide the highest level of functionality and decision support that is linked to analysis of large collections of historical data. Executive Information Systems are examples of data-driven DSS (Power, 2002). Initial examples of these systems were

MIS systems are complex and expensive pieces of software, and many people are involved with the design both within the organisation and from outside. Often they are built by software houses to the precise requirements of the organisation. So the client organisation needs to be very clear as to what it wants, and the software house analysts need also to be very clear about the requirements. MIS failures can be expensive and bring bad publicity to all parties. They can arise due to: Inadequate analysis - problems, needs and constraints aren’t understood in the early stages. Lack of management involved in the design – wrong expectations of a new system / no-one understands the system. Emphasis on the computer system – Need procedures for handling input and output / select the right hardware and software Concentration on low-level data processing – Information must be easily accessible and understood Lack of management knowledge of ICT systems and capabilities – managers know

ROLE OF MIS COORDINATOR · Interact with user groups · Identify the needs of users of MIS · Designing of reporting formats · Identify systems of information flow · Ensure smooth flow of information within and outside the organization · Time management – tracking inputs/reports · Act as interface among sections and management tiers · Identify training needs of staff in MIS jointly with application developer · Organize monthly/periodic meetings to assess performance, maintain minutes and follow-up on the decisions · Interface with the various divisions/units in the organization for information sharing ROLE OF COMPUTER PROGRAMMER/APPLICATION DEVELOPER · Participate in assessing users’ information needs · Develop computer based applications · Undertake initial testing and debugging applications · Operationalize the applications · Staff training · Extend on-going support to users in handling the applications · Focus on customizing inexpensive market software for agency needs

Preliminary Investigation In this phase, the agency needs to critically assess its current system in order to justify the cost and time involved before deciding on having a new MIS. The facilitator needs to clarify the MIS need not always involve computers. However, if there are computers the work gets accelerated. Requirements Analysis The facilitator discusses the methods and means of ascertaining the information needs to be addressed by MIS. Further, the mechanisms for gathering information from primary and secondary sources are to be determined by agencies. A critical factor is ascertaining MIS needs of primary and secondary users. System Design The facilitator explains basics of a MIS system elucidating the inputs, the processing and the outputs. While inputs include information provided by front-line workers, the outputs could be various types of reports, including those sent periodically to funders. The procedures define how and in what format the information will be inputted an

The development of sound MIS is the result of the development and enforcement of a culture of system ownership. An "owner" is a system user who knows current customer and constituent needs and also has budget authority to fund new projects. Building "ownership" promotes pride in institution processes and helps ensure accountability. Although MIS does not necessarily reduce expenses, the development of meaningful systems, and their proper use, will lessen the probability that erroneous decisions will be made because of inaccurate or untimely information. Erroneous decisions invariably misallocate and/or waste resources. This may result in an adverse impact on earnings and/or capital. MIS which meets the five elements of usability is a critical ingredient to an institution's short- and long-range planning efforts. To achieve sound MIS, the organization's planning process should include consideration of MIS needs at both the tactical and strategic levels. For e