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A management information system (MIS) is a system or process that provides the information necessary to manage an organization effectively. MIS and the information it generates are generally considered essential components of prudent and reasonable business decisions. The importance of maintaining a consistent approach to the development, use, and review of MIS systems within the institution must be an ongoing concern of both bank management and OCC examiners. MIS should have a clearly defined framework of guidelines, policies or practices, standards, and procedures for the organization. These should be followed throughout the institution in the development, maintenance, and use of all MIS. MIS is viewed and used at many levels by management. It should be supportive of the institution's longer term strategic goals and objectives. To the other extreme it is also those everyday financial accounting systems that are used to ensure basic control is maintained over fin

Opportunities Natural disasters such as fires and earthquakes can strike at any time. A spilled cup of coffee can also do some damage! Waiting until disaster strikes isn't the best time to figure out how to recover your systems. Smart organizations create a disaster recovery plan ahead of time and/or use firms specializing in disaster recovery. Management Challenges There's a reason why we explain all those methods and procedures and processes in future chapters for building good, solid information systems. They ensure system quality so that the product produced by the system is as good as it can be. Designing Systems that are Neither Over-controlled nor Under-controlled You should be realistic about security and system controls. If you institute five layers of entry into your Web site, people probably won't use it that much. They'll either ignore it or find a way around your controls. You have to analyze the system and determine those areas that should receive mor

Access Control The headlines telling of hackers' exploits in the past year should be enough to convince every company of the need to install firewalls, access controls , and other security measures. With the installation of cable modems or DSL lines, home users must follow the same guidelines. These new connections, which leave your personal computer "always on," are just as vulnerable to attacks as corporate systems. In corporate systems, it's important to ensure authentication methods are in place so that unauthorized users can't gain access to the system and its data. Because most simple password systems are too weak and make the system too vulnerable, security experts are devising new methods to control access. Biometric authentication is becoming more popular as a method of protecting systems and data as the technology is refined. While you may have seen the fingerprint or facial recognition techniques only on sci-fi movies, rest assured it may be the next

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 quantitative models being used. Before one can explain management information systems, the terms systems, information, and management must briefly be defined. A system is a combination or arrangement of parts to form an integrated whole. A system incl

1. A word processing program would be an example of: a. hardware. b. software. c. data. d. procedures. Answer: b Difficulty: Easy 2. A computer monitor would be an example of: a. hardware. b. software. c. a DSS. d. spaceware. e. data. Answer: a Difficulty: Easy 3. All of the following are components of an information system except: a. software. b. culture. c. hardware. d. procedures. e. people. Answer: b Difficulty: Medium 4. Windows XP would be an example of the __________________ component of an information system. a. software b. hardware c. data d. procedure e. people Answer: a Difficulty: Easy 5. A network router would be an example of the __________________ component of an information system. a. software b. hardware c. data d. procedure e. people Answer: b Difficulty: Medium 6. A software trainer would be an example of the __________________ component of an information system. a. software b. hardware c. data d. procedure e. p

FACTORS AFFECTING VULNERABILITY OF MIS To function effectively as an interacting, interrelated, and interdependent feedback tool for management and staff, MIS must be "useable." The five elements of a useable MIS system are: timeliness, accuracy, consistency, completeness, and relevance. The usefulness of MIS is hindered whenever one or more of these elements is compromised. Timeliness To simplify prompt decision making, an institution's MIS should be capable of providing and distributing current information to appropriate users. Information systems should be designed to expedite reporting of information. The system should be able to quickly collect and edit data, summarize results, and be able to adjust and correct errors promptly. Accuracy A sound system of automated and manual internal controls must exist throughout all information systems processing activities. Information should receive appropriate editing, balancing, and internal control checks. A c

Advantages and Disadvantages of EIS Advantages of EIS Easy for upper-level executives to use, extensive computer experience is not required in operations Provides timely delivery of company summary information Information that is provided is better understood Filters data for management Improves to tracking information Offers efficiency to decision makers Disadvantages of EIS System dependent Limited functionality, by design Information overload for some managers Benefits hard to quantify High implementation costs System may become slow, large, and hard to manage Need good internal processes for data management May lead to less reliable and less secure data