5.3 Management Information Systems

5.3 Management Information Systems
Management Information Systems (MIS) are information systems that monitor and control an organisation’s internal operations.
They are a broad class of systems that provide decision makers with information they need to do their jobs. A MIS takes its input from a data processing system and provides output as reports to management.

5.3.2 The purpose of management information systems
A MIS allows management at all levels of an organisation to:
Plan, organise, direct and control their organisation;
Access data that is particular relevant to them and present it in an effective way;
Access data from within the company in real time, not just data that is processed at set periods of time (as batches)


5.3.3 Features of a MIS
A MIS is an essential part of an organisation’s information management. As part of the organisation’s overall ICT strategy does the following:

- Gathers information from throughout the organisation for processing and storage. It uses transaction processing systems as the primary source of data.

- Presents information to those who need it, in a way that is meaningful to them. It is therefore very flexible in how it allows users to interact with it and allows users to specify the data they want to access and how they want It presented.

- Records and presents external data.

The MIS does all this in real time, i.e. users can see ‘live’ data. A MIS is far more than an accounting system that only deals with completed transactions, or a transaction processing system that performs repetitive data processing tasks.

Output of a MIS
The output of a MIS is in the form of reports that present information in an accessible format to management. Two types of report are produced:A summary report presents aggregate data from several transactions, for example a summary of a day’s sales within a supermarket.An exception report outlines deviations from the expected output, to draw attention to any unusual performance patterns, for example a report of any product that is selling less than 50 units per day, or that is selling out before new stock arrives.

In both cases, reports should be:
- Brief and to the point
- Accurate
- Timely
- Reliable
- Verifiable (i.e. the data it is based on should be easy to check)
- Readily Useable




Drawbacks of using a MIS
While a MIS is very effective in its presentation of data, there are a number of potential problems that users should be aware of.

- Errors in an analysis or design will lead to incorrect output from the MIS.

- The MIS may fail for some reason, rendering its output unavailable

- The MIS may not be able to easily accommodate unexpected events.

For any of these reasons, it is vital that management are fully trained in their area of responsibility and are not simply making decisions ‘because the computer says so’. Management should have a depth of experience that allows them to cope when the MIS fails, and to recognise when output data is incorrect or unreliable.

5.3.4 Influences on a MIS
There are many influences on a MIS that contribute to its overall success or failure. Some of these are listed below:

- A through analysis of the problem
A good analysis fully addresses the problem and user needs. If the analysis has missed detail the project is weakened from the outset.

- The Design
A complete design can only come from a full analysis. However a full analysis does not guarantee a good design if designers are careless.

- Addressing the users needs
This may seem like an obvious consideration. However many systems fail because the analysts or designers address what they think the user needs and not what the user actually needs

- Usability and ease of manipulating data
A good design gives users the option of manipulating data the way they see fit and not according to what the designers thought was convenient. While designers may have their own preferences for using systems, they must remember that non-expert users often have a different perspective.

- The structure of an organisation
A good MIS will allow the effective communication between all levels of an organisation. This can only be ensures by a comprehensive analysis.

- The ICT department are left in charge
There should be no provision for departments to put their own ICT solutions in place without referall to the central ICT policy. If this is allowed a ‘mish-mash’ of incompatible systems will lead to data redundancy, duplication and lack of communication. Data being transferred between these systems will require re-keying, which often introduces errors.

- Data in software from different departments must be able to share data:
This is best done by leaving the ICT departments in charge. Often data will be centrally held to enforce compliance with established procedure. While this may annoy the person whose favourite piece of software cannot access data, it does mean that the same person cannot damage the database by making changes that the other users’ software cannot read.

- An efficient flow of data
There should be no needless bureaucracy or duplication of data. If staff perceive work as having no real purpose they are likely to ignore it, yet some organisations measure workers’ effectiveness by the amount of paper that they generate!

- Support for adhoc (‘on-the-fly) reporting
Management reports should be able to be generated ‘live’, based on up-to-the minute data. Some organisations produce management reports at the end of the day’s work and do not have the flexibility to produce reports at other times.

- The system must be delivered on time and on cost:
Many systems fail either because of huge delays in implementation or because of spiralling costs, both of which drive away customers.

- Staff Morale
It does not matter how good a system is at managing data if staff dislike it. Often morale is influenced by factors such as a system’s usability or the range of features it offers. If a new system is introduced for the wrong reasons, morale may plummet.

A system can be considered successful if it meets all user requirements (as defined in the analysis) and is accepted by users. An unsuccessful system either fails to be implemented, fails to meet requirements, or is simply not accepted by users.