CONCEPT OF MIS
The MIS is an idea which is associated with man, machine, marketing and methods for collecting information’s from the internal and external source and processing this information for the purpose of facilitating the process of decision-making of the business.
MIS is not new, only the computerization is new before computers MIS techniques existed to supply managers with the information that would permit them to plan and control business operations. The computer has added on more dimensions such as speed, accuracy and increased volume of data that permit the consideration of more alternatives in the decision-making process.
The scope and purpose of MIS is better understood if each part of them is defined individually, thus
1. MANAGEMENT: Management has been defining in processor activities that describe what managers do in the operation for their organization plan, organize, initiate and control operations. They plan by setting strategies and goals and selecting the best course of action to achieve the goals. They organize the necessary tasks for the operational plan, set these tasks up into homogenous groups and assign authority delegation; they control the performance standards and avoiding deviation from the standard.
The decision-making is a fundamental prerequisite of each of the foregoing process, the job of MIS is facilitating decisions necessary for planning, organizing and controlling the work and functions of the business so that specified goals of the business are achieved.
2. INFORMATION: Data must be distinguished from information and the distinction is clear and important for the present purpose. Data are facts and figures that are not currently being used in a decision-making process and usually are taken from the historical records that are recorded and filled without immediate intent to retrieve for decision-making.
Information consists of data that have been retrieved, processed or otherwise used for information or interference purpose, argument or as a basis forecasting or decision-making regarding any business unit. Information is the knowledge that one derives from facts for the effective functioning of systems placed in the right context with the purpose of reducing uncertainty regarding the alternative courses of action as they are based on description and measurement of attributes of various entities associated with the enterprise.
3. SYSTEM: The system can be described as a set of elements joined together for a common objective. A subsystem is a part of a larger system with which one is concerned. All systems for our purpose the organization is the system and the parts (divisions, departments, functions, unit, etc) are the subsystems.
The system concept of MIS is, therefore one of optimizing the output of the organization by connecting the operating subsystems through the medium of information exchange.
The Management information system (MIS) is a concept of the last two decade or two. It has been understood and described in a number of ways. It is also known as the Information System, the Information and Decision System, the computer-based Decision System.
Information is the lifeblood of an organization, particularly in the case of system approach management. The MIS or Information system can be defined as the knowledge communicated by others or obtained from investigation or study. It is a system providing needed information to each manager at the right time in the right form and relevant one which aids understanding and stimulates the action. MIS is an organized method of providing past, present and projection information relating to internal operations and externals intelligence. It supports the planning, control and operational functions of an organization by furnishing uniform information in the proper time frame to help the process of decision-making.
Management Information System is generally defined as an integrated user-machine system for providing information to support operations, management and decision-making functions in an organization. The system utilizes computer hardware and software, manual procedure, models for analysis. Information is viewed as a resource much like land, labor, and capital. It must be obtained processed, stored, manipulated and analyzed, distributed, etc. An organization with a well-defined information system will generally have a competitive advantage over an organization with poor MIS and no MIS.
The MIS has more than one definition, some of which are given below:
I. The MIS is defined as a system which provides information support for decision-making in the organization.
II. The MIS is defined as an integrated system of man and machine for providing the information to support the operations, the management and the decision-making function in the organization.
III. The MIS is defined as a system based on the database of the organization evolved for the purpose of providing information to the people in the organization.
IV. The MIS is defined as a computer-based information system.
Though there are a number of definitions all of them converge on a single point, i.e. the MIS is a system that supports the decision-making function of the organization. The difference lies in defining the elements of MIS. However, in today’s world, the MIS is a computerized business processing system generating information for the people in the organization to meet the information needs for decision-making to achieve the corporate objective of the organization.
MIS is a computer-based system that provides flexible and speedy access to accurate data. The organizational information system which in general relates to the planning, operation and control of an enterprise is the most important among them. MIS refers primarily to such an organizational system which is generally large, sophisticated, structured and dynamically evolving and of immense commercial values. A large number of programs and system analysts are employed by many organizations to build a variety of MIS. Thus, the education of programmers and system analysts as well as general manager, the subject of MIS, has occupied a key position.
Thus, MIS is a set of computer-based system and procedures implemented to help managers in their routine job of decision-making and planning, expansion and development.
The objective of MIS is to provide information for a decision support process of management. It should help in such a way that the business goals are achieved in the most efficient manner. Since the decision-making is not restricted to a particular level, the MIS is expected to support all the levels of the management in conducting the business operations. Unless the MIS becomes a management aid, it is not useful to the organization.
Modern management system relies on MIS, the complexity of business management and the competitive nature of business requires handling of business operations with skill and foresight to avert the crisis. The management process is executed through a variety of decisions taken at each step of planning, organizing, staffing, directing, coordinating and controlling. If the management is able to spell out the decision required to be taken, then the MIS is designed suitably.
Hence MIS focuses on:
i. Organization-wide information
ii. Decision-making process
iii. Managerial control and analysis
iv. Computer-based system
CONCLUSION: Management Information Systems is sets of inter-related procedures using information system infrastructure in a business enterprise to generate and disseminate the desired information. Such systems are designed to support decision-making by the people associated with the enterprise in the process of attainment of its objectives. The MIS gets data and other resources of IT infrastructure as inputs from the environment and processes them to satisfy the information needs of different entities associated with the business enterprise. There are subsystems of control over the use of IT resources and feedback system offers useful clues for increasing the benefits of the information system to business. The MIS is a subsystem of a business system and by themselves serve the function of feedback and control in the business system.
CONCLUSION: Management Information Systems is sets of inter-related procedures using information system infrastructure in a business enterprise to generate and disseminate the desired information. Such systems are designed to support decision-making by the people associated with the enterprise in the process of attainment of its objectives. The MIS gets data and other resources of IT infrastructure as inputs from the environment and processes them to satisfy the information needs of different entities associated with the business enterprise. There are subsystems of control over the use of IT resources and feedback system offers useful clues for increasing the benefits of the information system to business. The MIS is a subsystem of a business system and by themselves serve the function of feedback and control in the business system.
