1.

INTRODUCTION TO MIS
1.1.Definition of terms
Information is the basis for every decision taken in an organization.
The efficiency of management depends upon the availability of regular and
relevant information.
Modern management is constantly on look out for information, which can help in
analyzing the proposed alternative actions and choosing one as its decision.
Thus, modern management functions are information-oriented which is known as
management by information.
The system through which information is communicated to the management is
known as management information system (MIS).
The management needs full information before taking any decision because good
decisions can minimize costs and optimize results.
Management information system is helpful to the management in undertaking
management decisions smoothly and effectively.

Management information system can be looked at as:

1. Management: management covers the planning, control, and administration of

the operations of a concern.

2. Information: information, in MIS, means the processed data that helps the
management in planning, controlling and operations.

3. System: data is processed into information with the help of a system.

Thus MIS means a system for processing data in order to give proper information to the
management for performing its functions.

Data are streams of raw facts representing events occurring in organizations or the
physical environment before they have been organized and arranged into a form that
people can understand and use. E.g. supermarket checkout data

Information is data that has been shaped into a form that is meaningful and useful to
human beings.

1.2.Benefits of MIS

The following are some of the benefits that can be attained using MIS:

Companies are able to identify their strengths and weaknesses due to the
presence of revenue reports, employees' performance record etc. Identifying
these aspects can help a company improve its business processes and operations.
 Giving an overall picture of the company.

Acting as a communication and planning tool.

The availability of customer data and feedback can help the company to align its
business processes according to the needs of its customers. The effective
management of customer data can help the company to perform direct marketing
and promotion activities.

MISs can help a company gain a competitive advantage. Competitive advantage

is a firms ability to do something better, faster, cheaper, or uniquely, when
compared with rival firms in the market.

1.3.Types of information
i. Strategic information

This information is needed for long range planning and directing the course business
should take for example a business person may decide whether to open a new branch
etc. he has to obtain information on impact of advertising. The volume of important
information in strategic planning is small and difficult to obtain. It is obtained by
processing huge amount of archival data stored over a long period.

ii. Tactical information

This type of information is needed to take short range decisions to run the business
efficiently. For example, information on fast and slow moving items may be used to take
decision to stock more of fast moving items and give discount on slow moving items.
Most of the information is easily obtained from day-to-day collection of routine data.

iii. Operational information

This type of data is needed for day-to-day operations of a business organization. For
example, the list of items out of stock on a particular day would be used to trigger the
action of ordering them.

iv. Statutory information

These are information and reports which are required by law to be sent to government
authorities. For example, account of sales tax collected.

1.4.Characteristics of good information

Good information is:

i. Relevant for its purpose

ii. Sufficiently accurate for its purpose information should be accurate for it to
be relied upon by the manager and for the purpose for which it is intended.
iii. Complete enough for the problem all information required for a decision
should be available.
iv. From a source in which the user has confidence confidence is enhanced
when the source has been reliable in the past and there is good
communication between the information producer and the manager.
v. Communicated to the right person all managers have a defined sphere of
activity and responsibility and should receive information to help them carry
out their designated tasks.
vi. Communicated in time for its purpose
vii. Communicated by an appropriate channel of communication
communication process may take many forms e.g. face-to-face conversations,
telephone calls etc.
viii. That which is understandable by the user if information is not understood,
it cannot be used thus cannot add value.
2.0.Information systems

A system can be broadly defined as an integrated set of elements that accomplish a

defined objective.

An information system is a set of interrelated components working together to collect

(or retrieve), process, store and distribute information to support decision making and
control in an organization.

Difference between information system and computer system is that the computer
system consists of a complex interconnection of numerous hardware and software
components, which are essentially determinist, formal systems in that specific input
always gives the same output. Information systems are social systems whose behavior is
largely influenced by the objectives, values and beliefs of individuals and groups and by
the performance of technology. The way an information system behaves is not
determinist and does not follow the representation of any formal algorithmic model.

2.1.Components of information systems

1. Hardware

Information systems hardware is the part of an information system you can touch the
physical components of the technology. Example is computers, keyboards, disk drives,
mouse and flash disks.

2. Software

Software is a set of instructions that tells the hardware what to do. Software is not
tangible it cannot be touched. When programmers create software programs, what they
are really doing is simply typing out lists of instructions that tell the hardware what to
do. The two main categories of software are:

i) Operating-system software, which makes the hardware usable. Examples of

operating systems include Microsoft Windows on a personal computer and
Googles Android on a mobile phone.

ii) Application software, which does something useful. Examples of application

software are Microsoft Excel.

3. Database

A database is a shared, integrated computer structure that stores a collection of end-user

data. The customer database is extremely valuable to the company since it can be used to
inform clients of new products or to develop new products that meet their needs.
Databases are managed by software systems known as database management systems
(DBMS).

4. Data

It is a collection of facts. For example, your street address, the city you live in, and your
phone number are all pieces of data. Like software, data is also intangible. When
aggregated and organized together into a database, data can become a powerful tool for
businesses. Organizations collect all kinds of data and use it to make decisions. These
decisions can then be analyzed as to their effectiveness and the organization can be
improved.

5. Communication Network

Computers connected to other devices or to a network using communication media

which can be cabled or wireless. This allows sharing of information by devices on the
network.

6. People

From the front-line help-desk workers, to systems analysts, to programmers, all the way
up to the chief information officer (CIO), the people involved with information systems
are an essential element that cannot be overlooked. People manage the data and without
people you would not be able to input process data and get any output back into the
business.

2.2.Functions of information systems

The functions of information systems can be broken down into: input; storage;
processing; output and control.
1. Input
Input is the data that you from within the organization or from its external environment.
2. Storage
The storage of information has to be secure. The storage has to keep the information safe
but has to be accessible whenever the organization needs the information, so easy access
is essential.
3. Processing
This is where the data gets turned into information so that it can be understand.
4. Output
Output is what you get out of something. If one is spending money on input but not
getting any output it is not cost efficient. Output comes from processed data.
5. Control
This manages the behavior of systems and produces a desired output. Its process is
check, record, regulate, supervise, authenticate. It is a good management technique
2.3.Types of information systems

Organizations and individuals use different types of systems for different purposes.
There are six types of information systems which fall into two major categories that i.e
operations support systems and management support systems.

1. Transaction Processing System (TPS)

As operations are carried out in the company, transaction processing systems gather,
process and store data and reflect business transactions such as sales, purchases,
payments, etc. A transaction is an event of interest to the organization. e.g. a sale at a
store.

A TPS is a basic business system. It:

serves the most elementary day-to-day activities of an organization

supports the operational level of the business

supplies data for higher-level management decisions (e.g. MIS, EIS)

is often critical to survival of the organization

usually has high volumes of input and output;

Examples:

ATM Machine System Banking Transactions

 Accounting System Checking Account Transactions

2. Process Control Systems (PCS)

Supports Operations

Monitor and Control Industrial/Manufacturing Process

Examples:

Petroleum Refining

Power Generation

Automobile Manufacturing

3. Enterprise Collaboration Systems (ECS)

Supports Operations

Teamwork, communication, and collaboration

Examples:

E-mail

Chat

Video Conferencing

4. Management Information System (MIS)

Supports management

Condenses and converts TPS data into information for monitoring performance
and managing an organization.

Transactions recorded in a TPS are analyzed and reported by an MIS.

They have large quantities of input data and they produce summary reports as
output.

The main purpose of Management Information Systems is to provide managers

with the information they need to take decisions and solve problems. An example
is an annual budgeting system.
 5. Decision Support System (DSS)

Support Management

Helps strategic management staff (often senior managers) make decisions by

providing information, models, or analysis tools.

Used for analytical work, rather than general office support.

The user controls inputs and outputs. They support the decision process and often
are sophisticated modeling tools so managers can make simulations and
predictions.

Their inputs are aggregate data, and they produce projections. An example job
for a DSS would be a 5 year operating plan.

6. Executive Information Systems (EIS)

Supports high-level strategic management

Provides critical information from other systems (MIS and DSS).

EISs integrate external information such as economic developments and news

about related markets and competitors. Helps strategic decision making, not
necessarily tactical.

Tactical doing things the right way right

Strategic doing the right things

2.4.Information system development

System development refers to all the activities that go into producing an Information
System solution to an organizational problem or opportunity. System development
follows multistep process which is called the System Development Life Cycle (SDLC).

1. System Planning/ feasibility study

The planning phase is the most crucial step in creating a successful system. During this
phase, you decide exactly what you want to do and the problems youre trying to solve,
by:

Defining the problems, the objectives and the resources such as personnel and
costs
Studying the ability of proposing alternative solutions after meeting with clients
Studying how to make your product better than your competitors.
 2. Requirements Definition/ Systems analysis

Refines project goals into defined functions and operation of the intended application.
That is, the end-users requirements should be determined and documented, what their
expectations are for the system and how it will perform. Its very important to maintain
strong communication level with the clients to make sure you have a clear vision of the
finished product and its function.

3. Systems Design:

Describes desired features and operations in detail, including screen layouts, business
rules, process diagrams and other documentation. System Design helps in specifying
hardware and system requirements and also helps in defining overall system
architecture.

A general system design can be done with a pen and a piece of paper to determine how
the system will look like and how it will function, then a detailed system design is
produced which meets all functional and technical requirements, logically and
physically.

4. Implementation/Development:

With inputs from system design, the system is first developed in small programs called
units, which are integrated in the next phase. That is, the actual code is written here.

5. Integration and testing:

Brings all the pieces together into a special testing environment, then checks for errors,
bugs and interoperability.

6. Acceptance, installation and Deployment:

Once the functional and non functional testing is done, the product is deployed in the
customer environment and starts accomplishing the desired work.

7. Maintenance:

Routine hardware and software maintenance and upgrades are performed to ensure
effective system operations. User training continues during this phase, as needed, to
acquaint new users to the system or to introduce new features to current users.
Additional user support is provided, as an ongoing activity, to help resolve reported
problems.
3.0.Strategic role of information systems
A strategic Information System is the information system to support or change
enterprise's strategy.
Information technology (IT) is the application of computing and
telecommunications equipment to store, retrieve, transmit and manipulate data,
often in the context of a business or other enterprise.
Strategy is the courses of action necessary, or approach taken, for achieving the
organizations core objectives and ultimately the overall purpose.
Strategic management concerns the management of the organizations overall
purpose, to ensure all the needs of the present are considered with those of the
future. Hence, strategy is only one component of strategic management.

3.1.Strategic Information Systems (SIS)

Strategic Information Systems are systems that support or shape a business units
competitive strategy
Key features of the Strategic ISs are the following:
i) Decision support systems that enable to develop a strategic approach to
align IS or IT with an organization's business strategies
ii) Primarily Enterprise resource planning solutions that integrate/link the
business processes to meet the enterprise objectives for the optimization of
the enterprise resources
iii) Database systems with the "data mining" capabilities to make the best use of
available corporate information for marketing, production, promotion and
innovation. The SIS systems also facilitate identification of the data
collection strategies to help optimize database marketing opportunities.
iv) The real-time ISs that intend to maintain a rapid-response and the quality
indicators.

Strategic Roles for Information Systems

The strategic role of information systems involves using information technology to

develop products, services, and capabilities that give a company strategic advantages
over the competitive forces it faces in the global marketplace.

1. Improving Business Processes

Investments in information technology can help make a firms operational processes

substantially more efficient, and its managerial processes much more effective. By
making such improvements to its business processes a firm may be able to:

Dramatically cut costs

 Improve the quality and customer service

Develop innovative products for new markets

2. Promoting Business Innovation

Investments in information systems technology can result in the development of new

products, services, and processes. This can:

Create new business opportunities

Enable a firm to enter new markets

Enable a firm to enter into new market segments of existing markets.

3. Lock In Customers & Suppliers

Investments in information technology can also allow a business to lock in customers

and suppliers (and lock out competitors) by building valuable new relationships with
them. This can be accomplished by:

Deters both customers and suppliers from abandoning a firm for its competitors
or intimidating a firm into accepting less profitable relationships.

Offer better-quality service to customers allows a company to differentiate

themselves from their competitors.

Create inter-organizational information systems in which telecommunications

networks electronically link the terminals and computers of businesses with their
customers and suppliers, resulting in new business alliances and partnerships.

4. Creating Switching Costs

Strategic information systems build switching costs into the relationships between a firm
and its customers or suppliers. That is, investments in information systems technology
can make customers or suppliers dependent on the continued use of innovative, mutually
beneficial inter-organizational information systems.

5. Raising Barriers to Entry

Investment in information technologies that increase operational efficiency can erect

barriers to entry for new players in the industry, and can discourage firms already in the
market. This can be accomplished by:

Increasing the amount of investment or the complexity of the technology

required to compete in a market segment.
 Discourage firms already in the industry and deter external firms from entering
the industry.

6. Leveraging a Strategic IT Platform

Information technology enables a firm to build a strategic IT platform that allows it to

take advantage of strategic opportunities. Typically, this means acquiring hardware and
software, developing telecommunications networks, hiring information system
specialists, and training end users. A firm can then leverage investment in information
technology by developing new products and services.

7. Developing a Strategic Information Base

Information systems allow a firm to develop a strategic information base that can
provide information to support the firm's competitive strategies. A firms database is
considered a strategic resource which is used to support strategic planning, marketing,
and other strategic initiatives. These resources are being used by firms in such areas as:

Strategic planning

Marketing campaigns

Erecting barriers to entry for competitors

Finding better ways to lock in customers and suppliers

3.2.Countering Competitive Forces

A strategic IS helps an organization gain a competitive advantage through its

contribution to the strategic goals of an organization and/or its ability to significantly
increase performance and productivity

Some of the ways of thinking about gaining competitive advantage are:

i) Deliver a product or a service at a lower cost. This does not necessarily mean the
lowest cost, but simply a cost related to the quality of the product or service that will
be both attractive in the marketplace and will yield sufficient return on investment.
ii) Deliver a product or service that is differentiated. Differentiation means the addition
of unique features to a product or service that are competitive attractive in the
market.
iii) Focus on a specific market segment. The idea is to identify and create market niches
that have not been adequately filled. IT is frequently able to provide the capabilities
 of defining, expanding, and filling a particular niche or segment. The application
would be quite specific to the industry.
iv) Innovation. Develop products or services through the use of computers that are new
and appreciably from other available offerings.

Strategies for Competitive Advantage

1. Cost leadership strategy: Produce products and/or services at the lowest cost in
the industry.
2. Differentiation strategy: Offer different products, services, or product features.
By offering different, better products companies can charge higher prices; sell
more products, or both.
3. Niche strategy: Select a narrow-scope segment (niche market) and be the best in
quality, speed, or cost in that market.
4. Growth strategy: Increase market share, acquire more customers, or sell more
products. Such a strategy strengthens a company and increases profitability in the
long run. Web-based selling can facilitate growth by creating new marketing
channels, such as electronic auctions.
5. Alliance strategy: Work with business partners in partnerships, alliances, joint
ventures, or virtual companies. This strategy creates synergy, allows companies
to concentrate on their core business, and provides opportunities for growth.
6. Innovation strategy: Introduce new products and services, put new features in
existing products and services, or develop new ways to produce them. Innovation
is similar to differentiation except that the impact is much more dramatic.
Differentiation tweaks existing products and services to offer the customer
something special and different. Innovation implies something so new and
different that it changes the nature of the industry.
7. Operational effectiveness strategy: Improve the manner in which internal
business processes are executed so that a firm performs similar activities better
than rivals. Such improvements increase employee and customer satisfaction,
quality, and productivity while decreasing time to market. Improved decision
making and management activities also contribute to improved efficiency.
8. Customer-orientation strategy: Concentrate on making customers happy. Strong
competition and the realization that the customer is king (queen) is the basis of
this strategy. Web-based systems that support customer relationship management
are especially effective in this area because they can provide a personalized, one-
to-one relationship with each customer.
9. Time strategy: Treat time as a resource, then manage it and use it to the firms
advantage.
10. Lock in customers or suppliers strategy: Encourage customers or suppliers to
stay with you rather than going to competitors. Locking in customers has the
effect of reducing their bargaining power.
11. Increase switching costs strategy: Discourage customers or suppliers from going
to competitors for economic reasons.

Models for analyzing competitiveness

1. Porters competitive forces model.
Porter developed the five forces model as a framework for industry analysis.
This model can be used to help understand just how competitive an industry is
and to analyze its strengths and weaknesses. The model consists of five elements,
each of which plays a role in determining the average profitability of an industry.
The company must confront five competitive forces.
The five major forces can be generalized as follows:
1. The bargaining power of customers
2. The bargaining power of suppliers
3. The threat of new entrants to firms market
4. The threat of substitute products or services
5. The rivalry among existing competitors

Threat of substitute products or services: How easily can a product or

service be replaced with something else? The more types of products or services
there are that can meet a particular need, the less profitability there will be in an
industry. The Internet has made people more aware of substitute products,
driving down industry profits in those industries being substituted.
Bargaining power of suppliers: When a company has several suppliers to
choose from, it can demand a lower price. When a sole supplier exists, then the
company is at the mercy of the supplier. For example, if only one company
makes the controller chip for a car engine, that company can control the price, at
least to some extent. The Internet has given companies access to more suppliers,
driving down prices. On the other hand, suppliers now also have the ability to
sell directly to customers.
Bargaining power of customers: A company that is the sole provider of a
unique product has the ability to control pricing. But the Internet has given
customers many more options to choose from.
Barriers to entry: The easier it is to enter an industry, the tougher it will be to
make a profit in that industry. The Internet has an overall effect of making it
easier to enter industries. It is also very easy to copy technology, so new
innovations will not last that long.
Rivalry among existing competitors: The more competitors there are in an
industry, the bigger a factor price becomes. The advent of the Internet has
 increased competition by widening the geographic market and lowering the costs
of doing business.

2. Porters Value chain model

The value chain analysis describes the activities the organization performs and links
them to the organizations competitive position. Therefore, it evaluates which value each
particular activity adds to the organizations products or services.

According to Porters Value chain model, the activities conducted in any

manufacturing organizations can be divided into two parts: Primary activities and
support activities.

The primary activities are the functions that directly impact the creation of a product or
service. The goal of the primary activities is to add more value than they cost. The
primary activities are:

Inbound logistics: These are the functions performed to bring in raw materials and
other needed inputs. Information technology can be used here to make these processes
more efficient, such as with supply-chain management systems, which allow the
suppliers to manage their own inventory.

Operations: Any part of a business that is involved in converting the raw materials into
the final products or services is part of operations. From manufacturing to business
process management information technology can be used to provide more efficient
processes and increase innovation through flows of information.

Outbound logistics: These are the functions required to get the product out to the
customer. As with inbound logistics, IT can be used here to improve processes, such as
allowing for real-time inventory checks. IT can also be a delivery mechanism itself.

Sales/Marketing: The functions that will entice buyers to purchase the products are part
of sales and marketing. Information technology is used in almost all aspects of this
activity. From online advertising to online surveys, IT can be used to innovate product
design and reach customers like never before. The company website can be a sales
channel itself.

Service: The functions a business performs after the product has been purchased to
maintain and enhance the products value are part of the service activity. Service can be
enhanced via technology as well, including support services through websites and
knowledge bases.
The support activities are the functions in an organization that support, and cut across,
all of the primary activities. The support activities are:

Firm infrastructure: This includes organizational functions such as finance, accounting,

and quality control, all of which depend on information technology; the use of ERP
systems is a good example of the impact that IT can have on these functions.

Human resource management: This activity consists of recruiting, hiring, and other
services needed to attract and retain employees. Using the Internet, HR departments can
increase their reach when looking for candidates. There is also the possibility of
allowing employees to use technology for a more flexible work environment.

Technology development: Here we have the technological advances and innovations

that support the primary activities. These advances are then integrated across the firm or
within one of the primary activities to add value. Information technology would fall
specifically under this activity.

Procurement: The activities involved in acquiring the raw materials used in the
creation of products and services are called procurement. Business-to-business e-
commerce can be used to improve the acquisition of materials.

3.3.Information systems for quality

Quality can be defined from both producer and customer perspectives.

From the perspective of producer, quality signifies conformance to specifications

or absence of variation form those specification.
From the perspective of customer, quality is:

i)Concerned with the quality of physical product its durability, safety, ease of use and
installation.

ii)Concerned with the quality of service the accuracy and truthfulness of advertising,
responsiveness to warranties and ongoing product support.

iii) Concerned with psychological aspects the companys knowledge of its

product, the courtesy and sensitivity of sales and support staff, and the
reputation of the product.

Total Quality Management (TQM) is a concept that makes quality control a

responsibility to be shared by all people in an organization. TQM holds that the
achievement of quality controls is an end in itself. Everyone is expected to contribute to
the overall improvement of quality. TQM encompasses all of the functions within an
organization.
How Information Systems Contribute to Total Quality Management

Information Systems can help organizations to achieve their goals by:

i) Simplifying the product, the production process or both

ii)Benchmark. This is a standard or point of reference against which things may be

compared or assessed.

iii) Using customer demands as a guide to improving products and services

iv) Reduce cycle time. Cycle time is the total time from the beginning to the end of your
process, as defined by you and your customer.
4.0.Organizations-structure and information

An organization is a social unit of people that is structured and managed to meet

collective goals.

4.1.Elements of organization

Organizations:

i) Have purpose i.e their objectives

ii) Have formal patterns of relationships i.e their structure

iii) Practice division of labour i.e who does what

iv) Specify formal sources of authority i.e who makes decisions.

4.2.Formal and informal organizations

Formal Organizations

The formal organization is the pattern of relationships and tasks defined by official rules,
policies and systems. The formal organization is designed to achieve the objectives of
the organization in a rational, efficient manner. It is usually depicted on organization
charts.

Advantages of formal organizations

i)Unity of objective and effort

ii) Clear hierarchy of command and control

iii)Well defined relationships, duties and responsibilities

iv)Stability and predictability

Disadvantages

i)Less innovative

ii)more formality and inflexibility

iii)slower, more cumbersome decision making

iv)Inefficient information flows

iv)Lack of individual fulfilment

Informal Organizations
These are organizations formed when people from small groups and social relationships
and develop non standard, informal ways of getting things done. The social groups
develop behavioral patterns, beliefs and objectives which are different from, and
sometimes opposed to the requirements of the formal organization.

Reasons why informal organizations exist.

i) It fulfills human needs for friendship and belonging

ii) The security of the group provides physiological support for the
individual

iii) It provides a power base for those dissatisfied with their official influence

iv) The formal organization is not considered efficient or flexible enough

v) Formal relationships are considered too impersonal

Advantages

i)May improve communication

ii)May use unofficial but efficient methods

iii)May provide more personal satisfaction

iv)Activities may be controlled better

v)It is more flexible and adaptive

Disadvantages

i)Managerial authority may be undermined

ii)Group objectives may run counter to organizational objectives

iii)rumours and distortions rather than facts may be communicated

iv)More loyalty and effort may be given to group than to the organization

v)Bad decisions may result from protecting group interest

4.3.Flat organization structures

Flat organization structures allow more rapid communications for upward and
downward transmissions and are likely to have management costs because of fewer
management levels.

The key features of flat organizations are:

i)Relatively small size.

ii)Few levels of authority and management

iii)Short chain of command

iv)Tendency to suite mass production operations

4.4.Centralization and decentralization

Centralized organization is where authority is exercised by top management while

decentralized organization is one where the authority to commit resources and to take
real decision is spread throughout the various levels of the organization.

Areas in an organization which must always be reserved for top management

include:

i)Decisions about what technologies, markets and products to go into and what
businesses to start or to abandon.

ii)decisions on corporate finance

iii)decisions on corporate personnel policy and key appointments

Factors in favor decentralization.

i) Improve local decision making. Divisional management are in close touch

with day-to-day operations and are in position to make more informed and
speedier decisions.

ii) Improve strategic decision making. Central management are relieved of

much lower level and routine decision making and thus able to concentrate
on strategic considerations

iii) Increase flexibility and reduce communication problems. The ability to take
decisions near the point of action reduces response time and means that
adjustments can be made more swiftly to cope with changes in the market.

iv) Increase motivation of divisional management

 v) Better training. In many organizations, there are movements within divisional
and central management and between divisional and central management
thus enhancing career opportunities for able and ambitious managers.

Problems with decentralization

i)Possible sub-optimal decision making. This occurs when local management take
decisions which benefit their department or division but where the local gains are more
than offset by increased costs or losses of benefit in other parts of the organization.

ii) More coordination problems. With a decentralized organization, top management

must ensure that the parts of the organization work together. Without overall
coordination, it becomes difficult for the various functions to integrate their activities.

iii)Problems of control, monitoring and communication. Top management must have

sufficient information to maintain overall control. There must be correct type of
information so that top management can monitor the performance of junior management
with regard to the tasks delegated to them.

iv)The supply of the right type of manager. Decentralization places extra demands upon
junior management so that there is a continuing need to recruit, train and develop well
motivated and intelligent personnel.

4.5.MIS and organizations

MIS must be appropriate to the organization and to the person receiving the information.
i.e it must be tailored to suite organizational and personal needs otherwise it will be of
little value.

In a volatile environment, information inputs and outputs cannot be rigidly defined and
an adaptive and responsible information system is necessary.

In general, more successful organizations are those that retain a significant level of
informality in their organizational structure and the way they handle information.

The technology of an organization has an influence on structures and thus on

information requirements and flows. An example, mass production systems permit a
broader span of control for lower level management at the expense of a lot of paper
work.

The MIS should suit each individual part of the organization and must be designed to
complement the control and operating characteristics of the different sections,
departments and functions.
The extent of centralization, decentralization and the spread of decision making
throughout the organization have implications for MIS design.

Centralization tend to have little need for lateral communication flows i.e flow of
information across to the same layers in the organization, but will need constant flows
vertically up and down the organization structure to cater for necessary instructions and
decisions.

Where there is full decentralization, vertical flows are greatly reduced and lateral flows
increase.

The use of IT and modern communication systems is a factor in the way organizations
are structured. For example, the widespread use of ICT in large-scale retailing makes
information instantly available at the centre. This process is leading to the removal of a
whole tier of management as well as reducing the management role in the stores
themselves.

4.6.Culture of the organization

The culture of an organization is an influence on how it is structured, how work s done,

what its aims are and how management and staff interact within the organization and
with those outside.

Types of cultures in organizations.

i)Power culture. In this type, power is concentrated in the hands of a single person or a
very small group.

ii)role culture. This type of culture is typically found in large organizations with a
relatively stable environment. There are clearly defined rules, duties and hierarchies.
Titles, procedures and decision making rules are highly formalized.

iii)task culture. The focus is on job expertise and task orientation. These organizations
are relatively democratic and power tends to be exercised by those with appropriate
expertise.

iv)person culture. This type of culture is suited to individuals working loosely together
and sharing common facilities. These organizations tend to have numbers of
professional employees who have considerable independence within their area of
expertise.
 5.0.Management

To manage is to forecast and plan, to organize, to command, to coordinate and to

control.

Management has to make decisions about work, people, structures and systems.
Example,

Work of the organization. How should it be divided and organized?

People in the organization. How should they be treated and motivated?
Structure of the organization. How will authority and responsibility be arranged?
Systems of the organization. What systems will there be?

5.1.Change management

Organizations are faced with increasing rate of change and must learn to cope with the
problem.

Change occurs in many ways:

i) Competitive pressures e.g competitors reduce prices

ii) Changing client/consumer preferences e.g the desire for more
environmentally friendly products.
iii) Introduction of new technology e.t.c

Adaptation to change only occurs as a result of management actions.

Ways to overcome resistance to change.

i) Top management must support innovation in a personal way and must think
integratively.

ii) The unnecessary layers of hierarchy should be removed from the organization and
staff be empowered by the authority.

iii) Communication should be improved, especially across the organization and staff
mobility encouraged.

iv) Achievement should be highlighted and a culture of pride cultivated.

v) Company plans should be made known earlier and more widely to enable staff to
make suggestions and contribute before decisions are made.

5.2.Knowledge management
Knowledge management is the process by which an organization formally creates,
organizes, analyses, shares and applies its knowledge in terms of resources, documents,
experience and people skills.

The kinds of knowledge are:

i) Tacit knowledge. This is the knowledge which people carry in their minds
about how to do things, deal with problems and the lessons learned.

ii) Explicit knowledge. This is knowledge that is recorded or formal knowledge,

i.e. details of processes, procedures, records of all types, databases e.t.c.

The objective of knowledge management is to transform tacit knowledge thus enabling

individual, personal knowledge to be available to others throughout the organization.

5.3.What is a manager

Management is a process which takes place at all levels in an organization.

Section leaders, supervisors, clerks, foremen e.t.c. all carry out managerial functions
although not of the same type.

Roles of a manager

i) entrepreneur (planner and risk taker)

ii) Resource allocator (organizer and coordinator)

iii)learder (motivator and coordinator)

iv) Monitor (controller)

v )liason/disseminator (coordinator and communicator)

5.4.Levels of management

i) Strategic management. This is the top level management e.g. chief

executives, board of director.

ii) Tactical management. These are all types of middle level management,
departmental managers, personnel managers e.t.c

iii) Operational management. These are low level management e.g foremen,
supervisors, chief clerk e.t.c.

5.5.Functions of management
 i) Planning. All activities leading to the formulation of
objectives or goals and deciding upon the means of meeting
them.

ii) Motivation and leadership. Behavioral processes where a

manager influences others to contribute to the achievement
objectives by gaining their commitment.

iii) Organizing and coordinating. Determining the necessary

activities, structures and responsibilities and combining these
factors to achieve the desired objectives.

iv) Control. A monitoring process where actual results are

compared with planned results in order to bring activities in
line with plans or to amend the plans.

5.6.Managers and decision making

Decision making can be classified into:

i) Strategic decision making which determines the objectives, resources and

policies of the organization.
ii) Management level decision making mainly controls how efficient or effective
resources are utilized and how well operational units are performing.
iii) Knowledge level decision making mainly evaluates new ideas for products,
services, ways to communicate new knowledge and ways to distribute
information throughout the organization.
iv) Operational level decision making decide how to carry out specific tasks
specified by upper and middle management and establish criteria for
completion and allocate resources.

The stages of decision making include:

i) Intelligence. Individual collect information to identify and understand

problems occurring in the organization.
ii) Design. Individual conceives of possible alternative solutions.
iii) Choice. Individual selects among the various solution alternatives.
iv) Implementation. Individual puts thedecision into effect and reports on the
progress of the solution.

5.7.Motivation

Motivation is the driving force or commitment people have for doing things.
Importance of motivation in an organization

i) Satisfaction of needs. Needs vary and they involve managers needs, basic
needs, social needs and self-esteem. Self-fulfillment may be motivated via
participation in decision making e.g recommendations.

ii) Saturation off basic needs. Since satisfaction of higher needs will elicit more
effort once basic needs are largely fulfilled, greater rewards mainly
applicable to the satisfaction of basic needs would be ineffective as their
needs are already saturated.

iii) Release of work capacity. Differences in productivity reflect the quality of

motivation. People have immense reservoirs of physical and mental
capabilities untapped by employers. Good motivation systems release this
resource.

iv) Enhancing of the firms image. People prefer to work for an organization
because of its image, opportunities for growth etc.

5.8.Functional information systems

Many organizations are structured on the basis of common functions. The functional
information systems are:

i) Finance and accounting information systems. These systems assist in

maintaining records concerning the flow of funds in the organization and
produce financial statements such as cash flow forecast and income
statements.

ii) Manufacturing and production information systems. Manufacturing systems

support all aspects of the manufacturing process from purchasing
management, inventory management, design, production and distribution
management. They supply data to operate, monitor and control the
production process.

iii) Sales and marketing information systems. They support the sales and
marketing function by facilitating the movement of goods and services from
production to customers.

iv) Human resource information systems. These assist with recruitment,

placement, performance evaluation, compensation and career development of
an organizations employees.
6.0.Database management systems

Database management system (DBMS) aims to allow writing application programs

independent of the physical organization of files in secondary storage.

6.1.Problems with file-based system

i. Data redundancy and inconsistency the same data may be duplicated at

many places

ii. Data isolation - Since data is scattered in various files and files may be in
different formats, it may be difficult to write new applications programs to
retrieve the appropriate data.

iii. Management control as data is scattered in different files and relating

them is not easy, it is difficult to implement uniform policies in an
organization.

iv. Security problems - Not every user of the database system should be able to
access all the data. Since application programs are added to the system in an
ad-hoc manner, it is difficult to enforce security constraints.

v. Data Integrity the problem of data integrity arises due to redundancy. The
same data may be found in different forms in different files.

vi. Data availability data is scattered in many files. If for example a students
details have to be checked for him to be given an exam card to sit for
examination, it would be necessary to look at many files.

6.2.Database and DBMSs

A database is a shared, integrated computer structure that stores a collection of
end-user data.
A database models the data resource of an organization using the relationships
between different data items. The model is independent of any application
program.
A database management system is a set of procedures that manage the database
and provide access to the database in the form required by any application
program. It effectively ensures that necessary data in the desired form is
available for diverse applications of different departments in an organization.
6.3.Objectives of database management
The main motivation for designing a system to manage a database is the ability
to share data. This is because data is considered an important resource of an
organization to be shared by a number of applications.
 Data independence is an essential requirement to enable the design of application
programs independent of the physical format, storage and access of data. Thus,
application programs should be oriented towards information content of data and
should not be concerned with details of data representation, location or access.
The ability to write an application program without knowing the representation
details of database is called data independence.

Data independence allows:

i) The content and organization of a database to be changed without affecting

application programs
ii) Changing data processing equipment and software without requiring
rewriting of application programs
iii) Sharing of data by different application programs by allowing data to appear
to be organized properly for each application
iv) Simplifying program development by removing from the purview of a
programmer low-level data organization
v) Central control of data which ensures the security and integrity of data.

Other objectives of database management are:

i) Control redundancy. The system should identify existence of common data

and avoid duplicating records. Relationships should be used to locate data
which are used many times.
ii) Query processing. Ability to allow users to create new databases and their
logical structure and to ask queries from the database.
iii) Concurrent data access. Allow several users to access the database
concurrently without one user accidentally corrupting the data.
iv) Failure recovery. Ability to recover from hardware/software failures which
may occur during query processing.
v) Relating data items. Relationship between data items should e specified.
vi) Data integrity. Consistency of data values and relationship must be
preserved. In order to achieve this, the system must ensure validity of data by
using good data editing, updating of data and propagating changes to other
related data.
vii) Data security. This is concerned with protecting access to data. Access
restriction may be for an individual data item or groups of items. For
example, access to the salary of employees may be allowed to the financial
controller but access to medical records would be barred.
viii) Database performance. The system should be able to provide timely
information as required.
6.4.Data models
 The design of the database management system begins by determining the
conceptual requirements applications. The data needs of the requirements are
determined.
Using entity-relationship (E-R) data modeling, a conceptual data model is
derived.
The conceptual model derived by using the entity relationship modeling is
translated to a data model compatible with the DBMS chosen.
If a relational DBMS is chosen, the conceptual model is translated to relations.
Relations constitute the logical data model.
The logical model is mapped onto disk storage. The data in a physical storage
device is known as the physical model. The physical model design involves
selecting access methods and ensuring optimal use of disk space. The physical
model is also known as internal model.
6.5.Query language
One primary purpose of DBMS is to enable retrieval of data required for
applications by formulating simple queries to the database.
In order to formulate queries, there is need for a precise language and Structured
Query Language (SQL) is chosen.

The following are features of SQL:

i) Data Definition Statements

Data Definition Language (DDL) - Includes commands to create database

objects such as tables and views, as well as commands to define access rights to
those database objects i.e DDL provides commands for defining relation
schemas, deletion of relation and modifying relation schemas.

Some common data definition statements are:

CREATE DATABASE - Creates a database schema

CREATE TABLE - Creates a new table in the user's database schema
CREATE VIEW - Creates a dynamic subset of rows/columns from one or more tables
DROP TABLE - Permanently deletes a table (and its data)
DROP VIEW - Permanently deletes a view

PRIMARY KEY - Defines a primary key for a table

FOREIGN KEY - Defines a foreign key for a table

NB: In SQL, a relation is named table.

ii) Data Manipulation Statements

Data Manipulation Language (DML) for retrieving and updating data. It includes
commands to insert tuples into, delete tuples from and modify tuples in the database.

A tuple is a named row of a relation.

Some common data manipulation commands are:

INSERT - Inserts row(s) into a table

DELETE - Deletes one or more rows from a table

UPDATE - Modifies an attributes values in one or more tables rows

SELECT - Selects attributes from rows in one or more tables or views

WHERE - Restricts the selection of rows based on a conditional expression

GROUP BY - Groups the selected rows based on one or more attributes

ORDER BY - Orders the selected rows based on one or more attributes

iii) Query Statements

These are mainly used to retrieve from relations data meeting specified requirements. I
general, a query is of the type:

SELECT <column names>

FROM <table name>

WHERE <conditions>

7.0.Information system security and control

Securing an information system assures the organization of the overall information
security because information is a major necessity for normal operation of any
organization. The goals of information security are:
To reduce the risk of systems and organizations ceasing operations.
To maintain information confidentiality.
To ensure the integrity and reliability of data resources.
To ensure the availability of data resources.
To ensure compliance with national security laws and privacy policies and laws.

7.1.System vulnerability
A threat is any circumstance or event with the potential to cause harm to a system in the
form of destruction, disclosure, modification or data, and/or denial of service.
The threats to computerized information system can emanate from organizational,
technology and environmental factors. The threats can be view from two main aspects,
risk to hardware and risk to application and data.
Risk to hardware involves physical damage to computers, peripheral equipment and
communication media. The causes of such damage are natural disasters, blackouts and
brownout and vandalism.
Natural disasters that pose a risk to information systems include fire, floods,
earthquakes, tornadoes and lightning, which can destroy hardware, software or both,
causing total or partial paralysis of systems or communication lines. Flood water short-
circuits and burns delicate components such as microchips. Lightning and voltage surges
cause tiny wires to melt and destroy circuitry.
Blackouts occur when power is disrupted from the computer which results in computers
and its peripheral devices not functioning well. Power failure may not only disrupt
operations of an organization. Occasional surges in voltage are equally harmful because
their impact on
Vandalism occurs when human beings deliberately destroy computer systems. It is
difficult to defend computers against vandalism. In the work place, the best measure
against vandalism is to allow access only to those who have real need for the system.
Sensitive equipment, such as servers, should be locked in a special room.
Risk to application s and data are theft of information, data alteration and destruction.

Issues to be addressed when building and using information systems

i) Disaster. System developers should develop fault-tolerant computer
systems which contain extra hardware, software and power supply
components that can back up a system and keep it running to prevent
system failure.
ii) Security. Users should refer to the policies, procedures and technical
measures used to prevent unauthorized access, alteration, theft or
physical damage to information systems.
iii) Errors. Information systems can serve as instruments of error,
severely disrupting or destroying an organizations record keeping
and operations.

7.2.Control environment
Controls are constraints and other measures imposed on a user or a system and can be
used to secure information systems against the risks or to reduce damage caused to
systems, applications and data. Control consists of all the methods, policies and
procedures that ensure protection of the organizations assets, accuracy and reliability of
its records and operational adherence to management standards. Information systems are
controlled by a combination of general controls and application controls.
7.2.1. General controls
General controls are those that control the design, security and use of the computer
programs and the security of data files in general throughout the organization.
It is a combination of system software and manual procedures and applies to all
applications area. General controls include the following:
i) Software control, which ensure the security and reliability of software and
also prevents unauthorized access of software programs.
ii) Physical hardware controls, which ensure the physical security and correct
performance of computer hardware.
iii) Computer operations controls, which are the procedures to ensure that
programmed procedures, are consistently and correctly applied to data
storage and processing.
iv) Data security controls, which ensure that data files on either disk or tape are
not subject to unauthorized access, change or destruction.
v) Controls over the system implementation process, which audit the systems
development process at various points to make sure that it is properly
controlled and managed.
vi) Administrative disciplines, standards and procedures, which is a formalized
standards, rules, procedures and disciplines to ensure that the organizations
controls are properly executed and enforced.

7.2.2. Application Controls

Application controls are specific controls within each separate computer
application. They include automated and manual procedures that ensure that only
authorized data are completely and accurately processed by that application.
Application controls can be classified as:
i) Input controls. The procedures to check data for accuracy and completeness
when it is entered in the system.
ii) Processing controls. The routines for establishing that data are complete and
accurate during updating.
iii) Output controls. Measures that ensure the results of computer processing are
accurate, complete and properly distributed.