ManagementInformationSystem

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Unit6
Structure
6.1 Introduction

PlanningandDevelopmentAlternatives

6.2AscertainingtheClassofInformation 6.3 DeterminingtheInformationRequirement 6.4 ManagementofInformationQualityintheMIS 6.5 OrganisationforDevelopmentofMIS 6.6 MIS:DevelopmentProcessModel 6.7Summary TQs AnswertoSAQsandTQs

6.1Introduction
Anykindofbusinessactivitycallsforlongrangeplansforsuccess,thesameistrueinthecaseof MIS. The plan for development and its implementation is a basic necessity for MIS. In MIS the information is recognisedas a major resource like capital, time and capacity. And management of this resource calls uponthe management toplanfor it and control itfor the appropriateuse inthe organisation. Organisations do not recognise 'Information' merely as a resource. They look at informationasoneofthemanynecessitiesforconductingthebusinessactivity.Hence,dueregardis often not given for its planned development and use. Many organisations have spent financial resources on computers and systems purely to expedite the activity of data collection and processing. ThisunitdealswiththeprocessofMISdevelopment.Itshowshowthebusinessgoalscanbelinked withtheMISgoals.ImplementationofMISandthesuccessandfailurefactorsofMISaredealtwith.

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LearningObjectives
Afterstudyingthisunit,student willbeabletounderstand: HowtoascertaintheClassofInformation HowtodeterminetheInformationRequirementofasystem ThemanagementaspectsofInformationQualityintheMIS ThestepsinthedevelopmentofMIS DevelopmentProcessModel

6.2

AscertainingtheClassofInformation

Ascertainingtheinformationneedsofthemanagementforthebusinessexecutionisacomplextask. Thecomplexitycanbehandlediftheinformationisclassifiedonthebasisofitsapplicationandthe user, which becomes the basis for the ascertainment. The classification could be indicated in the tablegivenbelow. The design of the MIS should consider the class of information as a whole and provide suitable informationsystemarchitecturetogeneratetheinformationforvarioususersintheorganisation.Let usnowproceedtoascertaintheinformationneedsofeachclass.

OrganisationalInformation
Onecandefinetheorganisationalinformationastheinformationrequiredbyanumberofpersonnel, departmentsanddivisionsorthefunctionsintheorganisation.Suchinformationcanbedetermined byconstructingamatrixofinformationversususerasperthetablegivenbelow. Itcanbeobservedfromthetablethattheinformationentityisone,butitsusagesaredifferent.For example,theemployeeattendanceinformationwouldbeusedbythePersonnelDepartmentforlegal complianceofmaintainingthemusterrecommendedbytheFactoryInspector. The production manager would use it for scheduling, rescheduling and loading of the jobs on the shopfloordependinguponthepersonspresent.Thecorporateplanningandadministrationwilluseit formanpowerassessmentandcontrolandmanpowerforecasting.

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Thefollowingtableindicatesthevariousclassesofinformation:

Information class

Exampleofinformation

User

Organisational The number of employees, Many users at all the products, services locations the Levels type of business, turnover and variety of the details of each oneoftheseentities. Functional Managerial Knowledge Purchases, sales, production, Functional heads and stocks, receivables, payables, others Middle and the outstanding, budgets, statutory TopManagement. information.Thetrendsinsales, production, technology. The deviations from the budgets, targets,normsetc.Competitors information, industry and business information plan performance and targetand its analysis. Status information on a Middlemanagementand particular aspect, such as operationsmanagement. utilisation, profitability standard, requirement versus availability. Information for problem solving and modelling. Quantitative information on the business status. Nonmoving inventory, overdue payments and receivables. Information on the production, Operational sales, purchase, dispatches management consumptions, etc. in the form Supervisor, of planned versus actual. The Officers information for monitoring of executionschedules. ClassesofInformation and Section

Decision support

Operational

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Informationentity Manager Manager Manager Manage (Personnel (Productio (Administratio (Accounts) ) n) n) Employees' X X X attendance Salary wages and X X X overtime Human resources X X information MatrixofInformationversusUserforaPersonnelFunction The organisational information requirement needs to be studied thoroughly and critically as used across the organisation. It is necessary, therefore, to map the information in terms of the source, generationandusage,sothatthedesignercanprovideapathfromtheacquisitiontogenerationand thestorage. Since the usage of the organisational information is at different levels for different purposes, it is advisable to store the data in the form of the database which will be useful for the users for generatingtheirrespectiveinformationneeds.Thedeterminationoftheinformationcanbedoneby taking each business function, such as Personnel, Sales, Marketing, Production Commercial, etc. anddeveloptheinformationversustheusermatrix.

FunctionalManagerialInformation
The functional information is defined as a set of information required by the functional head conducting the administration and management of the function. This information is used by a managertoplanandcontrolthefunction. Functional information is largelyfactual, statistical anddetailed in multidimensions ofthefunction. Forexample,ifyoutakethesalesinformation,itcanbeprocessedinsevenways,viz.theproduct, theproductgroups,themarketsegment,thegeographiczones,thelocations,thecustomer,andthe organisationstructure. Thefunctionalinformationisnormallygeneratedatequaltimeintervals,saymonthly,quarterlyetc. forunderstandingthetrendandmakingcomparisonagainstthetimescale.Suchinformationisused

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forplanning,budgetingandcontrollingtheoperationsofthefunction. Functionalinformationisalsousedforassessingparticularaspectsofthebusiness.Forexample,the stocksoffinishedgoods,receivables,andordersonhandthrowalightonmarketingfunctionsofthe organisation. The raw material stocks, WIP, orders pending and payable throw light of purchase function.Theseinformationsetshaveafunctionalutilityandarerequiredindetailrevolvingaround severaldimensions. The functional information can be assessed on the following three parameters the work., the responsibilityandthefunctionalobjectives.

WorkDesign
Forexample,forthecustomerorder,scrutinytheavailablestock,theprice,thetermsofpaymentand the probable delivery is an information set evolved out of the work design of customer order processing.Theprocedureoftheorderprocessingrequiresthisinformation.

Responsibility
Themanagersinthefunctionalareasofmanagementareresponsibleforachievingthetargetsand accomplishing the goals and objectives. It is, therefore, necessary to inform and update the informationontargetatregularintervalstoenablehimtomakeorchangedecisionsinhisdomainof operations. Most of these targets arebusiness targets such as the turnover,production,utilization, stocksandsoon. For example, the marketing manager has a monthly target of Rs 1 million order booking, half a millioninvoicing,andnotmorethantwomonthsreceivables.Since,heisresponsibleforachieving thetargets,itwouldbenecessarytoinformhimontheseaspectsatregularintervals.Thisinforma tion is used for the responsibility accounting and decision making for achieving the targets. The managerwouldbeassessedonthebasisofresponsibilityhedischargesinconductingthebusiness.

FunctionalObjective
Eachfunctionhasitsownobjectivewhichisderivedoutofthecorporategoals. For example, the overall business plan objectives gives rise to the objectives for each business function.Someofthebusinessplanobjectivesaregivenbelowbasedonwhicheachfunctioninthe organisationderivesitsobjectives:

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ThetotalsalespermonthisRs10million. Thefinishedgoodsinventory,nottoexceedRs1million. TheoutstandingmorethansixmonthsnottoexceedRs0.2million. Thecapacityutilisationshouldbeminimum85percent. Theemployeeattendancepermonthshouldbe99percent. Thefunctionalgoalsandobjectivesarenecessarytoachieveoverallcorporateachievements,most ofsuchgoalsandobjectivesarepotentiallyachievablewithinthemanagerialandphysicalresources that the manager has at his disposal. It is, therefore, necessary to inform the manager on the achievementsofthesetargetsonacontinuousbasis. In summary, the functional information would emanate from the work design and procedures, the managerial responsibility and with reference to the functional goals and objectives, and would be determined by studyingthe work design and procedures andthe responsibility which the manager holds for the business performance. That information which measures the business activity and evaluatestheperformanceonthekeytargetareas,isthefunctionalinformation.Theseriesofsuch informationarethemanagersandtheirfunctionalheadswhotogetherexecutethebusinessactivity.

Knowledge(AnInformationSet)
Theknowledgecreatesanawarenessofthoseaspectsofbusinesswherethemanagerisforcedto think,decideandact.Suchinformationshowsthetrendoftheactivityoraresultagainstthescale. Forexample,thesalesaredecliningandthetrendislikelytocontinueinthenextquarter,productis failing continuously on oneaspect and the reason offailure is theprocess of manufacturing. Such informationpinpointstheareaorentityandforcesthemanagertoact.Ithighlightsdeviationsfrom thenorm or standard andalso any abnormal developments whichare not in concurrence with the forecasts or expectations. Such information gives rise to business decisions, which will affect the process of business significantly. In some situations the strategic decisions become necessary to solvetheproblem. Theknowledgemaycutacrossthefunctionalboundariesoftheorganisation.Theactionordecision mayfallinotherfunctionalareasofbusinessoperations.Thedecisionmayfallinthedomainoftop management or the middle management. The knowledge is required by the middle and top management as they are the ones who conceive, plan and implement the business plan. The
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knowledge information supports thefunctions of the middle and the top management. KM edge is trackedcontinuouslyandreportedinafixedformat,forconsistencyandatfixedintervalforupdating theknowledgebase.Thenatureofknowledgeisanalyticalandrelatestothepastcurrentandthe future.Theknowledgeisreportedingraphicformatsforaquickgraspandmanagerialresponse.

DecisionSupportInformation
Mostoftheinformationrequiredbythemiddleandthetopmanagementisfordecisionmaking.The informationdoesnotactasadirectinputtothedecisionmakingprocedureorformulasupportsthe managerintheeffortsofdecisionmaking. Information is used in a decision support system for model building and problem solving support may act in two ways, one for justifying the need of a decision, and the other for decision making itself. For example, the information on the nonmoving inventory justifies the decision of its display at a throwawayprices.Thedemandforecastsinformationaidsinthedecisionondeterminingeconomic orderquantityforproductionorasale. Thedecision support information can bedeterminedfor the organisation at theproblem leaving its usetothedecisionmakerinasuitablemanner.Thesourceofthisinformationcouldbeinternalor external to the organisation. It can be determined by identifying the tools, technical modes and procedures,usedbythemanagersinthedecisionmaking.

OperationalInformation
Thisinformationisrequiredbytheoperationalandthelowerlevelsofthemanagement.Thepurpose ofthisinformationisfactfindingandtakingsuchactionsordecisionswhichwillaffectoperationsata microlevel.Thedecisionsmaybetostayonovertime,drawadditionalmaterialchangethejobfrom onemachinetotheother,sendaremindertothesupplierforthesupplyofmaterial.Thesedecisions aresuchthattheymaketheroutineoperationsofthebusinesssmoothandefficient.Thesedecisions donotfallinthecategoryofthemanagerialdecisions. The sources of operational information are largely internal through transaction processing and the informationrelatestoasmalltimespanandismostlycurrent.

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SelfAssessmentQuestion1TrueorFalse
1. ThedesignoftheMISshouldconsidertheclassofinformationasawholeandprovidesuitable informationsystemarchitecturetogeneratetheinformationforvarioususersintheorganisation. 2. Thefunctionalinformationisdefinedasasetofinformationrequiredbythecustomerconducting theadministrationandmanagementofthefunction.

6.3 DeterminingtheInformationRequirement
The solepurposeof the MIS is to produce suchinformation which will reduceuncertainty risk ina givensituation.

Thedifficultytodetermineacorrectandcompletesetofinformationisonaccountofthefactorsgiven below:

1. Thecapabilityconstraintofthehumanbeingasaninformationprocessor,aproblemsolveranda decisionmaker. 2. Thenatureandthevarietyofinformationinpreciseterms. 3. Reluctance of decisionmakers to spell out the information for the political and the behavioural reasons. 4. Theabilityofthedecisionmakerstospecifytheinformation.

In spite of thesedifficulties, methods are evolved basedontheuncertaintyscale, startingfrom the low to the high level of uncertainty. If the uncertainty is low, seeking information requirement or needsiseasyasagainstaveryhighlevelofuncertainty.

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Based on the uncertainty scale the following methods, shown in the following table have been suggested.

Levelofuncertainty

Levelof management Operations management Middle management

Method

Low(Nearcertainty) Preciseprobabilistic knowledge(Arisk situation)

Ask questions such as, what do youneed? Ask to express probability. Determine from the existing systemsandmethodsofdecision makingandproblemsolving. Determine through the critical success factors, decision parameters and decision methodology.Sensitivityanalysis.

Notabletodetermine Middleandtop inprobabilisticterms management precisely(Veryrisky) High(Total uncertainty)

Topmanagement Determinethrough experimentation,modellingand sensitivityanalysis. MethodsofHandlingUncertainty

Therearefourmethodsofdeterminingtheinformationrequirements.Theyare: 1. Askingorinterviewing 2. Determiningfromtheexistingsystem 3. Analysingthecriticalsuccessfactors 4. Experimentationandmodelling.

AskingorInterviewing
InthismethodadesigneroftheMISputsquestionsorconverseswiththeuseroftheinformationand determines the information requirements. Putting the questions is an art and it should be used properlytoseekinformation.

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Whenthe user has to selectone answerfrom a finitesetofanswers a closedquestion should be asked.Forexample,"Whicharetherawmaterialsusedformakingaproduct?"Butanopenquestion isput,whentheuserhasnopreciseknowledgebuthasanabilitytodetermineallanswerstoselect one out of them? For example, "Whicharethe raw materials which can be used in a product?" In openquestions, theanswers may notbe immediatebut can be obtained by surveying thedomain knowledgeoftheuser. Whenmultipleusersorseveraldecisionmakersinsimilarfunctionsorpositionsareinvolved,abrain storming session is performed to coverall possible answers to the questions.When severalusers areinvolved,groupconsensuscanbesoughttogetthemostfeasiblesetofanswers. Theexpertsorexperiencedusersareaskedtogivetheirbestanswersthisapproachiscalledthe Delphimethod.Inallthesemethods,thesystemdesignerhastotestthevalidityofalltheanswers independently.Anexperienceddesignerisabletoanalysecriticallytheanswersgiventotheques tionsanddeterminethecorrectinformationrequirement.

DeterminingfromtheExistingSystem
Inanumberofcasestheexistingsystem,whichhasbeenevolvedafteranumberofyears,andhas beendesignedoutofexperiencegivesstraightawaytherequirementofinformation.Inanysituations, systemsfromothercompaniescangiveadditionalinformationrequirements. The fund of knowledge is available from the textbooks, handbooks, research studies which can determinetheinformationrequirement.Forexample,systemssuchastheaccountsreceivables,the accounts payables, the pay roll, the inventory control, the financial accounting, etc., have a well determined,informationrequirement. Irrespectiveofthetypeoforganisationandbusiness,ninetypercentoftheinformationrequirement iscommonandthebalancetenpercentmaybetypicaltotheorganisationorthebusiness,which needs to be determined separately. The managers in the operations and the middle management usetheexistingsystemsasareferencefordeterminingtheinformationrequirements. This method is adopted when the rules and decision methods are outside the purview of the decisionmaker.TheyaredeterminedorimposedbyexternalsourcessuchastheGovernment,the Authority, theprinciples, etc. For example, the information required to manage sharesof the com
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panyaredeterminedthroughtherulesandregulationslaiddownbytheCompanyLawBoard.The managerofthesharesdepartmenthasverylittleadditionalinformationneed. Inallsuchfunctions,themanagerdeterminestheinformationneedsandthedesigneroftheMIScan always fall back on the prescribed law books, manuals, theory and textbooks, hand books, etc to confirmtheinformationneeds.

AnalysingtheCriticalSuccessFactors
Every business organisation performs successfully on efficient management of certain critical success factors. Other factors are important and play a support role in the functioning of the organisation.Manytimesafunctionissingularlycriticaltothesuccessfulfunctioningofabusiness organisation. Forexample,inahightechnologybusiness,themanagementofthetechnologybecomesthecritical function. Or in a service organisation, the management of service becomes a critical factor. In a consumer industry, marketing and service becomes the critical function. The information requirements of such organisations largely relate to these critical factors. The analysis of these functionsorfactorswilldeterminetheinformationrequirements.

ExperimentationandModelling
Whenthereistotaluncertainty,thedesignerandtheuseroftheinformationresorttothismethodfor determining the information requirement. The experimentation would decide the methodology for handling the complex situation. If the method isfinalised,the information needsare determined as theyhavebeenevolvedthroughtheexperimentation.Testmarketingofaproductisanapproachof theexperimentationtodecidethecorrectmarketingstrategy. Sometimesmodelsareusedfordecidingtheinitialinformationneedsandtheyaremodifiedduring theimplementationstage.Theinformationrequirementsdeterminedthroughsuchmethodsundergo a qualitative change as the users get the benefit of learning and experience and the needs may undergoachangeorgetreplacedcompletely.

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SelfAssessmentQuestions2:TrueorFalse 1. ThesolepurposeoftheMISistoproducesuchinformationwhichwillreduceuncertaintyriskina
givensituation.

2. Theexpertsorexperiencedusersareaskedtogivetheirbestanswersthisapproachiscalled
theDelphimethod.

3. Onlyfewbusinessorganisationperformssuccessfullyonefficientmanagementofcertaincritical
successfactors.

6.4

ManagementofInformationQualityintheMIS

Informationisacorporateresource,asimportantasthecapital,labour,knowhowetc.andisbeing usedfordecisionmaking.Itsquality,therefore,isrequiredtobeveryhigh.Alowqualityinformation wouldadverselyaffecttheorganisationalperformanceasitaffectsdecisionmaking. The quality of information is the result of the quality of the input data, processing design, system design, system and procedures which generate such a data, and the management of the data processing function. Quality, unlike any other product, is not an absolute concept. Its level is determined with reference to the context and its use, and the user. Perfect quality just as perfect informationisnonachievableandhascostbenefitimplications.

However, it is possible to measure the quality of information on certain parameters. All these parametersneednothaveaveryhighvalue.Someparametersmayhavelesserimportanceinthe totalvalueonaccountoftheirrelevanceintheinformationanditsuse.

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Thequalityparameterswhicharegenerallyconsideredareshowninthetable Individual differences Explanation Effect information processing on Examples

Locusofcontrolinternal Thedegreeofperception Moreinformation orexternaltothe inassessingthecontrol gatheringand whichisinternaltothe situation. analysis,ifinternal. organizationorexternalto theorganisation. Personaldogmatism.

Theproductiondecisions, selectionoftoolsandmaterials etc.

Thedegreeoffaithin Lowdogmatism, Thepricing,advertisingina beliefs,opinionsandpast thenmore competitiveenvironment. informationcollection experience. andprocessing. Theabilitytotaketherisk. Higher,thenmore Thetopmanagementdecision informationgathering makinginastrategicplanning. andanalysis. ManagerConstantlyaskingfor moreinformation.

Riskpropensity.

Toleranceforambiguity. Levelofclarityrequiredin Tighttolerancethen theinformation.Theability moreinformation toreadthroughthe collectionand information. analysis.

Manipulativeintelligence. Theabilitytomanipulate Highability,thenless Experiencedandskillful thedataandinformation informationandmore managersrelyonthe visvisthestored selfanalysis. manipulativeintelligence. informationand knowledge. Experience in decision Extentofexperienceat High,thencorrect Themanagerswithawide particularlevelofdecision filteringofdataand experienceinthedifferentfields making. appropriatechoiceof ofmanagementcallforprecise making. decisionmaking andlessbutpertinent process. information. Knowledge of the task, The extent of knowledge Higher, then less TheTechnocratsscientists,and in the application of the information relevant managersoftechnologyhave toolsandtechnology. to and tools correct definiteinformation. toolsandtechnology. analysis.

The quality of these important parameters is ensured by conducting a proper systems analysis, designing a suitable information system and ensuring its maintenance from time to time, and also subjectingittoauditcheckstoensurethesystemintegrity.

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Thequalityoftheparametersisassuredifthefollowingstepsaretaken. 1. Alltheinputisprocessedandcontrolled,asinputandprocessdesign. 2. Allupdatingandcorrectionsarecompletedbeforethedataprocessingbegins. 3. Inputs(transactions,documents,fieldsandrecords)aresubjecttovaliditychecks. 4. Theaccesstothedatafilesisprotectedandsecuredthroughanauthorisationscheme. 5. Intermediateprocessingchecksareintroducedtoensurethatthecompletedataisprocessed rightthrough,i.e.runtoruncontrols. 6. Dueattentionisgiventotheproperfileselectionintermsofdata,periodsandsoon. 7. Backupofthedataandfilesaretakentosafeguardcorruptionorlossofdata. 8. The system audit is conducted from time to time to ensure that the information system specificationsarenotviolated. 9. The system modifications are approved by following a set procedure which begins with authorisationofachangetoitsimplementationfollowedbyanaudit. 10. Systemsaredevelopedwithastandardspecificationofdesignanddevelopment. 11. Information system processing is controlled through programme control, process control and accesscontrol. 12. Ensure MIS model confirms consistency to business plan satisfying information needs to achievebusinessgoals. Theassuranceofqualityisacontinuingfunctionandneedstobeevolvedoveraperiodandrequires to be monitored properly. It cannot be assessed in physical units of measure. The user of the informationisthebestjudgeofthequality.

SelfAssessmentQuestions3:Fillintheblanks 1. Perfect______justasperfectinformationisnonachievableandhascostbenefitimplications. 2. Alltheinputsareprocessedand______,asinputandprocessdesign. 3. _______ofthedataandfilesaretakentosafeguardcorruptionorlossofdata.

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6.5

OrganisationforDevelopmentofMIS

Properpeopleorganisationisbasictothemanagementofanyactivityorfunction.Thesamethingis true for the development of the MIS. The principles of the organisation and structuring the organ isationtothespecificneedsofthefunctionisaprimenecessitywhenwetalkwithreferencetothe MIS. A number of issues come up and they are not the same in all the organisations. Hence, the organisationstructureoftheMISwoulddifferfromoneorganisationtotheother. The type, the size and the structure of corporate organisation becomes the basis for the MIS organisationforhandlingtheMISfunctionandmanagementalternatives.Themajorissuesinvolved are: 1. WhethertheMISfunctionshouldbehandledasacentralisedordecentralisedactivity. 2. Theallocationofthehardwareandsoftwareresources. 3. ThemaintenanceoftheMISservicelevelatanappropriatelevel. 4. FittingtheorganisationoftheMISinthecorporateorganisation,itscultureandthemanagement philosophy. The question of centralization versus decentralisation is resolved by assessing the status of infor mationresourcemanagementintheorganisation,i.e.,whetherthestatusistheinformationsystems management or the information resource management. When it is a case of information systems managementthentheorganisationoftheMISwouldbecentralised,butifitisacaseofinformation resourcemanagement,itwillbeadecentralisedorganisation. In a centralised set, the responsibility of acquisition of the data, of providing the information to the users, becomes the centralised function. The centralised organisation is also recommended when theinformationneedsaremoreorlessstatic.Insuchcases,theuseroftheinformationisfreefrom the responsibility of designing the systems andalsofrom deciding thehardware andthe software. However,iftheinformationneedsarevaryingandaremorestrategicinnature,therelianceonthe centralisedsetupbecomesadifficultworkableproposition.Whensuchasituationexists,adecen tralisedorganisationismoreeffective. Dependinguponthesituation,hardwareandsoftwaresolutionsareavailable.Inadecentralisedset uptheallocationofhardwareisacentraliseddecisionbutthecollectionofdataanditsprocessing becomestheuser'sresponsibility.Training,problemsolvingandsystemdevelopment,however,isa

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centralised function. In all such situations, the information processing is based on the database management system. Therefore, the management of the database becomes the centralised responsibilityanditsusebecomestheresponsibilityofusers. In a real life situation, the variations ofthese two approaches arefound, mainlyon accountof the varietyofhardware,softwaresolutions.OnecandeveloptwomodelsoftheMISorganisation,andits variations can be further developed suitable to the corporate culture, the management style and philosophyofthemanagement. TheMISfunctioninanyorganisationwouldvaryonaccountoftheissuesmentionedearlierandto thatextentthevariationsofthesetwomodelswouldbetheorganisationoftheMIS.

SelfAssessmentQuestion4:TrueorFalse 1. Properpeopleorganisationisbasictothemanagementofanyactivityorfunction. 2. Inadecentralizedset,theresponsibilityofacquisitionofthedata,ofprovidingtheinformationto

theusers,becomesthecentralizedfunction.

6.6

MIS:DevelopmentProcessModel

ManyorganisationsuseMISsuccessfully,othersdonot.Thoughthehardwareandthesoftwareis thelatestandhasappropriatetechnology,itsuseismoreforthecollectionandstorageofdataand its elementary processing. There are some features which make the MIS a success and some others,whichmakeitafailure.Thesefactorscanbesummarisedasfollows.

FeaturesContributingtoSuccess
IfanMISistobeasuccessthenitshouldhaveallthefeatureslistedasfollows. TheMISisintegratedintothemanagerialfunctions.ItsetsclearobjectivestoensurethattheMIS focusesonthemajorissuesofthebusiness.Alsoadequatedevelopmentresourcesareprovided andthehumanandorganisationalbarrierstoprogressareremoved. An appropriate information processing technology required to meet the data processing and analysisneedsoftheusersoftheMISisselected. TheMISisoriented,definedanddesignedintermsoftheuser'srequirementsanditsoperational

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viabilityisensured. The MIS is kept under continuous surveillance, so that its open system design is modified accordingtothechanginginformationneeds. MISfocusesonthebusinessresultsandgoals,andhighlightsthefactorsandreasonsfornon achievement. MIS is not allowed to end up into an information generation mill avoiding the noise in the informationandthecommunicationsystem. TheMISrecognisesthatmanagerisahumanbeingandtherefore,thesystemsmustconsiderall thehumanbehaviouralfactorsintheprocessofthemanagement. TheMISrecognisesthatthedifferentinformationneedsfordifferentobjectivesmustbemetwith. The globalisation of information in isolation from the different objectives leads to information overloadanditsnonuse. TheMISiseasytooperateand,therefore,thedesignoftheMIShassuchfeatureswhichmake upauserfriendlydesign. MIS recognisesthat the information needsbecome obsoleteandnewneeds emerge. The MIS design,therefore,hasabasicpotentialcapabilitytoquicklymeetnewneedsofinformation. The MIS concentrates on the developing the information support to manage critical success factors. It concentrates on the mission critical applications serving the needs of the top management.

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CentralisedOrganisationofMIS

Information is considered as corporate resource and hence generated centrally as shown in the above chart of centralised organization of MIS and controlled by the head of the MIS and made availabletoalltheusersonconditionsandneeds.ThefunctionoftheheadoftheMISistomanage theinformationcentrallyasacorporateresourcefromthedatatotheinformationanditstechnology requirement.ThedecentralisedorganizationofMISisalsocontrolledbetheheadofMISasshownin thefollowingdecentralizedorganizationchart.

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DecentralisedOrganisationofMIS Informationisconsideredasaresourceforadivision,adepartment,groupofindividualsorinother words,itisconsideredspecifictothebusinessfunction.TheheadoftheMISprovidessupporttothe users of the information in their task of development. The major responsibility is the management andthetechnology.

FeaturesContributingtoFailures
Many a times MIS is a failure. The common observed features responsible for this are listed as follows. TheMISisconceivedasadataprocessingandnotasaninformationprocessingsystem. The MIS does not provide that information which is needed by the managers but it tends to provide the information generally the function calls for. The MIS then becomes an impersonal system. UnderestimatingthecomplexityinthebusinesssystemsandnotrecognisingitintheMISdesign leadstoproblemsinthesuccessfulimplementation. Adequateattentionisnotgiventothequalitycontrolaspectsoftheinputs,theprocessandthe outputsleadingtoinsufficientchecksandcontrolsintheMIS. TheMISisdevelopedwithoutstreamliningthebusinessprocessingsystemsintheorganisation. Lackoftrainingandappreciationthattheusersoftheinformationandthegeneratorsofthedata

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aredifferent,andtheyhavetoplayanimportantresponsibleroleintheMIS. The MIS does not meet certain critical and key factors of its users such as a response to the query on the database, an inability to get the processing done in a particular manner, lack of userfriendlysystemandthedependenceonthesystemdevelopmentpersonnel. A belief that the computerised MIS can solve all the management problems of planning and controlofthebusiness. Lack of administrative discipline in following the standardised systems and procedures, wrong coding and deviating from the system specifications result in incomplete and incorrect information. The MIS does not give perfect information to all the users in the organisation. Any attempt towards such a goal will be unsuccessful because every user has a human ingenuity, bias, certain assumptions not known to the designer. The MIS cannot make up these by providing perfectinformation.

ApproachtoMISDevelopment
Identifybusinessgoals. Determinecriticalsuccessfactors. DevelopbusinessstrategyandISstrategies. Identifycriticalbusinessapplications. Makedecisionanalysisandenumerateoperationalandstrategicdecisions. Developbusinessperformanceindicators. Identifyinformationentitiestodecisionsupportforbusiness. DetermineISstructuretogenerateinformationtobuildMIS. BuildMISsupersetasprescribedingeneralmodelofMIS.

MISDevelopmentProcessModel
Studythebusinessenvironment. Studytheorganisationandstructure. Identifymissionandbusinessgoals. Identifycriticalsuccessfactors. Identifycriticalbusinessapplications.

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Ascertainthebusinessstrategy. Identifybusinessdecisionsneededtoimplementstrategy. Developkeyperformanceindicatorstomeasurethebusinessprogressandperformance. DetermineMISgoalssupportingbusinessgoals. IdentifydataandinformationneedsmeetingtheMISgoalsandbusinessgoals. DevelopIS&ITstrategytomeetthegoals. DetermineIS&ITsupportstructuretomeetdataandinformationneeds. DetermineMISssuperset. LinkandmapMISsandinformationoutcometobusinessgoalsandstrategy. Designinformationreportingstructure. Periodicreports. Exceptionreports. Controlreports.

DesignKMS&BIsystems.

SelfAssessmentQuestions5:Fillintheblanks
1. TheMISis_________intothemanagerialfunctions. 2. The MIS is kept under continuous ________ , so that its open system design is modified accordingtothechanginginformationneeds.

6.7 Summary
Withtheadvancementofcomputertechnologymorepopularlyknownasinformationtechnology, itisnowpossibletorecogniseinformationasavaluableresourcelikemoneyandcapacity. TheprocessofMISdevelopmentisexplained. TheplanofdevelopmentoftheMISislinkedwiththestepsoftheimplementationinabusiness developmentplan. It is necessary todevelopthegoals andobjectivesfor the MIS which will support thebusiness goals. The MIS goals and objectives will consider management philosophy, policy constraints, businessrisks,internalandexternalenvironmentoftheorganisationandthebusiness.

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ThesolepurposeoftheMISistoproducesuchinformationwhichwillreduceuncertaintyriskina givensituation.

Therearefourmethodsofdeterminingtheinformationrequirements.Theyare: Askingorinterviewing Determiningfromtheexistingsystem Analysingthecriticalsuccessfactors Experimentationandmodelling.

The implementation of MIS is a management process. It brings aboutorganisational change it affectspeopleandchangestheirworkstyle.

TerminalQuestions
1. Explainhowaninformationisclassifiedgivingexampleandtheuser. 2. Explainindetailhowtheinformationrequirementisdeterminedforanorganization. 3. WhatisthesignificanceofqualityinplanninganddevelopmentofMISforanorganization. 4. ExplainthemodelsofMISdevelopment.

AnswertoSelfAssessmentQuestions
1. SAQ1:1True,2False 2. SAQ2:1True,2True,3False 3. SAQ3:1Quality,2Controlled,3Backup 4. SAQ4:1True,2False 5. SAQ5:1Integrated, 2Surveillance

AnswertoTerminalQuestions
1. Referto 6.2 2. Referto 6.3 3. Referto 6.4 4. Referto 6.6

SikkimManipalUniversity

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