Karnataka State Open University

EMBA- July 2014 Batch

Name

Areeba Zaki

Enrolment No

PRVENO-5734

Subject

Management Information System

Semester

Ques 1) why MIS is needed? What is the use of MIS?

Explain elements of MIS and Role of MIS in managerial
decision making?
Ans)

Management Information System or 'MIS' is a planned system of collecting,

storing, and disseminating data in the form of information needed to carry out the
functions of management.
A management information system (MIS) is an organized process which provides
past, present, and projected information on internal operations as well as external
intelligence to support decision making.
"An

integrated

user-machine

system

for

providing

information

to

support

operations, management and decision making functions in an organization. The

system utilizes computerized and manual procedures; models for analysis, planning,
control and decision making; and a database."
The scope and purpose of MIS is better understood if each part of them is defined
individually, thus
1. MANAGEMENT: Management has been define in process or activities that describe
what managers do in the operation for their organization plan, organize, initiate and
control operations. They plan by setting strategies and goals and selecting the best
course of action to achieve the goals. They organize the necessary tasks for the
operational plan, set these tasks up into homogenous groups and assign authority
delegation; they control the performance standards and avoiding deviation from
standard.
The decision-making is a fundamental prerequisite of each of the foregoing process,
the job of MIS is facilitating decisions necessary for planning, organizing and
controlling the work and functions of the business so that specified goals of
business are achieved.
2. INFORMATION: Data must be distinguished from information and the distinction is
clear and important for present purpose. Data are facts and figures that are not

currently being used in a decision-making process and usually are taken from the
historical records that are recorded and filled without immediate intent to retrieve
for decision-making.
Information consists of data that have been retrieved, processed or otherwise used
for information or interference purpose, argument or as a basis forecasting or
decision-making regarding any business unit. Information is knowledge that one
derives from facts for effective functioning of systems placed in the right context
with the purpose of reducing uncertainty regarding the alternative courses of action
as they are based on description and measurement of attributes of various entities
associated with the enterprise.

3. SYSTEM: The system can be described as a set of elements joined together for a
common objective. A subsystem is a part of a larger system with which one is
concerned. All systems for our purpose the organization is the system and the parts
(divisions, departments, functions, unit etc.) are the subsystem.
Management Information System is generally defined as an integrated usermachine system for providing information to support operations, management and
decision-making functions in an organization. The system utilizes computer
hardware and software, manual procedure, models for analysis. Information is
viewed as a resource much like land, labor and capital. It must be obtained
processed, stored, manipulated and analyzed, distributed etc. An organization with
a well-defined information system will generally have a competitive advantage over
organization with poor MIS and no MIS.
The MIS has more than one definition, some of which are given below:
I. The MIS is defined as a system which provides information support for decisionmaking in the organization.
II. The MIS is defined as an integrated system of man and machine for providing the
information to support the operations, the management and the decision-making
function in the organization.
III. The MIS is defined as a system based on the database of the organization evolved
for the purpose of providing information to the people in the organization.

IV. The MIS is defined as a computer-based information system.

Objectives of MIS
The goals of an MIS are to implement the organizational structure and dynamics of
the enterprise for the purpose of managing the organization in a better way and
capturing the potential of the information system for competitive advantage.
Following are the basic objectives of an MIS:
Capturing Data: Capturing contextual data, or operational information that
will contribute in decision making from various internal and external sources
of organization.
Processing Data: The captured data is processed into information needed
for

planning,

organizing,

coordinating,

directing

and

controlling

functionalities at strategic, tactical and operational level. Processing data

means:
o making calculations with the data
o sorting data
o classifying data and
o summarizing data
Information Storage: Information or processed data need to be stored for
future use.
Information Retrieval: The system should be able to retrieve this
information from the storage as and when required by various users.
Information Propagation: Information or the finished product of the MIS
should be circulated to its users periodically using the organizational
network.

Nature and Scope of MIS

The following diagram shows the nature and scope of MIS:

MIS is needed because The purpose of MIS is reporting and is to provide the
necessary information to the managers and supervisors at various levels to help
them to discharge their functions of organizing, planning, control and decision
making.
MIS is a scientific way of collecting; processing, storing and communicating
information relating to the various activities of an organization to the various levels
of management so that management may be facilitated in discharging its functions
efficiently and run the organization in an efficient manner for the betterment of all.
MIS enhances the quality of management and growth of the organization by
providing timely, accurate and meaningful information for planning, organization
and control, No management can ever succeed without continuous appraisal of its
performance and MIS by providing timely and meaningful information can be helpful
in this regard. MIS should be developed keeping in mind the information needs of all
managers and it should be based on cost- benefit analysis. It should be designed in

such a way that it covers all aspects of the organization and it should be flexible to
meet changing management needs and changing inputs.
Management information system is a system designed in an organization to provide
right information at the right time to facilitate managerial decision making. The
need for management information system has arisen because managerial decision
making has become very complicated due to fast changing economic, political,
social, and technological changes.
The old techniques of decision making such as intuition, rule of thumb etc. are no
more relevant and useful in the process of decision making. Modern managements
assemble both quantitative as well qualitative information which can be used for
analyzing the pros and cons of various alternative courses of actions and thereby
facilitating the best course of action. Thus, modern management functions are
information oriented. Therefore, it is very difficult to manage effectively without an
efficient management information system.
Information processing beyond doubt is the dominant industry of the present
century. Following factors states few common factors that reflect on the needs and
objectives of the information processing:
Increasing impact of information processing for organizational decision
making.
Dependency of services sector including banking, financial organization,
health care, entertainment, tourism and travel, education and numerous
others on information.
Changing employment scene world over, shifting base from manual
agricultural to machine-based manufacturing and other industry related
jobs.
Information revolution and the overall development scenario.
Growth of IT industry and its strategic importance.

 Strong growth of information services fueled by increasing competition and

reduced product life cycle.
Need for sustainable development and quality life.
Improvement in communication and transportation brought in by use of
information processing.
Use of information processing in reduction of energy consumption, reduction
in pollution and a better ecological balance in future.
Use of information processing in land record managements, legal delivery
system, educational institutions, natural resource planning, customer
relation management and so on.
In a nutshell:
Information is needed to survive in the modern competitive world.
Information is needed to create strong information systems and keep these
systems up to date.
The primary use of a management information system, or MIS, is to assist
managers in making strategic, tactical and operational decisions in an
efficient and productive manner. It provides managers with essential
information that is gathered from a variety of sources, pooled into a single database
and compiled in a readable format.
A management information system consists of a set of systems and processes that
distributes information to managers. This tool is used to make reports and
comprehensive overviews that help managers conduct performance reviews and
make a wide range of decisions, such as an in-depth analysis of operational
concerns. It provides internal reports that are presented in an easily understandable
format. Information collected by a MIS are either financial or operational depending
on the needs of management.

A MIS is generally capable of collecting any type of information required by

managers. It views financial data, such as daily expenses and revenues, and
attributes these data to respective departments. Personnel are able to manage
outgoing shipments and incoming deliveries from any location connected to the
MIS.
Front-line employees also use MIS to perform their jobs more effectively. For
example, employees consult a MIS to view statistics related to their department or
check on the status of particular inventory items. Furthermore, management
information systems facilitate communication and collaboration by allowing
employees to share documents and important information.
Most management information systems rely on technology to collect and compile
data. Some companies use standard systems, while others develop unique systems
that suit their specific operations.
The elements of MIS are:

Hardware

Hardware is the most obvious part of a computer-based information system.

Hardware refers to the computers themselves, along with any and all peripherals,
including servers, routers, monitors, printers and storage devices. A CBIS may use a
single computer or thousands.
Software

Without software, the hardware wouldn't be very useful. Software, the second
element of a CBIS, is what tells the hardware how to function. It gathers, organizes
and manipulates data and carries out instructions. Everything you do using a
computer is done by the software.
Data

Data, or information, is the third element of a CBIS. Just as hardware cannot

function without software, software cannot function without data. This is the
information part of an information system, and whether that is statistical data, sets
of instructions, lists of names or even graphics and animations, it is all key to a
CBIS.
Procedures

It is commonly said that "procedures are to people what software is to

hardware." The fourth element of CBIS, procedures are the rules, descriptions and
instructions for how things are done. In computer-based information systems,
procedures are frequently covered in instruction or user manuals that describe how
to use the hardware, software and data.
People

People are the most often overlooked and most important part of a computerbased information system. It is people who design and operate the software, input
the data, build the hardware and keep it running, write the procedures and it is
ultimately people who determine the success or failure of a CBIS.
Communication

Communication is left out of some lists of CBIS elements, but for a CBIS that
involves more than one piece of hardware to function, communication or
connectivity is a necessity. This is, in part, because parts of it are covered under
hardware. The components that allow one computer to communicate with another
are hardware and are controlled by software. If communication between people is
included in this element, though, it is an important element.
The role of MIS in managerial decision making

The type of information required by decision makers in a company is directly

related to:

the level of management decision making

the amount of structure in the decision situations managers face

The levels of management decision making that must be supported by

information technology in a successful organization (independently of its size,
shape, and participants), are often shown as a managerial pyramid see the figure
below (O'Brien, p. 393) and Lecture 4:
Strategic management: As part of a strategic planning process top executives
i.

develop overall organizational goals, strategies, policies, and

ii.

monitor the strategic performance of the organization and its overall

direction in the political, economic, and competitive business
environment

Tactical management: Business unit managers and business professionals in selfdirected teams
i.

develop short- and medium-range plans, schedules, budgets and

specify policies, procedures, and business objectives for their sub-units
of the company, and

ii.

Allocate resources and monitor the performance of their organizational

sub-units, including departments, divisions, process teams, project
teams, and other workgroups.

Operational management: Operating managers and members of self-directed

teams
i.

develop short-range plans (e.g. weekly production schedules), and

ii.

Direct the use of resources and the performance of tasks according to

procedures and within budgets and schedules they establish for the
teams and other workgroups of the organization.

Decision makers need information products whose characteristics, attributes or

quality are having the three dimensions of time, content, and form see the
figure below-

Decision maker at different levels of the organization are making more or less
structured decisions. Typically there are three types of decision structure:
Unstructured decisions (usually related to the long-term strategy of the
organization);
Semi-structured decisions (some decision procedures can be pre-specified but not
enough to lead to a definite recommended decision);
Structured decisions (the procedure to follow, when a decision is needed, can be
specified in advance).
Earlier in this course we discussed the concept of system as a set of interrelated
components, with a clearly defined boundary, working together to achieve a
common set of objectives. With respect to the information system, it can be any
organized combination of people, hardware, software, communication networks,
data resources, and policies and procedures that stores, retrieves, transforms, and
disseminates information in an organization.

There are three vital roles that information systems can perform for a business
enterprise: support of business processes and operations, support of decision
making by employees and managers, and support of strategies for competitive
advantage see the figure below-

The applications of information systems that are implemented in today's

business world can be classified as either operations or management information
systems see the figure, below

Operations Support Systems (OSS) produce a variety of information products for

internal and external use, such as processing business transactions, controlling
industrial processes, supporting enterprise communications and collaborations, and
updating corporate databases effectively. They do not emphasize the specific
information products that can best be used by managers. Further processing by
management information systems is usually required.
In this course we are interested more on the Management Support
Systems (Support of Managerial Decision Making) and more specifically on the
process of providing information and support for decision-making by different levels
of responsibilities of the managers and business professionals. The management
classifications of information systems can be structured in four main groups of
systems (O'Brien, the figure above, and chapter 10):
Management Information Systems (MIS): provide information in the form of
reports and displays to managers and many business professionals that support
their day-to-day decision-making needs. Usually the information has been specified
in advance to adequately meet the expectations on operational and tactical levels

of the organization, where the decision making situations are more structured and
better defined.
Decision Support Systems (DSS) are computer-based information systems that
provide interactive information support to managers and business professionals
during the decision-making process. DSS use analytical models, specialized
databases, a decision maker's own insights and judgments, and an interactive,
computer-based modeling process to support semi-structured business decisions.
Executive Information Systems (EIS) or Executive Support Systems (ESS) are
information systems that combine many of the futures of MIS and DSS. Here the
information is presented in forms tailored to the preferences of the executives using
the system, such as graphical user interface, customized to the executives graphics
displays, exception reporting, trend analysis, and abilities to 'drill-down' and retrieve
displays of related information quickly at lower levels of detail.
Specialized Processing Systems (PS) are information systems characterized as
functional business systems, strategic information systems, knowledge
management systems, and expert systems.
It is important to realize that business applications of information systems in the
real world are typically integrated combinations of all these types of information
systems. In practice, all these different types and roles of information systems are
combined into integrated or Cross-Functional Business Information Systems that
provide a variety of functions. Thus, most information systems are designed to
produce information and support decision making for various levels of management
and business functions, as well as perform record-keeping and transactionprocessing chores. Whenever you analyze or work with an information system, you
probably see that it provides information for a variety of managerial levels and
business functions. This will be explain and demonstrated in greater details in
Lectures 7 to 12 of this course.
The figure below illustrates the scope of the managerial challenges and
opportunities facing business managers and professionals in effectively managing
information systems and technologies.

Role of MIS in managerial decision making

USING INFORMATION SYSTEMS FOR DECISION MAKING:

Now that we have seen that management information systems (MIS) are used to
organize and process information, this information can be used to make decisions in
an organization or business. MIS reports summarize or aggregate information to
support decision-making tasks. MISs provide reports in many different ways. For
example, MISs Reports can be periodic, summarized, exception,
comparative and ad hoc.
So, once a company has created a database, managers have to mine data which
should be stored and processed in this database. Data mining is a task of using
sophisticated technology to retrieve and evaluate data in a database to
identify useful trends. If data is well mined and managed, it can help a business
discover patterns in the sale of specific goods and services, it can also help a

business find new customers, track customer complaints, requests and also
evaluate cost of production and operation.
The process of making decisions in an organization is not easy, we have different
types of decisions, and these include; structured decisions and non structured
decisions. So, to simplify the all process of decision making, business managers
and owners need to use different types of information systems to speed up the
decision making process. Below I have listed some detailed points on how to use
information systems to make decisions in an organization or business.
1. Decision Support Systems: By definition, a decision support system is an
information system which provides data to business managers or owners to make
decisions and choose a course of action. The primary objective of DSS is to
improve your effectiveness as a decision maker by providing you with assistance
that will complement your insights. DSS retrieves data from a database in an
analyzed manner to facilitate the decision making process with in an
organization, DSS is made up of different types of tools and software, every
business or organization uses a different type of Decision support system
software to retrieve and process data.
A decision support system is commonly referred to as an interactive information
technology system which is designed to support decision making when the problem
is not structured. A Decision Support System has three components and these
include; (Data management component, Model Management component and User
Interface Management component), in brief, let me explain about each of these
components of a decision support system.

Data management component: This performs the function of storing and

maintaining the information you might want your DSS to use.

Model Management component: This one consists of both the DSS models
and DSS model management system.

User Interface Management component: This one allows you to communicate

with the DSS. It consists of the user interface and the user interface management
system. A user interface is that part of the system you can see when entering
information or commands.

2. Executive Information Systems: Many businesses and organizations are

putting most of their attention on employee empowerment by use of
technology and they forget about empowering business executives, but it is
very important to create specialized information systems to address the needs of
executives. An executive information system (EIS) allows business executives to
access the organizations primary database; information accessed can include
financial statements, sales figures, stock market trends and so much more. EIS
supports flexible data reporting and tools for analyzing the information. This
simplified process, helps managers address problems and opportunities which in
return helps them make quick decisions which can help a business or
organization.

3. Expert Systems: This is a knowledge-based system which imitates human

thinking through complicated sets. The system applies reasoning capabilities to
reach a conclusion. An expert system is made up of three components and these
include; Information Types, People and IT Components. Expert systems are used
in different ways, for example, an expert system can be used to determine credit
limit for credit card applicants, and it can be used to monitor machinery to
predict problems or breakdowns and so much more. Expert systems are
developed by capturing the knowledge of approved experts in a business or
outside it. Expert systems are excellent for diagnostic and prescriptive problems.

Ques 3) prepare a Case study on: MIS in service industry

Ans) INTRODUCTION
The concept of the MIS has evolved over a period of time comprising many
different facets of the organizational functions. MIS is necessity of all the
organizations. The initial concept of MIS was to process data from the organization
and presents it in the form of reports at regular intervals. The system was largely
capable of handling the data from collection to processing. In any organization,
small or big a major portion of the time goes in data collection, processing,
documenting and communicating it to the people. Hence a major portion of
overheads goes into this kind of unproductive work in the organization. Every
individual in an organization is continuously looking for some information which is
needed to perform his/her task. Hence, the information is people oriented and it
varies with the nature of the people in the organization.
MIS plays a crucial role in the management of any contemporary enterprise such as
small, medium or large organizations. Many management information systems are
in widespread use by manager at operational, middle and senior levels. The basic
knowledge of information system is almost becoming a generic skill needed by
every professional. To top management, MIS is tool to gain insight into the overall

health of the organization itself. The recent information revaluation has pushed
information systems to center stage of modern management. Getting a competitive
advantage balancing market strength, increasing market shares, acquiring more
attractive finance, introducing new products and services, reaching out to more
customers and quickly gaining customers preferences are achieved through MIS.
The information support for functional areas of management such as Production,
Marketing, Finance, Personnel and services is an absolute necessity. In
manufacturing organizations, the production function occupies a central role. The
role of this function is to control the entire production and operation function
consisting of design, location and layout, product design, operation, production
planning and control, material management, quality control, cost control etc. In
order to get a better grip on the activity of information processing, it is necessary to
have a formal system which should take care of the following point
Handling of a voluminous data.
Confirmation of the validity of data and transaction.
Complex processing of data and multi-dimensional analysis.
Quick search and retrieval.
Mass storage and fulfilling the changing needs of the information.
Communication of the information system to the user on time
The MIS uses computers and communication technology to deal with these points of
supreme importance. It goes without saying that al managerial functions are
performed through decision making for taking rational decisions, Management
Information is essential and is procured through the Management Information
System setup by the organizations. Success of an organization in achieving its
predetermined goals and objectives lies in timeliness and quality, that is to say
effectiveness of its MIS. In todays world of ever increasing complexities of business
as well as management, every organization to survive and grow must have an
efficient and effective MIS. An effective Management Information System supplies
accurate, relevant and timely information to the manager of an organization.
Management Information Systems are of vital importance for all kinds of
organizations. These come handy to managements by providing management

information at various stages of decision making and thus greatly help the
organizations to achieve their predetermined goals and objectives.
These ideas can be used for creating data driven, scalable enterprise information
systems. This incorporates the features of an expert system in providing the
customer or end user with maximum encapsulation of technical data and much
improved decision-making capabilities within the system. The developed Machining
Expert for handling nontraditional machining (NTM) data can also be extended with
suitable design extensions to handle business logic by interacting with the end user.
Bo Yan, Yiyun Chen, Guangwen Huang [14] introduces the main content and
operation flow of the tax management information system as well as main functions
of its subsystems. Then we describe the general structure and technical
implementation strategy of the application system.
Four major functionality of logistical management information system is illustrated
in this paper such as integrated principle, level principle, structure principle,
relevant principle and purpose principle. The architecture of management
information system illustrates the major parts of the system such as user interface,
server interface and applicable database system. The management information
system is widely used in the logistics area and it improves the efficiency of logistical
activities. It will be more and more advance and widely using in the logistics.

II. MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM

The MIS is an integrated user-machine system for providing information to support
operations, management and decision making functions in an organization. The
system utilizes computer hardware and software, manual procedures, models of
analysis, planning, control and decision making and a data base. MIS refers broadly
to a computer-based system that provides managers with the tools for organizing,
evaluating and efficiently running their departments. The main function of MIS is to
get the right Information to the right person at the right place at the right time in

the right form at the right cost. MIS is a system having a combination of persons,
machines , procedures and data base as its elements, which gather data from the
intra and extra sources of an organization and after processing these data supply
management information to the managers in an organization to support the
decision making process of the management. According to Davis Gorden B, the
diagrammatic representation of the concept of MIS can be shown in figure-1.
Functional Uses of MIS is to enhance the Quality of our operations, Quality of our
services and we achieve efficiency, transparency and Speedy Decision making. The
term MIS is composed of three elements viz. Management, Information and System.
In order to understand the concept of MIS, let us describe these components
separately

A. Management
It is the process of getting things done through and with people. A manager in an
organization gets the thing done by performing five basic functions such as
planning, organizing, staffing, directing and controlling. To perform above functions,
a manager has to take a variety of decisions. Thus, decision making is a
fundamental pre-requisite for each of the foregoing process. Whatever a manager
does, he does it through decision making. In brief decision making is the essence of
management. Robert B Anthony described three levels of business activities carried
out in operating an organization as shown in figure-2.
1. Operational Control (Operating Management).
2. Management Control (Middle Management).

3. Strategic Planning (Top Management).

The first level strategic planning processes determines what markets or businesses
the company should be in at present or plant to be in the near future. The next
level, management control includes processes or functions that facilitate the
management of those processes delegated to the operational control level. The
bottom level, operational control indicates processes performed to control the basic
product or services produced by the company. It is concerned with individual tasks
or transactions, such as procurement or raw material as per prescribed quantity and
quality, selling of products to specific customers.
B. Information
The word information is a processed data, useful or relevant data, data with surprise
value, data which is useful in the decision making process. Information is a concept
unique with reference to its receiver, i.e. the same data may convey different
meaning (information) to different people. Information contains an element of
surprise, reduces uncertainty and triggers off action. The relation of data to
information is that of raw material to finished product. Quality of information is
determined by the way it is used. Decisions are often made with incomplete
information such as Needed information is not available, Getting needed
information is costly/time consuming, No knowledge about availability of
information, Information is not available in the needed form.

The need of Information is to ensure effective and efficient decisionmaking leading

to prosperity of the Organization. Different levels of management utilize different
types of information as the three levels of management perform different functions
in an organization. The characteristics of information , which are important for
evaluation of MIS effectiveness and are relevant for an analysis of information of
Managers at different levels are Timeliness, Accuracy, Relevance, Up to datedness,
Adequacy, No overloading, Format, Clarity, No Duplication, Explicitness, Exception
Based Reporting etc.
C. System
A system is set of elements joined together to achieve common objectives i.e. group
of elements organized with a purpose. The systems often have multiple goals. The
systems can be either probabilistic or deterministic in nature. The Physical systems
can be classified as Natural (Human Body) and Artificial (Information system). The
systems may be open or closed, the closed systems can be standalone with no
connection with other systems and open systems interface and interact with other
systems. The system utilizes computer hardware and software, manual procedures,
management and decision models and database. A system is made up of subsystem, which may be composed to further sub-system. Sub-systems send and
receive data form each other. Figure 4 shows the business organization and its subsystems.

D. Role of MIS in Organization

The role of the MIS in an organization can be compared to the role of heart in the
body. The information is the blood and MIS is the heart. In the body the heart plays
the role of supplying pure blood to all the elements of the body including the brain.
The heart works faster and supplies more blood when needed. It regulates and
controls the incoming impure blood, processes it and sends it to the destination in
the quantity needed. The MIS plays exactly the same role in the organization. The
system ensures that an appropriate data is collected from the various sources,
processed and sent further to all the needy destinations. The system is expected to
fulfill the information needs of an individual, a group of individuals, the
management functionaries i.e. managers and top management.
The MIS satisfies the diverse needs through a variety of systems such as Query
Systems, Analysis Systems, Modeling Systems and Decision Support Systems. The
MIS helps in Strategic Planning, Management Control, Operational Control, and
Transaction Processing. The MIS helps the top management in goal setting, strategic
planning and evolving the business plans and their implementation. The MIS helps
the middle management in short term planning, target setting and controlling the
business functions. The MIS plays a role of information generation, communication,
problem identification and helps in the process of decision making. The MIS
therefore, plays a vital role in the management, administration and operations of an
organization.

E. Benefits of MIS in Organization

Improves organizations effectiveness
Ensures efficient & effective use of resources.
Ensures proactive management of business
Builds management competence through Information and Knowledge databases
to face the competition.
Helps to build a learning organization.
F. Challenges of MIS in Organization
Strategic Business Challenge (What complementary assets are needed to use
information technology effectively?)
Globalization Challenge (How can firms understand the business and system
requirements of a global economic environment?)
Information technology Infrastructure Challenge (How can organizations develop
an information technology infrastructure that can support their goals when business
condition and technologies are changing so rapidly?)
Information System Investment Challenge (How can organizations obtain
business value from their information systems?)
Ethics and Security: The responsibility and control challenge (How can
organizations ensure that their information systems are used in an ethically and
socially responsible manner?)
Workforce downsizing.
Information overload.
Employee mistrust.
Difficult to build.
Security breaches.

III. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY USED TO COMPARE USAGE

OF MIS IN MEDIUM SCALE AND LARGE SCALE
ORGANIZATIONS

Basically, an organization is group of people organized to accomplish an overall

goal. Organizations can range in size from two people to hundreds of thousands.
Organizations have an overall goal (or mission) which is usually subdivided into
various other goals (often called strategic goals) that, in total, will achieve the
overall goal of the organization. It takes resources from the environment and
processes them to produce outputs. "Organization" is understood as planned,
coordinated and purposeful action of human beings in order to construct or compile
a common tangible or intangible product or service. An organization is stable,
formal, social structure that takes resources from the environment and processes
them to produce outputs. Capital and labor are primary production factors provided
by the environment. Organizations have various attributes which distinguish them
from each other. No two organizations are similar in all respects. There have to have
certain distinctive lines keeping them unique from each other. Information
requirements keep varying in accordance with Size of organization, its structure,
The Culture it follows, Decision Making Structures etc. The objective of the study is
to compare the acceptance and usage of Management Information System in
medium scale and large scale organizations. Around 120 organizations consisting of
80 medium scale and 40 large scale organizations were selected for the purpose of
this study. These organizations were selected based on various parameters such as
number of employees working, total turnover, production rate, number of shifts the
company runs etc. The industries which are selected for the study include
production industry, process industry and service industry. The study is exclusively
based on the primary data collected through a sample survey. Main emphasis was
laid to understand Management Information System usage and factors which affects
its use. The population of the
Study comprised of Chief Executive, Industrialists, General Managers, line
supervisors, engineers etc., of various organizations. To achieve the objective of the
study, the data was collected through a structured and pre-tested questionnaire.
The questionnaire was prepared on the basis of review of literature and many
discussions with professionals, consultants and experienced academicians. All the
selected respondents were personally contacted to get the questionnaire filled. The
responses were collected on five point liker type scale ranging from strongly agree
to strongly disagree (1.Strongly Agree, 2.Agree, 3.Neutral, 4.Disagree and

5.Strongly Disagree). After the data collection was over, the scoring was done by
assigning a numerical value of 5 to the most favorable Strongly Agree position on
the scale, 4 to the next most favorable Agree, 3 to the Neutral, 2 to the Disagree
and 1 to the Strongly Disagree. Thus all the responses obtained were converted in
quantitative data, which were further subjected to tabulation, analysis and
interpretations.
TABLE I. USAGE OF MIS MEDIUM SCALE AND LARGE SCALE ORGANIZATIONS

The percentage usage of MIS in 40 large scale organizations is shown in Figure-6.

IV. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS OF THE SURVEY CONDUCTED

A. Analysis of the Survey
An analysis of Table-I reveals that only 54 organizations out of 80 organizations
(67.5%) in medium scale units were found making using MIS for supporting decision
making process. Whereas as many as 36 organizations out of 40 organizations
(90%) in the large scale units were found making uses of MIS for supporting decision
making process. So by comparison, it is noticed that the usage of MIS in large sale
organizations more than that of medium scale organizations. To find out the possible
reasons for not making use of MIS in those organizations, the respondents were
requested to provide a feedback on various parameters which could be possible
reason for non-use of MIS in their respective organizations. The questionnaire was
prepared on the basis of review of literature and many discussions with
professionals, consultants and experienced academicians. As per the Table-I, 54
organizations out of 80 in medium scale units and 36 organizations out of 40 in
large scale units are not making use of MIS. So we have collected feedback from 5
respondents of these organizations for the questionnaire supplied by us. After
collecting the feedback, the average and standard deviation is calculated for each
reason for nonuse of MIS. The responses thus obtained are analyzed and the
results are tabulated in Table-II for medium scale and large scale organizations.

TABLE II. RESASONS FOR NON-USAGE OF MIS IN MEDIUM SCALE AND

LARGE SCALE ORGANIZATIONS

The percentage use of computers (Computerization) in the large scale

organizations, which are not making use of MIS (4 organizations) is shown in Figure8.

An analysis of Table-II indicates that the various possible reason for non-use of MIS
in medium scale and large scale organizations. The main reason for non-use of MIS
in medium Scale organizations is limited use of computers has been attributed to
unawareness of potential activities which a computer can handle and incomplete or
no information about MIS, lack of awareness and benefits of MIS, inadequate
training provided to employees etc.,. As tabulated in table-II the calculated values of
standard deviation for each possible reason lies very close to the calculated values
of average. So the deviation is not much to the average values calculated i.e. the
reasons from the respondents what we have received are appropriate for the nonusage of MIS in those organizations.
B. Advises to the Management of the Organizations
Before implementing the MIS to any industry it is necessary to study the existing
system in the industry in detail, the roles played by the manager for better
decisions making, to stream line the vast information system to improve the
productivity of an industrial plant. Management Information System is management
oriented, the designing of Management Information System takes care of the
managers who meet the information requirements. Any suitable database
management system is used to design the Management Information System as per
the requirement of the management. The development of the system starts after
deciding the management needs and keeping in view the overall objectives of the

management. Once the Management Information System is developed based on the

requirement, it is implemented along with the existing system for some period of
time until the new system is familiar to the employees. After completely familiar
with this system, the old system is stopped and new system is continued by the
organization. It effective usage of MIS mainly depends on the users how best they
will use the system, learn the system, adopt the system and switchover from the
existing system to the new system. In any organization, small or big a major portion
of the time goes in data collection, processing, documenting and communicating it
to the people. Hence a major portion of overheads goes into this kind of
unproductive work in the organization. Every individual in an organization is
continuously looking for some information which is needed to perform his/her task.
Hence, the information is people oriented and it varies with the nature of the people
in the organization. In management of almost all operational activity, the
information forms a major input and as such for effective implementation of
futuristic information system in overall system, it is essential to modify the existing
management. Some of the common points that management should follow are:
For effective usage of MIS computerization is required.
The employees should know potential usage of computers.
The management should invest money to procure computers and related systems
which are required.
Proper training should be given to employees to cope up with the system.
Proper awareness has to be created among the employees such has benefits of
MIS etc.
In todays world of ever increasing complexities of business as well as management
for every organization to survive and grow, must have an efficient and effective
Management Information System It goes without saying that all managerial
functions are performed through decision making for taking rational decisions,
Management Information is essential and is procured through the Management
Information System setup by the organizations. Success of an organization in
achieving its predetermined goals and objectives lies in timeliness and quality, that
is to say effectiveness of its MIS. In todays world of ever increasing complexities of
business as well as management,

Every organization to survive and grow must have an efficient and effective MIS. An
effective Management Information System supplies accurate, relevant and timely
information to the manager of an organization.
V. CONCLUSION
As per the survey conducted reveals that comparatively MIS is not being used much
by medium scale organizations and not completely in large scale organizations. In
order to increase the usage of MIS in the organizations which are not making use of
MIS there is a necessity to build up computer culture by properly creating
awareness about potential computer applications and the benefits thereof to the
employees, The management should invest money to procure computers and
related systems which are required and proper training / seminars etc., should be
conducted to employees to cope up with the system. This in turn, increases the
usage of MIS in those organizations. In management of almost all operational
activity, the information forms a major input and as such for effective
implementation of futuristic information system in overall system, it is essential to
modify the existing management. An effective MIS supplies accurate, relevant and
timely information to the manager of an organization.