[Date]

Management
Information
System
Assignment

Baskar M
ICHE-UGPA 13-16

Subject Name
.

: Management
Information System

Student Name

: Baskar M

Session

: 2013-2016

Batch

: Fall winter UG-A

Contact Number

: 96261-99981,

Mail

: baskar180@gmail.com

Submission Date

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Question 1:
a)

Coimbatore Municipal Corporation has 30 departments and

hundreds of employees. Three years ago, the city launched a Rs.20
crore information systems development project that would take the
city to the era of e-governance. The new system will become the citys
nerve centre. It will automate and integrate almost all functions of
the city administration, and will contain more than 2,000 modules
with various levels of sophistication. For example, the sub-systems
range from a simple purchase requisition to the fire departments
dispatch system, to an EDI system that connects the city to its 5,000
suppliers, to the decision support systems for the top city
administrators. The system will be ready for delivery in January,
2008.Identify three advantages each that will accrue to the citizens
and the officials of Coimbatore Municipal Corporation by this shift to
e-governance.

Is it correct to say that decision tables are similar to flow-charts

and can be used either independently or as a complement to flow-charts
?
b)

Management Information System (MIS) is structured to provide the

information needed, when needed and where needed. In the light of
this statement, you are required to provide one example each for the
following :
(i) Information needed by the management;
(ii) When needed by the management; and
(iii) Where needed by the management.

Answer:
a) Advantages of E-Governance
Following are the advantages of E-Governance

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1. Speed Technology makes communication speedier. Internet,

Phones, Cell Phones have reduced the time taken in normal
communication.
2. Cost Reduction Most of the Government expenditure is appropriated
towards the cost of stationary. Paper-based communication needs lots of
stationary, printers, computers, etc. which calls for continuous heavy
expenditure. Internet and Phones makes communication cheaper saving
valuable money for the Government.
3. Transparency Use of ICT makes governing profess transparent. All the
information of the Government would be made available on the internet.
The citizens can see the information whenever they want to see. But this
is only possible when every piece of information of the Government is
uploaded on the internet and is available for the public to peruse. Current
governing process leaves many ways to conceal the information from all
the people. ICT helps make the information available online eliminating
all the possibilities of concealing of information.
Flow Chart:
A flowchart is a type of diagram that represents
an algorithm, workflow or process, showing the steps as boxes of
various kinds, and their order by connecting them with arrows. This
diagrammatic representation illustrates a solution model to a
given problem. Flowcharts are used in analyzing, designing,
documenting or managing a process or program in various fields.
Decision Tables:
Decision tables are a precise yet compact way to model complex rule
sets and their corresponding actions.

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Decision tables, like flowcharts, if-then-else, and switchcase statements, associate conditions with actions to perform, but in
many cases do so in a more elegant way.
So, decision tables are similar to the flow charts.
B) Information needs by the Management :

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.

When needed by the Management:

MIS 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.

Where Needed by the Management:

MIS report help to take decision and action on certain object with
quick time.

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Question 2:
a) South-North Leathers Ltd. (SNLL) is in leather production and distribution
business. The company has two factories and four regional offices. The
company is selling its products in domestic as well as international markets.
The companys turnover was Rs.300 crores in 2007-08 with a net profit of
Rs.30 crores. The management of the company has gone in for
computerization in recent years. As part of the computerization, all regional
offices and factories are linked through an intranet with the main server
located at Delhi. All employees of the company can communicate with each
other through an internal mailing system. The enquiries made by Srinivas,
Chief Operating Officer (COO) have revealed that every e-mail is followed by
a hard copy of the same and hence the COO wants to reduce the expenses on
the hard copies. The COO has asked you, as a manager of SNLL, to prepare a
circular to all employees of the company highlighting the efficacy of e-mail
messages and the urgent need for avoiding hard copies. You are required to
prepare the circular.
b) Explain the following in the context of information system:
(i) Systems approach method to management problem solving
(ii) Flow chart
(iii) Structure components of database systems
(iv) Desktop publishing

Answers:
a)
RE: Circular for use of Email and to avoid hard copies (03-14-2008)

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Circular for Use of Email and to avoid Hard copies to employees

" This is to inform all the staff of SNLL

All regional offices and factories are linked through an intranet with the main
server located at Delhi. All employees of the company can communicate with
each other through an internal mailing system. In order to avoid the expenses on
communication through hard copies, all the employees are requested to use Email communication here after and avoid using the hard copies.
Our company is spending lot of money on the hard copies communication for
internal communication. In order to cut down the expenses and for more safety
and security we can depend on the technology. Hence, it is order from the COO
of SNLL to all, to use the E-mail communication process for the internal
communication and no hard copies as of now should be used.
Severe actions will be taken for the negligence of this circular.

B)(i) System approach method to management problem solving:

The systems approach to problem solving used a systems orientation to
define problems and opportunities and develop solutions. Studying a
problem and formulating a solution involve the following interrelated
activities:
1. Recognize and define a problem or opportunity using systems
thinking.
2. Develop and evaluate alternative system solutions.
3. Select the system solution that best meets your requirements.
4. Design the selected system solution.
5. Implement and evaluate the success of the designed system.

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(ii) Flow Chart:

A flowchart is a type of diagram that represents
an algorithm, workflow or process, showing the steps as boxes of
various kinds, and their order by connecting them with arrows. This
diagrammatic representation illustrates a solution model to a
given problem. Flowcharts are used in analyzing, designing,
documenting or managing a process or program in various fields.
(iii) Structure Components of Data base
Components of DBMS
A database management system (DBMS) consists of several
components. Each component plays very important role in the database
management system environment. The major components of database
management system are:

Software
Hardware
Data
Procedures
Database Access Language

(iv) Desktop Publishing:

Desktop publishing (abbreviated DTP) is the creation of documents
using page layout skills on a personal computer. Desktop publishing
software can generate layouts and produce typographic quality text and
images comparable to traditional typography and printing. This
technology allows individuals, businesses, and other organizations to
self-publish a wide range of printed matter. Desktop publishing is also
the main reference for digital typography.
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Question 3:
(a) Comfort Amenties Ltd. is in the business of supplying bathroom
slippers to hotels. Assume that the managing director has approached
you for designing its web pages. Keeping in mind the nature of business
and the customers, you are required to write down the steps you would
follow in designing the web pages of the company.
(b) MIS is structured to provide requisite information when needed and
where needed. Discuss.
(c) Explain the following :
(i) Shipping-up and shipping-out
(ii) Data warehouse
(iii) On Line Analytical Processing (OLAP).
Answer: (a)

Deciding the Platform on which webpage will be designed

Finding a domain name and host
Set-up and tweak the website
Choosing a template for the webpage
Dashboard installation/ About us, products offered, contact us
Adding pages to the web site
Changing the title and post
Setting up static front page
Editing side bar
Inserting plug in
These are the steps to create a webpage for the company.

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(B) MIS Structure:

MIS provides useful information to the different levels of management
for discharging their function more effectively and efficiently. In order to
understand design of suitable management information system.
This means that the structure of management information can be
expressed in terms of different levels of management activity. There are
three important levels of management namely strategic management,
management control or tactical management and operational
management. These levels of management activity are discussed below.

Strategic Management
The first area of management is strategic planning level or top level
management. Top level management consists of board of directors and
other chief executives. They are ranking officers of the organization. Top
level management develops over all organizational goals, strategies,
policies and objectives through long range strategic planning. They
integrate the functions of entire organization.
Strategic managers make decisions that affect the entire organization.
Their decisions may also leave a long term impact in the organization.
Here the decision maker develops objectives and allocates resources to
attain these objectives. Decisions of this type are made over a long period
of time and usually involve huge investments. Developing and introducing
a new product in the market, the opening of branches abroad, mergers
or acquisition etc. is some of the examples for strategic decisions.

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Management Control or Tactical Management

Management control level or middle level management decisions involve
financial or [personal consideration. They make wide ranging decisions for
their subordinates on the basis of general guide lines received from the
top level management. They develop medium range plans and defining
objectives of their departments. These managers are responsible for
finding the best operational measures to accomplish the strategic
decisions set by the top level management.
They make plans and compare the actual performance with standards.
Then they determine variances if any and take remedial measures to
avoid them in future. For example if the top level managers to make
decisions regarding the acquisition of hardware, software and imparting
training to staff under him.

Operational Management
Operational management or lower level management deals with routine
activities. They make short term plans to carry out day to day activities
more effectively and efficiently. They are in charge of small group or
subordinates. These managers implements policies handed over to them
by their superiors. With in these policies, they make decisions that affect
their small units for a short period .preparation of pay roll and inventory
management are examples of operational control level decisions.

Management level and Information requirement

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The information requirement of management depends on the different

levels of management. The model of managerial pyramid was
popularized by Robert N. Anthony. He contributed new levels of
management on the basis of planning level, management control level
and operational control level are these three revised levels of
management.
It true that the top level managers spend more time on strategic decisions
than supervisors in the bottom level of management. While top managers
spend very little time, operational supervisors spend more time to take
operational decisions. The type of information required by managers is
directly related to the level of management and structure of decision
situation. The operational management level requires regular detailed
reports to manage the day to day affaires of business.
Three levels of management activity can be differentiated on the basis of
the planning aspects for each level. Different management activities
functions will have different information characteristics. The following
table provides different information characteristics by different level of
management. It is based on the work of G. Anthony Gory and Michael
Scott Morton in the early 1970s.

*Information System for operational management

The responsibility of operational level management is to supervise
operational activities. Operational control makes use of pre-established
procedures and decision rules. A large percentage of decisions are
programmable. The procedures to follow are quite stable. They supervise
the day to day activities.
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The informational source of operational control is mainly come from

internal data generated from transactions.

* Informational system for tactical management

Management control information is required by managers of
departments, profit centers etc to measure performance, decide control
actions,
Formulate new decision rules to be applied by operational personnel.
They require only information in summary form
Management control makes use of both internal &external data.

*Information system for strategic management

The purpose of strategic planning is to formulate strategies to achieve
organization goals. They make long term plans. Strategic planning
decisions occur only once in a while. Strategic planning requires
summarized data from a variety of source. They depend upon external
data such as competitors policy, market condition, government policies
etc. or decision making.

Management information system cannot be applied effectively at the

strategic planning level. The success of the strategic decisions depends on
the skills, experience and the judgment ability of human decision makers
in the interpreting data and information. Hence decisions at the strategic
level are unstructured and non programmed.
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C) Date Warehouse:
In computing, a data warehouse (DW or DWH), also known as
an enterprise data warehouse (EDW), is a system used for reporting and
data analysis, and is considered as a core component of business
intelligence environment. DWs are central repositories of integrated
data from one or more disparate sources. They store current and
historical data and are used for creating analytical reports for knowledge
workers throughout the enterprise. Examples of reports could range
from annual and quarterly comparisons and trends to detailed daily
sales analysis.
The data stored in the warehouse is uploaded from the operational
systems (such as marketing, sales, etc., shown in the figure to the right).
The data may pass through an operational data store for additional
operations before it is used in the DW for reporting.

Online Analytical Processing: In computing, online analytical processing,

or OLAP is an approach to answering multi-dimensional analytical (MDA)
queries swiftly. OLAP is part of the broader category of business
intelligence, which also encompasses relational database, report writing
and data mining. Typical applications of OLAP include business
reporting for sales, marketing, management reporting, business process
management (BPM), budgeting and forecasting, financial reporting and
similar areas, with new applications coming up, such as agriculture. The
term OLAP was created as a slight modification of the traditional
database term online transaction processing (OLTP).
OLAP tools enable users to analyze multidimensional data interactively
from multiple perspectives. OLAP consists of three basic analytical
operations: consolidation (roll-up), drill-down, and slicing and
dicing. Consolidation involves the aggregation of data that can be
accumulated and computed in one or more dimensions. For example, all
sales offices are rolled up to the sales department or sales division to
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anticipate sales trends. By contrast, the drill-down is a technique that

allows users to navigate through the details. For instance, users can view
the sales by individual products that make up a region's sales. Slicing and
dicing is a feature whereby users can take out (slicing) a specific set of
data of the OLAP cube and view (dicing) the slices from different
viewpoints. These viewpoints are sometimes called dimensions (such as
looking at the same sales by salesperson or by date or by customer or by
product or by region, etc.)

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Question 4:
(i)

In anticipation of possibility of holding Board meetings

through video conferencing, the chairman of your company
wants you to prepare a note on the feasibility mechanics and
advantages of video conferencing for consideration of the
Board of directors at its next meeting.

(ii)

Name any three ERP modules and write the main objectives
of each ERP module.

(iii)

What is e-commerce ? What are the elements of ecommerce ?

Answers:
(i) Advantages of Video Conferencing:
1. No time constraint: Video conferencing can be conducted at any time
of the day. Time differences between countries do not matter when
people use this method of communication because they do not actually
need to travel to attend meetings.
2. Dramatic travel saving: Not only is video conferencing a direct
replacement for many in-person business trip, but also there is virtually
no cost for people to be involved in a virtual meeting, you can easily
bring the right them together.
3. Easy communication: People can use video conferencing to
communicate with anyone with HD video and other collaboration tools
such as whiteboard, text exchange, file sharing, media sharing, screen
sharing, remote control, electronic voting, conference recording etc.
4. Increased productivity: By eliminating time and district barriers,
meetings can be hold anytime, anywhere with anyone. In this way,
meetings are shorter and more effective. And also with the rich
collaboration tools, decisions can be made faster.

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(ii) ERP module and objectives:

In software a module is a part of a program, and programs are
composed of one or more independently developed modules that are
not combined until the program is linked.
ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) software typically consists of
multiple enterprise software modules that are individually purchased,
based on what best meets the specific needs and technical capabilities
of the organization.
Each ERP module is focused on one area of business processes, such as
product development or marketing. Some of the more common ERP
modules include those for product planning, material purchasing,
inventory control, distribution, accounting, marketing, finance and HR.
(iii) E-Commerce and Elements:
E-Commerce: Ecommerce (or electric commerce) refers to the buying and
selling of goods and services via electronic channels, primarily the
Internet. Online retail is decidedly convenient due to its 24-hour
availability, global reach and generally efficient customer service.
Elements:

1. Include Detailed, Yet Concise Product Information

Visitors need to know the facts about what they are buying from you. If
the product information is lacking or confusing, they wont buy it.
Examine the product pages on your site. Are all the important features
listed? Imagine that you are a visitor to the site who knows nothing
about the product. Is enough information there for you to make an
informed decision on whether to buy or not?
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Youll want to make sure all the necessary product information is

available to users, but dont make them wade through paragraphs of
information to find. Put the most important features first, and follow
that with any additional information that relates to the specifics of the
product. Include a good, decent sized picture of the product, and a
description of the product if applicable, but try not to overdo it. If a
potential customer clicks away, chances are they wont be coming back.

2. Utilize an Adequate On-site Search Engine

Nothing is more frustrating then using the search feature on an ECommerce site and receiving dozens of results that dont match what
you were looking for. Make sure your E-Commerce site uses competent,
reliable search engine software, and allow filtering for more refined
search options if you maintain a large inventory of products.

3. Give Users an Easy Checkout Process

Consider your shopping experience in a brick and mortar store. You
select a product, wait on line at the cashier, pay, and leave. Simple,
right? So why shouldnt it be just as simple on an E-Commerce site?
Of course, there may be a few more necessary steps to take when
shopping online, such as selecting a shipping method, but the overall
process can still be relatively quick and painless if done correctly.
Customers dont want to have to cycle through more than a couple
pages in order to purchase a product. Ideally, it would be beneficial to
both you and the customer if the checkout process could be contained
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to one page, but that isnt always possible. But if it is feasible, allow your
customers to enter all their information (mailing & billing address, credit
card number, shipping option, etc.) on a single page, and then have
them confirm their order on the following page. Anything else in
between gives customers a chance to be frustrated, and theyll either
leave your site, or make their purchase but choose not to return.

4. User-Friendly Navigation
Your entire E-Commerce site should be relatively easy to navigate. A
rewarding user experience keeps visitors on your site, and also keeps
them coming back. Put menus or links to product categories in a
prominent place, and make sure categories and the products that are in
each category are properly named.
Additionally, make sure each page provides users with an easy way to
get back to the home page, find contact information, select another
category, or go directly to the shopping cart.

5. Shopping Cart Design and Features

Your shopping cart design is just as important as the remainder of your
E-Commerce site. Aside from displaying information clearly, a shopping
cart layout should be simple, effectively display company branding
(colors, company logo), and include prominent checkout buttons.
A shopping cart page should also include all the important elements
your customers need, such as the ability to change quantities, select
shipping options (shipping prices should be displayed), enter promo
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codes, select a payment option, or continue shopping and/or adding

more products to the cart. Also important: dont limit customers to only
one or two payment options, such as PayPal only, or only Visa and
Mastercard but not American Express. You are only hurting yourself by
not making as many payment options as possible available to your
customers.

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