Have a little read: 

... 1.1 The Purpose and Scope of MIS Management Information Systems can be defined as 'The combination of human
and computer based resources that results in the collection, storage, retrieval, communication and use of data for the purpose of efficient
management of operations and for business planning'. Source: Kelly Management Information Systems are primarily concerned with the
delivery of information (both internal and external) to organisational members from the shop floor workers to the management. The purpose
of MIS is to help the smooth running of the business by providing information on the firms data (such as accounting figures) employees from
different levels will then evaluate this information so that decisions can be made to ensure that the business remains competitive and
successful. MIS have been created to support the whole range of business's administration and regulatory activities and can be seen in all
parts of the world and in all types of

What is the purpose of MIS? (originally posted 12/16/2005)

My first entry in this blog reflects some thinking I've been doing about the purpose of management information systems (MIS). As some of you may
know, some academic MIS departments are going through a bit of an identity crisis. There is much discussion about what the MIS curriculum should
look like, what jobs MIS grads will have, and so on. For the most part, this soul searching has been brought on by a massive decline in student
enrollments. Almost all MIS departments in the USA have experienced significant enrollment declines in the last few years. Stories of 70% declines are
not rare. The decline came about because of several factors, including the dot-com bust, a general slowdown in IT spending following Y2K and
offshore outsourcing. Some (including myself) are of the opinion that the days of MIS grads primarily going into programming jobs are gone. I believe
that a transition is occurring in how software is built. A combination of "new" ways of programming (e.g. components) and collaborative technologies
that allow easy outsourcing leads to a decline in the demand for coders. So, a fundamental question arises, "What is the nature of the MIS profession
of the future?" When examining this question, a second question comes up, "What is the purpose of MIS?"From some preliminary thinking, it seems to
me that the main purpose of MIS is to help organizations gain value from information and information technology. (BTW, this is hardly original thinking
…)So, how does MIS produce value. Well, one way is by better managing information resources. The whole point of information resource management
(IRM) is that information is a valuable asset, just like money, equipment, materials, etc. Because of this, information should be carefully managed. This
involves intelligently acquiring information, making the information available for use in an efficient and effective way, protecting the information, and so
on. One aspect of IRM is the use of information for decision making (e.g. decision support systems and, by extension, knowledge management
systems). This is how we have traditionally viewed the idea of MIS. Another area where MIS can add value is through improving business processes.
In the late 1990s, "business process reengineering" was a bit of a management fad. While the fad faded, the idea of using IT to improve processes
remains. In fact, some have argued that the so-called jobless recovery is due, in part, to IT supporting more efficient processes. The final "value-add"
from MIS comes from innovation. New information technologies emerge at a dizzying pace.