1. Define MIS? What are the objectives and characteristics of MIS?

2. Write a detailed note on the planning and development of Management Information

Systems.
3. Explain strategic MIS categories in detail. Give illustrations for each category.
4. Explain with relevant example the concept of business process. Also mention their
elements.
5. Explain in detail the necessity and importance of Systems Design in MIS.

Answer 1:

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.
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 the
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 −

• making calculations with the data

• sorting data
• classifying data and
• 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.

Characteristics of MIS

Following are the characteristics of an MIS −

• It should be based on long-term planning.

• It should provide a holistic view of the dynamics and the structure of the organization.
 • It should work as a complete and comprehensive system covering all interconnecting
sub-systems within the organization.
• It should be planned in a top-down way, as the decision-makers or the management
should actively take part and provide clear direction at the development stage of the
MIS.
• It should be based on the need of strategic, operational and tactical information of
managers of an organization.
• It should also take care of exceptional situations by reporting such situations.
• It should be able to make forecasts and estimates and generate advanced information,
thus providing a competitive advantage. Decision makers can take actions on the basis
of such predictions.
• It should create linkage between all sub-systems within the organization so that the
decision makers can take the right decision based on an integrated view.
• It should allow easy flow of information through various sub-systems, thus avoiding
redundancy and duplicity of data. It should simplify the operations with as much
practicability as possible.
• Although the MIS is an integrated, complete system, it should be made in such a
flexible way that it could be easily split into smaller sub-systems as and when
required.
• A central database is the backbone of a well-built MIS.

Answer 2:

Planning of MIS:

Many organizations have purchased computers for data processing and for meeting the
statutory requirements of filing the returns and reports to the government. Computers
are used mainly for computing and accounting business transactions and have not been
considered as a tool for information processing.
The organizations have invested on computers and expanded its use by adding more or
bigger computers to take care of the numerous transactions in the business. In this
approach, the information processing function of the computers in the organization never
got its due regard as an important asset to the organization. In fact, this function is
misinterpreted as data processing for expeditious generation of reports and returns, and
not as information processing for management action and decisions.
However, the scene has been changing since late eighties when the computers become
more versatile, in the function of storage, communication, intelligence and language.
The computer technology is so advanced that the barriers of storage, distance
understanding of language and speed are broken.
In short, we need a management information system flexible enough to deal with the
changing information needs of the organization. It should be conceived as an open
system continuously interacting with the business environment with a built-in mechanism
to provide the desired information as per the new requirements of the management. The
designing as such in open system is a complex task. It can be achieved only if the MIS is
planned, keeping in view, the plan of the business management of the organization.
Development of MIS:

Once the plan of MIS is made, the development of the MIS calls for determining for the
strategy of development. As discussed earlier, the plan consists of various systems and
sub systems. The development strategy determines where to begin and what sequence
the development can take place with the sole objective of assuring the information
support.
The choice of the system or the sub-system depends on its position in the total MIS plan,
the size of the system, the user understands of the systems and the complexity and its
interface with other systems. The designer first develops systems independently and
starts integrating them with other systems, enlarging the system scope and meeting the
varying information needs.
Determining the position of the position of the system in the MIS is easy. The real
problem is the degree of structure, and formalization in the system and procedures
which determine the timing and duration of development of the system.

Answer 5:

The business application system demands the designing of systems suitable to the
application in the project.
The major steps involved in the system design of Management Information Systems(MIS)
are the following:
Input Design – Input design is defined as the input requirement specification as per a
format required. Input design begins long before the data arrives at the device. The
analyst will have to design source documents, input screens and methods and
procedures for getting the data into the computer.
Output Design — The design of the output is based on the requirement of the user —
manager, customer etc. The output formats have to very friendly to the user. Therefore
the designer has to ensure the appropriateness of the output format.
Development — When the design and its methodology is approved, the system is
developed using appropriate business models. The development has to be in
accordance to a given standard. The norms have to be strictly adhered to.
Testing — Exhaustive and thorough testing must be conducted to ascertain whether the
system produces the right results. Testing is time-consuming: Test data must be
carefully prepared, results reviewed and corrections made in the system. In some
instances, parts of the system may have to be redesigned. Testing an information
system can be broken down into three types of activities: unit testing, system testing and
acceptance testing.

Implementation and Maintenance

Conversion — Conversion is the process of changing from the old system to the new
system. Four main conversion strategies can be employed. They are the parallel
strategy, the direct cutover strategy, the pilot strategy and the phased strategy.
• In a parallel strategy both the old system and its potential replacement are run together
for a time until everyone is assured that the new one functions correctly. This is the
safest conversion approach because, in the event of errors or processing disruptions,
the old system can still be used as a backup. But, this approach is very expensive, and
additional staff or resources may be required to run the extra system.
• The direct cutover strategy replaces the old system entirely with the new system on an
appointed day. At first glance, this strategy seems less costly than the parallel
conversion strategy. But, it is a very risky approach that can potentially be more
costly than parallel activities if serious problems with the new system are found.
There is no other system to fall back on. Dislocations, disruptions and the cost of
corrections are enormous.
• The pilot study strategy introduces the new system to only a limited area of the
organization, such as a single department or operating unit. When this version is
complete and working smoothly, it is installed throughout the rest of the organization,
either simultaneously or in stages.
• The phased approach strategy introduces the new system in stages, either by functions
or by organizational units. If, for example, the system is introduced by functions, a
new payroll system might begin with hourly workers who are paid weekly, followed
six months later by adding salaried employees( who are paid monthly) to the system.
If the system is introduced by organizational units, corporate headquarters might be
converted first, followed by outlying operating units four months later.