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2.1 Introduction
In the previous unit you learnt about the basic necessity of Management
Information System which is essential for the further utilization of MIS. In this
unit you will learn the different types of MIS with the concepts. An
organization consists of many functions both technical and managerial and
many people working for different departments. Therefore an Information
System of an organization is not only with respect to one department or one
functioning but a combination of management, technology and
organizations.
Learning Objective
After going through this unit student will be able to:
Describe the actual perceptive of MIS with respect to an organization.
Explain the types of MIS
Define the basics concepts and relationships of MIS.
Explain the concept of management organization
Demand
Region
Sales
EIS in future will be very useful with respect to the intelligence, multimedia,
informed and connective Executive Information Systems. You can see the
typical working of EIS in figure 2.3.
create graphs, charts and scenario generations; and offer many other
options for presenting data. It is difficult to implement the EIS due the initial
cost of the implementation. Once the initial cost is calculated, there is the
additional cost of support infrastructure, training, and the means of making
the company data meaningful to the system. An EIS does not depend just
on the setting it up and leave it to do its job. It has to support and provide
timely and accurate data on the production of meaningful data. It can
provide the information executives the ability to make some decision and
take action. An EIS provides a competitive edge for the business strategy
within in a very short span of time.
2.1.3.5 Decision Support Systems (DSS)
DSS is an interactive computer based system designed to help the decision
makers to use all l the resources available and make use in the decision
making. In management many a time problems arise out of situations for
which simple solution may not be possible. To solve such problems you may
have to use complex theories. The models that would be required to solve
such problems may have to be identified. DSS requires a lot of managerial
abilities and managers judgment.
You may gather and present the following information by using decision
support application:
Accessing all of your current information assets, including legacy and
relational data sources, cubes, data warehouses, and data marts
Comparative sales figures between one week and the next
Projected revenue figures based on new product sales assumptions
The consequences of different decision alternatives, given past
experience in a context that is described.
Manager may sometimes find it difficult to solve such problems. E.g. – In a
sales problem if there is multiple decision variables modeled as a simple
linear problem but having multiple optima, it becomes difficult to take a
decision. Since any of the multiple optima would give optimum results. But
the strategy to select the one most suitable under conditions prevailing in
the market, requires skills beyond the model.
It would take some trials to select a best strategy. Under such
circumstances it would be easy to take decision if a ready system of
databases of various market conditions and corresponding appropriate
Each business process may be further divided into sub processes. Each
process generates information which is communicated to other processes
depending upon the requirement of that process. E.g. - Billing, inventory,
quality control, distribution, maintenance, etc.
2.1.3.7 Object Oriented Systems (OOS)
It is a system developed as models which are representative of real world
cases. The principles required to understand a real world problem are
modeled as business objects which are then used in various business
applications. An object model is a system which is an abstraction of real
world business problem containing all the necessary functions and data
storage facility to contain details of a business object.
Number of objects may be developed in order to customize it according to
the needs of the organization. The objects developed for any application
should be suitable enough to cater to the requirement of the application.
Object oriented systems in business are a collection of various business
objects which represents the behavior and data structure.
A system which combines the concepts of Object oriented system and that
of data storage and data access is known as object oriented database
system. It is a powerful means for data storage and retrieval since the object
concept encompasses both data and the procedure together in the class.
This is known as encapsulation.
Data abstraction is used in inheritance. The system is supported on multiple
system and hierarchy of classes and its sub classes. These methodologies
are useful in various complex applications. With the support of technologies
like artificial neural networks and expert systems it is possible to access
data from database and also process complex data in a very simple
manner.
Neural networks are a process where it is possible to capture the thought
process going on in the brain of the human being. Expert system refers to
the system which contains the knowledge database of human expert
suggestions stored in the computer database.
Apart from these specific files there are general files containing data
required by other sub systems. Each sub system is supported by general
software and application specific program to process data. E.g. – software
for logistics, accounting, production scheduling, sales and distribution,
network analysis, etc.
Another important issue to be known while understanding the various
management concepts is its information system implementation. It involves
several problem of different magnitude. Lots of money is pumped by
organization to implement systems and also its maintenance. Despite
several problems it is important to note that the system should not come to a
halt. What is lacking mostly in many areas of implementation is the
interaction of human with the system.
2.2.3 Technical implementation issues
The following indicates the technical implementation issues
Level of complexity (must be low)
System response time and reliability (must be high)
Inadequate functions (functions are needed)
Lack of equipment (hardware and software can help)
Lack of standardization (standard help integration and dissemination)
Problems with the networks (such as connectivity); distributed
management support systems (MSS) are on the rise
Mismatch of hardware or software
Low level of the technical capacity of the project team
[“Source: Decision support systems and intelligent systems – by Efraim
Turban and Jay E Aronson.”]
2.2.4 Behavioral factors
The implementation of computer based information systems in general and
MSS in particular is affected by the way people perceive these systems and
by how they behave in accepting them. User resistance is a major
behavioral factor associated with the adoption of new systems. The
following are compiled by Jiang et al. (2000); reasons that employees resist
new systems:
Change in job content
Loss of status
Change in interpersonal relationships
Sikkim Manipal University Page No. 34
Management Information System Unit 2
Loss of power
Change in decision making approach
Uncertainty or unfamiliarity or misinformation
Job security
The major behavioral factors are
a) Decision styles – symbolic processing of AI is heuristic; DSS and ANN
are analytic
b) Need for explanation – ES provides explanation, ANN does not, DSS
may provide partial explanation. Explanation can reduce resistance to
change
c) Organizational climate – some organizations lead and support
innovations and new technologies whereas others wait and lag behind in
making changes
d) Organizational expectations – over expectation can result in
disappointments and termination of innovation. Over expectation was
observed in most early intelligent systems.
e) Resistance to change – can be strong in MSS because the impacts may
be significant. Many can resist (Alter 1980; Guimarraies et al. 1992)(see
AIS in Focus 18.3).
2.3 Summary
After going through this unit you would have understood the various types of
Management systems and the basics concepts of MIS. You must be able to
find the role and significance of MIS in business and its functional
relationships. You would have also understood the types TPS, KBS,
OLAPS, etc. you would have learnt the various concepts of management
organization and the issues involved in implementation. You would be able
to explain the behavioral factors of Management Information Systems.
Activity 1
2.5 Answers
Answers to Self Assessment Questions
1. Refer 2.1
2. Refer 2.1.2.7
3. Refer 2.1.2.7
4. True
5. True
Answers to Terminal Questions
1. Refer 2.1.2.2
2. Refer 2.1.2.1
3. Refer 2.1.2.5
4. Refer 2.1.2.6
5. Refer 2.1.2.3
6. Refer 2.1.2.4
7. Refer 2.1.2.7
8. Refer 2.2.4