MIS

A management information system (MIS) is a system that provides information needed to manage organizations effectively [1]. Management information systems are regarded to be a subset of the overall internal controls procedures in a business, which cover the application of people, documents, technologies, and procedures used by management accountants to solve business problems such as costing a product,service or a business-wide strategy. Management information systems are distinct from regular information systems in that they are used to analyze other information systems applied in operational activities in the organization.[2] Academically, the term is commonly used to refer to the group of information management methods tied to the automation or support of human decision making, e.g. Decision Support Systems, Expert systems, and Executive information systems.[2]

An 'MIS' is a planned system of the collection, processing, storage and dissemination of data in the form of information needed to carry out the management functions. In a way, it is a documented report of the activities that were planned and executed. According to Philip Kotler "A marketing information system consists of people, equipment, and procedures to gather, sort, analyze, evaluate, and distribute needed, timely, and accurate information to marketing decision makers." [3] The terms MIS and information system are often confused. Information systems include systems that are not intended for decision making. The area of study called MIS is sometimes referred to, in a restrictive sense, as information technology management. That area of study should not be confused with computer science. IT service management is a practitionerfocused discipline. MIS has also some differences with ERP which incorporates elements that are not necessarily focused on decision support. Any successful MIS must support a business's Five Year Plan or its equivalent. It must provide for reports based upon performance analysis in areas critical to that plan, with feedback loops that allow for titivation of every aspect of the business, including recruitment and training regimens. In effect, MIS must not only indicate how things are going, but why they are not going as well as planned where that is the case. These reports would include performance relative to cost centers and projects that drive profit or loss, and do so in such a way that identifies individual accountability, and in virtual real-time. Anytime a business is looking at implementing a new business system it is very important to use a system devlopment method such as System Development Life Cycle. The life cycle includes Analysis, Requirements, Design, Development, Testing and Implementation.

ADV & DISADV

Modern businesses have been leveraging management information systems (MIS) to manage, order, organize and manipulate the gigabytes and masses of information generated for various purposes. MIS helps businesses optimize business processes, address information needs of employees and various stakeholders and take informed strategic decisions. However, budget allocation and monitoring issues can affect the efficacy of MIS. It has its advantages and disadvantages depending on organizational deployment and usage.

Advantages
1. Management information systems have changed the dynamics of running businesses efficiently. Decentralization is one of the biggest advantages; it allows monitoring of operations at low levels and frees up resources for departmental managers to devote time to strategic activities. Coordination of specialized projects and activities is much better and decision makers in the organization are aware of issues and problems in all departments. Another advantage of MIS is that it minimizes information overload, which can be quite common with conventional businesses in the modern era.

Better Planning and Control

2. MIS has to be designed and managed in such way that it aggregates information, monitors the company's activities and operations and enhances communication and collaboration among employees. This ensures better planning for all activities and better ways to measure performance, manage resources and facilitate compliance with industry and government regulations. Control helps in forecasting, preparing accurate budgets and providing the tools and vital information to employees, top management and business partners.

Aid Decision Making

3. The purpose of MIS is to generate synthesized and processed information from computerized/automated and certain manual systems. Information distribution to all levels of corporate managers, professionals and key executives becomes quite seamless with streamlined MIS. Managers are able to make quick, timely and informed decisions. Top management and board members can take strategic decisions, plan future growth and business expansion activities based on the data and information generated by MIS.

Disadvantages
4. Depending on organization deployment, usage and extraneous factors, some disadvantages related to Management Information Systems can come to the fore. Allocation of budgets for MIS upgrades, modifications and other revisions can be quite tricky at times. If budgets are not allocated uniformly or as per immediate

requirements, key functionalities might get effected and benefits might not be realized consistently. Integration issues with legacy systems can affect the quality of output and vital business intelligence reports.

Constant Monitoring Issues

5. Change in management, exits or departures of department managers and other senior executives has a broad effect on the working and monitoring of certain organization practices including MIS systems. Since MIS is a critical component of an organization's risk management strategy and allied systems, constant monitoring is necessary to ensure its effectiveness. Quality of inputs into MIS needs to be monitored; otherwise consistency in the quality of data and information generated gets effected. Managers are not able to direct business, operational and decisionmaking activities with the requisite flexibility.

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An MIS provides the following advantages. 1. It Facilitates planning : MIS improves the quality of plants by providing relevant information for sound decision making . Due to increase in the size and complexity of organizations, managers have lost personal contact with the scene of operations. 2. In Minimizes information overload : MIS change the larger amount of data in to summarized form and there by avoids the confusion which may arise when managers are flooded with detailed facts. 3. MIS Encourages Decentralization : Decentralization of authority is possibly when there is a system for monitoring operations at lower levels. MIS is successfully used for measuring performance and making necessary change in the organizational plans and procedures. 4. It brings Co ordination : MIS facilities integration of specialized activities by keeping each department aware of the problem and requirements of other departments. It connects all decision centers in the organization . 5. It makes control easier : MIS serves as a link between managerial planning and control. It improves the ability of management to evaluate and improve performance . The used computers has increased the data processing and storage capabilities and reduced the cost . 6. MIS assembles, process , stores , Retrieves , evaluates and Disseminates the information .

Disadvantage
1. Quite expensive to introduce 2. The technical know how of staff members may not be sufficient 3. Discourages fraud but when a loophole is noticed, high level fraud may never be detected

ADVANTAGES .Faster Operations .Give summarised reports of work according to the level of management. .Allow for collective, more efficient decision making e.g. with use of G.D.S.S. .Efficient management of large volumes of information and records. .Allow for continued perfomance of operations even in absenture of some of the personnel. .Easier running of day to day activities of an organization. .Improved accuracy. DISADVANTAGES .Deskilling of personnel since they get to overrely on the systems. .Unemployment - Human replaced by systems. .Systems prone to break down .Systems are dependent- need to be guided. .Systems are expensive to install and maintain.

DISADVANTAGES 1.highly senstive requires constant monitoring. 2.buddgeting of MIS extremely difficult. 3.Quality of outputs governed by quality of inputs. 4.lack of flexiblity to update itself. 5.effectiveness decreases due to frequent changes in top management 6.takes into account only qualitative factors and ignores non-qualitative factors like morale of worker, attitude of worker etc... Unemployment - While information technology may have streamlined the business process it has also crated job redundancies, downsizing and outsourcing. This means that a lot of lower and middle level jobs have been done away with causing more people to become unemployed. Privacy - Though information technology may have made communication quicker, easier and more convenient, it has also bought along privacy issues. From cell phone signal interceptions to email hacking, people are now worried about their once private information becoming public knowledge. Lack of job security - Industry experts believe that the internet has made job security a big issue as since technology keeps on changing with each day. This means that one has to be in a constant learning mode, if he or she wishes for their job to be secure. Dominant culture - While information technology may have made the world a global village, it has also contributed to one culture dominating another weaker one. For example it is now argued that US influences how most young teenagers all over the world now act, dress and behave. Languages too have become overshadowed, with English becoming the primary mode of communication for business and everything else.

ERP
An enterprise resource planning (ERP) system is an integrated computer-based application used to manage internal and external resources, including tangible assets, financial resources, materials, and human resources. Its purpose is to facilitate the flow of information between all business functions inside the boundaries of the organization and manage the connections to outside stakeholders. Built on a centralized database and normally utilizing a common computing platform, ERP systems consolidate all business operations into a uniform and enterprise-wide system environment.[1] An ERP system can either reside on a centralized server or be distributed across modular hardware and software units that provide "services" and communicate on a local area network. The distributed design allows a business to assemble modules from different vendors without the need for the placement of multiple copies of complex and expensive computer systems in areas which will not use their full capacity.[2]

BPR
Business Process Reengineering is the analysis and design of workflows and processes within an organization. A business process is a set of logically related tasks performed to achieve a defined business outcome. Re-engineering is the basis for many recent developments in management. The cross-functional team, for example, has become popular because of the desire to re-engineer separate functional tasks into complete cross-functional processes.[citation needed] Also, many recent management information systems developments aim to integrate a wide number of business functions. Enterprise resource planning, supply chain management, knowledge management systems, groupware and collaborative systems, Human Resource Management Systems and customer relationship management. Business Process Reengineering is also known as Business Process Redesign, Business Transformation, or Business Process Change Management.

ROLE OF IT in BPR
Information technology (IT) has historically played an important role in the reengineering concept[citation needed]. It is considered by some as a major enabler for new forms of working and collaborating within an organization and across organizational borders. Early BPR literature [9] identified several so called disruptive technologies that were supposed to challenge traditional wisdom about how work should be performed.

Shared databases, making information available at many places Expert systems, allowing generalists to perform specialist tasks Telecommunication networks, allowing organizations to be centralized and decentralized at the same time

Decision-support tools, allowing decision-making to be a part of everybody's job Wireless data communication and portable computers, allowing field personnel to work office independent Interactive videodisk, to get in immediate contact with potential buyers Automatic identification and tracking, allowing things to tell where they are, instead of requiring to be found High performance computing, allowing on-the-fly planning and revisioning

In the mid 1990s, especially workflow management systems were considered as a significant contributor to improved process efficiency. Also ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) vendors, such as SAP, JD Edwards, Oracle, PeopleSoft, positioned their solutions as vehicles for business process redesign and improvement.

Role of BPR in organisation