MANAGEMENT

INFORMATION SYSTEM
&
ENTERPRISE
RESOURCE PLANNING
MBA II SEMESTER
JNTUH

S. VENKATA SIVA
KUMAR

INTRODUCTION TO MIS:
A

Management

Information

System

(MIS)

is

systematic

organization and presentation of information that is generally

required by the management of an organization for taking better
decisions for the organization. The MIS data may be derived from
various units of the organization or from other sources. However it is
very difficult to say the exact structure of MIS as the structure and
goals of different types of organizations are different. Hence both the
data and structure of MIS is dependent on the type of organization
and

often

customized

to

the

specific

requirement

of

the

management.
The meaning of MIS is well represented by the three it consists.
Management the information system is built for management and
not for the operational staff. Information System - an information
system that takes care of sourcing, organizing and managing the

Management Information Systems Concept:

The concept of the MIS has evolved over a period of time
comprising many different facets of the organizational functions.MIS
is necessity of all the organizations. The initial concept of MIS was to
process data from the organization and presents it in the form of
reports as regular intervals. The system was largely capable of
handling the data from collection to processing. It was more
impersonal, requiring each individual to pick and choose the
processed data and use it for his requirements.
This concept was further modified when a distinction was made
between data and information.The information is a product of an
analysis of data.This concept is similar to a raw material and the
finished product.What is needed is information and not a mass of
data.

To

the

managers,

Management

Information

System

is

an

implementation of the organizational systems and procedures. To a

programmer it is nothing but file structures and file processing.
However, it involves much more complexity.
The three components of MIS provide a more complete and
focused definition, whereSystemsuggests integration and holistic
view,Informationstands for processed data, andManagementis the
ultimate user, the decision makers.
Management information system can thus be analyzed as
follows:
Management: Management covers the planning, control, and
administration of the operations of a concern. The top management
handles

planning;

the

middle

management

concentrates

on

controlling; and the lower management is concerned with actual

Information: Information, in MIS, means the processed data that

helps the management in planning, controlling and operations. Data
means all the facts arising out of the operations of the concern. Data
is processed i.e. recorded, summarized, compared and finally
presented to the management in the form of MIS report.
System: Data is processed into information with the help of a
system. A system is made up of inputs, processing, output and
feedback or control.

Definition:
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 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:
Management information being a specialized information system
conforms to certain characteristics. These characteristics are generic
in nature. These characteristics remain more or less the same even
when the technology around such management information system
changes:
1) System approach
2) Management oriented
3) Need based
a. Exception based
b. Future oriented
c. Integrated
d. Common data flows
Following are the characteristics of an MIS:
) It should be based on a 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 need of strategic, operational and tactical

Nature and Scope of MIS:

MIS is neither a pure science nor an art; it is recognized as a
combination of both. It has been much analyzed on the issue whether
MIS is management oriented or computer oriented. Applications in
MIS are found in computers and because of this MIs may be described
as Computer-Based MIS (CBMIS). The concept of MIS is
interdisciplinary in nature, i.e. it has borrowed its concepts from a
large number of disciplines like accounting, computers, organizations,
management, operations research and behavioural sciences, etc.
Because of its interdisciplinary nature, MIS is neither termed as a
pure science nor an art; rather it is considered as a combination of
both. An information system is a logical system, which is concerned
with how something is being accomplished and thus may be
differentiated from a physical system, which is the process itself and
is concerned with the content or what is going on. MIs, in fact,
encompasses both physical and information systems.
There has been a lot of debate on the issue whether MIs is more
management-oriented pr computer-oriented. Though there are
advocates of both the sides, MIS should be considered more of a
Management subject than of computers because of the simple logic

Nature and Scope of MIS:

The following diagram shows the nature and scope of MIS:

STRUCTURE OF MIS:
MIS structure may be described by following a variety of different
approaches, such as:
A. Physical Components
B. Information system processing functions
C. Decision support
D. Levels of management activities, and
E. Organizational functions

A. Structure of MIS based on Physical Components:

) Hardware: Hardware refers to the physical data processing equipment
and peripheral devices, for example: CPU, Monitor, Keyboard, Printer,
Drives, Tapes, Communication devices etc.
) Software: Software is a broad term given to the instructions or programs
that direct the operating of the hardware. Software could be of two types,
i.e., system software and application software.
) Database: The database consists of all data utilized by application
software. Data is stored in files.
) Procedure: Formal operating procedures, which are required to operate a
system, such as manuals, are also regarded as physical elements.
) Operating Personnel: Personnel like Computer Operators, Computer
Programmers, System Analysts, System Managers etc., are the operating
people of the information systems.
) Input and Output: Various physical inputs and outputs from the

B. Information System Processing Functions:

Information system structure can also be understood in terms of its
processing functions. The functions of an MIS explain what the system does.
The main processing functions of information systems are described below.
To Process Transactions: Information systems process transactions, where
transaction may be defined as an activity taking place in an organization. For
example, making a purchase or a sale or manufacturing a product. It may be
within the organization or may be external in nature.
To Maintain Master Files: Information systems create and maintain master
files in an organisation. A master file stores relatively permanent or historical
data about organizational entities. For example, data processing to prepare
an employees salary requires data items for the employees basic pay,
allowances, deductions etc.
To Produce Reports: Reports are significant products of an information
system. Many reports are produced on a regular basis, which are called
scheduled reports. An information system also produces reports on ad hoc
requests. These are known as special or ad hoc reports.
To Process Enquiries: An information system is used to process enquiries.
For processing such queries, the information system uses its database. These
may be regular enquiries with a pre-defined format or ad hoc enquiries.
To Process Interactive Support Applications: The information system,
contain applications designed to support systems for planning, analysis and
decision making. Various types of models are used for processing such
applications. The mode of operation, as the name suggests, in interactive, in

C. Decision Support:
Structure of MIS can also be described on the basis of its support in decisionmaking in an organization. Decisions vary with respect to the structure that
can be provided for making them. A highly structured decision can be preplanned, whereas a highly unstructured decision cannot. A structured
decision, because of its will-defined nature can be said to be programmable.
However, it should not be taken to necessarily mean that the decision is
automated, although many programmable decisions are automated. An
unstructured decision is said to be non-programmable. The structured
programmable decision tends to be routine and frequently repeated; the
unstructured decision tends to occur with less frequency and tends to be
irregular.

D. Levels of Management Activities:

Management information systems support various management activities in
an organization. This implies that the structure of an information system can
be categorized in terms of levels of management activities. Anthony, on the
basis of activities, has classified the management hierarchy into three levels.
These are:
Strategic Planning Level: Strategic planning deals with long range
considerations. The decisions include the choice of business directions,
market strategy, product mix, etc.
Management Control Level: Management control level includes acquisition
and organization of resources, structuring of work, and acquisition and

E. Organizational Functions:
The structure of management information system can also be described
in terms of organizational functions. Though there is no standard
classification of functions, a typical set of functions in a manufacturing
organization includes production, sales and marketing, finance and
accounting, materials personnel and information systems. Each of these
functions, as already discussed, has unique information needs and each
requires information system support designed specifically for it.
Moreover, a management information system is essentially an integration
of the organization systems that are designed to support the functional subsystems of the organization. Each sub-system requires applications to
perform all information processing related to the function, within each
functional sub-system, there will be applications for transaction processing,
operational control, management control and strategic planning.