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Management information system
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Management Information Systems (MIS) is a general name for the academic discipline covering the application of people, technologies, and procedures — collectively called information systems — to solve business problems. MIS are distinct from regular information systems in that they are used to analyze other information systems applied in operational activities in the organisation.[1] 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.[1]
Background
In the beginning, business computers were used for the practical business of computing the payroll and keeping track of accounts payable and receivable. As applications were developed that provided managers with information about sales, inventories, and other data that would help in managing the enterprise, the term "MIS" arose to describe these kinds of applications. Today, the term is used broadly in a number of contexts and includes (but is not limited to): decision support systems, resource and people management applications, project management, and database retrieval applications.
The term MIS is also used to refer to the people who manage these systems. Typically, in a large corporation, "MIS" or the "MIS department" refers to a central or centrally-coordinated system of computer expertise and management, often including mainframe systems but also including by extension the corporation's entire network of computer resources.
[edit] Intended benefits
Investing in management information systems dedicated to management can pay off for a company in many ways[citation needed].
Core competency support.
Enhanced distribution channel management.
Increased brand equity.
Boost production processes. Information systems allow a company flexibility in its output level.
Leverage learning curve advantages.
Impact mass customization production processes.
Leverage IT investment in computer aided design.
Expand E-commerce.
Leverage stability.
Improve B2B commerce.
[edit] Relation to other sciences
This field is directly linked to management by objectives (MBO) and to the monitoring of key performance indicators (KPI). It can also help in gathering and processing specific information for decision making (for example analyzing customer behavior). In business, information systems support not only business processes and operations, but also decision-making and competitive strategies, which are the fields of management information system. As an area of study, MIS is sometimes referred to, in a restrictive sense, as information technology management. The study of information systems is usually a business administration discipline. It concentrates on the integration of computer systems with the aims of the organization. The area of study should not be confused with computer science which is more theoretical in nature and deals mainly with software creation. IT service management is a practitioner-focused discipline centering on the same general domain. And MIS has some differences with Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP). One of the better descriptions of this discipline came from Alan Lee, "...research in the information systems field examines more than just the technological system, or just the social system, or even the two side by side; in addition, it investigates the phenomena that emerge when the two interact
The management information systems (MIS) program is designed for those students who wish to prepare themselves for professional careers in information processing or information systems in business and government. The program develops technical skills and administrative insights required for the design, development, implementation, maintenance and management of organizational information systems.
Background Information
Management information systems emphasizes the collection, organization, analysis and dissemination of information for the planning and control of business or organizational operations. The program prepares graduates to build information systems for the present and the future. The student learns how to handle the complex problems of building a bridge between the computer science professional, who has a technical orientation, and the managerial individual, who has a functional perspective.
Another objective of the program is to provide students with both theoretical knowledge and hands-on experience. The program requires a practicum. Practical experience enables graduates to become productive in any setting much more quickly. Further, hands-on experience provides excellent motivation and concrete models for advanced course work. Graduates of the program find employment in a wide variety of settings.
Information management is the collection and management of information from one or more sources and distribution to one or more audiences who have a stake in that information or a right to that information. Management here means the organization of and control over the structure, processing and delivery of information.
Through the 1970s this was largely limited to files, file maintenance, and life cycle management of paper and a small number of other media. With the proliferation of information technology starting in the 1970s, the job of information management took on a new light. No longer was information management a simple job that could be performed by almost anyone. An understanding of the technology and the theory behind it became necessary, as information was ever more stored via electronic means. By the late 1990s when information was regularly disseminated across computers and other electronic devices, information managers found themselves tasked with increasingly complex devices. With the latest tools available, information management has become a powerful resource for organizations
Context
Information Management (IM) is characterized by the phrase of 'Getting the right information to the right person at the right place at the right time'. It does not, however, address the question of what constitutes the 'right information'. This omission can be addressed through the philosophy of Informational management (IaM). IaM is characterized by the phrase, 'Knowing what information to gather, knowing what to do with information when you get it, knowing what information to pass on, and knowing how to value the result' {adapted from G.Russell Swanborough}. This identifies the 'right information' and the resulting whole solution is worth more than the sum of its parts.
[edit] Information Management concepts
Following the behavioral science theory of management, mainly developed at Carnegie Mellon University and prominently represented by Barnard, Richard M. Cyert, March and Simon, most of what goes on in organizations is actually decision making and information processes. The crucial factor in the information and decision process analysis is thus individuals’ limited ability to process information and to take decisions under these limitations.
According to March and Simon [1], organizations have to be considered as cooperative systems with a high level of information processing and a vast need for decision making at various levels. They also claimed that there are factors that would prevent individuals from acting strictly rational, in opposite to what has been proposed and advocated by classic theorists. Instead, they proposed that any decision would be sub-optimum due to the bounded rationality of the decision-maker.
Instead of using the model of the economic man, as advocated in classic theory, they proposed the administrative man as an alternative based on their argumentation about the cognitive limits of rationality.
While the theories developed at Carnegie Mellon clearly filled some theoretical gaps in the discipline, March and Simon [1] did not propose a certain organizational form that they considered especially feasible for coping with cognitive limitations and bounded rationality of decision-makers. Through their own argumentation against normative decision-making models, i.e. models that prescribe people how they ought to choose, they also abandoned the idea of an ideal organizational form.
In addition to the factors mentioned by March and Simon, there are two other considerable aspects, stemming from environmental and organizational dynamics. Firstly, it is not possible to access, collect and evaluate all environmental information being relevant for taking a certain decision at a reasonable price, i.e.time and effort [2]. In other words, following a national economic framework, the transaction cost associated with the informating process is too high. Secondly, established organizational rules and procedures can prevent the taking of the most appropriate decision, i.e. that a sub-optimum solution is chosen in accordance to organizational rank structure or institutional rules, guidelines and procedures [3] [4], an issue that also has been brought forward as a major critique against the principles of bureaucratic organizations.
According to the Carnegie Mellon School and its followers, information management, i.e. the organization's ability to process information, is at the core of organizational and managerial competencies. Consequently, strategies for organization design must be aiming at improved information processing capability. Jay Galbraith [5] has identified five main organization design strategies within two categories - increased information processing capacity and reduced need for information processing.
Reduction of information processing needs
Environmental management
Creation of slack resources
Creation of self-contained tasks
Increasing the organizational information processing capacity
Creation of lateral relations
Vertical information systems
Environmental management. Instead of adapting to changing environmental circumstances, the organization can aim at modifying its environment. Vertical and horizontal collaboration, i.e. cooperation or integration with other organizations in the industry value system are typical means for reducing uncertainty. An example for reducing uncertainty in the relation with the prior or demanding stage of the industry system is the concept of Supplier-Retailer collaboration or Efficient Customer Response.
Creation of slack resources. In order to reduce exceptions, performance levels can be reduced, thus decreasing the information load on the hierarchy. These additional slack resources, required to reduce information processing in the hierarchy, are representing an additional cost to the organization and the choice of this method is clearly depending on the alternative costs of other strategies.
Creation of self-contained tasks. Achieving a conceptual closure of tasks is another way of reducing information processing. In this case, the task-performing unit has all the resources required to perform the task. This approach is concerned with task (de-)composition and interaction between different organizational units, i.e. organizational and information interfaces.
Creation of lateral relations. In this case, lateral decision processes are established that cut across functional organizational units. The aim is to apply a system of decision subsidiarity, i.e. to move decision power to the process, instead of moving information from the process into the hierarchy for decision-making.
Investment in vertical information systems. Instead of processing information through the existing hierarchical channels, the organization can establish vertical information systems. In this case, the information flow for a specific task (or set of tasks) is routed in accordance to the applied business logic, rather than the hierarchical organization.
Following the lateral relations concept, it also becomes possible to employ an organizational form that is different from the simple hierarchical information. The Matrix organization is aiming at bringing together the functional and product departmental bases and achieving a balance in information processing and decision making between the vertical (hierarchical) and the horizontal (product or project) structure. The creation of a matrix organization can also be considered as management's response to a persistent or permanent demand for adaptation to environmental dynamics, instead of the response to episodic demands.
[edit] Information Management Degree Programs
A growing number of universities (e.g. Syracuse University, US; Tilburg University, the Netherlands; University of Koblenz, Germany, UNiversity of California at Berkeley, and University of Washington at Seattle, to name a few examples) offer academic degree programs in Information Management. The curricula often include not only Information Technology and Systems, but also cover Human-Computer Interaction, Organizational Behaviour, General Management, and Economics. Columbia University in New York City offers a Master of Science in Information and Archive Management, with core courses that include knowledge management, legal and policy issues, government systems, and records and archives management.
According to U.S.News & World Report, which yearly publishes a list of top academic programs,Syracuse University, University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, and the University of Washington at Seattle are the top three information systems programs in the US
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