MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEMS

MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM

FUNDAMENTALS OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS

 SYSTEM – A GROUP OF INTER-RELATED / INTER-ACTIVE ELEMENTS FORMING A UNITED

WHOLE

 AN INFORMATION SYSTEM IS A SYSTEM THAT ACCEPTS ‘DATA RESOURCES AS INPUT AND

PROCESSES THEM INTO ‘INFORMATION PRODUCTS’ AS OUTPUT

 ADDING TWO MORE COMPONENTS ‘FEEDBACK’ AND ‘CONTROL’ MAKES IT MORE USEFUL

 NOW INFORMATION SYSTEM IS ALSO CALLED ‘CYBERNETIC’, ‘SELF MONITORING’ OR ‘SELF

REGULATING SYSTEM’

FEEDBACK – IS THE DATA ABOUT THE SYSTEM PERFORMANCE

CONTROL – IS A MAJOR SYSTEM THAT MONITORS & EVALUATES FEEDBACK TO DETERMINE

WHETHER SYSTEM IS MOVING TOWARDS ITS GOAL ACHIEVEMENT. IT THEN
MAKES NECESSARY ADJUSTMENTS TO INPUT & PROCESSING COMPONENTS TO
PRODUCE REQUIRED OUTPUT.

ENVIRONMENT

FEEDBACK FEEDBACK
SIGNALS SIGNALS
CONTROL
CONTROL CONTROL
SIGNALS SIGNALS

INPUT PROCESS OUTPUT

SYSTEM BOUNDARY
OTHER SYSTEMS

GENERIC CONCEPT OF A SYSTEM INCORPORATING FEEDBACK & CONTROL

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feedback
Hardware resources :
systems, networks, Software resources :
media, machine, system & application
workstations, Control of software, programs
telecommunications, system & procedures
perform--
ance

INPUT PROCESSING OUTPUT

RAW DATA OF INFO
DATA INTO
PRODUCTS
SOURCES INFO

(data entry) (reports,

display)

STORAGE OF DATA, MODEL

& KNOWLEDGE RESOURCES
( eg fields, records, files, database)
Human resources : end users & specialists (system snalysts, programmer, operator )

suppliers Financial institutions

The community MGT

Customers

Feedback
IS
competitiors

Economic Organisational Goods&

Govt agencies

resources: processes: services:

People Production Products
Money Marketing Services
Material Finance Payment
machine Personnel Information
land others Contribution
energy Other effects
information

Input Process Output

Stock holders Labor unions

Business as a system

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THE SYSTEMS APPROACH for Problem Solving Process

The Scientific Method

 Used by scientists to analyze all types of phenomena

 Attributed to from Aristotle (300 BC) to Sir Francis Bacon (17th AD) to John Devey (1905
AD), the educational reformer.
Steps of scientific method –
1. Recognize phenomena in real world
2. Formulate a hypothesis about causes & effects of phenomena
3. Test the hypothesis through experimentation
4. Evaluate the results of experiments
5. Draw conclusion about hypothesis
Eg Medical researchers may recognise that drug ‘A’ causes dizziness
 Hypothesis formulate – Medication ‘A’ causes dizziness
 Design an experiment to test drug on animals and humans under controlled conditions
 Evaluate data gathered during experiment &
 Draw conclusions whether hypothesis was correct

Systems Approach

 A modification of scientific method

 It stresses a systematic process of problem solving
 Problems & opportunities are viewed in systems context
 Problem study and solution formulation becomes system of inter-related activities

1. Define a problem or opportunity in systems context

2. Gather data describing problems & opportunities
3. Identify alternative solutions
4. Evaluate each solution
5. Select best solution
6. Implement selected solution
7. Evaluate success of selected solution

STEP I  Understand The Problem

 Separate a problem or opportunity from its symptoms
 Identify systems in Organisation & Environment & their interrelationships
 Determine components, objectives & constraints of systems

STEP II  Gather Data

 Interviews, Questionnaires, personal observations, document analysis
 Modeling to gather data relating to a problem or opportunity

STEP III  Design Solutions

 Propose a variety of alternative solutions based on experience, advice, intuition, creativity,
simulation etc

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STEP IV  Evaluate The Solutions

 Evaluate alternative solutions using criteria that reveals their advantages & disadvantages

STEP V  Select The Best Solution

 Select the alternative solution that best meets the evaluation criteria

STEP VI  Implement The Solution

 Implement the selected solution according to implementation plan

STEP VII  Evaluate the Implemented Solution

 Monitor & Evaluate how well the implemented solution is meeting its systems objectives

Systems Context – Process to find systems, subsystems & its components to ensure
consideration of their interrelationships

Constraints – Restrictions on form & content of a Solution – of broadly two types

External – Law, Industry etc Internal – Paucity of Resources etc

Evaluation Criteria – Start up Costs, Operating Costs, Ease of Use & Reliability

Cost/Benefit Analysis – Tangible / Intangible  Cost /Benefits

Tangible Costs – Cost of Hardware, Software, Salaries + Quantifiable Costs

Intangible Costs – Loss of Customer Goodwill, Employee Morale

Tangible Benefits – Increase in Sales, Profit, Decrease in Operating Cost, Investment

Intangible Benefits – Improved Service, Image, Competition Position, Morale

Implementation Plan – A Project Management effort to specify activities, resources & timing

needed for proper implementation eg

 Types of Sources of H/W& S/W

 Construction of Physical Facilities

 Hiring & Training of Personnel

 Start Up & Operating Procedure

 Implementation Time Tables

Characteristics of Systems Approach

Organised – Combine various facets of problems

Creative – Must focus on goals first & method second

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Must be creative because

 Problems are complex & no unique solution is possible

 Data available is incomplete, uncertain & ambiguous

 Alternative solutions should be available for contingencies

Theoretical – Provide theoretical frame as is based on a scientific approach

Empirical – Only relevant data must be used

Pragmatic – System must be feasible, producible & operable

Need for Systems Approach

Increased Complexity of Business

 Growing size of Business

 Environmental Constraints – Legal, Unions
 Technological Revolution - Updation
 Research & Development – Technological Changes
 Product Change - - Short Life Span of Product
 Information Explosion – Manager as a Information Processor

Increased Complexity of Business

 Information Feedback Systems
 Automated Programmed Decision Making
 Management Science – Simulation of Real Systems to Forecast
 Electronic Computer – Tool for Making Computations & Processing Data

Characteristics of MIS

Management Oriented  Wholestic Approach  ( Top  Down )

Information need at particular level & not only Top Level
Management Directed  Concerned Managers must be involved in System Design & Operations
Integrated  Place of Subsystems is to be properly realised
Vertical & Horizontal Communications are must
Common Data Flow – To Cater a variety of problems
Future Planning Element  Future Business needs must be Foreseen
Centralised Database
Computerised
Exception Oriented
SubSystem Concept Based
Predictive

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Characteristics of Information

 Accuracy – Processed Facts only

 Consistency – Regular Flow & Co-Relation possible
 Adequacy – Available at several places
 Updated – Armed with latest changes
 Timeliness – Available well before decision making

MIS organisation within the Company Structure

I. If MIS is to assist managerial decision making at all levels of company then low level
information systems must be integrated to make MIS for Top Level

II. The design, Redesign, Modification & maintenance of company’s total MIS must be
handled by a Top Management figure

III. Most common Place for MIS is under Head of Finance as in most organisations,
Finance/Accounting gains control over computer centre

IV. Hence Information Systems were conceived of as Control Decision Aids rather than
Planning Decision Aids

V. Best & most desirable practice is to have MIS function report to Head of Department and
the worst practice can be to report to Head of computer centre

Organisation Theory & Systems Approach

 “Management” has existed since people first realised need of a Cooperative society to
accomplish their goals

 Institutes attempts to accomplish their purposes by structuring their organisations so that

problems may be solved quickly & efficiently

 This requires a class of workers – Managers, to perform this structuring function

 Additionally, managers must influence organisation people to work co-operatively to achieve

organisation objectives

 As organisations are growing, so the need of having formalised systems

 Hence MIS must be designed on basis of management tasks, management principles,

individual manager’s behavior & organisation structure

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Development of Organisational Theory

Organisational theory & Management Theory difference –

 Organisational theory is concerned with structure of interpersonal relations & organisation

as mechanism for promoting human collaborations and Management theory sees
organisation largely as a vehicle for achieving an output on an objective

 Prevalent models of organisational theory are Decision making, Bureaucracy, Social Systems
& Systems Models

 Decision making model views organisation members as ‘Decision Makers & Problem Solvers’
& concludes that ‘Administrative’ processes are ‘Decisional Processes’
 Bureaucracy Model views hierarchy in organisations & is still a valuable approach despite
anti bureaucratic interpretations such as Parkinson’s Law & Peter Principle

 Parkinson’s Law by C N Parkinson

“Work Expands to Fill the Time Available” &
“An Official want to Multiply Subordinates, not Rivals”

 Peter Principle by Lawrence Peter & Raymond Hull (‘Why things always go wrong’)
“In a Hierarchy Every Employee Rise to His/Her Level of Incompetence”

 Social Systems Model derived from Sociology states that Organisations are Social Systems

 Two additional theories – Behavioral and Decision have influenced development of Modern
Organisation & Management Theories

Classical Process Theory

 Popular in 1930s & developed by Gulick, Urwick & Mooney

 Basic premise is that organising is a Logical & Rational Process

 Given the objectives, work to be done is Determined, Grouped into Logical Units & Define
Positions within these units in terms of Structure of Accountability

 Classical Process Theory assumed that workers are Rational & Logical & would perform as
Expected and the Work will be completed if everyone follows the Organisation Structure, it
is still valuable & widely used

 It views activities of a Group on an Objective & Impersonal Basis without regard to Personal
Problems

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Basic characteristics of Classical Process Theory are –

Clear Line of Duty – Every individual should be related thru a chain of command to Top Manager
(Scalar Chain)

Specialisation of Labor – Breaking work into smaller tasks that are easily learned, leads to
greater productivity, the company then can be departmentalised on
basis of same tasks
Unity of Command – No person should report to more than one Manager or Supervisor

Span of Control – Employees reporting to a manager should be limited by nature of tasks

Clear Separation of Line & Staff – Staff members or managers are to act as Advisors to Line
Managers & not to Influence other organisation members
directly

Behavioral Theory

 Shortcomings of Classical process Theory were uncovered by the Hawthrone Experiments of

1927 & 1932

 It was discovered that Employee Attitudes could be more important to productivity than
Technical & Physical Environment

 It opened a flood of research on Organisational Behavior, Leadership & Motivation

Decision Theory

 Decision is considered as the most important task of managers

 Decision making & process leading up to it is what most executive do as managers

 The Systems Approach to Management uses the Decision as its Central Focus

Systems Theory of Organisation & Management

 Task is to Construct a Conceptual Model to understand how to Manage Transformation of

Resource Flows thru the Organisation by means of a Systems Approach

 As this will utilise basic functions of Management & Techniques of other approaches are
foundation, they have to be Integrated

 In actual practice the functions of Management are Inter-woven & Inter-related, the
performance of one does not end before the next starts, not the functions are carried out in
sequence

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 A manager may perform control while Planning & Directing, but other times some functions
must be performed before others can be started eg Directing requires Duty Assignment First

 But none of the functions can be performed in Vacuum

 Decision Theory & Planning is involved in Organising, Controlling is performed in Staffing

and MIS in all functions & disciplines

 Each function & technique affect the others & all are intimately inter-related in a system to
form the major components of management

Hence a conceptual model can be designed as –

“A System That Integrates The Parts : Resource Flows, Functions Of Management, Organisation
Theory And The Various Techniques Including MIS”

Organization &
Management

Techniques of Behavioral Sci Tech

Quantitative Tech
Management Decision
Techniques Experience
Rules

Functions of Management

planning organizing directing staffing control

RESOURCE FLOWS

Manpower Money Materials Machines & Facilities

Inferences –
Management Information System

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 Management functions serves as basic platform to construct the system

 Functions explain what managers do, how they manage resources to achieve goals
 For this they depend on Behavioral Science of Organisation Theory & Techniques
 While performing manager call upon these techniques in System Approach to Mgt
 One or more techniques might be useful while planning a solution
 Final component of system is envelope called MIS that collects, analyses, stores & displays
data to Management Decision Makers at all levels for Management of Resource Flow of
Materials, Personnel, Money, Facilities & Machines
Management & Organisational Behavior

A motivated & supportive work force is required for productivity

Innovation, Technology, Human Resources

Motivation Managerial Leadership

Productivity
Govt regulations Unions

Organisational Behavior

Major Factors Affecting Productivity

Motivation – Five categories from highest priority to acquired ones

1. Physiological needs – Air, Food, Rest, Support etc

2. Social – Safety, Stability & Security
3. Social – Affiliation to a Group, Belongingness
4. Egoistic – Self Esteem & Esteem of Others (Social Recognition)
5. Egoistic – Self Actualisation – Fulfillment of Person’s Potential & Interest

Positive Motivators

1. Removing control over employee but holding accountable for results

2. Give a complete, natural module of work not just tasks
3. Granting the worker additional authority & job freedom
4. Making periodic reports available to employee so that he/she may initiate corrective actions
instead of directed ones
5. Introduce new & more difficult assignments so the employee can learn & grow
Expectancy Model of Motivation

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 Effort – How hard & how Persistently an Individual works

 Performance – Behavior that directly promotes organisation goals eg “ Doing of a work
related task by an employee”
 Expectancy – Likelihood that a potential outcome will occur
 Outcomes / Job Satisfaction – Salary, Environment, Rewards
 Valence – Strength of an Individual’s desire for a particular outcome

Operant Conditioning Model ( To Control Workers’ Behavior)

Basic types of conditioning sequences –

1. Specify objectives & desired standard of performance

2. Provide intermediate feedback to worker on performance
3. Provide positive reinforcement when performance meets standard by praise, incentive etc &
provide encouragement when standard is not met but worker has tried hard

Informal groups within organisation

 Total organisation - consists of all groups or subsystem in entire organisation

 Large groups – form over some internal politics eg Mktg vs Sales
 Primary Cliques – When workers are located together for work purposes or emp have similar
jobs & common interests eg workers in maintenance crew, executives dining together in
mess
Procedures for effecting changes without Resistance

Three positive steps based upon Organisational Behavior Knowledge –

1. Create a climate for change
- by getting managers & workers to feel dissatisfied with present system
- suggestions for revising the present system with a new one
- may include some views of participants in new system

2. Develop effective agents of change

- look out for informal & technical leaders in organisation to whom emp look for protection
/security eg Supervisors, Union Leaders, Technical Manager / Operator
- they might work with system designers to develop portions of new system
- in turn, they develop support of other works for changes

3. Modify the “required Organisational System”

- to fit the technical side of the new system
- rearrangement of organisation into one that is not technically ideal but may be made to
achieve working relationships that are far more productive
- must be as per the Anticipated Emergent Organisation Behavioral Dictates

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Nature of Resistance to MIS

 Contrary to belief, people do not always resist change

 For a manager change has two facets – Technological & Social
 Social change is the one which people mostly resist
 A new introduced system produces new behavioral patterns unlikely to match theoretically
required patterns
 However, these behavioral patterns translate system input into system outputs, hence they
are important
 Therefore, Required organisation patterns must be modified to build upon positive potential
Common Specific Reasons Result in Resistance to MIS

4. Threat to Status – Supervisor downgraded below a Technician

5. Threat to Ego – A key skilled clerical job performed by an unskilled computer operator

6. Economic Threat – Supervisor fears loss of job

7. Job Complexity – Knowledge of Computer Language required etc

8. Isolation – A top manager deprived of ‘Personal’ information, and is now dependent on

computer output

9. New Supervisor & Subordinate relationship balance

10. Job Ambiguity & Loss of Control – Production Planning & Control performed by MIS except
for special conditions that occur randomly

11. Time Rigidity – Total System Requires “Programmed” coordinated action similar to a Mass-
Production assembly line eg Cars

12. Interpersonal Relationships Changed – Former informal groups broken due to shifting

Management & Computer Systems

Prerequisites for a modern, effective computer-based MIS –

1. A Management System – Organisation arrangements, structure etc

2. Data & Information must exist about Plans, Goals etc
3. Appropriate Equipment to process these data which will
(a) Provide the capability for economic, rapid access to large scale storage
of retrievable data
(b) Process these data economically & at high speed
(c) Enter information into system and retrieve & display it

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Basic components & operations of a data processing system –

 Input data
 Instructions & procedures
 Records & files
 Data processing
 Output report

Components of a computer based information system -

1. Input
2. Processor –Arithmetical, Control & Logic
3. Storage – Internal (Memory & Working space) & External (Records & files)
4. Procedure & program for processor
5. Output

Components of a computer system -

Input units – keyboard, mouse, scanner, light pen, human hand touch etc
Central processor unit – ALU, Control, Memory
Output Units – printer, screen, paper output etc
External storage – memory (tape, floppy, CD)
Data communications – networking architecture
Procedure & program – instruction for CPU

Conversion of Manual to Computer Based Systems

Steps involved in conversion are preparation of -

1. System description
2. Input documents
3. Output documents
4. File design
5. Program logic
6. Computer program
7. System verification
8. Documentation

System Description

 Prepared after preliminary investigation & definition of problems

 Consists of major inputs, outputs, processing operations & files
 Purpose is to show logical flow of information & logical operations required to carry out
chosen design objectives
 Could be narrative and / or pictorial ie flowcharting

Input documents

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 To specify how information / data will fed into computer

 Volume of information, frequency, accuracy, verification are major considerations of input
format

Output documents

 Same considerations are required as were for input documents

 More care is required as they represent objectives or purpose of system / operation
 Management is concerned with this document only hence very critical
 Includes system flowcharts, layouts for input transactions, output report formats etc

File design
Character by character contents of every record
Flow of data is dependent on design of data files

Program Logic
 Depicted by means of pictorial representations
 Most common method is flowchart
 Program flowchart is programme’s logic of detailed, step-by-step representation of how
computer program will accomplish the job

System verification
 After program is compiled, its machine readable form (binary) is placed in memory
 It now process files, inputs & prints the reports
 Test cases are run & errors detected
 Once errors are rectified, actual data of client is put & process begins

Documentation
 More systems fail for lack of documentation than any other reason
 Three types of documentation are needed –
1. for those providing input, a simple overview of system, a clear description of exactly
what input is needed & which input is unacceptable
2. for those running & maintaining system, all the technical documents generated during
development
3. for those using the report / output, system overviews, a clear description of outputs &
its limitations
Data bank
 Data bank or central database, is constructed to store & retrieve information used in common
by various subsystems of company eg sales, finance, production
 A high speed, random access, mass storage device is used to store large data volumes
 All relevant company information is stored on one readily accessible file without duplication
in it
 As only one set of record is there, accuracy is easy to maintain

Types of Computer Based Applications

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Batch Processing
 Most frequently used MIS application
 Uses the cyclical process of input information in ‘batches’
 Time taken to process data & generate information is called ‘Turnaround Time’
 Payrolls, Customer Billing, General Ledger, Accounts, Inventory etc are applications

Real Time / On-Line Applications

 Direct & instant access to data with on-line updation
 Dialogue between user & computer is facilitated
 Remote terminal access with data transmission thru telephone lines or other means
 Air Reservation, Inventory Status Order, Work Progress Control etc are applications
 Data is maintained on-line and is updated as the event occurs

Decision Applications
 Frequently used in making & executing low level routine decisions
 For high level decisions, applications require much interaction with decision makers
 This interface is called ‘Computer Assisted Decision Making’
 SAGE ( Semi Automatic Ground Environment) Defence System (Air)
 Difficulty is in defining rules for decisions in business
 Computer Assisted Corporate Model enables management to -
 Reduce the time required to react to change
 Evaluate alternative courses of actions available
 Make long range plans by taking deeper looks into future & passing ‘What-If’ questions
to Model

Database Management

 Data represented inside computer in form of bits ( 0s & 1s)

 Data structure is in form of Fields – Records – Files – Database
 Centrally controlled, integrated collection of logically organised data is database
 Eg Telephone Directory, Railway Time Table, Dictionary

Components of a DBMS
1. One who ‘owns’ and is ‘responsible’ for database
2. Rules & relationships that defines & governs interaction among database elements
3. People who put data into database
4. People who get data from database
5. Database itself

Electronic database vis-à-vis Manual Database

 Records are stored on magnetic disk as against file cabinet
 Records are electrical charges as against paper
 Records are added, deleted, modified on display screen as against on paper
 A database automated by computer is an electronic one

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 DBMS – A generalised software to create & manage electronic databases

Objectives of a DBMS
 Mass storage of relevant data
 Easy access to data for user
 Prompt response to user requests for data
 Immediate availability of latest modification to database
 Eliminate redundant / duplicate data
 Allow multiple users to be active at one time
 Allow growth in database system
 Protect data from physical harm & unauthorised access

Basic Information Systems

Financial IS
 These systems involve large amount of data concerned with internal & historical information
about finances
 In some areas of financial planning, they provide futuristics look associated with planning
eg budgeting is wholly futuristic
 Supports financial managers in financing of a business by allocation & control of financial
resources eg cash and security management, capital control budgeting, financial forecasting
and financial planning
 Financial control data systems provides different supervisory information on financial status,
status change information to management, investors, auditors & govt agencies

Major problems –
- Determine standards of control
- Determine when action is required & what action
- Obtaining up-to-date information rapidly on variances

Solution – Automation speeds up reporting eg in Billing / preparation of invoices

Production / Operations Systems

 Concerned about physical flow of goods or production of goods or services
 Covers Production Planning & Control, Inventory Control & Management, Purchasing,
Distribution & Transportation
 Timing of information is important hence Automation necessary

Eg Scheduling of Purchasing, Materials Planning & Operations

Purchasing → Order economic order quantity, Monitor buyer performance, Late delivery
Materials Planning → Plan & Control Parts, Forecast Future Material needs / changes
Operations → Identify Work Load, Evaluate Alternatives

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Marketing Information System

 Most overlooked but important information system

 Marketing executives rely on intuition rather than analysis for decision
 Primarily maintains information about sales, orders, shipments only
 What is required is a system that gives information about pricing, advertisement, product
promotion policy, sales force effort to make better decisions
 Feedback from market is a major factor
 Hence major features required from Marketing Info System is to assist in product planning,
pricing decisions, advertising, sales promotion strategies, forecasting etc

 Specific subsystems of a Marketing Information System are –

a) Sales Management System – To report sales, categorized by product line, sales

region, marketing force, promotional classification
b) Forecasting System - Marketing Information System use market research
information on present sales to determine sales trends
c) Product Management System – It gathers and analyze data as most important items
of organisation based on the notion that 80% of profit comes from 20% of items eg
Maruti car model 800 among company’s entire fleet
i. Information is used to access growth potential of these products
ii. Identify service problems
iii. Forecast future sales
iv. Determine promotional expenditure
v. Target future market
d) Advertising and Promotion System – Advertisement in print, tv, radio, sponsoring
events, dealer incentives, exhibition of products. The system assists in maintenance
of cost budgets
e) Customer Support System – Documents sales & installation activities, tracking
follow-up calls, scheduling training sessions, remind sales executives to revisit
important customers
*Eg Inventory Management with Marketing Information System

 Too little inventory means lost sales & costly rush orders
 Too much inventory means carrying costs, interest costs, warehousing costs & chances of
obsolescence

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Personnel Information System

Deals with flow of information about people working in organisation plus future personnel needs
Five basic functions / subsystems of personnel are –
1. Recruitment
2. Placement
3. Training
4. Compensation
5. Maintenance
 A Human Resource Management System is required to achieve all the requirements.

 Personnel Administrative Data System (PADS) provides data to carry out the administrative
responsibility of an employee eg

A. Personnel status reporting system – Work required by management

B. Personnel action system – Hiring, Transfer, Job Change
C. Fringe Benefits Administration System – Insurance claims, Accident reporting

Programmable Decisions

 Can be prespecified and handled by lower level personnel with specialized knowledge for
structured & repetitive or routine problems
 Many high structured decisions can be fully automated eg Inventory Reorder, Granting Credit
 PDs are important as the ultimate goal of an IS is to provide programmable decisions
 As it is not possible, as IS provide human decision maker the optimum information, who then
makes a non-programmable decision eg leave sanction for an employee

Non- Programmable Decisions

 Sometimes, the decisions may be too infrequent to justify the cost to prepare a programmed
decision procedure or the decision process is not well understood or is changeable during the
decision making process
 Decisions are non-programmed to the extent that they are unstructured, new, of high
consequence, complex or involves major commitments
 Eg Advertising Budgets, New Product Decisions, Acquisition & Merger decisions, Board Member
selection
 All Strategic decisions are usually non-programmed as they require subjective judgements

 Most decisions are a combination of both Programmed & Non-Programmed

 Most Non-Programmed decisions are made by upper level management as they have to deal
with unstructured problems
 Problems of lower level of management are often routine & well structured, requiring less
decision by human
Example

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Programmable Decisions – Methods in MIS

Non-Programmable Decisions – Systematic Approach to problem solving
& decision making

Decision Support, Expert / AI & End-User / Office Automation Systems

 A system that provides tools to managers to assists them in solving Semistructured &
Unstructured problems in their own and personalised way

 A DSS is not intended to make decisions for managers, but to provide a set of capabilities
that enables to generate the information needed to make decisions

 DSS supports the human decision making process, rather than providing a mean to replace
it

 Systems that replace human decision making rather than supporting it are “ Programmed
Decision Systems (PDS) ”

 PDSs are used to make routine, structured decisions eg Loan approval or credit, Rendering
Inventory, Reminder Notices

 PDS – Focus is on doing something more efficiently

 DSS – Focus is on helping decision makers to be more effective

 DSS, does not need to involve high technology eg For a writer, a selected group of journals
at library and method for using them may serve as part of a DSS

Properties

Semi & Unstructured Decision-Making Support  Data should be tapped deeply

Flexibility in Specifying Output Requirement  Immediate response to spontaneous, on-

Line & Unsystematic queries

Ease of Use & Development for Non-Professionals  GUI, 4GL, Interactive

Components

Hardware  Micro-Computers on either stand-alone or networked with large systems

Software  DSS Generators  DataBase, DataModel & Dialog Management

Data Management  Create, Maintain & Query DSS databases

Model Management  Create & Apply Quantitative & Mathematical Techniques to

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Manipulate DSS data eg Calculator, Functions & Analysis Tools

Dialog Management  To Provide Easy to Operate Interfaces for Input / Output

DSS Development Tools

Data Base Management Systems  for Creation & Management of Data

Electronic Spreadsheets  for “What-If” Analysis

Modeling Packages  for Complex Qualitative Algorithms eg Financial Simulations,

Sales Forecasting Models
Some DSSs

IBM  To Determine Routes for Repairmen

American Airline  Pricing Decisions & Choosing Air Routes
United Bank  Evaluation of Investments

Executive Information System / Executive Support System – A DSS designed to meet specific
needs of Top-Level managers plus additional feature eg E-mail

Expert Systems / Artificial Intelligence

 In 50s AI came into processors and was also used in games like Chess & Checkers

 At Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), an expert system “Eliza” was developed

which used to “Listen” to woes of “Human Patients” & “Diagnose” their mental ills.

 Expert systems are software that imitate “Reasoning Processes” of human experts & provide
decision makers type of “Information/Advice” they normally receive from humans

 Eg in an ES in area of Portfolio Management may ask a user a number of specific questions

related to investments for a particular client

Areas of AI

Expert Systems  Software that imitate the “Reasoning Processes” of human experts

Natural languages  Communication with User in His/Her Language

Vision Systems  Pattern Recognition eg Eye, Hand, Image

Robotics  Computer Controlled Devices that Mimic the Motor Activity of human brain

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Neural Networks  Knowledge Based Computer Systems that Emulate human brain’s
Pattern Recognition Process and are Designed to Learn by Observation &
Repetition

End User Systems / Office Automation Systems

 Evolution of Office Automation  in 1964 with Word Processing

 Office Work Software  for Decision Making, data Manipulation, Document

Handling, Communications, Storage

Major Components of An Office Information / Automation System

Document Mgt System Message Handling System Teleconferencing Office Support

Word Processing E-Mail Audio Conferencing GroupWare

Desk Top Publishing Voice Mail Video Conferencing Presentation
Graphics
Storage Fax Telecommunication Bulletin Board
System
MIS Security

 Offices depend on paper systems and now it’s automated

 New machines allows faster information access anywhere in the world
 Old department functional barriers are broken down and now remotely accessible

Security is required for

 Hardware – may be stolen or damage
 Information system – misused to steal confidential information or carry out crime

All security systems are required to perform

 Avoid or prevent natural losses

 Deter an many people based threat as possible
 Promote quick recovery after loss
 Identify the cause of loss
 Correct the known vulnerabilities to reduce risk

Three concerns particular to computers

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 Maintain the availability of information system itself

 Maintain the integrity of data which is stored & processed
 Maintain the confidentiality of data before, during & after

Rules to follow during System Analysis & Design

 Keep flexibility to minimum

 Take account of human weakness
 System should be small
 Think about the problem early
 Give decision maker what they need
 Avoid over simplification of problem
 Procedure good documentation
Data Security

Data are vulnerable to following factors & activities –

 Indiscriminate searching
 Leakage to unauthorised individuals
 Interference which breaches confidentiality
 The case with which it may be corrupted or destroyed

Data Security is achieved by four basic controls –

 Access – includes both data and software thru a terminal
 Flow – regulates the movement of data from one file to another
 Inference – disallows extraction of confidential information
 Cryptographic – conversion of ordinary log into code (encryption)

Logical Access - Public Data, Private Data

Elements of Access Control

Fixed Terminal Identifier – link between terminal’s logical identifier & its physical location
User Identifier & User Authorisation
Passwords – OS passwords to access resources, login

File Access – Read, Write, Modify, Purge, Lock, Append

Encryption
 Hardware encryption systems work quickly, effectively & easy to install but expensive,
usually installed in form of a black box with each terminal

 Software encryption are potentially more cost-effective in large systems and can be adjusted
to peculiarities in organisation’s OS or data but they tend to slow operating speed at End
User’s terminal

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