ASSIGNMENT Subject code: MB0047 (3 credits) Set 1 Marks 60 SUBJECT NAME: MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEMS Answer the following

questions. Each Question carries 10 marks 1. Define MIS? What are the objectives and characteristics of MIS ? 2. Explain strategic MIS categories in detail. Give illustrations for each category. 3. Write a detailed note on the planning and development of Management Information Systems. 4. Explain in detail the necessity and importance of Systems Design in MIS. 5. Explain in detail about e-business, e-commerce and e-collaboration. Give suitable examples. 6. What is an internet? Explain the differences between internet, intranet and extranet.

Define MIS? What are the objectives and characteristics of MIS? About MIS: MIS is popularly known as the Management Information System. MIS is considered as one such method of generating information which is used by management of organization for decision Making, control of activities, operations etc. During the period 1940 to 1960 computers were commercially used for census and payroll work. This involved large amount of data and its processing. Since then the commercial application exceeded the scientific applications for which the computer were mainly intended for. MIS is an information System which helps in providing the management of an

organization with information which is used by management for decision making. Objectives of MIS: Managers play a key role in any organization. They are responsible for taking decisions appropriate to the need of the market. Information systems have become the main tool used by managers in decision making. Managers perceive information as the driving force to achieve success in any business. Hence there is a need for MIS as: Support of its business process and operations Support of decision making by its employees and managers Support of its strategies for competitive advantage-Gaining a strategic advantage The major roles of the business applications of a Management Information System may be represented in the pyramid form as shown below:

Characteristics of MIS: MIS is mainly designed to take care of the needs of the managers in the organization. MIS aids in integrating the information generated by various departments of the organization. MIS helps in identifying a proper mechanism of storage of data. MIS also helps in establishing mechanism to eliminate redundancies in data.

MIS as a system can be broken down into sub systems. The role and significance of MIS in business and its classification is explained. It is possible to understand the various phases of development in MIS based on the type of system required in any organization. Q 2: Explain strategic MIS categories in detail. Give relevant examples.Answer: Strategic Information System A Strategic Information System (SIS) is a system to manage information and assist in strategic decision making. A strategic information system has been defined as, "The information system to support or change enterprise's strategy. A SIS is a type of Information System that is aligned with business strategy and structure. The alignment increases the capability to respond faster to environmental changes and thus creates a competitive advantage. An early example was the favorable position afforded American and United Airlines by their reservation systems, Saber and Apollo. For many years these two systems ensured that the two carriers' flights appeared on the first screens observed by travel agents, thus increasing their bookings relative to competitors. A major source of controversy surrounding SIS is their sustainability.SISs are different from other comparable systems as: 1) they change the way the firm competes. 2) they have an external (outward looking) focus. 3) they are associated with higher project risk. 4) they are innovative (and not easily copied). It is mainly concerned with providing and organization and its members an assistance to perform the routine tasks efficiently and effectively. One of the major issue before any organization is the challenge of meeting its goals and objectives. Strategic IS enable such organization in realizing their goals. Strategic Information System (SIS) is a support to the existing system and helps in achieving a competitive advantage over the organizations competitors in terms of its objectives. This unit deals with the critical aspects of the strategic information system. This units indicates the theoretical concepts and the way in which the same are realized in practice. The flow of the unit is in such a way that it starts with the development of contemporary theory about strategic uses of corporations' internal information systems leading to systems whichtranscend the boundaries of particular organizations. The process whereby strategic information systems are created or identified is then examined. A number of weaknesses in the existing body of theory are identified, and suggestions made as to directions in which knowledge is or may be progressing. A strategic information system is concerned with systems which contribute significantly to the achievement of an organization's overall objectives. The body of knowledge is of recent origin and highly dynamic, and the area has an aura of excitement about it. The emergence of the key ideas, the process whereby strategic information systems come into being is assessed, areas of weakness are identified, and

directions of current and future development suggested. Information system is regarded as a tool to provide various services to different management functions. The tools have been developing year by year and the application of the tool has become more and more diverse. In management it is now a very power means to manage and control various activities and decision making process. The original idea of automating mechanical processes got quickly succeeded by the rationalization and integration of systems. In both of these forms, IS was regarded primarily as an operational support tool, and secondarily as a service to management. Subsequent to the development, it was during the last few years that an additional potential was discovered. It was found that, in some cases, information technology (IT) had been critical to the implementation of an organization's strategy. An organizations strategy supported by information system fulfilling its business objectives came to be known as Strategic Information System. The strategic information system consists of functions that involved gathering, maintenance and analysis of data concerning internal resources, and intelligence about competitors, suppliers, customers, government and other relevant organizations. 6. What is an internet? Explain the differences between internet, intranet and extranet.

Internet: An electronic network of computers that includes nearly every university, government, and research facility in the world. Also included are many commercial sites. It started with four interconnected computers in 1969 and was known as ARPAnet.A network of computer networks which operates world-wide using a common set of communications protocols.The vast collection of inter-connected networks across the world that all use the TCP/IP protocols.A global network connecting millions of computers.A worldwide network of computer networks.It is an interconnection of large and small networks around the globe. The Internet began in 1962 as a resilient computer network for the US military and over time has grown into a global communication tool of more than 12,000 computer networks that share a common addressing scheme Difference between internet, intranet and extranet as follow:Extranet : An extranet is a private network that uses the Internet protocols and the public telecommunication system to securely share part of a business's information or operations with suppliers, vendors, partners, customers, or other businesses. An extranet can be viewed as part of a company's intranet that is extended to users outside the company. An extranet requires security and privacy. ...A new buzzword that refers to an intranet that is partially accessible to authorized outsiders. Whereas an intranet resides behind a firewall and is accessible only to people who are members of the same company or organization, an extranet provides various levels of accessibility to outsiders. You can access an extranet only if you have a valid username and password, and your identity determines which parts of the extranet you can view.An extranet is somewhat very similar to an

intranet. Extranets are designed specifically to give external, limited access to certain files of your computer systems to: Certain large or priviledged customers. Selected industry partners. Suppliers and subcontractors... etc.Therefore, a carefully designed extranet can bring additional business to your company. Intranets and extranets all have three things in common: They both use secured Internet access to the outside world. Both can drastically save your company or organization a lot of money. Both need a user ID & password to control access to the whole system.The professional development team at My Web Services has the expertise and the right tools to design the right intranet or extranet that will meet your exact needs, both for today and the future. Intranet: An internal use, private network inside an organisation that uses the same kind of software which would also be found on the Internet.Inter-connected network within one organization that uses Web technologies for the sharing of information internally, not world wide. Such information might include organization policies and procedures, announcements, or information about new products.An intranet is a restricted-access network that works like the Web, but isn't on it. Usually owned and managed by a company, an intranet enables a company to share its resources with its employees without confidential information being made available to everyone with Internet access.A network based on TCP/IP protocols (an internet) belonging to an organization, usually a corporation, accessible only by the organization's members, employees, or others with authorization. An intranet's Web sites look and act just like any other Web sites, but the firewall surrounding an intranet fends off unauthorized access. Like the Internet itself, intranets are used to share information. An intranet is an information portal designed specifically for the internal communications of small, medium or large businesses, enterprises, governments, industries or financial institutions of any size or complexity. Intranets can be custom-designed to fit the exact needs of businesses no matter where they are situated. Users of intranets consists mainly of: Members of the executive team. Accounting and order billing. Managers and directors. Sales people and support staff. Customer service, help desk, etc..

ASSIGNMENT Subject code: MB0047 (3 credits) Set 2 Marks 60 SUBJECT NAME: MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEMS Answer the following questions: 1. What are limitations of MIS? What are the factors which lead to the success and failure of MIS in an organization? (10) 2. What is Business Process Re-engineering. Explain in detail the focus of BPR on the current issues in Business. (10) 3. Explain the various role of a Systems Analyst. What is meant by Feasibility of systems ? What are the various types of Feasibility study? (10) 4. Explain the significance of DSS. What are the components of DSS and explain DSS model?(10) 5. Read the following case and answer the question (20) You have 10 messages on voice mail, six faxes in your in-basket, three people standing outside of your office waiting either for you to get off of the phone or finish speaking with the guy sitting in your office (whichever comes first). Your computer just beeped to inform you, again, that an e-mail message has just been added to your stockpile of unread messages gathering electronic dust. You make a mental note to change the notification sound to an evil laugh. Your reading pile is teetering, threatening to put out of misery the plant you haven't watered in three weeks. You wonder who the strange people are in the picture on your desk. ... Oh yeah, it's your spouse and kids.

Your boss strides into your office, throws a letter under your nose, and says, "Read this. We just got a project that requires us to `collaborate over the Internet'-whatever that means-and since you're the computer guru around here, you have to get a handle on it and teach us all what to do by next Thursday." As he leaves, you make a few ecomments about what he can e-do with his e-letter. Welcome to e-hell. Most

professionals know by now that eventually they will have to deal with e-business. It's too early to tell if e-collaboration will resolve the communications overload engineers are facing today or just clutter the available bandwidth even more. Look around you. Did PCs lead to a paperless office? Waiting for the e-collaboration to stabilize or shake out, however, might be counterproductive. You might find yourself in a situation like the one described above where you'll have to "e-collaborate" in a pinch. If this happens, here are a few survival tips: read about e-collaboration to get a general impression of what it is and how it works and then visit some Websites where some of the more popular products exist and try them out. Visit the HPAC Engineering Interactive Website at

www.hpac.com and, under Heavy Duty Content, choose the Information Technology (IT) Tips area. Read the columns on extranets that were published by Dr. Joel Orr in April and May 2000 and the August column by Digital Media Editor Lynne Brakeman on collaboration software exhibited during the A/E/C Systems show earlier this year. These three columns introduce you to collaboration software and point you to some products that are tailored to our industry. I'd also recommend visiting Orr's Website (www.extranets.cc) for a comprehensive list of sites. Some of these sites allow you to download "demo" versions. Trying out the software demo will help you decide which method is right for you and possibly your whole company. Call some of the vendors and ask if they provide training either online or at a nearby facility. Depending on the stock market, some might be desperate enough to come to your office. If your firm is being required to e-collaborate, as the story goes above, try and find the people who are leading the e-collaboration effort and ask them what method they're using. If they have not made a decision on which product to use, you may be able to sway them toward a decision that benefits you and your company. If you need to teach others in your company how to use e-collaboration tools or make a corporate-wide procurement/standardization decision, I recommend that you do further research and get others in your company involved. To learn more about introducing new information technologies gradually into a company, read the IT Tips column "Strategic Planning for Information Technology" in the December 1996 issue. This e-business is a tough nut to crack. It represents a pivotal time in our industry. The best way to deal with it is proactively. [Source: Proquest by Ivanovich, Michael G.. Heating/Piping/Air Conditioning Engineering: HPAC. Cleveland: Sep 2000. Vol. 72, Iss. 9; pg. 9, 1 pgs, Copyright Penton Media, Inc. Sep 2000] Question: Which particular concept of MIS is being dealt here in this particular case? List out all the issues related to MIS mentioned in the above case. List out all the advantages and disadvantages what you feel is appropriate in this case.