Basic Concepts

Management Information Systems

Agenda
IT and business IT enabled Organization Data Information and Knowledge Discussion of Carrs Case Development of MIS definition

Why to invest in IT
Operational excellence New products, services and business models Customer and supplier intimacy Improved Decision making Competitive Advantage Survival

Framework for MIS

Organization
Organizations are coalitions of shifting interest groups that develop goals by negotiation; the structure of the coalition, its activities, and its outcomes are strongly influenced by environmental factors. OPEN SYSTEM Input: Men, Materials, Money, Machines, Information Output: Goods and Services Middle: Resources are transformed to create a surplus (PROFIT)

 Every Organization has 3 parts:

 1. people: (workers, supervisors, consultants, engineers, superintendents, etc.)  2. Tasks: the operations (paint, fix, print, compress, etc.)  3. Management: Planning, Organizing, leading, controlling the performance of people engaged in the tasks

Management includes: arranging, conducting discussions and meetings during which decisions are made about how work would be done.

IT enabled companies
Agile Company
 Highly responsive companies  Agility comes by making customers perceive their products and solutions as solution to customers individual problems.  Agility comes by collaboration and cooperation.  Agility comes by expecting and being ready for change  Agility comes by leveraging people and their knowledge

IT enabled companies
Virtual Company
 A virtual company uses the Internet, intranets, and extranets to form virtual workgroups and support alliances with business partners.

Data vs. Information

Data: raw facts Information: collection of facts organized in such a way that they have value beyond the facts themselves Raw data is rarely meaningful or useful as information. To become information, data is manipulated through tabulation, statistical analysis, or any other operation that leads to greater understanding of a situation

Table 1.1

Types of Information
Descriptive information What is.?

Diagnostic information What is wrong .? Goals Predictive information What would happen if.?

Prescriptive information What should be done.?

Attributes of Information

Components of Information Systems

Why Information System

Goals of Information Systems

Support of Strategic Advantage Support of Managerial Decision Making

Support of Business Operations

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Components
Computer hardware platforms: Mainframes, Client machines and server machines. Operating system platforms: Software that manage resources and activities of the computer and act as an interface for the user. Windows operating Systems, UNIX/Linux (servers) Enterprise and other software applications: SAP, Oracle and PeopleSoft

Components (contd..)
Data management and storage: Database management software and storage devices include traditional storage methods, such as disk arrays and tape libraries, Oracle, DB2 etc. Networking and telecommunications platforms: Windows server operating systems, Novell, Linux, and UNIX. Nearly all LAN and many WANs use the TCP/IP standards for networking.

 Internet platforms: The hardware, software and services to maintain corporate Web sites, intranets, and extranets, including Web hosting services and Web software application development tools. Consulting and system integration services are relied on for integrating a firms legacy systems with new technology and infrastructure and providing expertise in implementing new infrastructure along with relevant changes in business processes, training and software integration.

IT Infrastructure ecosystem

The Major Types of Software

Software program: Series of statements or instructions to the computer 1. System software: Generalized programs, manages computers resources 2. Application software: Programs written to perform functions specified by end users

Software Review

Enterprise Software is Application Software

Enterprise software
Set of integrated modules for major business functions Allows data to be used by multiple functions and business processes

Software for Enterprise Integration

Middleware Allows two disparate applications to communicate to exchange data Web server Manages requests for Web pages on the computer where they are stored

Software for Enterprise Integration Enterprise application integration software

Ties together multiple applications to support enterprise integration

Technology Drivers of IT Infrastructure

Moores Law 2x18, $/2-18 Law of Mass Digital Storage 2x/yr Metcalfs Law network power/value increase
exponentially with new users (The number of possible cross-

connections in a network grow as the square of the number of computers in the network increases. )

Declining Communication Costs as costs decline,

users increase

Standards and Network Effects standards reduce

costs, increase productivity

Hardware Trends
Integrating of computing and telecom platforms Blending multiple types of clients to function with the big stuff (PDA, telephones, etc. with network systems Grid Computing Connecting geographically separated computers to form higher level computing Make use of excess capacity

Hardware Trends
Utility computing (on-demand) Switch workload to remote, off-load processing Led by IBM & HP who created centers Autonomic Computing Computers configure, optimize and tune themselves, heal themselves and protect from outside invasion

Hardware Trends
Edge Computing For web-based applications Handles site content, logic and processing at less expensive servers near users. Advantages: Costs lowered Service levels enhanced Flexibility without major changes to system Takes burden off main systems

Hardware Trends
Cloud Computing Cloud computing is a general term for anything that involves delivering hosted services over the Internet. These services are broadly divided into three categories: Infrastructure-as-aService (IaaS), Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS). The name cloud computing was inspired by the cloud symbol that's often used to represent the Internet in flowcharts and diagrams.

Knowledge
Information is processed data, knowledge is information in its applicable form. Knowledge is a process. It is dynamic, personal and distinctly different from data (discrete, unstructured symbols) and information (a medium for explicit communication). Knowledge Management concerns how the organization best can nurture, leverage and motivate people to improve and share their capacity to act.

Knowledge Management System

Making personal knowledge available to others is the central activity of the knowledge creating company. It takes place continuously and at all levels of the organization . Many companies are building knowledge management systems (KMS) to manage organizational learning and business knowhow.

Knowledge Management System

The goal of such systems is to help knowledge workers create, organize, and make available important business knowledge, wherever and whenever its needed in an organization. This information includes processes, procedures, patents, reference works, formulas, best practices, forecasts, and fixes. Knowledge management systems also facilitate organizational learning and knowledge creation.

What is MIS
MIS (management information systems) is a general term for the computer systems in an enterprise that provide information about its business operations. Management Information Systems (MIS) is the study of people, technology, and organizations and the relationships among them. An organized approach to the study of the information needs of an organization's management at every level in making operational, tactical, and strategic decisions.

Objective
Its objective is to design and implement procedures, processes, and routines that provide suitably detailed reports in an accurate, consistent, and timely manner.

Advantages of Management
It Facilitates planning It Minimizes Information Overload It Encourages Decentralization It Brings Co-ordination It makes control easier It assembles, process , stores , Retrieves , evaluates and Disseminates the information