Management Information Systems

Islamia University of Bahawalpur

Delivered by:
Tasawar Javed
Lecture 5
 Information System For Competitive
Advantage
◼ Learning objectives
❑ General system model of firm
❑ Environmental Resource Flows
❑ Managing physical resources---SCM
❑ Competitive Advantage
❑ Porter’s Value Chains
The Firm & its Environment

❑ Firm is a physical system that is managed through the

use of a virtual system
❑ Physical system of the firm is an open system in that it
interfaces with its environment
❑ Firm takes resources from its environment, transforms
the resources into products or services and returns the
transformed resources to the environment
 The General Systems Model of the Firm
Standards
Info &
Data

Information
Decisions
Information
Management
processor

Data

Physical Physical
resources resources

Input Transformation
Output resources
Resources process
The General Systems Model of the Firm
◼ Flow of resources from the environment, through
the firm, and back to environment
◼ Flow of virtual resources are at the top
◼ Flow of physical resources are at bottom
◼ It includes:
❑ The physical resource Flow
❑ The virtual resource Flow
❑ The firm’s control Mechanism
❑ The Feedback Loop
The General Systems Model of the Firm

◼ The Physical resource Flow

❑ It includes: personnel, material, machines, and money
❑ Personnel are hired by the firm then…
❑ Transformed to higher skill levels through T&D
❑ Materials enter in the firm as raw input & transformed in to
finished goods
❑ Machines are purchased, used and scrapped
❑ Money enters in firm in the form of sales receipts, investment,
and loans and transformed into payments to suppliers, tax
❑ Physical resources are used to produce to product & services
The General Systems Model of the Firm

◼ The Virtual Flow

❑ Data, information and info in the form of decisions
❑ Two way flow of data and info that connects the firm to
its environment
The General Systems Model of the Firm

◼ The Firm’s control Mechanism

❑ It enables the firm to control its own operation includes
◼ The performance standards the firm must meet
◼ The firm’s management, and
◼ An information processor that transforms data into information
◼ The Feedback Loop
❑ Composed of the virtual resources
❑ Data are gathered from the firm & from the environment and
entered into the into information processor, which transform data
into info
❑ Info goes to management to make decisions to affect necessary
changes in the physical system
❑ Info processor uses standards to determine when the firm is not
performing as planned
The Firm in its environment
◼ As we know environment is very important in the
firm’s success
◼ Firm exist for the purpose of providing products
and services that meet environment needs
◼ Environment varies firm to firm
◼ School is different than sports ground and so on
◼ The environmental elements are organizations &
individuals that exist outside the firm
◼ These elements exist in a larger system called a
society
The Firm in its environment
◼ society
Government
Financial Global
community community

suppliers The Firm customers

Labor union Stake holder Competitors

or
owners
Managing the physical resource Flow - SCM
◼ Manage resources from supplier to firms and then to
customers
◼ It should be timely and efficient
◼ It includes following activities:
❑ Forecasting customer demand
❑ Scheduling production
❑ Establishing transportation networks
❑ Ordering replenishment stock from supplier
❑ Receiving stock from suppliers
❑ Managing inventory- RM, work in process, finished goods
❑ Executing production
❑ Transporting resources to customers
❑ Tracking the flow of resources from supplier, through the firm &
customers
◼ Thank you!!!
◼ Q&A