A STUDY ON THE EFFECTIVENESS OF MANAGEMENT

INFORMATION SYSTEM IN THE PHARMACEUTICAL

SECTOR
Dissertation submitted to

In partial fulfilment of the requirement for the award of

MASTER DEGREE IN COMMERCE

Submitted by
LEKSHMI PRAKASH
(Reg No: 210011025874)

Under the Supervision and Guidance of

Mr. ANDREWS THOMAS

POST GRADUATE AND RESEARCH DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

BISHOP ABRAHAM MEMORIAL COLLEGE, THURUTHICAD
2021-2023
 DECLARATION

I, LEKSHMI PRAKASH hereby declare that the dissertation titled ‘A STUDY ON THE
EFFECTIVENESS OF MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM IN THE
PHARMACEUTICAL SECTOR’, is the record of a bona fide research work carried out by
me under the supervision and guidance of Mr. ANDREWS THOMAS, Post Graduate and
Research Department of Commerce, Bishop Abraham Memorial College, Thuruthicad. I
further declare that this dissertation has not previously formed the basis for the award of any
other degree, diploma, fellowship or any other similar title of recognition.

Thuruthicad
31-05-2023 LEKSHMI PRAKASH
 POST GRADUATE AND RESEARCH DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
BISHOP ABRAHAM MEMORIAL COLLEGE, THURUTHICAD
(AFFILIATED TO MAHATMA GANDHI UNIVERSITY)

CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that the M. Com Fourth Semester Project entitled ‘A STUDY ON THE
EFFECTIVENESS OF MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM IN THE
PHARMACEUTICAL SECTOR’ submitted in partial fulfilment for the award of the Degree
of Master of Commerce, Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam, contains the result of bona
fide research work conducted by Ms. LEKSHMI PRAKASH (Reg No 210011025874) under
the guidance of Mr. ANDREWS THOMAS during the academic year 2021-2023. No part of
the work embodied in this Project has been submitted earlier for the award of any Degree or
Diploma.

Dr. EBBY JOSEPH IDICULA ANDREWS THOMAS

(HOD) (Supervising Teacher)

Forwarded:
Dr. NEETHU GEORGE
(Principal)

THURUTHICAD
31-05-2023
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I take this opportunity to thank God Almighty for giving me all blessings to carry out this
dissertation successfully.

I wish to record my sincere and deepest gratitude to my beloved teacher and supervising
teacher Andrews Thomas, Post Graduate and Research Department of Commerce, BAM
College, Thuruthicad, for his dedicated supervision and guidance, unfailing support, valuable
suggestions and timely encouragement throughout the study.

I express my gratitude to Dr. Ebby Joseph Idicula, Head of the Department and Research
Guide, Mahatma Gandhi University, and all faculty members of the Department of
Commerce, Bishop Abraham Memorial College, Thuruthicad.

I also extend my sincere thanks to Dr. Neethu George, Principal, Bishop Abraham Memorial
College, Thuruthicad.

I am deeply indebted to my parents and all my friends for their help and encouragement in
the completion of this work.

LEKSHMI PRAKASH

Thuruthicad

31.05.2023
 List of Contents

Chapter Title Page No.

List of Tables
List of Figures
1 Introduction
2 Review of Literature
3 Theoretical Framework
4 Data Analysis and Interpretation
5 Summary of Findings, Suggestions &
Conclusions
Bibliography
Appendix
 List of Tables

Table Page
Title
No. No.

4.1 Gender of the Respondents 40

4.2 Age wise classification of the respondents

4.3 Educational Qualification of the respondents

4.4 Occupation wise classification of respondents 41

4.5 Level of awareness about MIS

4.6 Computers to manage MIS 42

4.7 Training on Management Information System (MIS) 43

Technical knowledge available for the functioning of
4.8 44
Management Information System

4.9 Installation cost on Management Information System 45

Effectiveness and efficiency of Management Information
4.10 46
System in the Pharmaceutical Sector
Satisfaction level of existing Management Information System
4.10 47
in the organization

4.11 Major advantage of existing Management Information System 38

Purpose for the usage of information recorded by the
4.12 49
organization

4.13 Usefulness of information recorded by the organizations. 50

The effectiveness of utilization of information recorded in

4.14 51
the organization
Time period for the presentation of reports available from
4.15 52
different pharmacies or dealers of the organization
The usage of technological gadgets in the Management
4.16 53
Information System Software

4.17 Interpretation of data recorded by the organization 54

4.18 Decision-making purpose 55
Successful factors that lead the organization to the
4.19 56
implementation of Management Information System.
Barriers in the Implementation of Management Information
4.20 57
System

4.21 Improvement required for Management Information System 58

4.22 Satisfaction level for using Management Information System 59
 List of Figures

Figure No. Title Page No.

4.1 Gender of the Respondents 40

4.2 Age wise classification of the respondents 41

4.3 Educational Qualification of the respondents 42

4.4 Occupation wise classification of respondents 43

4.5 Level of awareness about MIS 44

4.6 Computers to manage MIS 45

4.7 Training on Management Information System (MIS) 46

Technical knowledge available for the functioning of
4.8 47
Management Information System

4.9 Installation cost on Management Information System 38

Effectiveness and efficiency of Management Information
4.10 49
System in the Pharmaceutical Sector
Satisfaction level of existing Management Information
4.10 50
System in the organization
Major advantage of existing Management Information
4.11 51
System
Purpose for the usage of information recorded by the
4.12 52
organization

4.13 Usefulness of information recorded by the organizations. 53

The effectiveness of utilization of information

4.14 54
recorded in the organization
Time period for the presentation of reports available
4.15 55
from different pharmacies or dealers of the organization
The usage of technological gadgets in the Management
4.16 56
Information System Software
4.17 57
Interpretation of data recorded by the organization
4.18 Decision-making purpose 58
Successful factors that lead the organization to the
4.19 59
implementation of Management Information System.
Barriers in the Implementation of Management
4.20
Information System
Improvement required for Management Information
4.21
System
Satisfaction level for using Management Information
4.22
System
 CHAPTER – 1
INTRODUCTION
Introduction

India is now one among the top five emerging pharmaceutical markets globally. The Indian
pharmaceutical sector is highly knowledge based and information based which is growing
steadily. In the management of contemporary organization, decision making is one of the
most important managerial functions. To this end, appropriate, correct and accurate
information is required to be delivered in a timely manner for proper managerial
consideration. In the present era many of the pharmaceutical organizations are facing severe
problems for record keeping for the collection of data for decision making purposes. In order
to accomplish this, an efficient and effective Management Information System (MIS)
becomes a vital part for the organization.

In the management of contemporary organizations, decision – making is one of the most

important managerial functions. To this end, appropriate, correct and accurate information is
required to be delivered in a timely manner for proper managerial consideration. In order to
accomplish this, an efficient and effective Management Information System (MIS) becomes a
vital part of the organization. In addition to facilitating decision making, organizations adopt
a sophisticated and comprehensive Management Information System to provide managers
with a broad range of information to achieve multiple performances. In contrast, the
management practice including information system management also affects the
Management Information System organization so that any inefficiency or ineffectiveness
issues within management then causes the Management Information System of that
organization to be inefficient or ineffective.

The pharmaceutical industry is one of the fastest growing sectors of the economy and is well
– known as the knowledge intensive industry. The adoption of Management Information
System (MIS) in healthcare, including pharmaceuticals, is not less important than in any
other organization. The development of an appropriate, integrated and scalable information
system in the pharmaceutical sector of developing countries has not been easy to achieve and
is likely to remain elusive in the case of continued fragmented funding of health programmes
and the record keeping.

The effectiveness of the organization is dependent on the quality of decisions that informs its
operations. If the decisions are right, it translates into positive organizational outcomes. As
the organizations will be able to execute the available information properly which will
determine the success and failure of the organization in its workings in the future.
To conduct this research, further to confirm the necessity of the effectiveness and efficiency
of Management Information System to ensure the technologically appropriate, efficient,
affordable, environmentally - adaptable and consumer friendly system for the benefits of the
pharmaceutical sector.

1.1 Significance of the Study

The outcome of this study can create the much-needed awareness of using Management
Information System to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the pharmaceutical sector.
On completion of this study, the pharmaceutical sector is expected to take advantage of the
suggestions and recommendations that will be made so as to fully embrace the utilization of
management information systems for proper management of the pharmaceuticals in terms of
planning, decision making and for other functional areas.

Efficiency and effectiveness are the terms associated with any sector. The success of any
pharmacy or pharmaceutical dealers lies in having its operations computerized. The
pharmaceutical sector should computerize its operations in other functional areas to gather
information, sort, analyze, evaluate and distribute needed, timely and accurate information to
management decision makers. Therefore, the pharmacy and the dealers join the success
experienced by the fast-growing pharmaceutical sector with the help of Management
Information Systems.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

Any firm in the pharmaceutical industry requires efficient and effective MIS to support
managerial functions. With regards to the imperious demand of society for pharmaceutical
products and the optimum use of existing information available to the firms operating in the
pharmaceutical industry results in the emergence of the numerous consequences in the
management information system which invokes the innumerable and urgent attention of
managers, pharmacists, dealers and researchers for solving the problems and improving the
conditions of the pharmaceutical sector. MIS is a general term to encompass the various
technologies that exist in organizations today, as well as the personnel necessary to manage it
all. Lack of timely access of the information, lack of trained personnel, necessary and
sufficient information for the decision-making purpose, planning and controlling are the
major challenges faced by the pharmaceutical sector or firms are facing nowadays. The aim
of the study is to find out the effectiveness of Management Information System in the
pharmaceutical sector and how it helps the management in improving its workings and
finding the solutions for the challenges faced by the Pharmaceutical Sectors.

1.3 Scope of the Study

This study focuses on help in increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of the employees on
Management Information System in the organizations. The study aims to analysis the benefits
of Management Information System to the organization. Moreover, it helps to know how the
effectiveness of Management Information System (MIS) support the managerial functions by
the utilization of available information and in decision making process. The proposed
research work is related to MIS operation in pharmaceutical sector. As the title of the study
signifies, analytical scope covers the fulfilment of the objectives, which are cited above, for
the study.
1.4 Objectives of the Study
1. To study the effectiveness of Management Information System in Pharmaceutical
Sector.
2. To evaluate whether Management Information System helps the management in its
functional areas and decision-making process.
3. To determine the availability and utilization of information system in the
Pharmaceutical Sector.

1.5 Hypothesis of the Study

Following hypothesis were formulated for “The Study on the Effectiveness of Management
Information System in the Pharmaceutical Sector”. There are two attributes in this study
namely, the technical knowledge about Management Information System and the
effectiveness of utilization of information collected.
Ho: - There is no significant difference between the technical knowledge about
Management Information System and the effectiveness of utilization of information
collected.
H1: - There is significant difference between the technical knowledge about
Management Information System and the effectiveness of utilization of
information collected.
1.6 Period of the Study
The project has been conducted for 4 months from December 2022 to March 2023 with
Special reference to Pathanamthitta District.

1.7 Research Methodology

The aim of the research is to understand the effectiveness of the Management Information
System in the pharmaceutical sector and how it helps the management in improving its
workings. The study is based on primary data and secondary data. The methodology of the
study consists of the following:

1.8 Sample Design

A Sample size of 100 respondents was selected using convenience sampling.

1.9 Sources of Data

1) Primary Data

Data which are originally collected by the investigators for a specific purpose from
the field survey. The data is collected through:
● Questionnaires
This is one of the most popular or main method used in collecting quantitative data while in
depth interviews, focus group discussions and direct observations were used in obtaining the
qualitative data. Key informant interviews with pharmacists, pharmaceutical dealers and
technical staff respectively were conducted in order to obtain information such as
effectiveness and efficiency of Management Information System (MIS) in pharmaceutical
sector, utilization of information recorded and the usage of information recorded by the
management.
2) Secondary Data

In order to improve the quality of the discussions, provide explanations as well as to

supplement the primary data, secondary data was sourced from both published and
unpublished sources including articles, books, journals, encyclopedias, official reports,
annual reports and the internet. The main source of secondary data will be the records of
information maintained by the pharmaceuticals.

1.10 Tools for Analysis

Analysis of data has been done with the help of mathematical and statistical tools like
percentage, chart, graph and chi – square. The data is analyzed with the help of computer
by employing computer software package called SPSS (Statistical Package for Social
Sciences).

1.11 Operational Definitions

Management Information System (MIS)

A Management Information System is an information system used for decision making and
for the coordination, control, analysis and visualization of information in an organization.
The study of the management information systems tests the people, processes and technology
in an organizational context. In corporate setting the ultimate goal of the use of a
management information system is to increase the value and profits of the business. The
Management Information System (MIS) can be used in every level of management which
will be helpful in decision making process also.

Pharmaceutical Management Information System (PMIS)

The Pharmaceutical Management Information System integrates pharmaceutical data

collection and the processing and presentation of information that helps staff at all levels of a
country’s health system to make evidence-based decisions to manage pharmaceutical
services. An effective PMIS can synthesize the large volume of data generated by
pharmaceutical management operations. It then processes the data into information for use in
planning activities, estimating demand, allocating resources, monitoring and evaluation of
information. The PMIS will help the management to empower system users through
procedures and training to perform appropriate data analysis, to understand key trends within
their own units and use the available information for decision making. The main goal is to
create a sustainable, country owned information system that mesh with the overall health
management information system.
1. Integrated System

It requires a network where all computers are connected and sharing data from the
central system that stores the data and information.

2. Data

The unprocessed collection and representation of raw facts and figures for communication
and interpretation.
Information Management
Information Management is a process to understand the value of the information collected
and its effective usage.

1.12 Limitations of the Study

i. Some of the respondents were hesitate to corporate.

ii. Actual Perception of respondents may differ.
iii. Study was time bound.
iv. Most of the workers of the organizations were busy in their scheduled work.

1.13 Chapterization

To achieve the above-mentioned objectives the study is presented in five chapters.

The Chapter 1 contains introduction which brings out the significance of the study and states
its statement of the problem, objectives, scope and hypothesis formulated. It also includes
methodology and limitations of the study

Chapter Two contains previous reviews, history of the problems. A Quick look on subjective
well – being will also be carried out in this chapter.

Chapter 3 covers the theoretical framework about Management Information System (MIS).

Chapter 4 examines the collection of data which needs to be analysed and the recorded data
needs to be interpreted with the tables and figures.

Summary of Findings, Suggestions and Conclusions for further research will be presented in
this Chapter 5.
 CHAPTER – 2

REVIEW OF LITERATURE
2.1. Introduction

The information needs of modern organization have become quite enormous and challenging
to the extent that every organization needs to pay great attention to how information is
gathered, stored, disseminated and utilized. This situation has arisen because of factors such
as increased organizational size, expanded operational scope, competitive influence and
overall environmental vagaries. Today’s organizations require tools to support quicker and
automated decisions, as well as ways to minimize uncertainty; only an effective and efficient
Management Information System can overcome these types of challenges.

1) According to the Study of Adesina, conducted in the year of 1988, explained about
strategic decision to create the base for long term goal with available information with
organization. Management Information System (MIS) is planned to provide information
which needed to the management for further preparation of reports, to calculate and formulate
actions for the business transaction, this planning consists of estimated forecasting,
summarized presentation and evaluation of provided information. Management Information
System (MIS) is combination of require corporate database which involves fiscal and non -
fiscal transaction of various department of the organization. Strategy always helps to plan and
adopt challenges of competition and stay firm with decision making process with its
flexibility and dynamic processes. Weather here manager of organization or farmer of
agriculture to take the reactive or proactive process as per their capacity. Different model use
as per the functions of organizational activities and specified model and process designed to
represent sequential decision making process.

2) According to the study conducted by Adomavicius, Gediminas and Alexander

Tuzhilin in the year of 2005, Classified process-oriented perspective in personalization
technologies mainly based on recommender systems which formulate the problem and use
extensively on mentioned category Content based recommendations, Collaborative
recommendations and hybrid recommendations which improve system capabilities and
integrate the contextual information in recommendation system. And make more flexible
selection and filter-based system to consumers. Preferences allow user to move further on
relative order of recommendations categories. These extensively focused on rating-based
recommenders’ approach of system. Rating estimation is the method of moving forward for
decision making process.

3) According to Agarwal Ritu, Jayesh Prasad, Mohan Tanniru and John Lynch [2000],
explained evolutionary interactive Rapid Application Development (RAD) technology.
Information System constantly improves the technologies with Object Oriented
Development, Client-server computing for supporting aspect to many software developments
processes. RAD tools are the backbone of total life cycle of software development process
which needed to improve the functionality of database. RAD specifies the changes to process
of software evolution in information system. It is dynamic and iterative tools to improve the
capabilities of quality of information system. This is different from traditional waterfall way
of development change. RAD developers are an innovator in their idea implementation to
maintain the and strongly leads the powerful force to software development in its use to final
commercial user to satisfy the management expectations.

4) According to Agwu C, Adeola, R. O. Etefia, C.F. Ogwn, J.N. [2010], Study examined
Information system impact in organizational decision making mentioned that, Management
Information System (MIS) is systematic process of database to supply information to
managers in organization to complete the task effectively and efficiently. Information
available in right time with correct and complete material form will give right push for
creating new records of the database. Accurate decision will be based on information about
functional department and Management Information System has originated approach to give
it for further analysis to managers and with proper form of intelligence executive obtained
successful decision for the business process. Information system is an integral part of
commercial organization to support in strategic decision making and in prospect of
organizational planning and organizational goal.

5) The Study of Al-Nakib Noofal Ahmed, Mohsen Mohammed, Wang Hu [2005], The
study explained that MIS is important to the corporate world and its validity depends on the
structural level of authentic information and process to function its contribution between
stakeholder timely and completely with accurate and effective output. Management
Information System has potential to provide all relevant department wise information which
has impact on that staff decision and their action on decision for the organization. Superior
quality of information system leads high degree of strategic action in global market.
Specifically, the problem analysis mainly depends on the available quality of content in
information system. And study focus is to analyze the dependency of management
information system in decision making process.

6) Armugam, Joshva Devadas. [2010], Examined Object oriented intelligent Multi-

Agent System (MAS) data cleaning where management information system is valuable
methods that provide additional functions of evaluation and information on right time to
decision maker for further plan of action for mangers in organization. Nature of the business,
types, criteria and structure will affect the setup of Management Information System and
based on Information System which is a system management obtained decision to drive the
business for specific objective. Such framework evaluates decision tree further evaluate the
intellectual concept of database management system. Text based cleaning system is the
combination of Multi Agent System Framework with MAS Learning which reduce the
redundancy in maintenance and criticality of software agent. Going through this system it not
only cleans the data but also knowledge discovery in organizational research area.

7) Attewell, Paul and James R. [1984], Explained the impact of Computing in

organizational work and control over the direct and indirect social factors. Intellectual
computerized support to entire connected system for commercial transaction which in
connected within organization process to control over what we know and even what we don’t
know about technical or intellectual configuration which system can take it as per their
configuration part to deal with situation which work specifically toward organizational goal
and other four area to reviewed such as human- computer interface, information production,
computerized work and organization and artificial intelligence. Organization has to consider
the employee welfare, customer satisfaction, Ergonomics, Organizational intellectual process
which reviewed intellectual property and ideology of organization which support to achieve
the strategic advantage.

8) Awad, E.M. [1984], identified issues in Data Processing. In every organization there
are end numbers of transactional issues in day-to-day task and decision maker has decided
solution in change in environment. Information System Management has extensive
importance of Management Information System database. In other way situation some time
there may be concern of few conflicts or arguments and disagreements between employees
and managers about specific process, product or activity that also can manage with the
recorded information system database where manager can conclude the solution on
managerial issue between employee and managers of organization. Information system is the
important concern to reach at any level of decision as right decision only comes from the
right kind of information system available in the organization.

9) Bee. R, Bee. F. [1999], explained about managing information and statistics that any
organization updated information system is important tools to stand and update in market and
improve business operation activity and withdraw at certain point of decision which will
improve the productivity and further sales of organization. Management Information System
is a collaborative system which formed structure to managerial task. Management has
separated functional task and each one need information system at three levels of decision.
Finally, information systems improve the level of knowledge and processing system within
organization to take proactive decision on various situations.

10) Brynjolfsson Erik [2003], Examined the I.T productive GAP. Information Technology
promising source of result-oriented step toward organization growth. And its overall
performance of complementary integration of structuring in entire business process which
identify the need of organization and run the practices with the support of human resources
database to involve the right resources at the right place and achieved desired decisive result
for the organization. Information technologies always help in business practices and
accordingly develop the strategy with implementation to improve the employee performance
and optimize the use of resources to increase the productivity. Companies adopted new
cluster of information system and technological use to achieve benefit of being digital
organization.

11) Brynjolfsson Erik [1993], Examined the productivity paradox of information

technology. These both elements have direct relationship between IT and productivity.
Improvement in productivity can possible through the optimum use of information
technology in proper way and Productivity paradox will be drastically high and if use of
information technology misused or unused optimally by user then it also impacts on
productivity paradox. It has direct relationship with Information Technology use for
productivity. This study encourages several researchers and organization to understand and
utilize the maximum use of information system. New application improves the speed of
communication amongst the stakeholder. And this communication has developed the process
of application system utilize for maximum growth of organization.

12) Brynjolfsson, Erik and Lorin M. Hitt [2000], Explained about Computation and
organizational transformation, Business performance information system fundamental base is
computer system which keep database store and all user connected with each other.
Transformation of organization possible through technology adoption and its calculative
strategic use. To monitor large organization information system widely process through the
activity of data to day transaction of managers and monitor and control over the systematic
performance evaluation. Measuring intangible component through system will possible
through dashboard and analyze the report-based system on each point of work. Role of each
activity involves in the process of productive performance of the business process
transformation which has impact of information technology. Networking system itself is the
world of information technology which supports information system and each host to
communicate with each other to process for organization work.

13) Davenport, Thomas H. [2000], Examined Enterprise systems, fundamental study of

enterprise system is to manage business operations to transform business under centralized
system which enable onsite communication with the support of unified communication
system and combine function of business enterprises which improve the proactive participant
in global market to grant success for further activity of organization. All activities in
processing of strategic steps toward growing business function with improved performance of
employee of organization. Information system is group of databases of various process
elements involve in management level of communication for decision making activity.
Components of all groups altogether form database of functional activity to faced
consequences of affected area of transmission and gain productive access to control entire
database of information system. And such enterprise analysis helps to take decision through
the automated enterprise system which integrated with all other functional department and
evaluate and monitor the information processing system to use in maximum possible ways to
improve the scalability measurement of the performance and productivity paradox.

14) Dennis, Alan R, Craig K. Tyran, Douglas R. Vogel, and Jay Nunamaker, Jr. [1997]
Defined Group Support Systems for Strategic planning. People working together in a group
can use decision support system to help them in the process of arriving at a decision. Group
Decision Support System (GDSS) has hardware, software and people as element. Hardware
elements include computer system, network connection, seating arrangement and the
conference room with video and voice modular system and other electronic hardware.
Include tools for organizing ideas, gathering information, ranking and sitting priorities and
documenting meeting sessions. People components include participants, a trained facilitator
and staff to support the hardware and software. GDSS helps decision makers meeting
together to arrive at a decision more effectively and is especially useful for increasing the
productivity of meaning of more than four or five people. The effectiveness of GDSS is
contingent on the group, the task appropriate tool selection and meeting support and the
organizational context of the meeting.

15) Eindor Philip and Eli Segev. [1978], Explained Organizational context and the
success of management information systems. Select appropriate strategies for managing
project risk and system implementation. Designing an information system if the structural
process which expert planned together by studying the need and nature of organization and
kind of communication system within organization. The term implementation refers to the
entire process of organizational change surrounding the introduction of a new information
system. Especially important is the connectivity between professional participants in the
implementation process, remarkably the interactions between system designers and users.
Linking user support and manage an appropriate level of user involvement at all the level of
system developing are important Strategic plan for Management Information System (MIS).

16) Fayyad, Usama, Ramasamy Ramakrishnan and Ramakrishnan Srikant [2002],

explained Evolving Data Mining into Solutions for Insights. All these systems communicate
with each other in digital and analog form to transmit verify and authenticate the information
through the secure network of information. Management Information System in different
organization has different size and design of structure of information system and its
accessibility depending on the nature of business and investment involve in it.

17) Gorry. G. Anthony, and Michael S. Scott Morton [1971], examined a framework for
management information systems. Management policies and procedures are mainly defined
on planning organizing and controlling over the desired output of the entire process. The
system theory based on two things of communication it can be open or close way
communication depending on the permission assign to particular user. System theory can
solve the complex situation to the operational flow of processing in input process or output
process. It utilized the principle of communication concept to provide system design and its
results. Output provided in transmission of various function activities through information
system with least possible collusion in data transmission from sender to receiver to need for
further processing. Importance of contextual information represent in ecommerce, mobile
computing, data mining and marketing by organization management. It provides the direction
to future researchers about context aware recommenders.

18) Grover, Varun and Khawaja Saeed [2003], explained The Telecommunication
Industry Revised. Hence Management Information System (MIS) is always beneficial to
organization in all sense of its existence. Effective information systems introduce certain
policies and rules to be followed by organization employee as per allotted task distributed to
them on related database access. And various theories and programmed control the
information system from its misused over the network through secured access and permission
sorted by top level management to each employee. Legacy maintained through its overall
capacity of managing information transmission to the right user over the network will
enhance its adaptability more powerful by professionals. Certain area of community adopted
Management Information System (MIS) are as non-profit ventures only to store the
information system for knowledge and awareness into society on certain topics for the
benefits of society. This uses structure, strategy performance to the nature of relationship
with all concern stakeholders to communicate with each other for better performance.

19) Hart, [1990], Examined Client Server Computing for Technical Professionals,
Management Information System (MIS) provides strategic support in critical situations in
organization and Top management can evaluate reports for analysis to verify and controls the
loopholes to avoid further risk and set organization to ready to take advantage of
opportunities and face challenges with available technique to grab competitive advantage. In
organization business process decision making criteria depends mainly on commercial aspect
of its processing method it also verifies that commercial returns integrate with packet of value
to the society. Management information system ensures the support system to the business
process. Information provided in each phase of structured system. And it builds the
fundamental based from the transactional processing system on data. Management
Information System (MIS) has many forms of information system such as inventory control
system, finance and budgeting system, management reporting system and Sales management
systems which are the few examples of Management information system. Entire technology
based on the Client server computing for information collaboration and use for the business
purpose. Information system configure on enterprise resource program of client server
structure to communicate for the for-business strategy.

20) Hinds, Pamela., and Sara, Kiesler. [1995], Explained Communication across
Boundaries: Work, Structure, and use of Communication Technologies in a Large
Organization. Organizing it, evaluating it for further sorting of functional database of
particular department and communication in all area of organisation between employees. In
opposites of this close system process of Management Information System (MIS) which only
one way communication in organization; it won’t accept any kind of alternation in its
process. It may be instruction from top management, displayed news of updates of some
other source for additional information to view, or unapproved and inaccessible files which
are example of close system for some users of the organization. Such system a use attributes
as read only function for such database. Management Information System (MIS) contain
closed system database to keep records of certain logs and information for further.

2.2 RESEARCH GAP

This research review’s purpose is to help the reader understand different aspects posed by the
research on the effectiveness of management information system in the pharmaceutical
sector. There has been much research and discussion conducted on this topic. Most of the
research are conducted in the field of business enterprise. The analysis of the literature
review revealed that there is a gap in the research problem. The identified gap is that there is
no study conducted regarding the effectiveness of management information system in the
pharmaceutical sector. Further no such study conducted in Pathanamthitta district and this
reason improves the relevance of this study in greater level. The aim of this paper is to fill
this gap.
 CHAPTER – 3
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
3.1 Introduction

The business at present operates under an environment which is more difficult and complex
as compared to earlier times. The growth of size of business has necessitated the delegation
of authority at various levels of management. There are problems of control, co – ordination
and communication. The decision – making has become a difficult task. The decisions have
wider ramifications for the business and a wrong decision may then lead to its closure.
Management needs full information before taking any decisions. Good decisions can
minimize costs and optimize returns. Management Information System (MIS) can be helpful
to the management in undertaking managerial functions smoothly and effectively. It is an
approach of providing timely, adequate and accurate information to the right person in the
organization which helps him in taking right decisions. So, management information system
is a planned and organized approach to the transferring of intelligence within an organization
for the organization of management.

The information needs of modern organizations have become quite enormous and
challenging to the extent that every organization needs to pay great attention to how
information is gathered, stored, disseminated and utilized. This situation has arisen because
of factors such as increased organizational size, expanded operational scope, competitive
influence and overall environmental vagaries. Today’s organizations require tools to support
quicker and automated decisions, as well as ways to minimize uncertainly, only an effective
Management Information System can ameliorate this challenge.

Management Information System (MIS) is a changing and challenging field. Modern

businesses can’t survive for long without using some sort of Management Information
System to manage massive amounts of data and information. With faster access to needed
information through Management Information System (MIS), the organizations are able to
make effective and timely decisions regarding the data collected and recorded. The
effectiveness of Management Information System (MIS) in the organization is depending
upon collecting the accurate or sufficient information which helps them to record it in an
organized manner. This is why the effectiveness of Management Information System in the
pharmaceutical sector becomes success or failure.
3.2 Management Information System (MIS)

Management information systems (MIS) is an organized, diverse concerned and with

automated the process information of gathering system, storing that and is transferring
relevant information to support the management operations in an organization. The data is
distributed among the various departments in an organization. The processing of data takes
place in various forms such as graphs, diagrams, charts, reports to generate accurate and
relevant information for the management. MIS provides central storage of all the business
information. Management Information System (MIS) is used across all the levels in an
organization. There are different types of management information systems. This paper
focuses on decision making information system. MIS plays a vital role in not only collecting
and man-aging information, but also representing it in various formats useful for the
management to make important organizational decisions.

Management Information System (MIS) provides faster access to the required information
which helps the organization to make effective and timely decisions regarding every aspect
such as investments, employments, products, etc. depending upon the organization. Decision
making basically refers to choosing a certain line of action from among several alternatives.
It is integral management that occurs in every level of management and in every function.
The effectiveness of the organization depends upon the quality of decisions that informs its
operation. Decision making is a major metric to determine the organizations success or
failure. This paper focuses on understanding the need, benefits, types of MIS, the MIS model,
decision making system and majorly the role of MIS in decision making of the organization.

Information displayed by the Management Information System (MIS) typically shows actual
data against planned results will helps to measure the progress against the organizational
goals. The MIS receives data from different units and functions. Some of the data collected
automatically from computer linked are keyed in at periodic intervals. Routine reports are pre
– programmed and run at intervals or on demand while others are obtained using built – into
systems which are used by the managers to check out status at desk side computers connected
to the MIS by networks.
3.3 Need for Management Information System

Organizations found it difficult to manage the information as a whole, before computer

technology bloomed. Developments in computer technology made it possible for the
managers to easily gather, integrate, store and manage the information in the form they
require depending upon their needs and timing. Information is used simultaneously by many
people. The information needs to be current, accurate, concise, timely, complete, well
presented and storable. For organizational productivity, solely depending on personal
computers is not reliable until it is used efficiently and effectively. Also, advanced
technological systems for integrating and sorting the data can be costly unless the senior
management provisions it to the staff. Thus, information systems came into picture.
Information system is a mechanism that ensures information is available to the managers as
per their need and time. It provides relevant information for decision making. Management
information is an important input at every level in the organization for decision making,
planning, organizing, implementing, and monitoring and controlling. Managers have to
assimilate masses of data, convert that data into information, form conclusions about that
information and make decisions leading to the achievement of business objectives. For an
organization, information is as important resource as money, machinery and manpower. It is
essential for the survival of the enterprise. Hence management information system plays a
major role in managing information and making it easy for the managers to collect, integrate
and assign the information and ensures effective and efficient decision making.

3.4 Elements of Management Information System

Management Information System (MIS) is a computer-based system that helps managers to

manage and organize the organization easily in which it processes information through
computers. In order to be successful, the organization uses MIS which will help for a better
planning and decision-making process. An effective system of management information
system collects data from all possible sources. The information is properly processed and
stored for use in future. The following are the elements of Management Information System:

As the term Management Information System (MIS), its composed from three forms:
Management, Information, System:
 1) Management

It means about managing the organization, they are the one who makes the decision,
plan and control things or people to achieve the goals and objectives of the organization.
Management covers the planning, control and administration of the operations of a concern.

2) Information

Gathering information is very important for an organization. Information means a

processing of data; it is worth because it affects behavior and decision that will help the
management about planning and making decisions for a success of their organization.

3) System

The system helps the information to process the data. System has an input, output and
feedback that are working together to give right details needed by the management. These
three words give the right information to the organization in order to assist them in making
decisions. Whatever goals they set; they can surely complete them on time by understanding
these elements of Management Information System.

i. The first element of Management Information System (MIS) is the determining of

informational needs. What type of information will be required and what will be its
source for the collection of data etc? when these questions are decided then it will be
possible to decide the modus opened for collecting the data required for them.

ii. The collected information should be properly processed, sorted and stored.

iii. Another element of MIS is to determine the time and quantum of information needed.
The information is sent to the desired managerial levels within the specified time.

iv. MIS also involves the process of measuring the adequacy of purpose served. If the
information has not been sufficient and desired purpose has not been served then the
base of collecting it should be enlarged or modified.
3.5. Types of Management Information System

Management Information System is of two types:

1. Management Operating System

This system is meant for meeting the information needs of lower and middle level
managements. The information supplied generally relates to operations of the business. The
figures about finance, raw materials, labour, production, sales etc.; are supplied to the
concerned persons. The operational information is required to see the pace of work and make
necessary changes, if needed. The supply of information is quick and regular. The use of
electronic devices is made for processing and analyzing data.

2. Management Reporting System

This system is designed to supply information to the top-level management for decision –
taking. The information is presented in a way which enables the management to take quick
decisions. Sometimes, comparative information is presented to see the present performance in
relation to past one. The purpose of this information is to present before management the real
position of the enterprise. The supply of this information is slow because information from
various sources is first compiled. Decision – making requires full information about all
important areas of the enterprise.

3.6. Characteristics of Management Information System

 Clear Direction

The role of the managers is to give clear information to the employees of the organization.
The information of Management Information System (MIS) should be clearly spread
towards different levels of management as they need. Somehow, providing a clear direction
to bring the information to the needy employees will help the organization to achieve their
desired goals.

 Completeness

Effective management provides complete information. Data quality is very important for the
success of the business, that’s why it’s also necessary to achieve complete and accurate
information to lead decisions that have anticipated effects.
 Usefulness
Managers who are using Management Information System (MIS) will improve
the performance because it has detailed information in terms of making decisions and
having a practical purpose in the organization can create a productive team. Management
Information System (MIS) should have made useful information that it easily accesses.

 Relevance

It brings them closer to their goal, and it fulfills their information needed. What is
important in the team is a connection to each other which they can also apply important that
are meaningful for making decisions.

 Understandable

Management Information System (MIS) is already in summarized form of

information that receivers can understand and interpret it correctly. The goal of Management
Information System (MIS) is to make the users understand and access information that can
be useable to the organization for achieving the goals and desired results.

3.6 Objectives / Goals of Management Information System

1) Management Information System (MIS) should be designed in such a way that it

enhances communication between employees.
2) Management Information System (MIS) should deliver complicated and complex
materials throughout the enterprise.
3) Management Information System (MIS) should provide an objective system for
recording, gathering and aggregating the information.
4) Management Information System (MIS) should be designed in such a way that it
reduces the expenses in connection with labour related and manual activities.

3.7 Installing Management Information System

The installation of Management Information System requires the following steps:

5) Preliminaries:

The introduction of Management Information System (MIS) requires a proper study

of business objective, plans, policies, etc. It will enable in deciding the type of data required,
its sources and the levels at which required. The organizational structure should be able to
supply the required information. The organizational levels, authorities, responsibilities, etc.
should be studied for this purpose. The success of Management Information System (MIS)
will depend upon the support of top-level management. The management should be able to
supply the requisite finances.

2) Planning:

The information needs of top, middle and lower levels of management should be
studied so that the system is planned accordingly. The functions of each level of management
should also be studied. The questions like, what data is needed? when it is needed? who
needs it and in what form is it needed? should be studied for making the system effective.

3) Implementation:

Management Information System (MIS) can effectively be applied only when every
person in the organization is involved in it. The persons should also be given training for
implementing this system. Information System manuals should be prepared to devise
procedure for it. The manual and mechanical devices necessary for processing data should
also be selected. Standard proformas, etc. should also be decided for collecting information.
The main emphasis should be on the involvement of all persons in the organization.

4) Review:
The review of the system is very essential. The problems and difficulties faced in the system
and additional requirements should be pointed out. The review of Management (MIS) will
enable to spot the week spots and a corrective action will make the system more effective. It
should be determined whether the information supplied was sufficient or not? Was the
information relevant and critical? Was the frequency of reporting justified? The answers to
these questions will help in making changes in the system. Without a proper review, the
system will cease to be effective and useful after some time. It should constantly be reviewed
with the change in situation in the business.

Management Information System (MIS) must be designed in an organization in such a way as

nervous system works in a human body. The foremost task of the Management Information
System (MIS) is to provide information to the management but the scope of Management
Information System (MIS) covers number of functions to be performed simultaneously;

1) Management Information System has to aim at identifying the management’s

informational needs.
2) Management Information System (MIS) has to aim at in satisfying informational
needs of management.
3) Management Information System (MIS) has to help the management in processing
information for decision making process.
4) Management Information System (MIS) has to aim at providing regular formal
information gathered from routine commercial data.
5) Management Information System (MIS) has to be flexible enough to help
management to incorporate informal and unstructured information into process of
decision – making.

6) Management Information System (MIS) may grow up in an informal or unplanned

way which are not designed but can be helpful to the management in decision making
process.

3.8 Concept of Mis

Information is a set of classified and interpreted data used in decision making and it has also
been defined as “some tangible or intangible entity which serves to reduce uncertainty about
future state or events”. There are different levels of decision making, for which information
can be described as:

i. People:
These are the users who use information systems to record the day-to-day business
transactions.

ii. Source:
This is the place from where the data or information will be collected.

iii. Data:
It is the recorded day to day business transactions.
 iv. Software:
These are programs that run on the hardware. The software is broken down into two
major categories namely system software and applications software.

v. Hardware:
It is made up of the computers, printers, networking devices etc… The hardware
provides the computing power for processing data. It also provides networking and
printing capabilities. The hardware speeds up the processing of data into information.

vi. Inferences and Predictions drawn from data

vii. Value and Choices

viii. Action which involves course of action.

Management information system has a purpose to meet the general information needs of all
the managers in an organization or in some subunits of the organization. A subunit can be
based on functional areas or can be viewed at management levels.

Considering the definition for Management Information System (MIS), one of the popular
definitions describes Management Information System (MIS) as "an organizational method
of providing past, present and projected information related to internal operations and
external intelligence. It supports the planning, control and operation functions of an
organization by furnishing uniform information in the proper time frame to assist the decision
makers". The information in Management Information System (MIS) describes the firm or
one of its major systems in terms of what has happened in the past, what is happening now
and what is likely to happen in the future. The information is provided in the form of reports
and outputs of mathematical simulations. There are two types of reports namely, periodic and
special report. All managers use the information output as they make decisions to solve the
firm’s problems.

A Management Information System (MIS) has also been defined as ''an integrated user
machine system for providing information to support operations, management and decision-
making functions in an organization. The system utilizes computers, manual procedures,
models for analysis, planning, control and decision making, and a database''. All these
definitions give a concise understanding of Management Information System as a whole.

Management Information System (MIS) plays 3 vital roles for business organizations:

a) Supports the business processes and operations of an organization.

b) Supports of decision making by the employees of an organization.
c) Supports the strategies of an organization for competitive advantage.

3.9 History of Management Information System

While it can be contested that the history of management information systems date as far
back as companies using ledgers to keep track of accounting, the modern history of
Management Information System (MIS) can be divided into five eras originally identified by
Kenneth C. Laudon and Jane Laudon in their seminal textbook Management Information
Systems (MIS).

i. First Era - Mainframe and minicomputer computing

ii. Second Era - Personal Computers
iii. Third Era- Client / Server Computers
iv. Fourth Era - Enterprise Computing
v. Fifth Era - Cloud Computing

The Six Eras of Management Information System

ERA KEY POINTS

MAINFRAMES ● Mainframe and dependent systems performed

operations.
● Operators received request to run queries that
were processed in a batch with other requests and
returned the information at a later time.
MINI COMPUTERS ● Smaller than mainframe.
● Requests to retrieve information were inputted via
terminals. The process still required operators and
it didn’t provide real time results.
PERSONAL COMPUTERS ● User had computers on their desk, but they often
weren’t connected to one another.
CLIENT/SERVER ● Computers access data on servers via local
COMPUTERS networks.
● The client and the server often split processing.
 ● Users could submit requests themselves and
receive information in near real time
● A client often connected to a single server.
ENTERPRISE ● Clients could reach data on servers anywhere in
COMPUTING the business’s network.
CLOUD COMPUTING ● Data is stored via distributed hardware that can
be accessed via the internet.
● A provider owns cloud servers and businesses
rent space on them to store their data.

1) The First Era - Mainframe and Minicomputer Computing:

This was the era before 1965 when computing was done on large mainframe computers
located in large special rooms specifically for the computers. This included special
temperature control to ensure that the machines always operated in optimum conditions. This
era was ruled by IBM and their mainframe computers for which they supplied both the
hardware and software. These computers would often take up whole rooms and require teams
of technicians and hence the cost of operating them was quite high to run them. As a result,
most of the computing was done on a time – sharing basis to meet the high costs of owning
and operating these mainframes. As technology advanced, these computers were able to
handle greater capacities and therefore reduce their cost. Smaller, more affordable
minicomputers allowed larger businesses to run their own computing centers in-house / on-
site / on-premises. However, the minicomputers were still very expensive when compared to
today’s standards.

The Second Era - Personal Computers:

This era began in 1965 and was mainly as a result of the introduction of the microprocessor.
This meant that companies could now afford cheaper personal computers, which provided
access to computing power that would have cost exorbitant amounts of money just one
decade before. As microprocessors started to compete with mainframes and minicomputers
and accelerated the process of decentralizing computing power from large data centers to
smaller offices.

In the late 1970s, minicomputer technology gave way to personal computers and relatively
low- cost computers were becoming mass market commodities, allowing businesses to
provide their employees access to computing power that ten years before would have cost
tens of thousands of dollars. This proliferation of computers created a ready market for
interconnecting networks and the popularization of the Internet. The first microprocessor — a
four-bit device intended for a programmable calculator — was introduced in 1971 and
microprocessor-based systems were not readily available for several years. By mid 1980s,
personal computers were becoming much more affordable hence they were made available to
the mass markets. The MITS Altair 8800 was the first commonly known microprocessor-
based system, followed closely by the Apple I and II. It is arguable that the microprocessor-
based system did not make significant inroads into minicomputer use until 1979, when
VisiCalc prompted record sales of the Apple II on which it ran. The IBM PC introduced in
1981 was more broadly palatable to business, but its limitations gated its ability to challenge
minicomputer systems until perhaps the late 1980s to early 1990s. The PC was friendlier to
businesses, which explains why it rode to popularity in those early days.

During this era, Management Information Systems started making way into businesses thanks
to the development of a spreadsheet application known as VisiCalc (short for “visible
calculator”). This application is considered by many the factor that turned the micro -
computer from an expensive gadget for scientists and enthusiasts to an all - important
business tool thus paving way for the modern Management Information Systems. Following
the success of the VisiCalc, more powerful spreadsheet applications like the Lotus 1 – 2 –
3vand Microsoft’s Multiplan and later Excel.

1) The Third Era - Client/Server Networks:

With the widening use of computing in business and advances in technology, more needs
came from the business community to ensure a more efficient interaction with information.

Since companies were able to computing thanks to the reduced costs of computers, better
ways had to be sought for making the most of this computing power.

One of the most prominent needs that arose was the need for employees within organizations
to share computer information with other employees. The solution was provided by
client/server networks that went a long way in enhancing the Management Information
Systems we have today.
This arose as technological complexity increased, costs decreased, and the end-user (now the
ordinary employee) required a system to share information with other employees within an
enterprise. Computers on a common network shared information on a server. This lets
thousands and even millions of people access data simultaneously on networks referred to as
Intranets. The development of intranets which were static websites that gave employees
access to information that was stored in a central location. This made it possible to work
faster and more efficiently because more people could access information on a server as long
as their computers were on a common network.

The Fourth Era - Enterprise Computing:

The fourth era was an improvement of the third era that saw to it that different departments in
companies had even better access to information. The main improvement was the
introduction of high-speed enterprise networks that enabled faster access to information.

This provided a better and more complete management structure since decision making was
easier thanks to the better access of information from different parts of the company.
Essentially, the applications used by departments in the company were consolidated and
woven together into a single platform that was accessible from the company network.

High – speed networks were also added into the mix to increase the efficiency of the
platform. This meant that business operations such as finance, accounting, sales, marketing,
inventory and even human resource management could be harmonized to ensure cooperation
and efficiency throughout the entire company.

Although the applications used by different departments differed and measures of access
control were introduced to limit access to sensitive company information, this era gave top
management officials a complete view of the current standing of the entire business.

2) The Fifth Era - Cloud Computing:

This is the current era that employs the latest networking technology to further enhance
information processing and access by business officials and management executives.

The added element in this era is the fact that the networking technology adds a level of
mobility to the systems.

This means irrespective of your location, the configuration that you are using or the hardware
that’s available, you will still be able to use business applications and access data stored in
 company servers. With the improvement of cellphone networks to provide high speed mobile
data access and the increase in popularity of Wi-Fi networks, managers already have the
access of Management Information System around the clock hence better decisions can be
made faster.

This era frees management from the chains of office-bound computers with local network
access. With the rise in popularity of mobile devices such as laptops, smartphones and tablet
computers, great levels of mobility are achieved while still improving on efficiency.

This also calls for a change in management style since the workers will be generally more
informed due to the ability to produce and consume more information about the business,
giving rise to what’s now known as the knowledge worker. Knowledge workers are more
empowered and hence more productive naturally.

This means that the command-and-control method of management will no longer be the most
effective management style for this worker. As a result, employee autonomy is gradually
becoming more and more inevitable.

3.10 Components of Management Information Systems

To effectively deliver the information needed to decision makers, Management Information

Systems need to have the necessary components to collect, process, store and retrieve the
information whenever it is needed.

To achieve this, these systems use the following four components:

1. Information System:
This is a combination of software, hardware, personnel and infrastructure. This component
helps in the collection of data that is stored in the Management Information System. The
hardware includes computers, scanners, printers and network devices. The software elements
include the company’s enterprise software and any other software that is used in the running of
the company’s network. This component makes it possible for employees to interact with the
system and thus information can be collected.

2. Database Management System:

 This component is primarily made up of computer programs that help in the storage and
retrieval of data. Of course, it also includes the actual physical databases where the
information is stored after it has been captured. There are several different database
management systems that can be used in Management Information Systems. The suitability
of the systems will depend on the amount of data that will need to be processed and stored in
the system. There are small database management systems that can comfortably work on
personal computers and there are huge ones that will need larger and more complex machines
like mainframe computers.

3. Intelligence System:

This component is concerned with processing of the data collected and presenting it in a
manner that is easy to comprehend. Everything from the processing of the data to the
displaying of the data is designed to give top executives an easy time as they try to make
decisions concerning the business. It is sometimes referred to as business intelligence which
stores human knowledge and uses the logic to formulate quick solutions for future problems
where patterns match.

4. Research System:

This component is concerned with identifying the main management problems in the
organization and coming up with alternative decisions that could have sufficed in a particular
situation. This helps ensure that all the possible options are analyzed and the best decision
made. The best decision is not always the most obvious one. This component of Management
Information systems ensures that the best decision is reached even in those instances.

3.11. Role of Mis in Business

The main role of Management Information Systems is to report on business operations with
the purpose of supporting decision making. This is to ensure that the organization is
managed in a better and more efficient way so that it can be able to achieve full potential thus
gain competitive advantage.

Let’s look at some of the other roles played by Management Information Systems in an
organization.

1. To provide information readily to company decision makers:

Regardless of whether it is a marketing, financial or operational issue, managers need quick

access to information so that they can make good decisions that will have a positive impact
on the company’s performance. Management Information Systems enhance this by
strategically storing vast amounts of information about the company in a central location that
can be easily accessed by managers over a network. This means that managers from different
departments have access to the same information hence they will be able to make decisions
that collectively help solve the company’s problems in the quickest way.

2. Management Information Systems also help in data collection:

Data from everyday operations in the company is collected and brought together with data
from sources outside the organization. This enables a healthy and functional relationship
between distributors, retail outlets and any other members of the supply chain. It also helps
keep good track of performance since production and sales numbers will be recorded and
stored in a central database that can be accessed by all members of the MIS. Access to this
information also helps ensure that problems are detected early and decisions are made
quickly using the latest information.

3. To promote collaboration in the workplace:

In any large company, there are many situations that call for input from several individuals or
departments before decisions can be made. Without an efficient communication channel,
these decisions can take a very long time. Even with good communication channels, if the
different stakeholders don’t have access to all the available data, the process would hit a
number of snags before it’s complete. Management Information Systems ensure that all the
members of the decision-making group have access to all the data that’s required to make the
decision even if they are working from different physical locations.

4. To run possible scenarios in different business environments:

Before making a decision that will affect the overall standing of the business, a lot of
precaution must be taken. There is a need to check and verify that the company will not suffer
after making a decision. Management Information Systems enable executives to run what-if
scenarios so that they can see how some of the important metrics in the business will be
affected by a given decision. The data is presented in easy-to-understand reports and graphs
that make interpretation easy.

5. Management Information systems give accurate projections of the company’s

standing in the short and long term:

Most of the decisions made by top executives in companies have an effect on the company
strategies. As a result, some of them may need some modifications done on the company
goals or strategies. Most Management Information Systems come with trend analysis features
that will enable you to project the performance of a business with the current configuration
and how they will be affected once you have implemented any changes that you are
considering. The Management Information Systems that don’t have the trend analysis feature
will still provide you with enough information to accurately carry out the analysis using
external tools.

6. Management Information Systems help track the implementation of particular

decision in a company:

Before making a decision, executives use these systems to make projections of the
expectations from the particular decision. If they decide to go ahead with the changes, there
will be a need to keep monitoring the performance to see if you are on track to achieving the
desired results. Management Information Systems give detailed reports and recommendations
so that the evaluation of the goals moves smoothly and effectively. You get data that shows if
your decisions have had the desired effect. If not, you will be able to take the necessary
corrective measures early so that you can get back on track.

7. To improve on the company’s reporting:

One of the reasons why Management Information Systems are favored by large companies is
the effectiveness of the reporting features. The decisions can be made quickly because the
information is presented in an easy-to-understand format. The fact that the system is
accessible by people from different parts of the organization makes it an effective reporting
and communication tool. Findings can be shared among colleagues with all the necessary
supplementary data. It is also possible to create brief executive summaries that sum up the
whole situation for review by senior company executives in situations that need their
approval.

3.12 Categories of Management Information System

Management Information system is a broad term that incorporates many specialized
systems. The major types of systems include the following:

● Executive Information Systems (EIS):

Executive Information System is mainly used to make decisions that affect the entire
organization. The executives need high level – data with the ability to drill down as
necessary.

● Marketing Information System (MKIS):

Marketing Information System is used to report the effectiveness of past and current usage of
MIS and use the lessons learned to plan the future campaigns.

● Business Intelligence System (BIS):

Operations use a Business Intelligence System to make business decisions based on the
collection, integration and analysis of the collected data and information. This system is
similar to EIS, but both lower-level management uses it.

● Customer Relationship Management System (CRM):

A Customer Relationship Management System stores key information about customers,
including pervious sales, contact information and sales opportunities. Marketing, customer
service, sales and business development teams.

● Sales Force Automation System (SFA):

A specialized component of a Sales Force Automation System that automates many tasks that
a sales team performs. It can include contact management, lead tracking and generation and
order management.

● Transaction Processing Systems (TPS):

An MIS that completes a sale and manage related details. On a basic level, a Transaction
Processing System could be a Point of Sale (POS) system. Employees can use the data
created to report on usage trends and track sales over time.
 ● Knowledge Management System (KMS):
Customer service use a Knowledge Management System to answer questions and
troubleshoot problems.

● Financial Accounting Systems (FAS):

The Financial Accounting System Management Information System is specific to
departments dealing with finances and accounting such as accounts payable (AP) and
accounts receivables (AR).

● Human Resource Management System (HRMS):

The Human Resource Management System tracks employee performance records and payroll
data.

● Supply Chain Management (SCM):

Supply Chain Management is used to track the flow of resources, materials and services from
purchase until final products are shipped.

3.13 Types of Management Information Reports

All their core, management information systems exist to store data and create reports that
business pros can use to analyze and make decisions. There are three basic kinds of reports:

● Scheduled:

The scheduled reports are created on a regular basis. This report use the rules the requestor
has provided to pull and organize the data. Scheduled reports allow businesses to analyze
data over the course of time.

● Ad – Hoc:

These are one – off reports that a user creates to answer a question. If the reports are useful,
you can turn ad – hoc reports into scheduled reports.

● Real – Time:

This type of MIS report allows someone to monitor changes as they occur in the organization.

3.14 Advantages of Mis

1. Facilitates Planning:
MIS improves the quality of plants by providing relevant information for sound decision
making. Due to increase in the size and complexity of organizations, managers have lost
personal contact with the scene of operations.

2. Minimizes information overload:

MIS Change the larger amount of data in to summarize form and thereby avoids the
confusion which may arise when managers are flooded with detailed facts.

3. Encourages Decentralization:

Decentralization of authority is possibly when there is a system for monitoring operations at

lower levels. MIS is successfully used for measuring performance and making necessary
change in the organizational plans and procedures.

4. Co – ordination:

MIS facilitates integration of specialized activities by keeping each department aware of the
problem and requirements of other departments. It connects all decision centers in the
organization.

5. Easy Control:

MIS serves as a link between managerial planning and control. It improves the ability of
management to evaluate and improve performance. The used computers have increased the
data processing and storage capabilities and reduced cost. This will help the management to
evaluate and improve performance.

6. MIS assembles, process, stores, retrieves, evaluates and disseminates the information.

7. Improves quality of an organization or an information content by providing relevant

information for sound decision making.

8. MIS change large amount of data into summarized form and thereby avoid confusion.
 3.15 Disadvantages of MIS
i. Cost of Equipment:

For a big company to successfully incorporate a Management Information system, there is a

need to purchase devices that the employees and management executives will be using to
interact with the system. These devices include servers, tablets, laptops and desktop
computers. In addition, the company needs to invest in a good network that will connect these
devices in order for the system to work effectively.

ii. Training of the workforce:

This can also become a problem when applying Management Information Systems in a
company. Without a proper understanding of how the system works, it can be hard to reap the
full benefits of using it. This therefore makes it necessary for the company to ensure that
employees and their managers are well trained on how to use the system. This can be an
expensive and time-consuming exercise.

iii. The systems are expensive to purchase:

Owing to the unique needs of each organization, Management Information Systems have to
be customized for each company. This means that there has to be brainstorming sessions
where the vendors sit with management officials seeking to understand the needs before they
can develop the system. As a result, the cost of the system goes up, thus taking it out of reach
for small and medium companies.

iv. Many companies end up purchasing systems that lack the features they need most:
As mentioned earlier, each company has its own unique needs when it comes to Management
Information Systems. When you purchase a system that is not meant for your company, you
will have better access to data that doesn’t help improve your operations. As a result, you will
not be able to get the best return on investment.

v. There is also a need for trained personnel to keep the system in good working order
at all times:
Like any other system, management information systems need proper maintenance in order
for them to produce the best results. This means that you will need to add specialized
personnel for system maintenance in your company. Without these people, using the system
will be a challenge since errors will go unresolved and this will result in inefficiencies in the
operations.
 vi. Management Information Systems are heavily affected by large changes in the

company:

This means that before you make any change in the way you run the company, there will be a
need to consider the impact of the changes on the information system. Sometimes, it becomes
impossible to make some changes without changing the Management Information Systems
hence having the system in place ends up being a limitation. However, most small changes
should easily be incorporated in a good MIS.
vii. It is highly sensitive which requires constant monitoring.
viii. Budgeting of Management Information System (MIS) is extremely difficult.
ix. Quality of outputs governed by quality of inputs.
x. Lack of flexibility to update itself.
xi. Effectiveness decreases due to frequent changes in top management.
xii. Too difficult to adapt.

3.16 Information Based Management

Planning, organizing, staffing, leading and monitoring are all the main functions of
management so that performing each one requires decision making. In making any decision,
there are four basic steps, including:

● Identifying main problem.

● Presenting the alternatives.
● Analyzing the alternatives.
● Making the final selection.

This means that it all depends on the existence of appropriate, correct and accurate
information. This method of analysis for decision making seems relatively long, but has the
advantage that it can also be performed automatically in making deterministic, stochastic and
even probabilistic decisions with the assistance of a computer.

Managers lacking experience and not in the habit of using information in planning, operating
and control will not enable Management Information System to absorb the data and
information. A necessary condition for accepting and using Management Information System
in an organization is the actual needs of the managers. The managers will employ
Management Information System for economic utility and useful application reasons by
reflecting their information requirements for decision making and receiving the required
information in a timely manner.

3.17 Computer Based Management

Historical evidence shows that the Management Information System success, in light of the
organizational structure, is based on the efficient manual Information System; otherwise in
organizations where the structure, organization and processes are not based on the logical
routines, the use of most modern data processing tools will never be a solution. Continuous
evaluations of Information System will help managers benefit from the latest technological
products in the direction of organizational strategic objectives. However, in a digital
enterprise environment, the role of managers changes from managing physical and human
assets to managing knowledge assets.

An appropriate and staged selection of Information System to be computerised duly and

gradually, while maintaining the integration of organizational structure, will lead the
organization towards adapting to new computerization conditions. In this course, the
complete conversion of manual Information System to Computer - Based Information System
(CBIS) should be avoided and the features of automatic Information System should be used
to satisfy the current requirements of existing Information System.

3.18 Informatics Based Management

Informatics is the study of information, Information System and Information Technology
applied to various phenomena with the objective of increasing knowledge in humans and/or
increasing order in systems. Informatics systems utilize proper flow of information as the
lifeblood in their structure. However, it is only in connection with informatics systems that
informatics practices can completely and comprehensively be applied where the whole
system has an integrated information identity.

In conjunction with informatics, scientific management that is formed based on the

application of systematic procedures has recently stepped into new domains. The result of
applying informatics systems in an informatics-based organization will be many features
whose most important aspects can be minimum administrative relations/maximum human
relations and complete individual independence/free-work atmosphere. Only in this
condition, some type of management that is completely de-centralized, with respect to direct
relationships with employees, will lead the organization in a completely centralized
 framework. Decision-making, planning and control in the organization thus, will be done
with ease and little error and managers will find opportunity to think about optimum methods
and exert proactive management based on information.

Effectively Applying Management Information Systems

i. Train your employees well:

Don’t assume that your employees will figure out how to use the system once it is in place.
Remember, the quality of the decisions made by management from using the Management
Information System will be determined to a large extent by the data that has been captured by
employees. This means that you need to put all the necessary measures in place to ensure that
these employees do a good job.

ii. Invest in reliable devices across your company:

Investing in enough devices improves the accessibility of the system. This ensures that more
data is tracked and as a result, more of it is accessible to management. Better accessibility
also reduces the time taken for data to be entered in the system and as a result making it
available faster.

Instead of investing in a complicated system that is expensive to run and tracks large volumes
of data that you don’t need, you should go for something that addresses the immediate needs
of your company’s management. This way, you will not have to pay too much for the system
and at the same time, you will not take your workforce through a complicated and
unnecessary training process. You will also reduce the chances of errors arising in the use of
the system since the features and functions will be easy to understand.
iii. Make sure that choose a system that is adaptable to change:

The system that you choose should be able to adapt to changes in the company. With time,
you might need to change the personnel handling different tasks in the system or the reports
that you will need the system to generate. It is important to ensure that the system is able to
handle these small but frequent changes easily without having to contact the developer. If
there will be a need to contact the developer, like in the event of large changes, you should
discuss this early before you make the decision to purchase the system. However, most small
changes should be effected in-house.

Incorporating a Management Information System in your business is a big step that will result
in many changes in your operations. Be prepared for these changes and prepare your
 workforce for them.

Recent Developments and Future of Mis

Management Information Systems, like any discipline that involves computers and software,
is constantly changing. Some recent developments in the field include the following:

 PCs Can Now Host MIS:

A small business can have access to the powerful software that previously was only available
to large enterprises.
 Application and Management Service Providers:

Similar to renting cloud storage, companies can rent software packages and systems
management services and expand as their needs change.
 Security:

As proved by recent data breaches, data security has moved from a minor concern to a major
one. Detailed information about security practices can be found here.
The major areas of development of Information Technologies are:
i. Artificial Intelligence:

Narrow AI, is now pervasive in many organizations. Advances in machine learning and deep
learning are making narrow artificial intelligence much more valuable to all of us. Think
instantaneous translation, autonomous vehicles, robots, digital manufacturing etc.
Management Information System departments, must try to keep up with these advances
and decide how narrow artificial intelligence can be used in their organizations.
ii. The Internet of Things:

The rapid increase of placing sensors on all objects is leading to a sense and respond
environment. MIS employees should perform the SWOT analysis on the Internet of
Things for their organizations.
iii. Block - Chain:

Distributed ledger technology is now being used in a large number of areas. Again, MIS
employees must keep up with this technology and how its impacts their organizations.
iv. Financial Technology (Fin Tech):
If your organization is in the financial sector, MIS employees had better be closely watching
start – up Fin - Tech companies. These companies are planning on disrupting the
traditional financial sector.
 CHAPTER – 4

DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

Analysis and Interpretation of Management Information System (MIS) in pharmaceutical
sector is explained in this section. Management Information System (MIS) will hereafter be
drawn from the system based on the MIS needs of the management of the pharmaceutical
organizations. The impact of MIS in the pharmaceutical sector can be analysed and
interpreted, on the following points with analytical tables and graphs.

 Level of awareness about Management Information System.

 Training provided by the organization.
 Information collected and recorded.
 Utilization of information recorded by the management.
 Technical knowledge.
 Cost of installation of Management Information System in the organization.
 Table 4.1
Gender of the Respondents

Gender Number of Respondents Percentage

Male 46 46

Female 54 54

Total 100 100

Source: -Primary Data

INTERPRETATION

The table 4.1 shows the gender wise classification of the respondents. About 54% of
respondents were Females and 46% were Males. Here, the majority of the respondents are
females.

Figure 4.1

Gender wise classification of the respondents

 Table 4.2
Table showing age wise classification of the respondents

Age Respondents Percentage

21-30 50 50

31-40 23 23

41-50 17 17

Above 50 10 10

Grand Total 100 100

 
Source:- Primary Data

 INTERPRETATION

Table 4.2 shows that out of 100 respondents 50% are between the age of 21 to 30, 23% are
between the age of 31 to 40, 17 %  of the respondents are in between 41 to 50 and the
remaining 10% of the respondents are above the age of 50.

Figure 4.2
Age wise classification of the respondents

Table 4.3
 Educational qualification of the respondents

Educational qualification Respondents Percentage

Professional qualification 08 08
Post-Graduation 52 52
Under graduation 25 25
Below graduation 15 15
Total 100 100

Source:- Primary data

INTERPRETATION

From the table 4.3 we can interpret that 52% of the respondents are post graduates, 25% of
the respondents are under graduates, 15% of the respondents are below graduates and the
remaining 8% have professional qualification.

Figure 4.3
Educational qualification of the respondents

Table 4.4
Table showing occupation wise classification of respondents
 Occupation Respondents Percentage

Government Employee 09 09

Private Sector Employee 36 36

Self-Employed 14 14

Business 05 05

Student 29 29

Homemaker 07 07

Total 100 100

Source: Primary Data

INTERPRETATION 
From the above table, out of 100 respondents, 36%are private sector employees ,29%
are students, 14% are self-employed, 9 % are government employee, 7% are homemaker and
the remaining 5% are engaged in business. 

Figure 4.4
Occupation wise classification of the respondents

  

Table 4.5

Level of awareness about Management Information System

 Awareness Level Number of Percentage
Respondents
High 24 24
Moderate 34 34
Low 42 42
Total 100 100

Source of Data: Primary Data

INTERPRETATION

The table 4.5 shows the level of awareness of respondents about MIS. Here, the table shows
that the majority of them have low level of awareness about Management Information
System. About 24 percentage were having high leve of awareness and 34 percentage were
having moderate level of awareness about MIS. Around 42 percentage were having low level
of awareness about it. From the table we may able to know that the respondents lack the
awareness about MIS.

Figure 4.5
Level of awareness on Management Information System

Table 4.6
Computer to manage MIS
 Opinion Number of Respondents
YES 94
NO 6
TOTAL 100

Source of Data : Primary Data

INTERPRETATION
The table 4.6 shows that there are computers to manage Management Information System in
the organizations. Majority of respondents around 94 percentage agrees that they are having
computers to manage Management Information System in every organization and remaining
6 percentage respondents says that they don’t have the system to manage Management
Information System in the organization. From the table we may able to know that the
majority of organizations have computers to manage the MIS.

Figure 4.6
COMPUTER TO MANAGE MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM
 Table 4.7

TRAINING ON MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM (MIS)

Opinion Number of Respondents

YES 48
NO 52
TOTAL 100

Source of Data : Primary Data

INTERPRETATION
The table 4.7 shows the training provided to personals on MIS by the organizations. The
majority of the respondents respond that they are not being trained on MIS and 52 percentage
says that they have got the adequate training on MIS provided by the organization. From the
responds made by the respondents, we may able to know that they are not getting adequate
training from the organization on MIS.

Figure 4.7 –

Training provided on Management Information System to the personnel employed in

the organization.
 Table 4.8-
Technical knowledge for the functioning of MIS
Opinion Number of Respondents
HIGH 18
LOW 48
MODERATE 34
TOTAL 100

Source of Data : Primary Data.

INTERPRETATION
The table 4.8 shows about the technical knowledge available to the respondents for the
functioning of MIS. Here, 18 percentage of respondents has got high level of technical
knowledge for the functioning of the MIS and 34 percentage got only moderate knowledge.
Majority of the respondents around 48 percentage has got only low level of technical
knowledge for the functioning of MIS. According to the table above, we may able to find out
that the major part of the respondents lacks the technical knowledge for the functioning of
MIS.

Figure 4.8
Technical knowledge available for the functioning of MIS in the organization

Table 4.9
 Installation cost on management information system

Cost Number of Respondents

50000-100000 08
100000-150000 14
150000-200000 34
Above 200000 44
TOTAL 100

Source of Data : Primary Data

INTERPRETATION

The table 4.9 shows the cost required for the installation of MIS in organization. Here,
majority of the respondents around 44 percentage says that installation cost is above 200000,
which is very much expensive for them. As around 8 percentage says that the cost is less for
them to install it which is between 50000 – 100000. 14 percentage of respondents says that
the cost of installation was between 100000 – 150000 and remaining 34 percentage of the
respondents says that the cost for MIS was between 150000 – 200000. Here the overall
opinion of the respondents is that the MIS software and hardware are very much expensive
for them as they are not being able to afford it.

Figure 4.9
Installation cost of MIS

Table 4.10
 Effectiveness and efficiency of MIS in pharmaceutical sector

OPINION NO. OF RESPONDENTS

STRONGLY AGREE 34
AGREE 26
NEUTRAL 0
DISAGREE 18
STRONGLY DISAGREE 22
TOTAL 100

Source of Data : Primary Data

INTERPRETATION
The table 4.10 shows the opinion of the respondents about the efficiency and effectiveness of
MIS in pharmaceutical sector. About 34 percentage of the respondents strongly agrees and 26
percentage only agrees that the MIS increases the efficiency and effectiveness of
pharmaceutical sector. 18 percentage of the respondents disagrees with the above statement
and remaining 22 percentage are not sure about the statement. Here, the overall opinion is
that MIS helps the pharmaceutical sector to increase its effectiveness and efficiency.

Figure 4.10
Effectiveness and efficiency of Management Information System
in the Pharmaceutical Sector.

Table 4.11–
 Level of satisfaction of existing MIS

LEVEL OF SATISFACTION NO. OF RESPONDENTS

Highly Satisfied 30
Satisfied 38
Average 18
Dissatisfied 14
Highly Dissatisfied 0
Total 100
Source of Data : Primary Data

INTERPRETATION

The table 4.11 shows the satisfaction level of the respondents in using existing MIS. About
30 percentage of respondents are highly satisfied with the satisfaction level of existing MIS
and 38 percentage of the respondents are satisfied with the existing MIS. 18 percentage
thinks that the MIS only provides average level of satisfaction and 14 percentage of
respondents is unsatisfied with the working of existing MIS. Here, we can see that the
respondents are satisfied with the performance or the way in which MIS works.

Figure 4.11
Satisfaction level of existing Management Information System in the organization.

Table 4.12.–
Major advantage of existing MIS
 MAJOR ADVANTAGE RESPONDENTS
Increases Efficiency 28
Easy Collection of Data 34
Recording Information 24
New Ideas and Features 14
Total 100

Source of Data : Primary Data

The table 4.12 shows that which factor is the major advantage of MIS. About 28 percentage
of respondents are happy with the increased efficiency and the majority of the respondents
around 34 percentage says that the major advantage of MIS is the easy collection of data.
Whereas, about 24 percentage thinks that recording of information is the best feature and the
least number of respondents around 14 percentage thinks that the new ideas and features of
MIS is the major advantage. From the above table the easy collection of data is the major
advantage of MIS regarding the respondents.

Figure 4.12

- Major advantage of existing Management Information System.

Table 4.13.–
Purpose of usage of information recorded by the organization
 OPINION RESPONDENTS
Decision Making 28
Budget Setting 30
Accessing Customer Information Electronically 24
Feedback 18
Total 100

Source of Data : Primary Data

INTERPRETATION

The table 4.13 shows the purpose of usage of information recorded by the organizations.
About 28 percentage responds that the information recorded is mainly for decision making
and majority of responds about 30 percentage says the purpose is for the setting up of budget.
Whereas, 24 percentage responded that the information of customers will be accessed
electronically and remaining 18 percentage responded that they use the information recorded
mainly for collecting feedbacks. According to the respondents, setting up of budget by the
organizations is the major purpose of usage of information recorded.

Figure 4.13
Purpose for the usage of information recorded by the organization.

Table 4.14.
Usefulness of information recorded

USEFULLNESS RESPONDENTS
 Highly Useful 42
Useful 36
Not Useful 22
Total 100

Source of Data : Primary Data

INTERPRETATION
The table 4.14, shows the usefulness of information recorded by the organization. About 42
percentage of the respondents says that the information recorded are highly useful and 36
percentage of respondents only believes that it is only useful for them. 22 percentage thinks
that the information recorded are not at all useful for them. From the table we will be able to
know that that the information recorded by the organization is very much useful for them in
the business prospective.

Figure 4.14
Usefulness of information recorded by the organizations.

Table 4.15.

Effectiveness in utilisation of information recorded

 OPINION RESPONDENTS
Highly Effective 46
Effective 36
Not Effective 18
Total 100

Source of Data : Primary Data

INTERPRETATION
The table 4.15 shows the utilization of information recorded. About 46 percentage
thinks that the utilization of information is highly effective for them and 36 percentage says
that the information recorded is only effective. Remaining 18 percentage says that the
utilization of information is not at all effective. From the above table we may be able to know
that the information recorded has been utilized in a highly effective way.

Figure 4.15
The effectiveness of utilization of information recorded in the organization.
 Table. 4.16.

Time period for the presentation of reports

PERIOD RESPONDENTS
Daily 6
Weekly 32
Monthly 36
Yearly 26
Total 100

Source of Data : Primary Data

INTERPRETATION

The table 4.16 shows the time period for the presentation of reports collected from different
pharmaceutical organizations. Around 6 percentage will present the reports daily and 32
percentage will make it on weekly basis. Majority of respondents around 36 percentage will
present the reports on monthly basis and remaining 26 percentage will present the reports on
yearly basis. According to the respondents, the time period for the presentation of reports will
be on monthly basis.

Figure 4.16
Time period for the presentation of reports available from different pharmacies or
dealers of the organization
 Table 4.17.
Usage of modern technological gadgets in MIS

OPINION RESPONDENTS
STRONGLY AGREE 30
AGREE 24
NEUTRAL 28
DISAGREE 18
STRONGLY DISAGREE 0
TOTAL 100

Source of Data : Primary Data

INTERPRETATION
The table 4.17 shows the usage of modern technological gadgets in MIS. About 30
percentage strongly agrees and 24 percentage agrees that there is usage of modern
technological gadgets in MIS. Around 28 percentage disagrees with it and remaining 18
percentage of respondents were not been able to respond to it. Here, the overall opinion is
that MIS uses the modern technological gadgets in its functioning in the pharmaceutical
sector.

Figure 4.17
The usage of technological gadgets in the Management Information System Software.
 Table 4.18.–
Interpretation of data recorded

OPINION RESPONDENTS
HIGHLY SATISFIED 24
SATISFIED 30
AVERAGE 26
NOT SATISFIED 20
HIGHLY DISSATISFIED 0
TOTAL 100

Source of Data : Primary Data

INTERPRETATION

The table 4.18 shows the interpretation of data recorded by the organization. 24 percentage of
respondents are highly satisfied with the interpretation of data and 30 percentage are satisfied
with the interpretation of data recorded. Whereas, 26 percentage of the respondents thinks
that the interpretation of data is only on an average basis and remaining 10 percentage are not
at all satisfied with the interpretation of data. Here the majority of the respondents are totally
satisfied with the interpretation of data recorded in Management Information System.

Figure 4.18
Interpretation of data recorded by the organization.

Table 4.19.–
 Decision making purpose

OPINION RESPONDENTS
STRONGLY AGREE 28
AGREE 34
NEUTRAL 16
DISAGREE 22
STRONGLY DISAGREE 0
TOTAL 100

Source of Data : Primary Data

INTERPRETATION

The table 4.19 shows how the information collected will help the organizations in decision
making purpose. Here about 28 percentage strongly agrees and 34 percentage of respondents
agrees that the collection of information helps in the purpose of decision making. As 16
percentage of the respondents disagrees with it and 22 percentage were neutral in their
opinion. From the table we may able to know that the majority of the respondents believes
that MIS helps the organizations in the decision making purpose also.

Figure 4.19
How the information collected by the organization will help in its
decision making purpose.

Table 4.20.–
Successful factors in the implementation of MIS
 STRONGLY AGR
FACTORS DISAGREE NEUTRAL
AGREE EE
CONVENIENCE 34 28 16 22
QUICKNESS 30 34 18 18
BENEFITS
42 34 10 14
OFFERED
EASY
ACCESSIBILITY OF 38 26 18 18
INFORMATION

Source of Data : Primary Data

INTERPRETATION

The table 4.20 shows the successful factors which leads to the implementation of MIS in the
organization. About 38 percentage of the respondents thinks that the Benefits offered by the
MIS is the successful factor which leads them to the implementation. The Convenience factor
is the least successful factor that leads to the implementation of MIS. From the above table,
we can find out that the respondents thinks that the benefits offered by the MIS is the major
factor which leads majority of the organizations in its implementation.

Figure 4.20
Successful factors that leads the organization to the implementation of Management
Information System in the organization.

Table 4.21.–
 Barriers in the implementation of MIS

STRONGLY
FACTORS AGREE DISAGREE NEUTRAL
AGREE
SHORTAGE OF
16 26 34 24
TRAINED PERSONNEL

EXPENSIVE 32 30 24 14
LACK OF COMPUTER
28 34 20 18
KNOWLEDGE
LACK OF
32 24 18 26
TRAINING

Source of Data : Primary Data

INTERPRETATION

The table 4.21 shows the barriers in the implementation of MIS. About 62 percentage of the
respondents says that the expensiveness of installation cost and lack of computer knowledge
are the major barriers faced by the organizations at the time of implementation of MIS.

Figure 4.21
The factors which are barriers to the implementation of Management Information
System in the organization.

12
0

10 1
0 2 4 1 2
8 4 8 6
0 2
4 2 1
6 3 0 8
0 4
3 2
4 0 3
0 4 4
2
2 6
0 3 3
2 2 2
1 8
0 6
Shortage of Expensiv Lack of Lack of
Trained e Computer Training
Personals Knowledge
STRONGLY AGREEAGREEDISAGREENEUTRAL
 Table 4.22.–
Improvement required for MIS

OPINIONS RESPONDENTS
EFFICIENT RECORD KEEPING 30
PROPER TRAINING OF PERSONNEL 34
DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION 20
APPROPRIATE DATA COLLECTION 16

Source of Data : Primary Data

INTERPRETATION
The table 4.22 shows the improvements required for the MIS. Majority of the respondents
about 34 percentage thinks that the personals should be provided with adequate training
which should be the major improvement required for MIS. Whereas, 16 percentage of
respondents thinks that appropriate collection of data is the factor which requires least
improvement in the functioning of MIS. Here, the respondents thinks that the organizations
should provide adequate training for the personals working in the pharmaceutical sector
which needs to be improved for the effective workings of MIS.

Figure 4.22
Improvements required to the Management Information System in the future.

4
0

3
5

3
0

2
5

2
Efficient Record KeepingProper Training of Data Analysis Appropriate Data
0 Personals and Collection
Interpretation
1 Percenta
5 ge

1
0

5
0
 Table 4.23.–
Satisfaction level of using MIS

OPINION RESPONDENTS
YES 76
NO 24
TOTAL 100

Source of Data : Primary Data

INTERPRETATION
The table 4.23 shows the level of satisfaction on MIS. About 76 percentage of respondents
are satisfied with the work of MIS and 24 percentage are not satisfied with the work of MIS.
In the table the major portion of the respondents are satisfied by the level of working of MIS
in the pharmaceuticals organizations.

Figure 4.23.
Level of satisfaction for using Management Information System in the organization.
HYPOTHESIS RESULT:

Technical knowledge * Effectiveness of Utilization of Information Cross Tabulation

EFFECTIVENESS OF
UTILIZATION OF
INFORMATION
HIGHLY NOT Total
EFFECTI
EFFECTI EFFECT
VE
VE IV E
Count 22 16 2 40
HIGH Expected
Count 17.6 16.0 6.4 40
TECHNICA Count 16 10 8 34
L MODERA
Expected
KNOWLED TE 15 13.6 5.4 34
Count
GE
Count 6 14 6 26
LOW Expected
Count 11.4 10.4 4.2 26

Count 44 40 16 100
Total Expected
Count 44 40 16 100

RESULT

2 (4, N = 50) =6.155, p = 0.188.

Here, p >0.05, Accept null hypothesis, the two attributes technical knowledge and
effectiveness of utilization of information are independent.
There is no significant relationship between technical knowledge and effectiveness of
utilization of information.
 CHAPTER – 5
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, SUGGESTIONS AND
CONCLUSIONS
INTRODUCTION

This final chapter deals with the findings, suggestions and conclusion. In every
project the researcher gives findings, suggestions and conclusion. This is the back bone of
every project. This finding provides what the researcher had found out as the problems and
analysis in the study area, the researcher’s suggestions for the findings and the conclusion of
the thesis.

FINDINGS
The research study resulted in the following major findings.

1) From the study conducted most of the respondents have high level of awareness
about Management Information System (MIS).

2) The study found out that the personnel working in the pharmaceutical sector lacks
adequate training and technical knowledge for the functioning of Management
Information System.

3) From the study 44 percentage of the respondents believes that the installation cost of
Management Information System (MIS) is very much expensive and small
organizations would not be able to afford it

4) It is found that Management Information System (MIS) helps the pharmaceutical

sector in increasing its effectiveness and efficiency.

5) Easy collection of data is the major advantage of existing Management Information

System.

6) It is found that the information recorded by the organizations is mainly used for the
purpose of setting up their own budget.

7) The study found that the utilization of information recorded in very much effective
in the workings of the organizations.

8) The study reveals that the time period for the presentation of reports will be on
monthly basis .

9) From the study, 30 percentage of respondents thinks that the usage of modern
technological gadgets is higher in the workings of MIS in the pharmaceutical sector.

10) The findings reveal that, 30 percentage of respondents are satisfied with the
 interpretation of data recorded.

11) It is found out that the benefits offered by the Management Information System
(MIS) is the successful factor which leads to its implementation.

12) The study reveals that Management Information System (MIS) is expensive() and
the lack of computer knowledge() to the personnel are the barriers faced by the
respondents at the time of implementation of Management Information System.

13) As per the study, 34 percentage of respondents thinks that proper training of
personnel should be the improvement required for the Management Information
System.

14) The study found that 76 percentage of respondents are favourable with the usage
of Management Information System in the organization.

SUGGESTIONS

The following are the suggestions provided by the researcher to the pharmacists,
pharmaceutical dealers and the pharmaceutical organizations. These suggestions will
definitely be helpful for them in the future also.

1. The installation cost of Management Information System Software and Hardware

needs to be lowered.
2. Organizations should provide adequate training to the personnel for using
Management Information System.
3. Data recorded should be organized in the databases of the organization.
4. Organizations should use advanced technology for the better interpretation of data
recorded.
5. Formulate effective solutions for the usage of information recorded mainly for the
analysis and interpretation of data.
6. The personnel working in the pharmaceutical sector should get adequate technical
knowledge for the functioning of Management Information System (MIS).
7. Record keeping and database tools of Management Information System needs to be
utilized and controlled properly.
8. The information stored in Management Information System databases needs to be
kept
9. There should be improvement in the decision-making using Management Information
 System, so a relevant Management Information System strategy needs to be
maintained which should be compatible with the system.
10. Higher level managements in the pharmaceutical sector should come up with plans to
manage the cost of Management Information System.
11. The organizations should arrange seminar and teach the diverse and dynamic nature
of Management Information System (MIS) for better understanding, thereby helping
their employees to improve their performance.
12. The information recorded should be used for future program planning for the
organizations.
13. The security and authentication of the information recorded in the system needs to be
ensured by the top-level management of the organization. Security system should be
provided by improving the unique facilities used to the record data and information
by the organization.
14. The organization should maintain a consistent approach to the development, use and
review of Management Information System.

CONCLUSION
By its very nature, Management Information System (MIS) is designed to meet the unique
needs of pharmaceutical organizations. However, basic information needs or requirements are
similar in all the organizations regardless of size. The complexity of the operations and/or
activities, together with institution size, point to the need for Management Information
System of varying degrees of complexity to support the decision-making processes.
Management Information System provide management with the information necessary to
guide operations, support timely decision making, recording of accurate information and help
management monitor progress toward reaching its goals and objectives. At the time of
development of pharmaceutical information system, the developer requires to have a
significant commitment of resources and a clear idea of benefits that will acquire from the
system.
To conclude the study, it was very useful to get the knowledge of Management Information
System as well as whole aspects of pharmaceutical sector, how Management Information
System influence the entire sector and deals with the challenges that needs to be overcome
and opportunities that they possess for the growth and development of Management
Information System strategies that should be adopted as per the requirements and should aim
to achieve organizational goal.
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

DISSERTATIONS AND JOURNALS

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WEBSITES:

1) www.Witsa .com
2) www.google.com

LINKS:

1) http://informationr.net/ir/4-3/paper57.html.

2) http://www.indianmba.com/Faculty_Column/FC307/fc307.html.
 APPENDIX
A STUDY ON THE EFFECTIVENESS OF MANAGEMENT INFORMATION
SYSTEM IN THE PHARMACEUTICAL SECTOR

QUESTIONNAIRE

Respected sir/madam

I am an M.com student of Bishop Abraham Memorial College , Thuruthicad, pursuing

research on “A Study on The Effectiveness of Management Information System in The
Pharmaceutical Sector”.in this context I request you to spare a few minutes to answer this
questionnaire .I look forward to your support and cooperation to enable me in the successful
completion of my research. The information provided will be strictly used for academic
purpose only.

Lekshmi Prakash

DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE OF THE RESPONDENT

1. Name :

2. Gender

 Male
 Female
3. Age

 21-30
 31-40
 41-50
 Above 50
4. Educational qualification

 Professional qualification
 Post -graduation
 Under graduation
  Below graduation
5. Occupation

 Government employee
 Private sector employee
 Self- employed
 Business
 Student
 Home maker
6. What is your level of awareness about MIS?

 High
 Moderate
 Low
7. Do you have a computer in your organization to manage MIS?

 YES
 NO
8. Have you trained on MIS?

 YES
 NO
9. Have you heard about Management Information System?

 YES
 NO
10. Do you have the technical knowledge for the functioning of the MIS?

 High technical Knowledge

 Little Bit Knowledge
 Low Technical Knowledge
11. How much investment is required for the installation of MIS?

 50000 – 100000
 100000 – 150000
 150000- 200000
  Above 200000
12.MIS helps to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of pharmaceutical
sector. Do you agree?

 Strongly Agree
 Agree
 Neutral
 Disagree
 Strongly disagree
13. To what extend are you satisfied with the working of existing MIS?

 Highly Satisfied
 Satisfied
 Average
14.MIS helps to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of pharmaceutical sector. Do you
agree?

 Strongly Agree
 Agree
 Neutral
 Disagree
 Strongly disagree
15. To what extend are you satisfied with the working of existing MIS?

 Highly Satisfied
 Satisfied
 Average
 Dissatisfied
 Highly dissatisfied
16. What is the major advantage of existing MIS?
 Increases Efficiency
 Easy Collection of Data
 Recording of Information
 New Ideas and features
17. For what purpose do you use the information recorded?
 Decision Making
 Setting Budget
 Accessing customers information electronically
  Feedback
18. Does the information record in MIS is useful for the Pharmaceutical Sector?
 Highly Useful
 Useful
 Not Useful
19. Does the utilization of information is effective in the workings of pharmaceutical sector?

 Highly Effective
 Not Effective
 Effective
20. In what interval do you present the report from the collection of information?

 Daily
 Weekly
 Monthly
 Yearly
21. Do you think that the Pharmacy’s has become technology savvy (they use all the modern
electronic gadgets for communication and collection) after the introduction of MIS?

 Strongly Agree
 Agree
 Neutral
 Disagree
 Strongly Disagree
22 . Are you satisfied with the interpretation of data with the help of MIS?

 Highly Satisfied
 Satisfied
 Not Satisfied
23. Do you agree that MIS helps the organization in decision making purpose?

 Strongly Agree
 Agree
 Neutral
 Disagree
 Strongly Disagree
24. The following statements are about the successful factors that facilitates to the
implementation of MIS. Please indicate how strongly you agree or disagree with each
statement.

Successful
Strongly Agree Agree Strongly Disagree Disagree
Factors
Convenience
Quickness
Benefits Offered
Easy
Accessibility of
information

25. The following statements are about the barriers that inhibit the implementation of MIS.
Please indicate how strongly you agree or disagree with each statement.

Barriers Strongly Agree Strongly Disagree Disagree

Agree
Shortage of
Trained
Personals
Expensive
Lack of
Computer
knowledge
Lack of training

26. What are the improvements required for MIS?

 Efficient Record Keeping

 Proper training to personals
 Data Analysis and Interpretation
 Appropriate Data Collection Methods
27. Are you satisfied with the work of MIS?

 YES
 NO