characteristics of MIS

Following are the key characteristics of MIS:

1. System approach:
MIS follows the system approach, which implies a step by step approach
to the study of system and its performance in the light of the objective for
which it has been constituted. It means taking an inclusive view at sub-
systems to operate within an organization.
2. Management-oriented:
The management-oriented characteristic of MIS implies that top-down
approach needs to be followed for designing MIS. A top-down method
says the initiation of system development determines management
requirements as well as business goals. MIS implies the management
dynamically to the system development towards the completion of
management decision.
3. As per requirements:
The design and development of MIS should be as per the information
required by the managers. The required design and development
information is at different levels, viz., strategic planning, management
control and operational control. It means MIS should cater to the specific
needs of managers in the hierarchy of an organization.
4. Future-oriented:
The design and development of MIS should also be future purpose so that
the system is not restricted to provide only the past information.
5. Integrated:
A complete MIS is a combination of its multiple sub-components to
provide the relevant information to take out a useful decision. An
integrated system, which blends information from several operational
areas, is a necessary characteristic of MIS.
6. Common data flows:
This concept supports numerous basic views of system analysis such as
avoiding duplication, combining similar functions and simplifying
operations. The expansion of common data flow is a cost-effectively and
logical concept.
7. Long-term planning:
MIS should always develop as a long term planning because it involves
logical planning to get success of an organization. While developing MIS,
the analyst should keep future oriented analysis and needs of the
company in mind.
8. Relevant connection of sub-system planning:
The MIS development should be decomposing into its related sub-
systems. These sub-systems must be meaningful with proper planning.
 9. Central database:
it contains data in tabular form. The data base is responsible to operations
like insertion, deletion, updation of records. This database covers
information related to inventory, personnel, vendors, customers, etc. the
data stored in the database.

Interdependence between Organisation and Information System

LEVELS IN A FIRM

LEVELS IN A FIRM

Information systems
automate many business processes. For instance, how a customer receives credit
or how a customer is billed is often determined by an information system that
incorporates a set of formal business processes.

Each organization has a unique culture, or fundamental set of assumptions,

values, and ways of doing things, that has been accepted by most of its members.

You can see organizational culture at work by looking around your university or
college. Some bedrock assumptions of university life are that professors know
more than students, the reasons students attend college is to learn, and that
classes follow a regular schedule.

Parts of an organization’s culture can always be found embedded in its

information systems. For instance, UPS’s first priority is customer service,
which is an aspect of its organizational culture that can be found in the
company’s package tracking systems, which we describe later in this section.
Different levels and specialties in an organization create different interests
and points of view.

These views often conflict over how the company should

be run and how resources and rewards should be distributed. Conflict is the
basis for organizational politics.
 Information systems come out of this cauldron of differing perspectives,
conflicts, compromises, and agreements that are a natural part of all
organizations.

In Chapter 3, we examine these features of

organizations and their role in the development of information systems in
greater detail

Management
Management’s job is to make sense out of the many situations faced by
organizations, make decisions, and formulate action plans to solve organiza-
tional problems.

Managers perceive business challenges in the environment;

they set the organizational strategy for responding to those challenges; and
they allocate the human and financial resources to coordinate the work and
achieve success.

Throughout, they must exercise responsible leadership. The

business information systems described in this book reflect the hopes, dreams,
and realities of real-world managers.

But managers must do more than manage what already exists. They must
also create new products and services and even re-create the organization from
time to time. A substantial part of management responsibility is creative work
driven by new knowledge and information. Information technology can play a
powerful role in helping managers design and deliver new products and services
and redirecting and redesigning their organizations.

Chapter 12 treats management decision making in detail.

I n fo r m a t i o n Te c h n o l o g y
Information technology is one of many tools managers use to cope with change.
Computer hardware is the physical equipment used for input, processing, and
output activities in an information system.

It consists of the following: computers of various sizes and shapes (including

mobile handheld devices); various input, output, and storage devices; and
telecommunications devices that linkcomputers together.
Computer software consists of the detailed, preprogrammed instructions
that control and coordinate the computer hardware components in an informa-
tion system.

Chapter 5 describes the contemporary software and hardware

platforms used by firms today in greater detail.
Data management technology consists of the software governing the
organization of data on physical storage media.

More detail on data organization and access methods can be found in

Chapter 6.
Networking and telecommunications technology, consisting of both
physical devices and software, links the various pieces of hardware and
transfers
data from one physical location to another.

Computers and communications equipment can be connected in networks for

sharing voice, data, images, sound,and video. A network links two or more
computers to share data or resources,such as a printer.

The world’s largest and most widely used network is the Internet. The
Internet is a global “network of networks” that uses universal standards
(described in Chapter 7) to connect millions of different networks with nearly
2.3 billion users in over 230 countries around the world.

The Internet has created a new “universal” technology platform on which to

build new products, services, strategies, and business models.

This same technology platform has internal uses, providing the connectivity to
link differ-ent systems and networks within the firm.

Internal corporate networks based on Internet technology are called intranets.

Private intranets extended to authorized users outside the organization are called
extranets, and firms use such networks to coordinate their activities with other
firms for making
purchases, collaborating on design, and other interorganizational work. For
most business firms today, using Internet technology is both a business
necessity and a competitive advantage.

The World Wide Web is a service provided by the Internet that uses univer-
sally accepted standards for storing, retrieving, formatting, and displaying infor-
mation in a page format on the Internet.

Web pages contain text, graphics, ani-mations, sound, and video and are linked
to other Web pages. The Web can serve as the foundation for new kinds of
information systems such as UPS’s Web-based package tracking system
described in the following Interactive Session.

All of these technologies, along with the people required to run and man- age
them, represent resources that can be shared throughout the organiza-tion and
constitute the firm’s information technology (IT) infrastruc-ture.

The IT infrastructure provides the foundation, or platform, on which the firm

can build its specific information systems. Each organization must carefully
design and manage its IT infrastructure so that it has the set of technology
services it needs for the work it wants to accomplish with infor- mation systems.

Chapters 5 through 8 of this book examine each major tech- nology component
of information technology infrastructure and show how
they all work together to create the technology platform for the organization.

The Interactive Session on Technology describes some of the typical tech-

nologies used in computer-based information systems today. UPS invests heav-
ily in information systems technology to make its business more efficient and
customer oriented.

It uses an array of information technologies, including bar

code scanning systems, wireless networks, large mainframe computers, hand-
held computers, the Internet, and many different pieces of software for track-
ing packages, calculating fees, maintaining customer accounts, and managing
logistics.

Let’s identify the organization, management, and technology elements in

the UPS package tracking system we have just described. The organization
element anchors the package tracking system in UPS’s sales and production
functions (the main product of UPS is a service—package delivery).
It specifies the required procedures for identifying packages with both sender
and
recipient information, taking inventory, tracking the packages en route, and
providing package status reports for UPS customers and customer service
representatives.

The system must also provide information to satisfy the needs of managers
and workers.

UPS drivers need to be trained in both package pickup and deliv-

ery procedures and in how to use the package tracking system so that they can
work efficiently and effectively. UPS customers may need some training to use
UPS in-house package tracking software or the UPS Web site.

UPS’s management is responsible for monitoring service levels and costs

and for promoting the company’s strategy of combining low cost and superior
service. Management decided to use computer systems to increase the ease
of sending a package using UPS and of checking its delivery status, thereby
reducing delivery costs and increasing sales revenues.

The technology supporting this system consists of handheld computers, bar

code scanners, desktop computers, wired and wireless communications
networks,
UPS’s data center, storage technology for the package delivery data, UPS in-
house
package tracking software, and software to access the World Wide Web.

The result is an information system solution to the business challenge of

providing a high
level of service with low prices in the face of mounting competition.

Porter diaf
Understanding Porter‘s Five Forces

Porter theorized that understanding both the competitive forces at play and the
overall industry structure are crucial for effective, strategic decision-making,
and developing a compelling competitive strategy for the future.

In Porter’s model, the five forces that shape industry competition are

1. Competitive rivalry

This force examines how intense the competition is in the marketplace. It

considers the number of existing competitors and what each one can do. Rivalry
competition is high when there are just a few businesses selling a product or
service, when the industry is growing and when consumers can easily switch to
a competitor’s offering for little cost. When rivalry competition is high,
advertising and price wars ensue, which can hurt a business’s bottom line.

2. The bargaining power of suppliers

This force analyzes how much power a business’s supplier has and how much
control it has over the potential to raise its prices, which, in turn, lowers a
business’s profitability. It also assesses the number of suppliers of raw materials
and other resources that are available. The fewer supplier there are, the more
power they have. Businesses are in a better position when there are multiple
suppliers. Learn more about finding suppliers and B2B partners.

3. The bargaining power of customers

This force examines the power of the consumer, and their effect on pricing and
quality. Consumers have power when they are fewer in number but there are
plentiful sellers and it’s easy for consumers to switch. Conversely, buying
power is low when consumers purchase products in small amounts and the
seller’s product is very different from that of its competitors.

4. The threat of new entrants

This force considers how easy or difficult it is for competitors to join the
marketplace. The easier it is for a new competitor to gain entry, the greater the
risk is of an established business’s market share being depleted. Barriers to
entry include absolute cost advantages, access to inputs, economies of scale, and
strong brand identity.

5. The threat of substitute products or services

This force studies how easy it is for consumers to switch from a business’s
product or service to that of a competitor. It examines the number of
competitors, how their prices and quality compare to the business being
examined, and how much of a profit those competitors are earning, which
would determine if they can lower their costs even more. The threat of
substitutes is informed by switching costs, both immediate and long-term, as
well as consumers’ inclination to change. Learn how to perform a competitive
analysis to stay ahead of other players in the market. To take full advantage of
this strategy make sure you’re able to properly calculate cost of goods sold
(COGS).

Example of Porter’s Five Forces

There are several examples of how Porter’s Five Forces can be applied to
various industries. The ultimate goal is to identify the opportunities and threats
that could impact a business. As an example, stock analysis firm Trefis looked
at how Under Armour fits into the athletic footwear and apparel industry.

 Competitive rivalry: Under Armour faces intense competition from

Nike, Adidas, and newer players. Nike and Adidas, which have
considerably larger resources at their disposal, are making a play within
the performance apparel market to gain market share in this up-and-
 coming product category. Under Armour does not hold any fabric or
process patents, hence its product portfolio could be copied in the future.

 Bargaining power of suppliers: A diverse supplier base limits supplier

bargaining power. Under Armour’s products are produced by dozens of
manufacturers based in multiple countries. This provides an advantage to
Under Armour by diminishing suppliers’ leverage.

 Bargaining power of customers: Under Armour’s customers include

wholesale customers and end-user customers. Wholesale customers, like
Dick’s Sporting Goods, hold a certain degree of bargaining leverage, as
they could substitute Under Armour’s products with those of Under
Armour’s competitors to gain higher margins. The bargaining power of
end-user customers is lower as Under Armour enjoys strong brand
recognition.

 Threat of new entrants: Large capital costs are required for branding,
advertising, and creating product demand, which limits the entry of newer
players in the sports apparel market. However, existing companies in the
sports apparel industry could enter the performance apparel market in the
future.

 Threat of substitute products: The demand for performance apparel,

sports footwear and accessories is expected to continue to grow.
Therefore, this force does not threaten Under Armour in
the foreseeable future.

 Structural Characteristics of All Organizations

 Information systems and organizations influence one another.
Information systems are built by managers to serve the interests of the
business firm. At the same time, the organization must be aware of and
open to the influences of information systems to benefit from new
technologies.

The interaction between information technology and organizations

is complex and is influenced by many mediating factors, including the
organization’s structure, standard operating procedures, politics, culture,
surrounding environment, and management decisions (see Figure 3-1). As
a manager, you will need to understand how information systems can
change social and work life in your firm. You will not be able to design
new systems successfully or understand existing systems without
understanding your own business organization.
WHAT IS AN INFORMATION SYSTEM?

WHAT IS AN INFORMATION SYSTEM?

An information system can be defined technically as a set of interrelated
components that collect (or retrieve), process, store, and distribute information
to support decision making and control in an organization.

In addition to supporting decision making, coordination, and control,

information systems may
also help managers and workers analyze problems, visualize complex subjects,
and create new products.

Information systems contain information about significant people, places,

and things within the organization or in the environment surrounding it.

By information we mean data that have been shaped into a form that is
meaningful and useful to human beings. Data, in contrast, are streams of raw

facts representing events occurring in organizations or the physical environ-

ment before they have been organized and arranged into a form that people can
understand and use.

A brief example contrasting information and data may prove useful.

Supermarket checkout counters scan millions of pieces of data from bar
codes, which describe each product.

Such pieces of data can be totaled and analyzed to provide meaningful

information, such as the total number of bottles of dish detergent sold at a
particular store, which brands of dish deter-gent were selling the most rapidly at
that store or sales territory, or the total amount spent on that brand of dish
detergent at that store or sales region
(see Figure 1.3).

Three activities in an information system produce the information that

organizations need to make decisions, control operations, analyze problems,
and create new products or services.

These activities are input, processing, and output (see Figure 1.4).

Input captures or collects raw data from within the organization or from its
external environment. Processing converts this raw input into a meaningful
form. Output transfers the processed information to the people who will use it or
to the activities for which it will be used.
Information systems also require feedback, which is output that is returned to
appropriate members of the organization to help them evaluate or correct the
input stage.

For example, in Disney World’s systems for controlling crowds, the raw input
consists of data from airline bookings and hotel reservations, satellite weather
data, historic attendance data for the date being analyzed, and images of crowds
from video cameras stationed at key locations throughout the park.

Computers store these data and process them to calculate projected total
attendance for
a specific date as well as attendance figures and wait times for each ride and
restaurant at various times during the day.

The systems indicate which rides or attractions are too overcrowded, which
have spare capacity, and which can add capacity.

The system provides meaningful information such as the number of guests

attending on a particular day or time period, the average wait time per ride, the
average number of restaurant and shop visits, the average number of rides
guests squeezed into a single day’s visit, and the average amount spent per
customer during a specific time period.

Such information helps Disney management gauge the theme park’s overall
efficiency and profitability.

Although computer-based information systems use computer technology

to process raw data into meaningful information, there is a sharp distinc-
tion between a computer and a computer program on the one hand, and an
information system on the other.
 Electronic computers and related software
programs are the technical foundation, the tools and materials, of modern
information systems.

Computers provide the equipment for storing and processing information.

Computer programs, or software, are sets of operat-

ing instructions that direct and control computer processing.

Knowing how computers and computer programs work is important in

designing solutions
to organizational problems, but computers are only part of an information
system.
A house is an appropriate analogy. Houses are built with hammers, nails, and
wood, but these do not make a house.

The architecture, design, setting, land-scaping, and all of the decisions that lead
to the creation of these features are part of the house and are crucial for solving
the problem of putting a roof ove one’s head.

Computers and programs are the hammers, nails, and lumber of

computer-based information systems, but alone they cannot produce the infor-
mation a particular organization needs. To understand information systems,

FIGURE 3-1 The two-way relationship between organizations and

information technology
This complex two-way relationship is mediated by many factors, not the least of
which are the decisions made—or not made—by managers. Other factors
mediating the relationship include the organizational culture, structure, politics,
business processes, and environment

 As a manager, you will be the one to decide which systems will be built,
what they will do, and how they will be implemented. You may not be
able to anticipate all of the consequences of these decisions. Some of the
changes that occur in business firms because of new information
technology (IT) investments cannot be foreseen and have results that may
or may not meet your expectations. Who would have imagined five years
ago, for instance, that e-mail and instant messaging would become a
dominant form of business communication and that many managers
would be inundated with more than 200 e-mail messages each day
(Walker, 2004)? A technology introduced to boost productivity may
actually wind up lowering it.
 What is an Organization?
 An organization is a stable, formal social structure that takes resources
from the environment and processes them to produce outputs. This
technical definition focuses on three elements of an organization. Capital
and labor are primary production factors provided by the environment.
The organization (the firm) transforms these inputs into products and
services in a production function. The products and services are
consumed by environments in return for supply inputs (see Figure 3-2).

FIGURE 3-2 The technical microeconomic definition of the organization

In the microeconomic definition of organizations, capital and labor (the primary
production factors provided by the environment) are transformed by the firm
through the production process into products and services (outputs to the
environment). The products and services are consumed by the environment,
which supplies additional capital and labor as inputs in the feedback loop.

 An organization is more stable than an informal group (such as a

group of friends that meets every Friday for lunch) in terms of longevity
and routineness. Organizations are formal legal entities with internal rules
 and procedures, which must abide by laws. Organizations are also social
structures because they are a collection of social elements, much as a
machine has a structure—a particular arrangement of valves, cams, shafts,
and other parts.
 This definition of organizations is powerful and simple, but it is not
very descriptive or even predictive of real-world organizations. A more
realistic behavioral definition of an organization is that it is a collection of
rights, privileges, obligations, and responsibilities that is delicately
balanced over a period of time through conflict and conflict resolution
(see Figure 3-3).

FIGURE 3-3 The behavioral view of organizations

The behavioral view of organizations emphasizes group relationships, values,
and structures.

 In this behavioral view of the firm, people who work in

organizations develop customary ways of working; they gain attachments
to existing relationships; and they make arrangements with subordinates
and superiors about how work will be done, the amount of work that will
be done, and under what conditions work will be done. Most of these
arrangements and feelings are not discussed in any formal rulebook.

How do these definitions of organizations relate to information

systems technology? A technical view of organizations encourages us to
focus on how inputs are combined to create outputs when technology
changes are introduced into the company. The firm is seen as infinitely
malleable, with capital and labor substituting for each other quite easily.
But the more realistic behavioral definition of an organization suggests
that building new information systems, or rebuilding old ones, involves
 much more than a technical rearrangement of machines or workers. Some
information systems change the organizational balance of rights,
privileges, obligations, responsibilities, and feelings that have been
established over a long period of time.
 Changing these elements can take a long time, be very disruptive,
and require more resources to support training and learning. For instance,
the length of time required to implement effectively a new information
system is much longer than usually anticipated simply because there is a
lag between implementing a technical system and teaching employees
and managers how to use the system.
 Technological change requires changes in who owns and controls
information; who has the right to access and update that information; and
who makes decisions about whom, when, and how. This more complex
view forces us to look at the way work is designed and the procedures
used to achieve outputs.

The technical and behavioral definitions of organizations are not

contradictory. Indeed, they complement each other: The technical
definition tells us how thousands of firms in competitive markets
combine capital, labor, and information technology, whereas the
behavioral model takes us inside the individual firm to see how that
technology affects the organization’s inner workings. Section 3.2
describes how each of these definitions of organizations can help explain
the relationships between information systems and organizations.

Some features of organizations are common to all organizations;

others distinguish one organization from another. Let us look first at the
features common to all organizations.

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Links to an external site.


Common Features of Organizations
 You might not think that Apple Computer, United Airlines, and the
Aspen, Colorado, Police Department have much in common, but they do.
In some respects, all modern organizations are alike because they share
the characteristics that are listed in Table 3-1. German sociologist Max
Weber was the first to describe these “ideal-typical” characteristics of
organizations in 1911. He called organizations bureaucracies that have
certain “structural” features.
TABLE 3-1 Structural Characteristics of All
Organizations

 According to Weber, all modern bureaucracies have clear-cut

divisions of labor and specialization.
 Organizations arrange specialists in a hierarchy of authority in which
everyone is accountable to someone and authority is limited to specific
actions.
 Authority and action are further limited by abstract rules or procedures
(standard operating procedures, or SOPs) that are interpreted and applied
to specific cases.

 These rules create a system of impartial and universal decision making;

everyone is treated equally.

 Organizations try to hire and promote employees on the basis of technical

qualifications and professionalism (not personal connections). The
organization is devoted to the principle of efficiency: maximizing output
using limited inputs.

According to Weber, bureaucracies are prevalent because they are the

most efficient form of organization. Other scholars have supplemented
Weber, identifying additional features of organizations. All organizations
develop business processes (routines), politics, and cultures.