essentials of mis

8/2/2019 Essentials of MIS

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MIS Essentials

Dr Sharad L. JoshiProfessor

Vishwakarma Institute of Management,Pune


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What is MIS? Study of Information Systems focusing

on their use in Business and

Management MIS combines the theoretical work of

computer science, management scienceand operations research with a practicalorientation toward developing systemsolutions to real life problems andmanaging information technology

resources.


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Types of systems Transaction Processing Systems (Dealing with day-to-

day events and actions - Financial Transactions,Student Attendance, Phonecalls, Train Reservation)

Office Automation Systems (Word, Excel) Knowledge WorkSystems(Tally, PowerPoint, CAD)

Management Info. Systems (Based on TPS StudentAbsenteeism Report, Product-wise Sales, Slow

moving items report, Customer Outstandings Report ) Decision Support Systems (Production Scheduling,

Data Mining supported analytics)

Executive Support Systems (Dashboards)


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M.I.S. Model applicable to all

6 types of systemsInformationHerbert Simon Model

of Decision Making

Data

Monitoring/Feedback

Processing Logic

Computers

Human Beings

Database

Intelligence Design Choice

Decision Implementation

Performance


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Salient Features of Modern

MIS Use of Web based GUIs for acquiring and displaying

data

Increasingly faster SQL processors and search

engines to access / explore data Use of graphics and animation in GUIs

Use of multi-layer clientserver architecture to servelarge number of users (Client is Front end; server,

back end) Component based software engineering

Wide range of software products / packages

Use of advanced mining/ analytical tools


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Computer capabilities which assist(mainly)in T.P.S.

Capturing

Storing

Summarizing

Arranging

Verifying

Retrieving

Calculating

Reproducing

Classifying

Communicating

Note : For OAS, KMS, DSS and EIS moresophisticated capabilities of computer are used.


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Tools for MIS

On Line Transaction Processing (OLTP)

Internet based, interactive data captureand query processing

Relational Data Base Management

Mathematical Models, BusinessAnalytics


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M.I.S. Outputs

OLTP SYSTEM RDBMSAPPLICATIONDEVELOPMENT

SYSTEMS

DATABASE

AccountingApplications

QueryApplications

AnalysisApplications

ControlApplications


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Steps in Systems Development

for routine M.I.S. Acquiring Data, usually, through an On Line Transaction

Processing System as well as devices such as Bar Code, RFIDand Biometric terminals, or off line Data Entry

Placing Data into Tables using a Relational Data BaseManagement System(e.g. ORACLE)

Printing Reports or obtaining Screen Displays using RDBMSfeatures like SQL and DML, mainly for

Accounting Applications

Query Applications

Analysis Applications

Control Applications


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TYPES OF REPORTS, for each

of the types of Applications Statutory Compliance (Income Tax deducted

at source from salary) Knowledge update (Budget Vs Actual, Report

on slow moving items) Operation Update (Daily Sales Report,

Product Delivery Report) Decision Analysis ( Sales up or down

subsequent to price increase) Action Update (Whether urgent supplies

sought have actually arrived)


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Michael Porter on Competitive

Advantage Sustainable competitive advantage is achieved

through either or combination of Cost Leadership,Differentiation and Focus.

Specific activities through which a company cancreate competitive advantage are Inbound Logistics,Operations, Outbound Logistics, Marketing & Salesand Service

Information , used strategically, should assist inachieving superior performance in any of the areas

stated above, creating competitive advantage.


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How to gain competitive

advantage?I.T. changes the context, creating new opportunities and new threats.Competitive advantage, depends on how well, and how effectively anorganization adapts to forces of change.

Explore possibility of re-engineering existing business using IT (likebanks and newspapers)

Use information to locate niches, new market segments - geographical,demographical, social etc use Data Mining

Change structure e.g. Decentralized to Centralized ( e.g. BOLT incase of shares) or vice versa

Use IT to add value Better service, less mistakes and earn betterprices

Increase efficiency, reduce costs, compete on lower price Enter new markets otherwise inaccessible ( thru eServices) e.g. Call

Center Standardize, Improve control, expand business the way MNCs do


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MIS and organizational change MIS changes the organizations, by reducing levels in

hierarchy, restructuring flow of work, changingproducts/ processes, making decisions data-centric(rather than judgmental) and making knowledgemore important than seniority.

However, as observed by Levitt, computers alonecannot change the organization. For that to happen,

People, Tasks (what to do), Processes (how to do)and Technology have all to change simultaneously.


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Herbert Simon Model 3

Phases Intelligence phase involves scanning social,

competitive and organizational environment andunderstanding/ identifying the problem

Design phase involves generating alternatives tosolve the problem and evaluating each of thealternatives qualitatively and quantitatively.

Choice phase involves ranking the alternativesbased on a variety of criteria and choosing the mostsuitable among them.

Note that the model does not include implementationand feedback, which is said to be its limitation.


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HUMANS AS INFORMATION

PROCESSORS- 11. Humans have a psychological need for feedback.

2. Humans have a psychological value for unused data.

3. Humans have a tendency for over consumption of

information for the following reasons: Having information is considered a sign of competence ( hence

demand for Terminals and Passwords).

Much of the information is gathered for supervision and not fordecision making.

Information is often gathered to persuade and to represent.

For the above reasons, organizations favour informationgathering activity.


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HUMANS AS INFORMATIONPROCESSORS- 2

4. Information overload adversely affects theinformation processing performance of humans.

5. Individual differences in ability and approach result inhigher or lower need for information, its form andprocessing.

6. Nonverbal inputs also contribute to informationavailability and processing.

7. Humans have a limited ability to absorb and analyzequantitative data.


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TIPS FOR MIS DESIGNERS- 1

1) Information systems should filterirrelevant data.

2) Info. System should assist in definingproblem rather than leaving it to theusers.

3) Codes for human use should notexceed 5 to7 characters.


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4) System should highlight importantdifferences as compared to assuming

that humans will notice them.5) System should provide statistical

analysis of data averages, variances,

co- relations etc. Data should beconsistent, free of basis.


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6) Information should be provided in theform needed.

7) Information should be built around ananchor point and provide for deviationsfrom there.

8) System should provide alternatives inorder of preferences.


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9) System output should beunderstandable both by the novice and

the skilled.10) System should provide for feedback

points such as data not received, not

processed, not circulated etc.11) System may contain some data which may

not be usable. The designers should develop

tolerance towards such demands.


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12) Information should be kept below theoverload point.

13) Managers critical to the system must beincluded.

14) System should provide for short bursts ofinformation to suit needs of some managers.

15) The system should provide summarizeddata but should also allow for easy browsingthrough raw data.


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I.T and ITES Syllabus Topics

Evolution of computers,generations

Tele-communication, Networks

IT enabled services such as call centers,Geographical Information Systems


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Example of GIS,indicating influenceof political partiesin Corporation

Elections


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Relational Data Base ManagementSystems (RDBMS)

As an example of RDBMS study three tables for aTrain Reservation Systems viz. Form Table,Passenger Table and Train Table.

Form Table is related to Passenger Table thru FormNo. Form Table is related to Train Table thru TrainNumber.

Two examples of SQL queries follow.

Strength of the system is that despite simple tabledesign, it is capable of handling millions of records,fast and accurately.


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SQL Example 1- TrainReservation

Purpose List trains between Mumbaiand Delhi

Query

select TrainNo, TrainName

from Train_Table

where From = Mumbai and To =Delhi


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SQL Example 2- TrainReservation

Purpose Get passenger list for train 2423,compt SC7 and date = 23rd March 2012

Queryselect S-BNo, Name, Sex,Age

from Form_Table, Passenger_Table

where Form_table.FormNo =

Passenger_Table.FormNo andTrainNo = 2423 and Date = 23-03-

2012 and Compt = SC7


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Data Warehousing and DataMining (vs Dabases).

Data Warehouses are similar to Databases in that both maintainand access tables which may contain diverse data likenumbers, text, pictures, audio clips, video clips etc.

Data Warehouse has better analysis capabilities (OLAP) whileDatabase has better transaction processing capabilities (OLTP).DB is write-optimized ; DW is read-optimized . DW is betterfor analytics. Note that DW and DM handle data in GB and TB.

Data Mining is better designed for quantitative and statistical

analysis, whereas DW creates and uses simpler analyses, relyingon qualitative interpretation.

All these DB, DW and DM have 5 capabilities Store, Maintain,Access, Analyze and Present the data.


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Decision Support Systems(DSS) and

Group Decision Support Systems(GDSS)

Decision Support Systems, in the past were based on lowvolume of data, and utilized special tools and models (likeLinear Programming, Operations Research) for analysis. DSS

has now been converted into Business Intelligence, orAnalytics. It uses vast amount of data and analyses it thrusophisticated data warehousing and data mining tools.

Group Decision Support System uses Decision Support Systemmethodology but allows a number of decision makers to work togetherto arrive at a decision acceptable to the group. One of the techniques

used for GDSS is electronic brainstorming brainstorming thru anonline chat. A variation of electronic brainstorming called NominalGroup Technique , where ideas generated are put to vote andselected, is also used. GDSS is more useful in case of virtual teams.


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Business Analytics for Godrej HouseholdProducts Sales Force Automation (SFA)

SFA solution was implemented on Tablet computing deviceswith a view to capture transactions related to orders, collectionand return of goods electronically and transmit them to the

billing system and returns databases. The tablet computer also displays information about sales

history, schemes, promotions and achievement Vs. target ofsalesmen. It can even suggest an order to the salesman for aparticular outlet, based on its past record and current purchase.

IBM XPD Desktop, located at the office, integrates data receivedthru tablet application with backend billing.

The SFA solution utilizes IBM Business Analytics software.


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E (Executive/ Enterprise/Everybodys) Information System

E.I.S. started as Executive Information System,meant for senior executives but is currently used alsoat other levels where people need to take decisions

based on latest and most relevant information. Ituses data analysis tools and presentation techniquessuch as Executive Dashboards . Dashboards presentinformation related to Key Result Areas (KRA) or Key

Performance Indicators (KPI) in a single screen.Capability to drill down from aggregate data tocomponents is an essential pre-requisite of EIS.Examples of dashboards follow.


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Typical Dashboards.


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Expert Systems and ArtificialIntelligence

Expert Systems try to incorporate experts knowledgeinto computer software so as to assist decisionmaking by non-experts (e.g. medical diagnosis, Tax

planning). The Expert Systems have knowledge DataBase and inference engine (i.e. logic) which is usedto draw inferences.

Artificial Intelligence ventures into areas which has

always required human intelligence. LanguageTranslation and Speech Recognition are twoexamples. AI uses algorithms similar to humanreasoning, so as to assist, if not to take decisions.


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Management Issues in MIS (1)Information Security and Control

External Threats

Thru Internet and Thru Remote Access

Problems Hacking, Identity Theft, data loss

Firewalls offer a partial solution

Internal Threats

Password theft, Misuse of authorization, malware (viruses),physical theft of Hardware and Software

Anti Virus Solutions, Access Reviews, Frequent Change ofpasswords, back-ups and Business Process Continuity planning,physical controls, maintaining a log of all system activities (audittrails) are the techniques used to combat the threat.

Periodic Information Security Audit is advisable for both.


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Management Issues in MIS (2) SoftwareQuality Assurance

Software quality assurance covers attributes such as reliability,efficiency and promised performance .

In order to assure quality of software, 3 aspects need to be

attended to.1. Creating a quality profile Specifying qualitative and

quantitative aspects of software ( such as number of problemsreported, number of updates supplied)

2. Process control thru Requirements, Design, Coding and Testing

Checklists , software engineering, Documentation etc.3. Obtaining third party certification from agencies such as ISO

about conformance to quality procedures.


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Management Issues in MIS (3) EthicalDimensions, Intellectual Property Rights, GlobalInformation Systems

Ethical Aspects are mainly related to misuse of computertechnology for personal benefit, intentional manipulation ofdata, indulging in cybercrime, violating data privacy, even

insensitive automation. Intellectual Property Rights concern software and hardware

piracy, violation of patents, breach of trade marks, breach ofconfidence relating to information held in trust.

Managing Global Information Systems involve dealing with

cultural, political and economic challenges posed by differentcountries, developing appropriate business and IT Strategies forthe global marketplace and developing a portfolio ofapplications to support them.

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