Introduction to MIS

Management Information Systems (MIS)

Nandana Pathirage

General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University

Lesson 1: Information Systems in Global Business Today

Reference Books:

Laudon and Laudon, Management Information Systems, Managing the Digital Firm, 12th Edition, Prentice Hall, 2012

Additional Reading:EFFY OZ, Management Information Systems, 6th Edition, 2009

AcknowledgementAcknowledgement

• This lecture series is based on the following key texts and resources (including lecture slides associated with each text book)

– Laudon and Laudon, Management Information Systems, Managing the Digital Firm, 12th Edition, Prentice Hall, 2012

– EFFY OZ, Management Information Systems, 6th Edition, 2009

• Other sources are referenced separately

Unit Overview

This unit is about the Managing Information Systems, particularly Business Information Systems.

The unit concentrates of addressing series of important questions:

What is an information system (IS) and what are its management, organization, and technology dimensions? Why are IS so essential in businesses today? How can IS help businesses become more competitive? What broader ethical and social issues are raised by widespread use of IS?

Once you have done that then you will study the technical foundation for understanding IS by examining hardware, software, databases, and networking technologies along with tools and techniques for security and control.

Programme of Study

Each week you will study one lesson and you are expected to undertake the real-world case studies and interactive sessions in Loudon's Book.

Finally, students are expected to spend approximately 10-15 hours per week on the given activities and spending less time will significantly affect your chances of success in the two assessments.

Unit will cover:

1. Information Systems in Global Business Today

2. Global E-Business: How Business use Information Systems

3. Information Systems, Organizations, and Strategy

4. Ethical and Social Issues in Information Systems

5. IT Infrastructure and Emerging Technologies

6. Foundation of Business Intelligence: Databases and Information

Management

7. Telecommunications, the Internet, and Wireless Technology

8. Securing Information Systems

Assessment and Grading

How is the unit assessed?

The unit is assessed by a coursework (assignment), worth of 40% of the total marks, and an examination (60%). In order to pass the unit student need to achieve 40% in the combined unit.

During the study of the unit you will be asked to participate the discussion and team work activities (end of the each lessons).

1.0 Introduction to MISToday, organizations recognizes the importance of managing “resources of information” and “informative processes” as well as basic resources such as labor, capital, and raw materials.

What is Data?What is Information?What is a System?What is an Information System?

Data and Information

Raw data from a supermarket checkout counter can be processed and organized to produce meaningful information, such as the total unit sales of dish detergent or the total sales revenue from dish detergent for a specific store or sales territory

A Hierarchy of Understanding

Data

Information

Knowledge

Wisdom

Order

Experience

Integration of unrelated set of knowledge

You need to understand that concepts of knowledge, and especially wisdom, are outside the capability of current technology – despite claims to the contrary.

System and Information System

System is a set of components that interact to accomplish goals.Systems can be viewed as process models in terms of their inputs, outputs, processing, and feedback/control mechanisms.

An Information System is a set of interrelated components that collect or retrieve, process, store, and distribute information to support decision making and control in an organization.

Information systems can also be used to analyze problems, visualize complex subjects, and create new products.

What do MIS professionals do?What do MIS professionals do?

BUSINESSBUSINESS

TECHNOLOGY

MIS

Bridge the gap between business and technical minds

Functions of an Information System

An information system contains information about an organization and its surrounding environment. Three basic activities—input, processing, and output—produce the information organizations need.

Feedback is output returned to appropriate people or activities in the organization to evaluate and refine the input. Environmental actors, such as customers, suppliers, competitors, stockholders, and regulatory agencies, interact with the organization and its information systems.

A Manufacturing System: Generic Components

ManufacturingProcess

Input ofRaw Materials

Output ofFinished Products

Environment

Other Systems

Control byManagement

ControlSignals

ControlSignals

FeedbackSignals

FeedbackSignals

System Boundary

System Components

Systems: Some Examples

UniversityInputs: Students, Faculty,

TextbooksProcesses:

Education/CoursesOutput: graduatesFeedback: surveys, grades

Toyota PlantInputs: raw materials,

componentsProcesses: assembly lineOutput: mini-vansFeedback: customer

surveys, quality reports

Fast Food ISInputs: consumer ordersProcesses: processing

softwareOutput: receipts, cook’s

order listFeedback: invalid entry

message

Video Store ISInputs: rentals, returnsProcesses: processing

softwareOutput: reports, rental

agreementFeedback: error repots

Interactive Session: Management

MIS IN YOUR POCKET

Refer to the given case study

Major Types of Systems in Organization

Business organizations are hierarchies consisting of three principal levels: senior management, middle management, and operational management. Information systems serve each of these levels. Scientists and knowledge workers often work with middle management.

Levels in a firm

Major Business Functions and need of IS

• If you career is in finance or accounting, you will need information systems to summarize transactions, organize data, and perform financial analysis.

• If your career is in human resources or management, you will need information systems to communicate with employees, maintain employee records, and coordinate work activities.

• If your career is in information systems, you will be working with management and other business professionals to develop and support new systems that serve the needs of the business.

• If you career is in manufacturing, production or operations management, you will need information systems for planning, forecasting, and monitoring production and services.

• If you career is in sales and marketing, you will need information systems for branding, promotions, processing orders, and providing customer service.

Types of Information Systems

Three main categories of information systems serve different organizational levels:

Operational-level Systems: support operational managers, keeping track of the elementary activities and transactions

Management-level Systems: serve the monitoring, controlling, decision-making, and administrative activities

Strategic-level Systems: help senior management tackle and address strategic issues

Four major types of information systems

Strategic Business Objectives of IS

•Operational excellence: Efficiency, productivity, and improved changes in business practices and management behavior

-Wal-Mart become the most efficient retail store in the industry-

•New products, services, and business models: A business model describes how a company produces, delivers, and sells a product or service to create wealth. Information systems and technologies create opportunities for products, services, and new ways to engage in business.

- Apple Inc. transformed an old business model of music distribution vinyl records, tapes and CDs into an online, legal distribution model based on its own iPod technology platform-

•Customer and supplier intimacy: Improved communication with and service to customers raises revenues, and improved communication with suppliers lowers costs.

Business firms invest heavily in information systems to achieve six strategic business objectives:

• Improved decision making: Without accurate and timely information, business managers must make decisions based on forecasts, best guesses, and luck, a process that results in over and under-production of goods, raising costs, and the loss of customers.

• Competitive advantage: Implementing effective and efficient information systems can allow a company to charge less for superior products, adding up to higher sales and profits than their competitors.-Dell Computer remains most efficient producer of PCs in the world

due to the concept of “mass customization”-

• Survival: Information systems can also be a necessity of doing business.

-A necessity may be driven by industry-level changes, as in the implementation of ATMs in the retail banking industry (Citi Bank 1977). A necessity may also be driven by governmental regulations, such as federal or state statutes requiring a business to retain data and report specific information-

The Role of Information Systems in Business Today

Information technology capital investment, defined as hardware, software, and communications equipment, grew from 34% to 50% between 1980 and 2004.

Total Investment

IT Investment

The Interdependence Between Organizations and Information Systems

Changes in strategy, rules, and business processes increasingly require changes in hardware, software, databases, and telecommunications. Often, what the organization would like to do depends on what its systems will permit it to do.

Interactive Session: Technology

“UPS” COMPETES GLOBALLY WITH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

Refer to the given case study

Dimensions of Information Systems

Using information systems effectively requires an understanding of the organization, management, and information technology shaping the systems.

THE NEW YANKEE STADIUM LOOKS TO THE FUTURE

Refer to the given case study