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What is MIS?
Management Information Systems (MIS) is the discipline which focuses on the management of information and communications technology elements within business organizations. Specifically, MIS places distinct emphasis on the three core facets through which an organization processes information - people, processes, and information technologies. Accordingly, students who enroll in the MIS program learn to design, build, implement, and manage information systems that will support the information processing needs of an organization The program is oriented toward the design of systems that will improve an organization's operational efficiency, add value to existing products, engender innovation and new product development, enhance or add new features to distribution channels and other elements of commercial systems, support collaboration of distributed teams, and help managers make better decisions. Typically, this focus involves the use of advanced information and communications technologies.

Definition
An organized approach to the study of the information needs of an organization's management at every level in making operational, tactical, and strategic decisions. Its objective is to design and implement procedures, processes, and routines that provide suitably detailed reports in an accurate, consistent, and timely manner. In a management information system, modern, computerized systems continuously gather relevant data, both from inside and outside an organization. This data is then processed, integrated, and stored in a centralized database (or data warehouse) where it is constantly updated and made available to all who have the authority to access it, in a form that suits their purpose.

Discuss the main Objectives of Management Information System.

There are many objectives of Management Information Systems. These areData Capturing: MIS capture data from various internal and external sources of organization. Data capturing may be manual or through computer terminals. Processing of Data: The captured data is processed to convert into required information. Processing of data is done by such activities as calculating, sorting, classifying, and summarizing. Storage of Information: MIS stores the processed or unprocessed data for future use. If any information is not immediately required, it is saved as an organization record, for later use.

Retrieval of Information: MIS retrieves information from its stores as and when required by various users. Dissemination of Information: Information, which is a finished product of MIS, is disseminated to the users in the organization. It is periodic or online through computer terminal. There are many objectives of Management Information Systems. These areData Capturing: MIS capture data from various internal and external sources of organization. Data capturing may be manual or through computer terminals. Processing of Data: The captured data is processed to convert into required information. Processing of data is done by such activities as calculating, sorting, classifying, and summarizing. Storage of Information: MIS stores the processed or unprocessed data for future use. If any information is not immediately required, it is saved as an organization record, for later use. Retrieval of Information: MIS retrieves information from its stores as and when required by various users. Dissemination of Information: Information, which is a finished product of MIS, is disseminated to the users in the organization. It is periodic or online through computer terminal.

Types
TYPES OF MIS

1. Databank information system 2. Predictive information system 3. Decision making information system 4. Decision taking information system Types of MIS MIS can be categorized (Mason, 1981) as follows:

 Databank information systems refer to creation of a database by classifying and storing data which might be potentially useful to the decision-maker. The information provided by the databank is merely suggestive. The decision-maker has to determine contextually the cause and effect relationships. MIS designs based on the databank information system are better suited for unstructured decisions. Predictive information systems provide source and data along with predictions and inferences. The decision-maker can also enquire as to 'what if a certain action is taken?' and whether the underlying assumptions are true. This type of MIS is useful for semi-structured decisions. Decision-making information systems provide expert advice to the decision-maker either in the form of a single recommended course of action or as criteria for choice, given the value system prevailing in the organization. The decision-maker has just to approve, disapprove or modify the recommendation. Decision-making information systems are suitable for structured decisions. Operations research and cost-effectiveness studies are examples of decision-making information systems. Decision-taking information systems integrate predictive information and decision-making systems.

There are as many types (and subtypes) of management information systems as there are business functions. Some of the most popular types of MIS are as follows: --Customer relationship management --Marketing, particularly target marketing efforts, directed at specific groups of potential customers or selling niche products --Financial management --Strategic plan development --Inventory management systems --Optimal investing strategy creation --Projected sales volume --Projected operating expenses and cost control Other types of MIS systems calculate projected tax revenue for governments; statistical evaluations of all types for business, researchers and universities; scientific purposes in all disciplines; and cost/benefit relationships for decisionmaking purposes

Characteristics of Information
Good information is that which is used and which creates value. Experience and research shows that good information has numerous qualities.

Good information is relevant for its purpose, sufficiently accurate for its purpose, complete enough for the problem, reliable and targeted to the right person. It is also communicated in time for its purpose, contains the right level of detail and is communicated by an appropriate channel, i.e. one that is understandable to the user. Further details of these characteristics related to organisational information for decision-making follows. Availability/accessibility Information should be easy to obtain or access. Information kept in a book of some kind is only available and easy to access if you have the book to hand. A good example of availability is a telephone directory, as every home has one for its local area. It is probably the first place you look for a local number. But nobody keeps the whole countrys telephone books so for numbers further afield you proba bly phone a directory enquiry number. For business premises, say for a hotel in London, you would probably use the Internet. Businesses used to keep customer details on a card-index system at the customers branch. If the customer visited a different branch a telephone call would be needed to check details. Now, with centralised computer systems, businesses like banks and building societies can access any customers data from any branch. Accuracy Information needs to be accurate enough for the use to which it is going to be put. To obtain information that is 100% accurate is usually unrealistic as it is likely to be too expensive to produce on time. The degree of accuracy depends upon the circumstances. At operational levels information may need to be accurate to the nearest penny on a supermarket till receipt, for example. At tactical level department heads may see weekly summaries correct to the nearest 100, whereas at strategic level directors may look at comparing stores performances over several months to the nearest 100,000 per month. Accuracy is important. As an example, if government statistics based on the last census wrongly show an increase in births within an area, plans may be made to build schools and construction companies may invest in new housing developments. In these cases any investment may not be recouped. Reliability or objectivity Reliability deals with the truth of information or the objectivity with which it is presented. You can only really use information confidently if you are sure of its reliability and objectivity. When researching for an essay in any subject, we might make straight for the library to find a suitable book. We are reasonably confident that the information found in a book, especially one that the library has purchased, is reliable and (in the case of factual information) objective. The book has been written and the authors name is usually printed for all to see. The publisher should have employed an editor and an expert in the field to edit the book and question any factual doubts they may have. In short, much time and energy goes into publishing a book and for that reason we can be reasonably confident that the information is reliable and objective.

Compare that to finding information on the Internet where anybody can write unedited and unverified material and publish it on the web. Unless you know who the author is, or a reputable university or government agency backs up the research, then you cannot be sure that the information is reliable. Some Internet websites are like vanity publishing, where anyone can write a book and pay certain (vanity) publishers to publish it. Relevance/appropriateness Information should be relevant to the purpose for which it is required. It must be suitable. What is relevant for one manager may not be relevant for another. The user will become frustrated if information contains data irrelevant to the task in hand. For example, a market research company may give information on users perceptions of the qual ity of a product. This is not relevant for the manager who wants to know opinions on relative prices of the product and its rivals. The information gained would not be relevant to the purpose. Completeness Information should contain all the details required by the user. Otherwise, it may not be useful as the basis for making a decision. For example, if an organisation is supplied with information regarding the costs of supplying a fleet of cars for the sales force, and servicing and maintenance costs are not included, then a costing based on the information supplied will be considerably underestimated. Ideally all the information needed for a particular decision should be available. However, this rarely happens; good information is often incomplete. To meet all the needs of the situation, you often have to collect it from a variety of sources. Level of detail/conciseness Information should be in a form that is short enough to allow for its examination and use. There should be no extraneous information. For example, it is very common practice to summarise financial data and present this information, both in the form of figures and by using a chart or graph. We would say that the graph is more concise than the tables of figures as there is little or no extraneous information in the graph or chart. Clearly there is a trade-off between level of detail and conciseness. Presentation The presentation of information is important to the user. Information can be more easily assimilated if it is aesthetically pleasing. For example, a marketing report that includes graphs of statistics will be more concise as well as more aesthetically pleasing to the users within the organisation. Many organisations use presentation software and show summary information via a data projector. These presentations have usually been well thought out to be visually attractive and to convey the correct amount of detail. Timing

Information must be on time for the purpose for which it is required. Information received too late will be irrelevant. For example, if you receive a brochure from a theatre and notice there was a concert by your favourite band yesterday, then the information is too late to be of use. Value of information The relative importance of information for decision-making can increase or decrease its value to an organisation. For example, an organisation requires information on a competitors performance that is critical to their own decision on whether to invest in new machinery for their factory. The value of this information would be high. Always keep in mind that information should be available on time, within cost constraints and be legally obtained. Cost of information Information should be available within set cost levels that may vary dependent on situation. If costs are too high to obtain information an organisation may decide to seek slightly less comprehensive information elsewhere. For example, an organisation wants to commission a market survey on a new product. The survey could cost more than the forecast initial profit from the product. In that situation, the organisation would probably decide that a less costly source of information should be used, even if it may give inferior information.

FUNCTIONS OF MANAGEMENT: Management in all business and organizational activities is the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives using available resources efficiently and effectively. Management comprises planning, organizing, staffing, leading or directing, and controlling an organization (a group of one or more people or entities) or effort for the purpose of accomplishing a goal. Resourcing encompasses the deployment and manipulation of human resources, financial resources, technological resources, and natural resources.
Management consists of the functions given below. It is based on Henri Fayol's thinking on the functions of management. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Planning: generating plans of action for immediate, short term, medium term and long term periods. Organizing: organizing the resources, particularly human resources, in the best possible manner. Staffing: positioning right people right jobs at right time. Directing (includes leading, motivating, communicating and coordinating ): Communicate and coordinate with people to lead and enthuse them to work effectively together to achieve the plans of the organization. Controlling (includes review and monitoring): evaluating the progress against the plans and making corrections either in plans or in execution.

Each of these functions is explained in some detail below. 1. Planning

Planning is decision making process. It is making decisions on future course of actions.

Planning involves taking decisions on vision, mission, values, objectives, strategies and policies of an organization. Planning is done for immediate, short term, medium term and long term periods. It is a guideline for execution/implementation. It is a measure to check the effectiveness and efficiency of an organization.

2. Organizing

Organizing involves determination and grouping of the activities. Designing organization structures and departmentation based on this grouping. Defining the roles and responsibilities of the departments and of the job positions within these departments. Defining relationships between departments and job positions. Defining authorities for departments and job positions.

3. Staffing

It includes manpower or human resource planning. Staffing involves recruitment, selection, induction and positioning the people in the organization. Decisions on remuneration packages are part of staffing. Training, retraining, development, mentoring and counseling are important aspects of staffing. It also includes performance appraisals and designing and administering the motivational packages.

4. Directing

It is one of the most important functions of management to translate company's plans into execution. It includes providing leadership to people so that they work willingly and enthusiastically. Directing people involves motivating them all the time to enthuse them to give their best. Communicating companies plans throughout the organization is an important directing activity. It also means coordinating various people and their activities. Directing aims at achieving the best not just out of an individual but achieving the best through the groups or teams of people through team building efforts.

5. Controlling

It includes verifying the actual execution against the plans to ensure that execution is being done in accordance with the plans. It measures actual performance against the plans. It sets standards or norms of performance. It measures the effective and efficiency of execution against these standards and the plans. It periodically reviews, evaluates and monitors the performance. If the gaps are found between execution levels and the plans, controlling function involves suitable corrective actions to expedite the execution to match up with the plans or in certain circumstances deciding to make modifications in the plans