Subject: Management Information system Semester: VII

Introduction to Information Systems

• Computer Based Information Systems
• Impact of IT on organizations
• Importance of IS to Society.
• Organizational Strategy
• Competitive Advantages and IS.
1.1 What Is an Information System?
1.2 The Benefits of Information Systems

➢ Modern technology can significantly boost your company's performance and

productivity. Information systems are no exception.
➢ Organizations worldwide rely on them to research and develop new ways to
generate revenue, engage customers and streamline time-consuming tasks.
➢ With an information system, businesses can save time and money while
making smarter decisions.
➢ A company's internal departments, such as marketing and sales, can
communicate better and share information more easily.
➢ Since this technology is automated and uses complex algorithms, it reduces
human error. Furthermore, employees can focus on the core aspects of a
business rather than spending hours collecting data, filling out paperwork
and doing manual analysis.
➢ Thanks to modern information systems, team members can access massive
amounts of data from one platform.
➢ For example, they can gather and process information from different sources,
such as vendors, customers, warehouses and sales agents, with a few mouse
clicks.

1.3 Characteristics of MIS

Managers are the key people in an organization who ultimately determine the
destiny of the organization. They set the agenda and goals of the organization,
plan for achieving the goals, implement those plans and monitor the situation
regularly to ensure that deviations from the laid down plan is controlled. This set
of activity ensures the smooth functioning of the organization and helps it attain
its objectives. Hence, these managers are vital for a successful organization. The

Prof. Rushikesh R. Nikam Department Computer Engineering

Subject: Management Information system Semester: VII

managers in turn conduct these activities collectively management functions.

They decide on all such issues that have relevance to the goals and objectives of
the organization. The decisions range from routine decisions taken regularly to
strategic decisions, which are sometimes taken once in the lifetime of an
organization. The decisions differ in the following degrees,
1. Complexity
2. Information requirement for taking the decision
3. Relevance
4. Effect on the organization
5. Degree of structured behavior of the decision-making process.
1.4 Impact of IT on Organization

Information technology systems are used by organizations to perform various

tasks. Some use IT to provide for the basic processing of transactions, while
others enable customers, distributors and suppliers to interact with the
organization through various communication technology systems such as the
internet.

The IT impacts organization in the following ways of access

1. Flow of Information: Information is a key resource for all organizations.

What information describes might be internal, external, objective or
subjective. External information describes the environment surrounding the
organization. Objective information describes something that is known.
Subjective information describes something that is currently unknown. With
information technology the flow of all these three types of information is
made simple buy use of centralized data centers where all this data can be
retrieved. Information in an organization can flow in four direction and these
include upward flow of information, downward flow of information, outward
flow of information and horizontal flow of information.
2. Transaction processing: Information technology simplifies the transaction
process of an organization. A transaction process system (TPS) is a system
that processes transactions that occur within an organization. At the heart of
every organization are IT systems whose main role is to capture transaction
information, create new information based on the transaction information.
TPS will update any transaction process and store that information in a

Prof. Rushikesh R. Nikam Department Computer Engineering

Subject: Management Information system Semester: VII

database, so any concerned party in the organization can access that

information via a centralized information storage network of internet.
3. Decision support: A decision support system (DSS) is a highly flexible and
interactive IT system that is designed to support decision making when the
problem is not structured. A DSS works together with an artificial intelligence
system to help the worker create information through (OLAP) online
analytical process to facilitate decision making tasks that require significant
effort and analysis.
4. Workgroup support: Since information technology facilitates in the creating
an information sharing environment, workers can easily consult each other
across different department without any interruption. They can use emails,
text chatting services to inquire something related to a given task at work.
With work group support systems, group decision making becomes easier.
5. Executive support: An executive information system (EIS) is an interactive
management information system (MIS) combined with decision support
systems and artificial intelligence for helping managers identify and address
problems and opportunities. An EIS allows managers to view information
from different angles. Yet it also provides managers with the flexibility to
easily create more views to better understand the problem or opportunity at
hand.
6. Data Management: With the help of database software, an organization
stores all its relevant data on a database. This infrastructure can be designed
when it is internal or external. An internal centralized system can only be
accessed within the organization while an external centralized system allows
data to be accessed outside the organization using a remote (IP) internet
protocol Address or a domain name. In this case, employees or managers can
use a company website to access relevant company data by use of passwords.
This data is not exposed to the public and search engines.
7. Communication: Information technology accounts in the development of
communication technology. Services like electronic mail make
communication within and outside the organization easy and first. Now days
email communication is a default communication technology used by every
organization. Communication is a great tool in business develops, with
advanced communication tools, employees and managers can easily make
beneficial decisions in the organization.

Prof. Rushikesh R. Nikam Department Computer Engineering

Subject: Management Information system Semester: VII

1.5 Impact of IT on Society

Technology and human life cannot be separated; society has a cyclical co-
dependence on technology. We use technology; depend on technology in our
daily life and our needs and demands for technology keep on rising. Humans
use technology to travel, to communicate, to learn, to do business and to live
in comfort. However, technology has also caused us concerns. Its poor
application has resulted in the pollution of the environment and it has also
caused a serious threat to our lives and society. This calls for the proper use
of technology. The biggest challenge facing people is to determine the type
of future we need to have and then create relevant technologies which will
simplify the way we do things.

Positive Impacts of Technology on Society

Technology Has Mechanized Agriculture: Technology has mechanized

agriculture: Modern agricultural technology allows a small number of people
to grow vast quantities of food in a short period of time with less input which
results into high yields and RIO” return on investment”. Through government
subsidies, small and medium-sized farmers have managed to acquire plowing,
sowing, watering and harvesting machines. The use of technology in
agriculture has also resulted in the manufacturing of genetic crops which can
grow fast and they can be resistant to many pests and diseases. Also, farmers
have access to artificial fertilizers which add value to the soil and boost the
growth of their crops and enable them to produce high-quality yields. Farmers
in dry areas have been able to grow healthy crops, they use advanced water
pumps and sprinklers which derive water from rivers to the farms, the all
process can be automated to save time. A good example is Egypt, this is a
desert country which receives little rain, but small and big farmers have used
automated sprinklers to irrigate their farms. In Egypt, they grow a lot of rice,
yet this crop needs enough water to grow well. The water is pumped from
River Nile to the rice fields daily.

Technology Has Improved Transportation: Technology has improved

transportation: Transportation is one of the basic areas of technological
activity. Both society and businesses have benefited from the new

Prof. Rushikesh R. Nikam Department Computer Engineering

Subject: Management Information system Semester: VII

transpiration methods. Transportation provides mobility for people and

goods. Transportation, like all other technologies, can be viewed as a system.
It is a series of parts that are interrelated. These parts all work together to
meet a certain goal. Transportation uses vehicles, trains, airplanes, motorbikes,
people, roads, energy, information, materials, finance and time. All these parts
I have mentioned work together to move and relocate people and goods.
Technology has helped in advancing all the four types of transportation and
these include

a. Road transport used by automobiles.

b. Air transport which is used by airplanes.
c. Water transportation which is used by ships and speed boats.
d. Space transportation used to go to the moon.

The most used of all these is Road transportation, this one facilitates the
movement of goods and people. Technologies like automobiles, buses, and
trucks have improved the way humans move and how they transport their
goods from place to another. Also, developing countries are getting funds
from wealthy countries to improve their road transport which has resulted in
the development of rural remote areas.

Technology Has Improved Communication: Technology has improved

communication: Communication is used for several purposes. Both society
and organizations depend on communication to transfer information. People
use technology to communicate with each other. Electronic media like radios,
televisions, internet, social media have improved the way we exchange ideas
which can develop our societies. In many countries, radios and televisions are
used to voice the concerns of the society, they organize live forums where the
community can contribute through mobile phones or text service systems like
tweeter. During political elections, leaders use radio, television and internet
media to reach the people they want to serve.

Technology Has Improved Education and Learning Process: Technology

has improved education and learning process: Education is the backbone of
every economy. People need well and organized educational infrastructures
so that they can learn how to interpret information. Many schools have started

Prof. Rushikesh R. Nikam Department Computer Engineering

Subject: Management Information system Semester: VII

integrating educational technologies in their schools with a great aim of

improving the way students learn. Technologies like smart whiteboards,
computers, mobile phones, iPads, projectors, and internet are being used in
classrooms to boost students moral to learn. Visual education is becoming
more popular and it has proved to be the best method of learning in many
subjects like mathematics, physics, biology, geography, economics and much
more. The business community has invested money in various educational
technologies which can be used by both teachers and their students. For
example, on iTunes, you will find many educational applications which can
allow students and teachers exchange academic information at any time, this
has made learning mobile. Also, programs like Long distance learning have
opened boundaries too so many scholars around the world.

IT has brought about major improvements in healthcare delivery: Medical

personnel use IT to make better and faster diagnoses and to monitor critically
ill patients more accurately. IT has streamlined the process of researching and
developing new drugs.

Figure 1: Impact of IT in Society

Prof. Rushikesh R. Nikam Department Computer Engineering

Subject: Management Information system Semester: VII

Negative Impacts of Technology on Society

Resource Depletion: The more demand for new technologies and

advancement of current technologies, the more pressure we put on earth’s
natural resources. Look at the total number of mobile phones and computers
being manufactured today; our population is increasing every day and all
these billion consumers demand either a mobile phone or a computer in their
homes or offices. This is good news for the manufactures, like Apple or
Samsung, the demand for their gadgets is high, but to sustain this demand,
they have to exploit Mother Nature for resources like aluminum, once these
resources are extracted from the earth plates, they will never return back
because it took them a billion years to mature. That means that at one time,
we shall be left with no natural resource which can be a problem to the future
generation and economy. Likewise, the intensive farming practices will
deplete the soil. This makes heavy applications of commercial fertilizers
necessary to yield healthy harvests, but also these fertilizers have chemicals
which are dangerous to the soil and human lives.

Increased Population: Technology has helped us live longer by improving

health facilities and aiding in the research for solutions for most health
problems which affect humans. This is good news for developed countries but
is bad news for developing countries which have not been able to access these
health care benefits brought by technology. In developed countries
population growth is controlled by advanced birth control methods, this has
helped them balance their population in relation to natural resources and
other opportunities which come with a planned population. This is different in
developing countries, the rate at which people produce is very high, the
mortality rate is high, food is scarce and health care is poor.

Increased Pollution: Pollution affects the land we grow crops on, the water
we drink and the air we breathe. The increased demand for new technologies
and advancement of technologies has resulted in many manufacturing and
processing factories. As they work so hard to create the best technologies for
both society and business, they release harmful chemicals and gasses which
have polluted our environment, and this has resulted in climate changes
(global warming). So the more technology we enjoy, the more we harm our

Prof. Rushikesh R. Nikam Department Computer Engineering

Subject: Management Information system Semester: VII

environment. Experts have tried to implement ways of reducing this impact by

encouraging factories to go green, to a small extent, this has been achieved
through the development of green technologies like; green cars, green
computers, but a great effort is still needed to reduce the pollution of the air
and the earth.

1.6 Organizational Strategy

Information technology (IT) is dramatically changing the business landscape.

Although impacts of technology and the implications for management on:

1. Business strategy - collapsing time and distance, enabling electronic commerce

2. Organization Culture - encouraging the free flow of information
3. Organization Structures - making networking and virtual corporations a reality
4. Management Processes - providing support for complex decision-making
processes
5. Work - dramatically changing the nature of professional, and now managerial
work
6. The workplace - allowing work from home and on the move, as in telework

Prof. Rushikesh R. Nikam Department Computer Engineering

Subject: Management Information system Semester: VII

Figure 2:Oraganization Structure using IS

Business Strategy

IT creates new opportunities for innovation in products and services. Services

which used to be delivered in person can now be delivered over networks.
Among the key levers are:

i. Resequencing: including parallel processing of data-bases

Prof. Rushikesh R. Nikam Department Computer Engineering

Subject: Management Information system Semester: VII

ii. Simultaneity: making information instantly available in several systems (e.g

via ole)
iii. Time extension: offering 24 hour a day; 365 days a year service
iv. Portability: taking service and products closer to the user
v. Reusability: using information captured for one purpose (e.g. Transactions),
and using for others (e.g. Customer targeting)

Organization Culture

Newer types of IT such as electronic mail and groupware are creating significant
changes in the way that information flows around group ware, and between them
and their customers and suppliers. It can hasten the development of more open
and innovative cultures. However, as experts like Davenport warns, and surveys
from companies like Reuters confirm, the notion that "information is power" still
reigns large in many or group wares, our experience shows that many new
systems fail to become accepted by their users, because the systems developers
have not been culturally sensitive to the department or group ware, in which the
new systems are to be used.

Organization Structures

For many years it has been argued that IT will enable larger spans of control and
the flattening of group ware. This has at last happened, but due as much to
initiatives like BPR (business process reengineering) and the drive to cut costs.
Research on whether IT encourages centralization decentralizations produced
ambivalent results. Many companies have centralized operations (for efficiency)
while at the same time decentralizing activities. It now seems clear that IT enables
a greater variety of structures. It enables more flexible and fluid structures -
networked structures, dispersed team and teams that come and go as needs
change (as in the virtual corporation).

Management Processes

IT is rapidly entering the era where it supports unstructured management

processes as well as highly routinized business processes . It provides more

Prof. Rushikesh R. Nikam Department Computer Engineering

Subject: Management Information system Semester: VII

effective ways of accessing information from multiple sources, including use of

external information on databases and the Internet. However, group decision
support systems that operate in a meeting room environment can help enhance
decision making, but it does need someone who is an expert facilitator to help
the group master the technique of structured discussion.

Work

IT is dramatically changing the nature of professional work. There are few offices
where professional do not make use of personal computers, and in many jobs
involving extensive information and knowledge-based work, the use of the
computer is often a core activity. Becoming effective not only requires traditional
skills of organizing, thinking, writing etc., but knowing how best to use the power
of IT for researching sources, accessing information, connecting to experts,
communicating ideas and results, and packaging the knowledge (asset) for reuse.
One aspect of this is the need for hybrid managers - people who are competent
at both their discipline and IT.

The Workplace

The way in which IT diminishes the effect of distance means that it creates a
variety of options for reorganizing the workplace. At a basic level, it can provide
more flexibility in the office, allowing desk sharing and a degree of location
independence within a building (this will develop as CTI (Computer Telephony
Integration) and wireless PCs become more firmly established. At another level it
permits the dispersion of work teams, thus saving costs of relocation and travel.
It has also created the mobile professional and allows people to work effectively
from home.

Implications for Management

These IT impacts have implications for managers of all organizational functions,

and not just MIS managers. Among the most important are:

Prof. Rushikesh R. Nikam Department Computer Engineering

Subject: Management Information system Semester: VII

1. Understanding the Changing Context of IT - as well as the direct impact

on their business managers need to be able to see these developments in
the context of the wider environment in which their business operates. For
a long-term perspective see IT Futures Discussion Paper
2. Keeping abreast of Developments - not about the details of the
technologies, but about the business impacts; for example by meeting
suppliers business consultant's, attending conferences, or receiving
customized presentations from independent analysts.
3. Integrating IT and Business Planning - the IT strategy should support the
business strategy and vice versa. This may need new planning processes,
hybrid teams, and a increased incorporation of the levers into business
plans.
4. Addressing Culture Issues - the dimensions of existing and desired culture
need to be understood and how proposed systems will affect them.
Attention needs to be paid to the organization's information culture
5. Experimenting with new Structures - using IT to remove some of the
limitations of hierarchy and to encourage the development of innovative
teams, using experts located in different functions and places. Managing
dispersed teams is challenging but rewarding.
6. Ensuring that new systems are customized change proof - our studies
have shown many new systems to be developed around existing customized
structures and responsibilities. Since these changes very rapidly, new
systems should be built with orgacustomizedxibility and change in mind.
7. Developing New Skills - more of tomorrow's managers will need to
become hybrid managers, combining the knowledge and skills of general
management, their own discipline and IT.
8. Using IT as a management tool - initiating personal use of IT into every
day work. This should include use of decision support tools, groupware,
knowledge management solutions and exploiting the Internet.
9. Exploiting Information as a Strategic Asset - using the techniques of
Information Resources Management to develop it as a valuable resource for
internal use, for adding value to customer activities or services, or for
creating saleable products.

Prof. Rushikesh R. Nikam Department Computer Engineering

Subject: Management Information system Semester: VII

10. Introducing Knowledge Management and Innovation - going

beyond information to developing networks of knowledge experts who
evolve the organization's knowledge assets to create extra capabilities and
value.

Prof. Rushikesh R. Nikam Department Computer Engineering