Importance

Businesses worldwide make extensive use of Management Information Systems (MIS). MIS

designed by the top management of an organization is a tool for assembling and accumulating

facts and figures about all the important business processes. The information so collected is

tabulated and presented in the form of meaningful reports. The MIS particularly aims at

controlling the technologies, work force and the policies, procedures and practices of th

Features

MIS aids the organization in effective and efficient decision making. The organizational data,

like information on the processes, standard operating procedures and audit preparation

methodology, are all tabulated and presented in the forms of reports. Also the internal controls

for each department that list the flow of work between employees, the authority-responsibility

relationships, all are listed by the MIS.

Benefits

The advantages of using an MIS are manifold. An organization that uses MIS is able to record,

process, route and tabulate all important business transactions. As and when need arises, the

organization is able to incorporate necessary changes and improvements to its areas of concern.

For example when an organization sees that the actual and projected sales figures are not in tune

with each other, it can take steps to make changes and thus align the two figures.

MIS facilitates informed decision making. MIS usually represents a number of options from

which the organization usually picks the best trade-off for sales, operations and other strategic

areas. The top management also analyzes whether its resources are being utilized optimally.

A two-way communication flow is greatly enhanced by MIS. The management freely tells its

employees their jobs, and the ways and means in which they are to accomplish the tasks

entrusted to them. The employees also in turn discuss their doubts, concerns and problems

Types

Organizations use four types of MIS. The Transaction Processing System or TPS is the most

basic and elementary form of MIS. TPS processes recurring and routine business transactions,

such as customers' orders or orders for raw material. The Operations Information System, or

OIS, collects comprehensive data and tabulates it for operations managers. Using this, the

managers are able to maximize production and minimize losses. Decision Support Systems, or

DSS, and Expert Systems, or ES, are two forms of MIS that the top management uses

extensively. Both forms use modeling techniques and databases for presenting their reports.