INDEX

TITLE PAGE NO.

INTRODUCTION

MANAGEMENT

FUNCTIONS LEVELS ACTIVITIES SYSTEM SYSTEM BOUNDARIES SYSTEMS AND SUBSYSTEMS SUBSYSTEM INTERFACE AND

INTERFACE PROBLEMS TYPES

BUSINESS- AS A SYSTEM

INFORMAION SYSTEM AS A SYSTEM

FRAME WORK 15 OVERVIEW 18 RESOURCES 18 ACTIVITIIES 20 TYPES 20 HOW INFORMATION SYSTEM HELPS

IN BUSINESS ACTIVITIES

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN DATA ANDINFORMATION

SEQUENCE OF DEVELOPMENT OF MIS

AS A CASE STUDY-OPERATIONAL PRODUCTION INFORMATION SYSTEM

CHARACTERISTICS OF GOOD MIS

ADVANTAGES

DISADVANTAGES

APPLICATION

CONCLUSION

REFERANCE

INTRODUCTION: -

A management information system (MIS) is a system or process that provides theInformation necessary to manage an organization effectively. MIS and the information itGenerates are generally considered essential components of prudent and reasonableBusiness decisions.The importance of maintaining a consistent approach to the development, use,And review of MIS systems within the institution must be an ongoing concern of bothBank management and OCC examiners. MIS should have a clearly defined framework ofguidelines, policies or practices, standards, and procedures for the organization. Theseshould be followed throughout the institution in the development, maintenance, and useof all MIS.MIS is viewed and used at many levels by management. It should be supportiveof the institution's longer-term strategic goals and objectives. To the other extreme it isalso those everyday financial accounting systems that are used to ensure basic control ismaintained over financial record keeping activities.Financial accounting systems and subsystems are just one type of institutional MIS.Financial accounting systems are an important functional element or part of the total MISstructure. However, they are more narrowly focused on the internal balancing of aninstitution's books to the general ledger and other financial accounting subsystems. Forexample, accrual adjustments, reconciling and correcting entries used to reconcile thefinancial systems to the general ledger are not always immediately entered into other MISsystems. Accordingly, although MIS and accounting reconcilement totals for relatedlistings and activities should be similar, they may not necessarily balance.An institution's MIS should be designed to achieve the following goals:• Enhance communication among employees.• Deliver complex material throughout the institution.• Provide an objective system for recording and aggregating information.• Reduce expenses related to labor-intensive manual activities.• Support the organization's strategic goals and direction.

Because MIS supplies decision makers with facts, it supports and enhances theoverall decision-making process. MIS also enhances job performance throughout aninstitution. At the most senior levels, it provides the data and information to help the boardand management make strategic decisions. At other levels, MIS provides the meansthrough which the institution's activities are monitored and information is distributed to

management, employees, and customers.Effective MIS should ensure the appropriate presentation formats and time framesrequired by operations and senior management is met. MIS can be maintained anddeveloped by either manual or automated systems or a combination of both. It shouldalways be sufficient to meet an institution’s unique business goals and objectives. TheMIS supports the effective deliveries of an institution’s products and services. Thesesystems should be accessible and useable at all appropriate levels of the organization

MANAGEMENT: -

Management is the process of directing tasks and organizing resources to achieveorganizational goals.Once these goals are established, the manager must develop tactics to achieve these

goals and create a decision-making process that will monitor the results.

FUNCTIONS: -

o PLANNING

o ORGANIZING

o LEADING

o CONTROLLING

PLANNING

Planning is the process of deciding what to do. This function entails evaluating theorganization’s resource and environment and establishing a set of organizational goals.

ORGANIZING

Organizing is the art of deciding how to achieve goals. This decision requiresdeveloped the best organizational structure, acquiring and training personnel, andestablishing communications network.

LEADING

Leading, the third managerial function, involves directing and motivatingemployees to achieve the organization’s goals.

CONTROLLING

Controlling enables the manager to determine if the organization’s performancesare on target. He or she may develop and use performance standard to assess employee

performance.

LEVELS

o TOP LEVEL

o MIDDLE LEVEL

o FIRST LINE LEVEL

TOP LEVEL

Members of top management are the organization’s senior executives. Their mostimportant role is establishing the goal of organization. They are typically responsible forin-teracting with representative of the external environment such as financial institutions,political figures and important suppliers and customers.

MIDDLE LEVEL

Middle level managers are responsible for allocating resources so that the objectivesof top management are accomplished. They do so by implementing plans and bysupervising lower level manager under functional area of responsibility.

FIRST LINE LEVEL

First line supervisors are responsible for supervising day-to-day operation. Theytypically supervise function such as order entry, credit checking, inventory control, andpreventive maintenance. If problems such as errors in pricing of frequent breakdowns ofequipment of plant floor occur, first line supervisors work to solve them.

ACTIVITIES

o OPERATIONAL

o TACTIONAL

o STRATEGIC

OPERATIONAL

Operations are the day to day activities of the firm that involve acquiring andconsuming resources.First line supervisors must identify,collect and register all transactions

that result in acquiring or expanding these resources.When sales are made or goods areshipped,a department manager needs to records these events. These transactions producedata that are the basis for operational systems.

TACTICAL

The tactical function of an organization is the responsibility of its middle levelmanagers. They review operational activities to make sure that the organization is meetingits goals and not wasting its resources.

STRATEGIC

The top management of the organization carries out strategic planning. Thoughmanagers responsible for operational and tactical decision making are primarily involved inreviewing internal data, the managers responsible for planning are also interested inexternal information. They need to set the organization’s long range goals.

SYSTEM

A system is an integrated set of components or entities that interact to achieve aparticular function or goal.It contains characteristics such as boundaries, outputs and inputs, methods ofconverting inputs into outputs and system interfaces.It is a group of interrelated components working together toward a common goal byaccepting input and producing outputs in an organizational transformation process.

SYSTEM BOUNDARIES

Every system has a boundary that defines its scope of activities.For example, the activities in a class include lectures, discussion, testing, grading,andpreparation of assigned course work. These activities may represent the boundary of thesystem for which teacher is responsible. Within the system of the classroom, the teacher isresponsible for organizing class time, assigning homework to students and evaluatingstudent progress. The boundary then delineates an area of responsibility. when defining a

system it is necessary to establish a boundary.System boundaries are also established within a business system. A sales managermay be responsible for motivating and evaluating the performance of a sales organization.The owner of the business, however, faces different boundaries and may develop afinancial planar marketing strategy and a long range plan.

SYSTEMS AND SUBSYSTEMS

System may consist of numerous subsystems, each of which has elements,interactions and objectives. Subsystems perform specialized tasks related to the overallobjectives of the total system. For example, an educational system may consist ofindividual courses that are subsystems. Each course provides specific knowledge that is apart of the overall educational system and contributes to its goal.In a business system, various functions are subsystems.Marketing, finance andmanufacturing, for example, are subsystems. Within the marketing subsystem, the salesorder entry and credit checking functions are subsystems. Each subsystem uses itsresources to meet specific objectives. A successful achievement of these goals requiresgood management of internal resources. For instance, in managing the sales order entryfunction, the supervisor needs to develop sales order procedures, maintain sales orderrecords, and train sales order personnel.

SUBSYSTEM INTERFACE AND INTERFACE PROBLEMS

Sometimes the outputs of one subsystem are not sufficient to accommodate the nextof the subsystem. For example the production subsystem may not be able to produceenough stock to meet sales demands during certain peak periods. One way of handling thisinterface problem is through the use of slack resources. In this situation a business canbuild excess inventory during slack times to meet the demand for inventory at peak times.Another situation in which designing a new subsystem can solve a interfaceproblem occurs at a college when it accepts some students with deficiencies in theiracademic backgrounds. To bridge the gap between high school and college, the college cancreate a remedial subsystem to help students develop prerequisite skills for college work.For instance, the college may require student deficient in basic writing skills to take aremedial writing class to learn spelling, grammer, punctuation and composition skillsbefore they can enroll in literature classes.

TYPES OF SYSTEMS

o OPEN SYSTEMS

o CLOSED SYSTEMS

OPEN SYSTEMS

They operate in an external environment and exchange information and materialwith that environment. The external environment consists of activies external to the systemboundary with which the system can interact. An open system needs to receive feedback tochange and to continue to exit in its environment. For example, a marketing system,operates in an open system, operates in an environment of competition. If a competitorintroduces new technology by providing customers with on line order entry terminals, themarketing function must adapt to the change in an environment or remain at a competitivedisadvantage. One way of accommodating the change in the environment is to offer asimilar on line order entry service. The same type of adjustment is necessary when anairline offers a new service, such as a frequent flier bonus program. Though the new service may temporarily give the air carries a competitive advantage, the other airlines soon follow suit and offer similar programs

CLOSED SYSTEMS

A closed system is relatively self contained; it doesn’t exchange information withits environment. Closed systems don’t get the feedback they need from the externalenvironment and tend to deteriorate. For instance, if a training program administratordoesn’t respond to the needs of the business environment for trained graduates, studentsmay no longer be able to get jobs and may go elsewhere for training.Eventually, thetraining program may be discontinued.

System has three basic components or functions:

o INPUT

o PROCESSING

o OUTPUT

INPUT

It involves capturing and assembling elements that enter the system to be processed.

EX: Raw materials, data and human effort must be secured and organized for processing.

PROCESSING

It involves transformation processes that convert into output.EX: Manufacturing process, the human breathing process or mathematical calculations.

OUTPUT

It involves transferring elements that have been produced by a transferring processto their ultimate destinations.

EX: Finished products, human services and management information must be transmittedto their human users.

The system concept becomes even more useful by including two addition components:

o FEEDBACK

o CONTROL

A system with feedback and control components is sometimes called as ‘CYBERNETICSYSTEM’.

FEEDBACK

It is data about the performance of a system.EX: Data about sales performance is feedback to a sales manager.

CONTROL

It involves monitoring and evaluating feedback to determine whether a system ismoving toward the achievement of its goal. The control function then makes necessaryadjustment to a system’ input and processing components to ensure that it produces proper output.

BUSINESS-AS A SYSTEM

A business is an organizational system where economic resources of (INPUT) aretransferred by various processes (PROCESSING) into goods and services (OUTPUT).Information systems provide information (FEEDBACK) on the operations of the system to management for the direction and maintenance of the system (CONTROL) as it exchanges input and output with its environments.Systems are composed of interrelated and interdependent subsystems.

FOR EXAMPLE:

The firm’s subsystem

MARKET RESEARCH SUBSYSTEM

InputProcessOutput

MANUFACTURING SUBSYSTEM

InputProcessOutput

MARKETING SUBSYSTEM

InputProcessOutput

SERVICE SUBSYSTEMInputProcessOutput

INFORMATION SYSTEM AS A SYSTEM

Information systems that provide information that provide information that lets

management allocate resources effectively to achieve business objectives are known astactical systems.

FRAMEWORK FOR INFORMATION SYSTEM

Each level-operational, tactical, and strategic planning-requires specific informationsystem.

OPERATION SYSTEMS

At the operational systems level the primary concern is to collect, validate, andrecord transactional data describing the acquisition or disbursement of corporate resources.Operation-level information systems often have the following characteristics.

REPETITIVENESS

The information operational level information systems produce is usually generatedrepetitively at periodic intervals, such as daily, weekly or monthly.

PREDICTABILITY

The information usually does not contain any surprises or unexpected results for themanager or other users of the system. That is, people are paid what they were expected to be paid, and customers are billed for what they purchased during the month.

EMPHASIS ON THE PAST

The information usually describes past activities of the organization. For example,the output of a payroll system describes employees past work. The checks to vendorsdescribes past purchases by the organization. Customer invoices describe past sales tothem. Stock reports describe past changes in inventory.

DETAILED NATURE

The information is very detailed. That is paychecks provide detailed information onthe workweek of each employee and the specifies of each employee and specifics of each employee’s gross and net pay. Customer invoices specify details regarding purchases made during the period, the terms under which the purchases must be reo\paid, and the total amount, including taxes and other charges, due.

INTERNAL ORIGIN

The data for operational systems usually spring entirely from internal sources. Thatis the data for paychecks come from internal documents such as time cards and employee master records. The data for customer invoices come from sales orders and shipping documents.

STRUCTURED FORM

The form of the data used as input and the form of the information produced byoperational level systems are usually very structured. That is, the data on time cards arecarefully formatted in identical fashion on each, or the data on each customer invoices are carefully formatted in identical fashion. In short, the form and format of the data and the information output of the systems are highly structured.

GREAT ACCURACY

The accuracy of the data used as input to such systems and of the output producedby such systems is usually very high. The data input and information output are carefully checked.

TACTICAL SYSTEMS

The second level in the framework consists of tactical systems. Tactical systemsprovide middle-level managers with the information they need to monitor and controloperations and to allocate their resources effectively. In tactical systems, transactions dataare summarized, aggregated, or analyzed. Tactical systems generate a variety of reports,Including summary reports, exception reports, and ad hoc reports.

STRATEGIC PLANNING SYSTEMS

The third level in the framework for information systems is strategic planning.Strategic planning information systems are designed to provide top managers withinformation that assists them in making long-range decisions for the organization. The distinct between strategic planning system and tactical information system is not always clear because both types of information systems may use some of the same data. For example, when middle level managers use budgeting information to allocate resources to best meet organizational goals, budgeting becomes a tactical decision activity. When top management uses budgeting information to plan the long term activities of an organization, budgeting becomes a strategic planning activity. In either case, accurate budget information delivered in a timely fashion to managers is an important function of the financial information system of the

organization .However, the key differences between the systems have to do with who uses the data and what they are using it for.

OVERVIEW OF INFORMATION SYSTEM

Information system plays three important roles in business success of an enterprise.1. Support of its business processes and operations.2. Support of decision making by its managers.3. Support of its strategies for competitive advantage.Information system depends on the resources of People (End users and ISspecialists),Hardware (Machine and Media),Software (Program and Procedures),Data(Data and Knowledge base) and Network (Communication media and Network support) to perform input,processing,output,storage and control activities that convert data resources into information products.

RESOURCES OF INFORMATION SYSTEM

Basic resources of information system:

1. PEOPLE2. HARDWARE3. SOFTWARE4. DATA5. NETWORK6. INFORMATION PRODUCTS

1. PEOPLE

It includes end users and IS specialists.

END USERS

Anyone else who uses information system.

SPECIALISTS

System analysis programmer, computer operators

2. HARDWARE

It includes machines and media.

MACHINES

Computers, video monitors, magnetic disk drive, printers, output scanners.

MEDIA

Floppy disk, magnetic tape, optical disks, paper forms, plastic card.

3. SOFTWARE

Include both programs and procedures.

PROGRAMS

Operating system, spread sheet programs, word processing programs, payroll program.

PROCEDURES

Data entry procedures, error correction procedures, pay check distribution procedures., error correction procedures, pay check distribution procedures.

4. DATA

It includes data and knowledge base.Procedure descriptions, customer records, employee files, inventory database.

5. NETWORK

It includes communication media and networks.Communications media, communications processors, network access, control software.

6. INFORMATION PRODUCTS

Management reports, business documents using text, graphics displays, audio responses and paper forms.

INFORMATION SYSTEM ACTIVITIES

1. INPUT

Optical scanning of bar code tags on merchandise.

2. PROCESSING

Calculating employee pay, taxes and other payroll deductions.

3. OUTPUT

Producing reports and display about sales performance.

4. STORAGEMaintaining records on customers, employees and products.

5. CONTROL6.

Generating audible single to indicate proper entry of sales data.

TYPES OF INFORMATION SYSTEM

1. OPERATIONS SUPPORT SYSTEMS

It supports business operations.It is further divided into three types:(a)Transaction processing systemIt is a process business transaction.(b)Process control systemIt controls industrial processes.(c)Enterprise collaboration systemIt contains team and work group collaboration.

2. MANAGEMENT SUPPORT SYSTEM

It supports in managerial decision making.It is further divided into three types:

(a) Management information system It is a prespecified reporting for managers.

(b) Decision support system It is a interactive decision supporting system.

(c) Executive information system In this system information tailored for executives.

HOW INFORMATION SYSTEM HELPS IN BUSINESSACTIVITIES

Operational information systems primarily produce routine, repeatitive, descriptive,

expected and objective data that describe past activities.Thev information they produce is usually detailed, highly structured, accurate, derived from internal sources and produced regularly. To some, these systems may appear to represent pure drudgery for employees who must complete them.However; the application of information system systems technologies to operational system has reduced this drudgery to a great extent and provided managers with a number of major advantages.Organizations that automate operational information systems usually receiveseveral benefits for their efforts.

Some of them are as below:

1. REDUCED COSTInformation technology reduces the cost of operational information systems, oftensubstantially.

3. INCREASED SPEED

Information technology also vastly increases the speed with which operational tasksare completed, thereby increases the services levels that an organization can offer to itscustomers and clients.

4. INCREASED ACCURACY

Copying data from one record to another, such as copying data from a sales order toa sales invoice, often generates errors.Capturing employee work times electronically as they report for work and leavework reduces errors when these data are subsequently used to calculate total hours, total pay, deductions and net pay.

5. INCREASED CUSTOMER SERVICE

The allocation of information technology has also improved an organization’sability to respond to each customer’s or client’s unique product or service needs. Computer systems can helps an organization record, process and keep track of the many details needed to provide customers with what they want, when they want it and in the manner that they want.

6. INCREASED DATA FOR DECISION MAKING

Operational information systems are also important for decision making. The datafrom operational information systems not only represent the basic activities of mostorganizations but also serve as the raw material for tactical and strategic informationsystems.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN DATA AND INFORMATION

DATA

They are the individual elements of a transaction, such as item number, itemquantity and price on a sales order transaction.

INFORMATIONIt is data with meaning for decision making.An information system is a set of procedures organized to generate information that enables managers to review operational, tactical and strategic planning activities.

SEQUENCE OF DEVELOPMENT OF MANAGEMENTINFORMATION SYSTEMS

The base of operational systems has to be in place before tactical systems can bebuilt because the data input into operational systems become the source of data for tactical systems.A management information system, in particular, is designed to provide informationfor effective planning and tactical decision making. Data are often aggregated to providethe information needed for tactical information systems. Therefore; most managementinformation systems need a foundation of operational level data systems.

GENERAL LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY

It involves three parts:

1. STRATEGIC PLANNING

It involves following things:

1. MARKET FORECAST2. NEW PRODUCT3. DEVELOPMENT

2. TACTICAL PLANNING

It involves following things:1. AGENT PROFITABILITY2. PRODUCT PROFITABILITY

3. OPERATIONAL PLANNING

It involves following things:

1. PREMIUM BILLING2. ACCOUNTING SYSTEMS3. POLICY ISSUANCE AND MAINTENANCE

Massive amounts of paperwork involved in creating, maintaining and generatingbills for policies make computer systems essential at GENERAL LIFE ENSURANCECOMPANY. On line systems supporting policy screening, creation and issuance weredesigned in the 1970s.Using an on-line system, an operator keys in new applicationinformation at a computer terminal. New information arriving from physicians is used toupdate policy information on-line.On-line access to policy information makes it possible to handle inquiries frompolicyholders and from agents seeking information about policy status.Many of the newer systems at General Life provide the firm with a competitiveadvantage in product marketing and customer service.General Life has developed soft ware available through its network that enables local sales agents to analyze alternative product and service options on a timely basis. This software provides the information agents need to close many sales immediately.One of major projects at General Life today is developing software for producingnew insurance products all the time, it is important to have new services and productoptions on the shelf for new marketing efforts. Market studies forecasting customer needs can provide senior management with valuable information for new product planning. New systems projects are clearly directed at cutting costs, improving productivity and providing managers with better information for decision making.Increasingly,salesmanagers are designing applications that will help them analyze product profitability andimpact of marketing strategies on sales. Information on customer profitability, for example, helps the company concentrate its resources on the most profitable customers. This supports the tactical objective of achieving maximum profitability.

AS A CASE STUDYOPERATIONALPRODUCTION INFORMATION SYSTEM

Production systems are designed to produce the goods and services to meetmarketing system projections. Production information systems support decision making forthe operation, allocation and planning of production resources.Operational production systems include continuous flow production, massproduction, job order production and project production. In addition operational productionsystems include the production of services as well as hard goods. The purpose of theproduction system is to acquire the raw materials and and purchased parts, test thematerials for quality, acquired the appropriate human resources, work space and equipmentschedule the

materials, human resources, space and equipment, fabricate the products orservices, test the product or service outputs and monitor and control the use and costs of theresources involved.Some of the major operational information systems used in production are given below:

1. PURCHASING SYSTEMS2. RECEIVING SYSTEMS3. QUALITY CONTROL SYSTEMS4. SHIPPING SYSTEMS5. COST ACCOUNTING SYSTEMS6. INVENTORY CONTROL SYSTEMS7. AUTOMATED MATERIAL HANDLING SYSTEMS8. COMPUTER AIDED DESIGN AND MANUFACTURING SYSTEMS9. IMAGE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS10. MATERIAL SELECTION SYSTEMS11. SHOP-FLOOR SCHEDULING SYSTEMS12. MASS CUSTOMIZATION AND AGILE MANUFACTURING SYSTEMS

1. PURCHASING SYSTEMS

To produce goods and services we must have the right quantity of raw materials andproduction supplies on hand. Furthermore, we will want to produce these materials andsupplies at the lowest cost and have they delivered at the right time. To assist in thisfunction, the purchasing system has to maintain data on all phase of the acquisition of raw materials and purchased parts used in production.For example, the purchasing system must maintain vendor files with price quotationinformation on all production materials and supplies so that intelligent choices can be made among suppliers. The system also maintains records of goods that are already on order.

2. RECEIVING SYSTEMS

When shipments of purchased goods and suppliers are received, they must usuallybe opened, inspected and verified against purchase orders and the information about their status passed to the accounts payable, inventory and production departments. Delivery dates should also be noted for several reasons, including collecting data on the delivery time reliability of suppliers. This type of information is supplied by receiving systems.

3. QUALITY CONTROL SYSTEMS

Quality control systems provide information about the status of production goods asthey move from the raw material state, through goods in process, to finished goods. Quality control systems ensure that raw materials or parts purchased for those materials. The system also monitor during the production cycle.

4. SHIPPING SYSTEMS

At the other end of the production process, finished goods are placed in inventoryand\or shipped to customers. Many records and documents are used to assist and monitor inthe inventorying and shipping processes.For example, shipping reports and packing slips. The information from the shippingsystem affects the inventory and account receivable systems.

5. COST ACCOUNTING SYSTEM

Many operational-level financial systems collect and report information about theresources that are used in the production processes so that managers can obtain accurate costs of productions on products and services. Cost accounting systems monitor the three major resources used in production:

HUMAN RESOURCES

MATERIALS

EQUIPMENTS AND FACILITIES

Workers, supervisors and managers are one of the most important resourcesavailable to managers. Payroll systems collect and report information about the costs ofthese resources and how much of their time has been allocated to different products and services.

6. INVENTORY CONTROL SYSTEMS

The management and control of raw materials, goods-in-process and finished goodsinventories is an important part of the production system. Careful management and control of these inventories will usually provide considerable savings to the organization.Inventory control systems use information from operational systems, such as the shipping and receiving systems, purchasing systems and order-entry systems.Maintaining inventories at their proper levels eliminates production shutdowns fromlack of raw materials and lost sales from lack of finished goods. However, maintaininginventories also represents a number of costs to the organization, including the costs ofproducing and carrying the inventory and stakeout costs, or those costs that result when theright amount of the right item is not on hand at the right time.

7. AUTOMATED MATERIAL HANDLING SYSTEMS

Keeping counts of and ordering inventory are important tasks for an

organization.However,monitoring inventorying from the time it is received to the time it isshipped is also important.AMH systems track, control and otherwise support the movement of raw materials, work-in-process and finished goods from the receiving docks to the shipping docks.AMH software combines with various materials handling equipment, including conveyors, pick-and-place robots and automated guided vehicles, to get this job done.

8. COMPUTER AIDED DESIGN AND MANUFACTURINGSYSTEMS

A great deal of software has been developed to aid product engineers design newproducts and improve old products. One type of software that helps product engineers to CAD/CAM.CAD software normally falls into two categories.One category helps mechanical engineers and architects construct and modifycomplex drawings, blueprints, diagrams or illustrations quickly and easily.Another category includes programs that help electrical engineers produceschematics quickly and easily, alter the schematics and then produce a final draft of theelectrical circuits.CAM software converts CAD drawings into finished products with little human intervention.For example, a bolt may be designed using CAD software. A compatible CAMsoftware package reads the design and instructs lathe machinery to turn out bolts with the parameters specified in the CAD drawing. CAD/CAM software has been enhanced by software providing COMPUTER AIDED ENGINEERING (CAE), COMPUTER AIDEDTESTING (CAT), COMPUTER AIDED PROCESS PLANNING (CAPP) ANDCOMMPUTER AIDED INSPECTION (CAI).

8. IMAGE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS

Engineering and architectural drawings are difficult to store and retrieve in hardcopyform. Parts of the one design may be useful in another if we can find the design thatcontained the useful element.IMS are design to manage the storage and retrieval ofengineering and architectural drawings using optical disk storage media. The software also maintains control over changes made to drawings and distributes the drawings to users.

9. MATERIAL SELECTION SYSTEMS

Many programs are available that aid the engineer in choosing materials for theproduct under design. These programs are called Material Selection Program. Selecting the best materials to account for stress, heat humidity and other conditions can belabouries.Sawyer and pecht note that in the metals category alone, an engineer mightchoose from more than 100000 materials with more than 80 properties.

10. SHOP-FLOORING SCHEDULING SYSTEMS

A common operational task for factory supervisors is to schedule production jobs.This task includes scheduling the time, building and rooms, tools and equipments,inventory and personnel to complete factory orders. Scheduling must take into account theconstraints of setup time or the time it takes to get ready for the production run, take down time or the time it takes to return the area to its original state, tool requirements, equipment requirements and operator requirements. Because it involves many subtasks and relies on many parts of the organization, shop-floor scheduling can be very complex. Computer systems can help the supervisor reduce complexity by completing some subtasks automatically.

12. MASS CUSTOMIZATION AND AGILE MANUFACTURINGSYSTEMS

Production departments are using computer systems to very products-right on theproduction line-to fit the demands of individual customers. This ability to use massproduction techniques to tailor products to each customer is called mass customization or agile manufacturing.Coomputer systems applied in this way are no longer making theorganization just more efficient. They are also making these organizations more effective and even transforming some forms.

CHARACTERISTICS OF GOOD MIS

MIS should possess the following main characteristics:

1. Completeness: Information should include all the elements needed for making a decision and also it must offer alternatives to assist in decision-making.2. Clarity and conciseness: Information presented, must be clear and concise.3. Consistency: Information must be identical if it is gathered by different persons.4. Predictive ability: IS must be capable to predict or highlight the problem areas before their actual occurrence.5. Relevant: Information must be relevant and unnecessary information should be deleted.6. Timeliness: Most current information with latest data must be made available tomanagement.7. Simple: Management information system must be simple and easy to understand andhandle.8. Effectiveness: It must assist in the process of decision-making and taking correctiveaction effectively and timely. The MIS system developed must be suitable to fulfill theneeds of the organization.9. Information or data collected at the lowest levels should be such that it can be condensedand summarized successively for presentation to high levels of management.

ADVANTAGES

1. New development in information system, such as telecommunications, computer-aideddesign and office automation have unprecedented opportunities.

2. Managers in most organizations are looking ways to use new information technology tosupport business strategy.

3. Information system can change the nature of industry in which the firm competes. The introduction of information system can affect products and services, markets andproduction economics.

4. Information system can change the nature of products and services by altering theproduct development cycle or by increasing the speed of distribution.For example: An example of speeding up the product development cycle comes from the publishing business. If a textbook publisher uses word processing and computer based type setting to generate publications, it may be able to reduce the product development cycle by 30 to 40 percent and to cut the cost of document preparation, revision and distribution by half. A publisher using word processing and typesetting could bring out a revision of a text in 12 months instead of traditional 24-month product development life cycle, giving it an automatic competitive advantage in the textbook market place. Texts produced in this way are more timely and more responsive to market needs.

5. New information system is also fostering new business opportunities. Videoconferencing, a technology that makes it possible to hold electronic meetings, could hurtthe airline and hotel businesses in the next 5 to 10 years. Holiday inns have decided tocounter this threat by offering videoconferencing facilities for business meetings and in this way have created an entirely new market.

6. Efficiency increases.For example:An efficient office worker, for example, can update hundreds of documents perhour. An efficient information system can update thousands of employee or student records per minute.Historically, computer-based information processing systems have supported efficiency by automatic routine paper work processing tasks.

7. Effectiveness increases.For example: An effective sales manager, for example, focuces on tasks that pay off in increased sales volumes. Information systems can help managers be more effective. For example, a prospect database housed on a PC may enable a sales manager to identify sales prospects with high potential and direct his staff’s attention to contacting those prospects.

8. A prospective customer, for example, may be weighting the advantages and

disadvantages of alternative investment options-say, in stocks, bonds and mutual funds.Sitting in the customer’s living room with a PC in hand, the salespersons can compare the anticipated yields on different investment alternatives and give the customer a much better idea of the potential returns on different programs. This capability is an example of transformation; it changes the way the salesperson sells investments.

9. The last group of applications of information system has an impact on the organization as a whole. Linking customers to the order-entry system of a supplier can improve efficiency.For example:Furniture retailers can use terminals linked to the order-entry system of a furnituremanufacturer to a place orders, check on prices and delivery dates and manage their own inventories. This system improves the efficiency of placing orders by cutting down on paperwork and enabling retailers to check on available stock before placing orders. The system also gives the furniture manufacturer a competitive advantage because it links customers electronically to the order-entry system, making it easier to place orders with this manufacturer than with other suppliers.

DISADVANTAGES

1. Inflexibility: Management working by MIS may follow too rigid a pattern inthinking and action. There is always need for flexibility in management thinkingdue to change in factors external to organization.However,the provision of writtenobjectives may not allow flexibility in thinking and action.

2. Lack of top management involvement and support: For a MIS programmed tosucceed, it must have the complete support of top management.

3. Different angle of vision: Each discipline of management (production, finance,marketing, personnel etc.) will view the business in the perspective of its ownactivities. Hence, functional manager measures his performance by his ownprofessional criteria, instead of measuring his contribution to the enterprise.

4. Difficulty in setting realistic and meaningful objectives: Some jobs and areas ofperformance cannot be quantified and hence are not amenable for objectiveevaluation.

5. Lack of relevant skill: Managers may not have the requisite skills for identifyingobjectives.Communicatioin and interpersonal interaction such as counseling andgiving as well as receiving feedback.

6. Lack of individual motivation: The rewards and incentives for superior performancehave to be specified clearly. If the reward, promotion and such other incentives arenot allowed then with the passage of time consistent good performance cannot bemaintained.7. Poor integration with other system: The objective setting and review phases must beperformed in conjunction with other activities such as budgeting, forecasting and

the like. Moreover, MIS necessitates decentralization of decision making powersand delegation of authority so as to fulfil the objectives. Too much decentralizationis also problematic.

8. Lack of understanding of the philosophy behind MIS: MIS programme in someorganization meets the resistance of the employees because it is imposed on them asa ‘Control device’ to curb their freedom.

APPLICATION

MIS helps the management to take decisions in the following fields:1. To carry out study, in order to provide information about the competitors, their share in the market, prices etc.This will enable the management to take decision about the quality, quantity and sales price of the product to be produced.2. To acquire knowledge about new processes and technologies developed.3. Forecasting.4. Inventory management.5. To permit management by exception.6. To prepare long range plans.7. To find out new opportunities.8. Scheduling problems.9. Reservation system being operated in Airlines.10. To allocate capital resources.11. To exercise the necessary control over day-to-day operations.12. To know about government policies related with the business of the organization etc.

CONCLUSION

Management information system is a system of obtaining, abstracting, storing andanalyzing data produce information for use in planning, controlling and decision making by yielding information for managers, at the time they can most effectively use itIn other words, management information system is a formal method of makingavailable to management accurate and timely information necessary to facilitate thedecision-making process and enable the organization’s planning, control and operational functions to be carried out effectively.

REFERANCE

1. www.wikipedia.com

2. www.google.com

3. MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEMS

ROBERT SCHULTHESIS

MARY SUMNER

By TATA MCGRAW-HILL EDITION

4. Industrial Engineering and Production Management-M.MAHAJAN