My webs: Management Information Systems

A management information system (MIS) is a system or process that provides information needed to manage organizations effectively. Management information systems are regarded to be a subset of the overall internal controls procedures in a business, which cover the application of people, documents, technologies, and procedures used by management accountants to solve business problems such as costing a product, service or a business-wide strategy. Management information systems are distinct from regular information systems in that they are used to analyze other information systems applied in operational activities in the organization. Academically, the term is commonly used to refer to the group of information management methods tied to the automation or support of human decision making, e.g. Decision Support Systems, Expert systems, and Executive information systems.

http://www.msoffice.us/MIS/MIS.html

Reference Books and online resources on Managing information Technology

Analysis and Design of Information System
Architecture of Computing Systems
Certifying Information Security Management System
Executive Information System and Business Planning
Financial Information System
Information Management. Support Systems and Multimedia Technology
Knowledge Management Systems Information and Communication Technologies
Management Information Systems Manual
Management-Information-System
Strategic Information Management - Challenges and Strategies in Managing Information Systems
Visual information systems: Lecture notes The Importance of Studying Cases

Discussion Issues

Rolling Thunder Bicycles Database

Exercise Files

Reference Material and Lecture Slides PowerPoint (.ppt)

Managing Information systems Lecture Slides

Marketing Information System (PowerPoint) .ppt

Introduction to Information System (Slides)

Management Information Systems part1(Slides)

Management Information Systems part2(Slides)

Glossary Acronyms

Chapter Review Questions

Chapter Exercises

Bonus Material

End-Of-Text Cases
Case Rationale

Additional Appendixes

Additional Models (Chapter 8)

Project Management online resources

Management books online resources

A Manager’s Guide to PM

Briefcase Books of Project Management

Construction Project Management Handbook

Essentials project management

Fundamentals of Project Management

Handbook of Management and Leadership

Quality Management System Design

SIMPLY A GREAT MANAGER

Six Sigma Project Management

Strategic Planning For Project Management

Time management

SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT
The development of effective information systems holds a number of challenges for small businesses. "Despite, or perhaps because of, the rapid development of computer technology, there is nothing easy or mechanical about building workable information systems, " Laudon and Laudon stated. "Building, operating, and maintaining information systems are challenging for a number of reasons." For example, some information cannot be captured and put into a system. Computers often cannot be programmed to take into account competitor responses to marketing tactics or changes in economic conditions, among other things. In addition, the value of information erodes over time, and rapid changes in technology can make systems become obsolete very quickly. Finally, many companies find systems development to be problematic because the services of skilled programmers are at a premium.

Despite the challenges inherent in systems development, however, MIS also offer businesses a number of advantages. "Today, leading companies and organizations are using information technology as a competitive tool to develop new products and services, forge new relationships with suppliers, edge out competitors, and radically change their internal operations and organizations, " Laudon and Laudon explained. For example, using MIS strategically can help a company to become a market innovator. By providing a unique product or service to meet the needs of customers, a company can raise the cost of market entry for potential competitors and thus gain a competitive advantage. Another strategic use of MIS involves forging electronic linkages to customers and suppliers. This can help companies to lock in business and increase switching costs. Finally, it is possible to use MIS to change the overall basis of competition in an industry. For example, in an industry characterized by price wars, a business with a new means of processing customer data may be able to create unique product features that change the basis of competition to differentiation.

The impetus to develop a new information system can grow out of end-user demands, the availability of new technology, or management strategy. A variety of tools exist for analyzing a company's information needs and designing systems to support them. The basic process of systems development involves defining the project, creating a model of the current system, deriving a model for the new system, measuring the costs and benefits of all alternatives, selecting the best option, designing the new system, completing the specific programming functions, installing and testing the new system, and completing a post-implementation audit.

Information systems designers, whether internal to the company or part of an outside firm, are generally responsible for assuring the technical quality of the new system and the ease of the user interface. They also oversee the process of system design and implementation, assess the impact of the new system on the organization, and develop ways to protect the system from abuse after it is installed. But it is the responsibility of small business owners and managers to plan what systems to implement and to ensure that the underlying data are accurate and useful. "The organization must develop a technique for ensuring that the most important systems are attended to first, that unnecessary systems are not built, and that end users have a full and meaningful role in determining which new systems will be built and how, " according to Laudon and Laudon.

KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT
Knowledge management (KM) is a relatively new form of MIS that expands the concept to include information systems that provide decision-making tools and data to people at all levels of a company. The idea behind KM is to facilitate the sharing of information within a company in order to eliminate redundant work and improve decision-making. KM becomes particularly important as a small business grows. When there are only a few employees, they can remain in constant contact with one another and share knowledge directly. But as the number of employees increases and they are divided into teams or functional units, it becomes more difficult to keep the lines of communication open and encourage the sharing of ideas.

Knowledge management is a way of using technology to facilitate the process of collaboration across an organization. A small business might begin sharing information between groups of employees by creating a best-practices database or designing an electronic company directory indicating who holds what knowledge. Larger companies, as David Coleman wrote in Computer Reseller News, can implement KM systems through targeted pilot projects or through a broader strategy involving the firm's technical infrastructure. Many companies have installed intranets—or enterprise-wide computer networks with databases all employees can access—as a form of KM. A number of software programs exist to facilitate KM efforts. Some of the leaders in the field include Lotus Notes, Microsoft Exchange Server, and a variety of systems based on XML.

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