c) An example of how a data processing operation in a supermarket might provide data for a company-wide information system is by calculating the sales of all its products so it can find out the products that are most popular with consumers and sell or the products which are not so popular and do not sell. With this information they can make decisions on the stock levels of a particular product (the more it sells, the more stock of that product) and also make decisions on what products to take off the shelves do to poor sales. This system may also provide information about what locations and what times these products are sold.
3) A MIS system is a system that converts data from internal and external sources into information communicated in an appropriate form to managers at different levels of an organisation. This information enables effective decisions or appropriate planning to be carried out.
In order to make an MIS system successful within a business the information collected needs to be efficient and accurate. If it is not the MIS will be unsuccessful as the data will be inaccurate and therefore produce inaccurate results. This data could be created from data collected as part of the day-to-day operational data processing system. For example, in your publishing company you could use the MIS to make decisions on…
- The number of each type of book currently in stock
- Outstanding orders of books still to be delivered
- The sales of each book last week
- The sales of each book this time last year
There are many other factors that you need to consider in order to make your MIS successful. You must insure that any one using you MIS spends adequate time getting to know the information needs of the managers. This can only be achieved once a through understanding of the organisation has been gained and a detailed analysis is made of the system (inadequate analysis). It is also important that the management is involved with the design of the system and the system is designed around the information needs of the management rather then be based upon what the computer can produce easily. Information must be provided in the right level of detail, the management must have an up-to-date knowledge of current IT systems and their capabilities, the demands of the system must be realistic, there must be team work so all work is done efficiently and finally the professional standards must be high to so all deadlines can be met. All these factors lead to a successful MIS.
4)
5a) The purpose of a MIS is to provide managers with information
b) MIS’ are required by the managers of an organisation to enable effective decision-making.
c) One example of a MISD within an organisation is a chocolate factory needing to decide the type of bars to be made in a particular week. The purpose of the MIS would be to help the chocolate factory to decide how many bars to make by collecting day-to-day data.
6a) An MIS system is a system which converts data into an appropriate form for managers.
b) 4 factors that could cause the failure of such an information system are…
- Inadequate analysis
- Lack of management involvement in design
- Lack of professional standards
- Lack of teamwork
7a) The purpose of a MIS is to provide managers with information
b) One example of a MIS within an organisation is a chocolate factory needing to decide the type of bars to be made in a particular week. The purpose of the MIS would be to help the chocolate factory to decide how many bars to make by collecting day-to-day data.
8) 4 possible reasons why the companies MIS is failing are…
- Inadequate analysis
- Lack of management involvement in design
- Lack of management knowledge of ICT systems
- Lack of teamwork
9) Strategic level information is used to inform the business plan to assist decision-making e.g. projected income per income stream. The level of personal involved in this level of information is senior management/board level.
Operational level information is used to assist daily tasks e.g. outstanding total of invoices. The level of personal involved in this level of information is mid-management/clerical level.
10a) A data processing system is a computer system that deals with the day-to-day transactions of an organisation e.g. recording the loans of books from a library.
b) An MIS is a system that converts data into an appropriate form for managers e.g. day-to-day data on the sales of a chocolate bar being used to decide how many bar to produce in a particular week.
