Introduction to MIS-arxiv-revised

information information Servers Computers 1. What is MIS A Management Information System (MIS) is a systematic organization and presentation of information that is generally required by the management of an organization for taking better decisions for the organization. The MIS data may be derived from various units of the organization or from other sources. However it is very difficult to say the exact structure of MIS as the structure and goals of different types of organizations are different. Hence both the data and structure of MIS is dependent on the type of organization and often customized to the specific requirement of the management. The meaning of MIS is well represented by the three it consists. " Management " – the information system is built for management and not for the operational staff. " Information System "-an information system that takes care of sourcing, organizing and managing the required data and presenting in the desired formats that may be useful in a context and for a purpose. 2. The Source of MIS data MIS data is generally summarized from the day-today operational data of the organization. Most part of the MIS database is collected from different subsystems of the organization. The above illustration shows how the critical management information flows from every unit of organization to a centralized management information system. It will be interesting to note that there can be some " management information " from the " information management unit " to the " management information system " too #. Some types of MIS data are also collected from sources external to the organization, such as competitors' data, which may be obtained from different websites in the Internet. 3. Difference between MIS and " Management of Information System " " Management of Information System " is same as " Information System Management ". This refers a system of managing information. Although by definition an Information System is not necessary to adopt computerize the data, with the advancement of computing industry and popularity of computers, computerization has become an integral part of any information management system. " Management Information System " is different from " Management of Information System " or " Information Systems Management ". While " information management " can be for any purpose, MIS is meant for only the higher level managers. Hence in once sense MIS is a part or subset of an organizational information system. …