Management Information System - Overview

Overview

A system that gives the people incharge of a company the information that they need to take decisions is called management information system.We can also say that a system that automate the information life cycle.Information life cycle consist of; 1.input(data) 2.processing 3.storage 4.share .Early business computers were used for simple operations such as tracking inventory, billing, sales, or payroll data, with little detail or structure. Over time, these computer applications became more complex, hardware storage capacities grew, and technologies improved for connecting previously isolated applications. As more and more data was stored and linked, managers sought greater detail as well as greater abstraction with the aim of creating entire management reports from the raw, stored data. The term "MIS" arose to describe such applications providing managers with information about sales, inventories, and other data that would help in managing the enterprise. Today, the term is used broadly in a number of contexts and includes (but is not limited to): decision support systems, resource and people management applications, enterprise resource planning (ERP), enterprise performance management (EPM), supply chain management (SCM), customer relationship management (CRM), project management and database retrieval applications.

A successful MIS supports a business' long range plans, providing reports based upon performance analysis in areas critical to those plans, with feedback loops that allow for titivation of every aspect of the enterprise, including recruitment and training regimens. MIS not only indicates how things are going, but also why and where performance is failing to meet the plan. These reports include near-real-time performance of cost centers and projects with detail sufficient for individual accountability.