A management information system is a manual or computer-based system which allows a company to store, monitor and implement strategies using existing information which has been collected and stored. In order for it to work effectively, a system such as this needs the following criteria to be fulfilled: Data, hardware, software, people and communications.
The most important thing in a management information system is the data that is entered into it. This input can come in a variety of forms, including sales reports, consumer information, profit breakdowns and product ID numbers.
Hardware and software are also important in any successful MIS, the former of which refers to the machinery or equipment used to hold the data being consolidated and manipulated. If it’s a manual system you are using, you may store information in a filing cabinet or safe of some description; for an electronic equivalent of this, you will probably hold information in a computer database or suchlike. Software, on the other hand, describes the programs and applications that a system runs on.
People are also essential to the smooth running of a management strategy of this kind. Across a business, people will have different roles and responsibilities depending on their level of authority. For example, a director may instruct the supervisor in charge of the operation about what to tell the operatives, the people who actually use and run the system, to do.
Finally, but certainly no less important than any of the other key features detailed and described above, is the idea of communication between different levels of the system. Those operating the system will communicate with those who collect the data about sales or profits, who will then tell them how to manipulate and use the information to produce detailed reports on future sales or profit predictions, for instance.
The most important thing in a management information system is the data that is entered into it. This input can come in a variety of forms, including sales reports, consumer information, profit breakdowns and product ID numbers.
Hardware and software are also important in any successful MIS, the former of which refers to the machinery or equipment used to hold the data being consolidated and manipulated. If it’s a manual system you are using, you may store information in a filing cabinet or safe of some description; for an electronic equivalent of this, you will probably hold information in a computer database or suchlike. Software, on the other hand, describes the programs and applications that a system runs on.
People are also essential to the smooth running of a management strategy of this kind. Across a business, people will have different roles and responsibilities depending on their level of authority. For example, a director may instruct the supervisor in charge of the operation about what to tell the operatives, the people who actually use and run the system, to do.
Finally, but certainly no less important than any of the other key features detailed and described above, is the idea of communication between different levels of the system. Those operating the system will communicate with those who collect the data about sales or profits, who will then tell them how to manipulate and use the information to produce detailed reports on future sales or profit predictions, for instance.
