MIS

MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEMS

 ORGANISATION
• The primary learning materials for this course are lectures and prescribed textbooks.
• Learning methods will be:
o Face to face Seminars
o Tutorials
• This module is 40% course work and 60% exam.
• 40% comprise of :
o An assignment
o Mid Semester exam
 Terms
Management ● Processes
● Systems ● Applications
● Data
● Operations
● Information
● Data and systems development life
● Decision
cycle
● Hierarchies
● Design
● Time
● People
● End user computing
 IN THIS LECTURE
Introduction to MIS and Information systems
– This unit will introduce you to the concept of MIS and the impact it has
on business organizations.
– Components of MIS

• Data and Information

• Types of Information Systems
• Systems, sub systems and Systems theory
INSIDE MIS
 MIS...
● Introduces the concept of management information system​
● It details how MIS integrate functional information system within an organisation and
how it relates to the external information system.​
● It describes different applications of Traditional and ICT methods in MIS.​ Traditional
examples (paper, people based)
● It tackles data protection, security, backup and standard system function ethical security
and control issues relating to information.​
● Will list list the objectives, requirements, limitations, characteristics and explain levels
and hierarchies of information systems
 MIS...
• Explains where data comes from and how information is made available for
the success of the organisation.
• Explain sources of information in an organisation, understand how MIS
integrate functional information and make information available
• Will classify organisation information into internal and external sources, list
good information and how to make it available in the right time to right
people.
 What is MIS
• Management Information Systems (MIS) is a bridging course.
• It bridges the gap between computer science and well-known business
disciplines such as finance, marketing, management, etc
• The term Management Information Systems has several definitions.
o Depends on where you look or who you ask.
 MIS can be...
o A set of information technology tools and techniques used to gather, store, and analyse
information aiming to support the decision-making process.
o A means by which information is transmitted (such as the Internet),
o The software that displays the information (such as Microsoft Excel),
o The systems that manage the data like data bases.
o A collection of technologies, people, and processes that manage the information and
communication resources of an organization
 Why MIS?
• The main purpose of MIS is to provide managers and decision makers with
the necessary information at the right time for decision making.
• MIS is responsible for gathering data from several sources, such as internal
and external sources. In addition, it converts the data into useful information.
• Enhance communication among employees.
• Deliver complex material throughout the organization.
 WHY MIS
● Provide an objective system for recording and aggregating information.
● Reduce expenses related to labor intensive manual activities.
● Support the organization’s strategic goals and direction
●
 COMPONENTS OF MIS
A management information system is made up of five major components namely; Components of
management information systems and how to leverage them in business
• People
• Business Procedures (processes)
• Hardware
• Software
• Data and information
• Information systems
• Information systems are composed of technologies such as computers, keyboards, and networks, but technology is just one small
component.

• All of these components must work together to achieve business objects.

 PEOPLE
These are the users who use the information system and generate data to make
available and record the day to day business transactions.
The users are usually:
• Qualified and basic professionals such as clerks, accountants, human resource
managers, stakeholders, executives, etc.
• End users like customers, employees,
• The ICT department usually has the support staff who ensure that the system
is running properly.
 Business Procedures
• These are agreed upon best practices that guide the users and all other
components on how to work efficiently.
• Business procedures are developed by the people i.e. users, consultants, etc.
 Software and Hardware
• Hardware – hardware is made up of the computers, printers, networking
devices, etc. The hardware provides the computing power for processing data. It
also provides networking and printing capabilities. The hardware speeds up the
processing of data into information.
• Software – These are programs that run on the hardware. The software is
broken down into two major categories namely system software and applications
software. System software refers to the operating system i.e. Windows, Mac OS,
and Ubuntu, etc. Applications software refers to specialized software
for accomplishing business tasks such as a Payroll program, banking system,
point of sale system, etc.
 Data and Information
• Data
• Information
 Data
● Data is a collection of facts that might not make sense on its own eg.
MK3,000,000, malaria, 2km, frequency, green, mean=89.5
● Population estimates
● The recorded day to day business transactions. For a bank, data is collected
from activities such as deposits, withdrawals, etc.
 Data collection sources
Primary data collection refers to collecting original data or collecting data
directly from the source.
● Example:
– accidents spot, daily business transactions
– In a bank, data is collected from activities such as deposits, withdrawals,
bill payments, etc.
● Secondary data collection refers to collecting data from secondary sources
such as books , journals, researches reports, online databases, internet etc.
 Data Hunting, Data Hunters
● Data hunters are people who really understand business drivers, needs or
challenges.
● They use their knowledge of both the business and the external environment
to work out what new data sources could be helpful in addressing a particular
issue.

Often, but not always, external data is helpful

 Information
●
Information is the presentation of facts in an organized manner in relation to other facts.
●
EG. Presenting population estimates facts side-by-side with other facts like per capita
income.
●
Knowledge refers to the use of information to make informed decisions.
●
Managing data allows the government, corporations, and even individuals to apply this
knowledge to their everyday lives.
●
Managing data can be difficult because databases are often filled with more information
than you need. In this unit, you will explore the challenges of data management and learn
how to take data and turn it into knowledge.
 Information sources
Personal information sources, which provide information through contact with
sales staff, customers, suppliers, distributors, bankers, etc.

Impersonal information sources, which range from general publications (e.g.,

reports on the current situation, bank and official entity reports, specialized
journals) to specific studies (e.g., market research, opinion studies, consultants’
reports
 Classification of Information
Information can be classified into: ●
Procedures get loan

● Opinions Mark&Spencer is better than Zara

●
Primary, secondary and tertiary
information.
● facts Aldi and Lidl are cheaper grocery shops ●
Example: The accident scene and the derived
conclusion of the scene
● concepts freedom is not for free
Tertiary Information : Acts as a tool in
● Processes withdraw money understanding and locating information
Examples: Outputs from Databases queries,
● Principles fairness in ethics Dictionaries, Bibliographies, References, etc.
example the discovered patterns
 Information can be...
Resource (input to the production of output)

Asset (contributing to the production of output)

•

Commodity (can be sold)

 Information Transmission
● The transmission of information between people takes place with the help of
a communication system through:
● People
● ICT (Technologies and networking)
 system
●
A group of interrelated components working together towards a common goal, by
accepting inputs and producing outputs
●
A system is combination or arrangement of parts to form an integrated whole.
●
A system includes an orderly arrangement according to some common principles or
rules.
●
A system is a plan or method of doing something.
●
A system is scientific method of inquiry that is observation, the formulation of an idea,
the testing of that idea and the application of the results.
●
The scientific method of problem solving
 INFORMATION SYSTEMS
●
Information systems are composed of technologies such as computers, keyboards, and
networks, but technology is just one small component.
●
Email,is an MIS because it is an information system (though a user sees one end of
it).
●
If you log into a computer every morning and access or edit data on corporate servers,
you are using information systems
●
In general terms, information systems encompass any interactions between organized
data and people to decision making.
 Information system...
● Collects, stores, and disseminates information from an organization’s
environment both internal and external operations to support organizational
functions and decision making, communication, coordination, control,
analysis, and visualization.

• IS provides a solution to a problem or challenge facing a firm and provides real

economic value to the business.
 Concepts related to Information Systems
(IS)
Data: stream of raw facts representing events (occurring in an organization) on
the physical environment before being structured so the people can understand
and use them

Information: data which is meaningful and useful to human beings

Organization: a formal collection of people and various other resources

established to accomplish a set of goals
Concept of IS
 Compoments of Computer based information system

Computer based information systems rely on computer hardware and

software for processing and disseminating information

Computer hardware: such as processors, monitors, keyboard, and printers, but

also sensors, tracking devices etc.

Software: These are the programs used to organize, process and analyze data.

Databases or spreadsheets: Information systems work with data, organized into

tables/files/repositories.
 Functions of IS
Data capture and collection Customer/supplier intimacy

Storage Improved decision making

Competitive advantage
Information processing
Day-to-day survival
Distribution or dissemination of information IS have become essential for helping
organizations operate in a global
Operational excellence economy.

New products, services, and business models All core business processes are digitally
enabled.
Business Processes and their Relationship
to IS
A business process is a logically related set of activities that define how specific
business tasks are performed.

A business can be viewed as a collection of business processes.

IS can help organizations achieve greater efficiencies by automating parts of

these processes or by helping organizations redesign and streamline them.
The Generic Framework of Business
Organization is
Types of IS
 Choose a topic
●
Health ● Weather /climate/ cyclones,
●
Education disasters
●
Statistics (population census)
●
Transport (road, rail, air)
● The drainage system (rivers, dams
●
Social media
lakes, etc)
Farming
Banking
●
●
●
Mining and minerals
●
Crimes (Security, prisons, theft) ● Religion
●
Vegetation and forests
● Retail shops
● Sports and fitness