1. G063 - Management Information Systems
“I can’t see the wood for the trees!”

2. Learning Objectives: By the end of this topic you should be able to:
describe the features of an Management Information System
describe how Management Information Systems (MIS) can be used to assist decision making
explain the advantages and disadvantages of its use

3. Management Information System (MIS)
software that stores, converts & combines data
organises data into a more easily usable form
so that managers can interpret the data
in order to make informed business decisions
creates links between sets of data that are inter-related
organises and produces summaries of data
in the form of charts and reports

4. Possible uses of MIS: identifying trends
e.g in sales for different products
identifying demographic information
e.g types of customers that buy certain products
create a targeted advertising campaign
monitor marketing campaigns
e.g analyse sales during that period

5. Advantages of MIS: information can be collated and summarised
from different systems
helps to minimise information overload
provides managers with up-to date information
managers can forecast trends
decisions can be made more quickly

6. Disadvantages of MIS:
compatibility: data from sub-systems may not be compatible
important data may be excluded from summaries?
time: MIS takes several years to develop and use properly
GIGO: summary information given to managers is only as good as the data input into the system
cost: expensive to develop and support
training: managers will need training
due to complexity of the system