ON
MANAGEMENT OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS IN AN ORGANIZATION
Management of Information Systems in an Organization
INTRODUCTION
Management Information Systems are distinct from regular information systems in that they are used to analyze other information systems applied in operational activities in the organization.(1)
In a recent survey article in The Economist, John Browning (1990) wrote: "Information technology is no longer a business resource; it is the business environment." His statement is not far from truth. Ongoing advances in information technology (IT), along with increasing global competition, are adding complexity and uncertainty of several orders of magnitude to the organizational environment.(2)
The recognition of the role managers play in shaping the ways in which the technology is designed and used has prompted a more optimistic assessment of the implications of
IT for managers, seeing its use as requiring new skills, freeing up more time for other valued activities such as people-management, providing better quality and more timely information to aid the decision-making process.(3)
An MIS provides the following advantages:
1. It Facilitates planning: MIS improves the quality of plants by providing relevant information for sound decision – making. Due to increase in the size and complexity of organizations, managers have lost personal contact with the scene of operations.
2. In Minimizes information overload: MIS change the larger amount of data in to summarized form and there by avoids the confusion which may arise when managers are flooded with detailed facts.
3. MIS Encourages Decentralization: Decentralization of authority is possibly when there is a system for monitoring operations at lower levels. MIS is successfully used for measuring performance and making necessary change in the organizational plans and procedures.
4. It brings co-ordination: MIS facilities integration of specialized activities by