Types of MIS
MIS can be categorized according by level of management of organization, nature of functional units.
There are following types of MIS from level of management:
- Transaction Processing System: used in operational level of management (TPS)
- Management Information System (MIS): used in Tactical Level of management
- Decision Support System (DSS):used in Tactical Level of management
- Executive Support/Information System (ESS/EIS)used in Strategic Level of management
Transaction Processing System
Transaction Processing System (TPS) is a MIS used by the operational level management of the organizations. This system helps to execute daily occurring tasks in the organization. This is the system which helps to collect more than 90 percentage of data in the organization and failure of TPS may result in failure of the organization. MIS and DSS takes data collected by TPS for processing. TPS helps to execute frequently occurring tasks effectively and efficiently, it helps to reduce time of executing tasks, increases performance of users.
Management Information System (MIS)
Management Information System is a MIS used by tactical level of management of the organization. This system helps to make tactical decisions, it helps to handle structured decision problems. MIS generates following types of reports:
- Periodic Report: reports generated weekly, monthly etc.
- Demand Report: reports generated on demand of users
- Push Report: reports generated regular for users
- Exception Report: Sometimes reports of unknown time duration are required
Decision Support System
Decision Support System (DSS) not only perform simple processing on provided data but also can do analysis of data. DSS has analytical power. Users can change values of variables involved in decision problem and see the effect of the changes.
What will happen if a variable value is increased or decreased? This kind of what-if analysis can be perform using DSS. DSS can work with semi-structured data also. Optimization analysis, goal-seeking, sensitivity analysis are part of DSS.
- What-if analysis: in this analysis values of variables in the decision situation is changed to see the effect on the output variables
- Optimization analysis: Value of a variable is changed repeatedly until target value for the output variable is reached.
- Goal Seeking: Value of output variable in known and value of input variables are changed repeatedly until target value for output variable is reached.
- Sensitivity Analysis: value of one variable is change repeatedly to see effect on other variables
Executive Information System
Executive Information System (EIS) is used by top level managers of the organization. EIS takes data from DSS and MIS and also from external environment. EIS is used to make long term strategic decisions.
EIS provides data in easy-to-understand format like in graphics, pictures, tables, charts.
Data and information generated by EIS may or may not be accessible by all the users to the organization. The accessibility by users depends on the nature of executive managers and organizational policy. EIS is used for knowing status of critical success factors of organization and dealing with long-term strategic decisions.
Enterprise Information Portal (EIP)
Enterprise Information Portal (EIP) is a web-based interface which integrates data from MIS, DSS, EIS and other information systems and technologies to allow all the internal and external users of organization to access different applications and services of the organization easily. Applications like calendar, emails, attendance, extranet, intranet and data about inventory, customers, employee etc. are easily accessible with the EIP interface.
Generally management of organization is split into three levels:
- Operational Level: Operational level employees are concerned with day-to-day occurring tasks and activities. They work under the guidance and supervision of manager in tactical (middle) level managers. Transaction Processing System (TPS) is used by operational level staffs to ease their tasks and activities. Order processing, data entry, inquiry processing, searching data/information are the major tasks performed by the operational level staffs.
In department store, billing making process, editing billing, printing bills, inserting data of products to database, creating users, members, updating product, user, member information are part of transaction processing system. - Tactical (middle) level managers: Tactical level managers make short term decision, deploy policies, rules made by top level managers in the organization, monitor, guide, help operational level employees. Tactical level managers use Management Information System (MIS) and Decision Support System (DSS) to ease their tasks and activities. MIS and DSS take data from TPS and process it to produce information for managers. MIS and DSS produce different types of reports like weekly, monthly reports.
In department store, middle level managers decide which products to continue or discontinue, in what quantity products should be placed in shelves, how to speed up billing process or reduce waiting time for customers while billing, searching products, how to improve performance of salespersons etc. Managers get data about sales from TPS and process then to get information and make decision related to above tasks; they can know which are the top/least selling products, who are the better/worst performing salespersons. The information will help middle level managers to make decision in their tasks easily. - Strategic level managers: Strategic (Top) level managers make long term decisions. Executive information system (EIS) is used by Strategic level managers in their tasks and activities. They make policies, strategies to run their organization. EIS will help them in making policies, strategies. EIS takes data from MIS and DSS and from external environment and produce information that will be of value for the strategic level managers.
.In department store, decision like: providing bonus to employee, or increasing salary of employees are made by top level managers. EIS can get information about the performance of organization which will enable top level managers about bonus, salary etc.
Challenges and Issues with usage of MIS
Data is needed for information generation, so, data will be collected by MIS and stored in database. The collected may reveal some hidden knowledge about someone. So, protection of those data is of utmost importance for the organization. Sometime there may be some problem with software like software hanged and caused delay in service, or power is cut and no service available and customers are suffered. These kinds of issues may arise with the use to MIS.
In case of department store, data about sales is collection. From that data purchasing behavior of customers can be known. And customers may not want to reveal their purchasing behavior to everybody. So, department store must store data securely to deny any kind of security breach. Also, department store must state for what purpose the data will be used and where will be used to the customers; they must specify terms and conditions before collecting data from customers.
Enterprise Information Portals are customized according to the need of users; data, information and services required by the users are provided as per the need of the users in their personalized pages. Limited external users can also access the extranet of the organization with provided credentials. EIP is for everyone, it is not like Executive Information system which is limited only to the top-level executives. EIP supplies customized data, information and decision supports to executives, managers, customers, suppliers and other business stakeholders.
Following are types of MIS based on functional units of organizations:
Sales and Marketing Functional Unit
Sales and Marketing functional unit is responsible for selling company’s products and services, create a competitive advantage for organization. Sales and Marketing manager is responsible for creating unique sales plans, creating effective advertisements, pricing strategies, managing all the sales human resources. Sales and Marketing manager should be able to develop strategies to increase product awareness also.
Sales and Marketing Information system (SMIS)
This information system helps sales and marketing (SM) managers to capture data required to develop strategies to increase product awareness, to increase sales of products and services of organization, to know performances of human resources. Example of data/information required by SM manager is sales volume of products by time, location, customer and also by salesperson. This data is extracted by SMIS from Transaction Processing system. Then SMIS will process that extracted data to produce information about the sales of product by several categories. From this information SM manager will know sales by date, location, customer etc. and know in which location or time products are selling enough or not. Also, sales by customer will be known. With this information sales manager can make strategies to increase sales volume. By collecting sales data before and after the advertisements/marketing campaigns, effectiveness of those campaigns can be understood and what changes are required in future campaigns can be decided.
Human Resource Management Functional Unit
Human Resource (HR) manager is responsible for ensuring that all the employees comply with organizational rules and regulations, develop workforce plans, contribute ideas to achieve organizational objectives related with HR, help employees with career improvement and in solving their issues, search for talents, develop talents, show leadership qualities.
Human Resource Management Information System HRMIS
HRMIS collects and processes all the data required for HR manager to execute his/her tasks efficiently and effectively. Detail data of employees, attendance of employees, tasks information, tasks given to employee, feedback of employees, feedback from clients about employees, performance of employees in each of the given tasks etc. are stored by HRMIS. HRMIS produces different reports like status of tasks, involvement of employees in the task, customers feedback etc. These reports will help HR manager to perform his/her roles and responsibilities easily.
Accounting and Finance Functional Unit
Accounting and Finance Functional unit has role and responsibilities of making payments, recording payment details, taking payments and recording its details, paying employees and other entities for which payment must be made, preparing financial reports, controlling errors, fraud in bills and calculations.
Accounting and Financial Information System (AFIS)
AFIS collects and processes all the data related with the Account and Finance unit. AFIS will provide information about payments to be made, payments to be taken. This will help Accountants to make payment of vendors\' bills in time as it is very necessary for maintaining relationships with the vendors; check from whom payments have to be taken, who have paid and who don’t have. This information will help accountant to know with which client s/he have to talk about payments and with whom s/he don’t have to. As AFIS helps to ensure integrity of data and all the bills are collected from TPS, chances of fraud and error will be less, not zero as honesty of human is the most important factor for maintaining integrity.
Manufacturing and Production Functional Unit
Manufacturing and Production Manager is responsible for overseeing manufacturing process of organization, overseeing purchase, maintenance of equipment, monitoring and evaluating workflow and assembly methods, developing strategies to improve processes, managing and improving employees work performance, checking if manufacturing goals are met or not, preparing reports.
Manufacturing and Production Information System (MPIS)
MPIS collects and processes data about equipment, manufacturing process, employees involved in manufacturing process. It produces information about the status of equipment, time taken to produce specific number of products, machinery and human resources required to produce products etc. With these information managers will know if manufacturing goals and objectives have been met or not, where and when new strategy is required; if new equipment is required, human resource has to be added, or additional training is required for the employees etc.
EnterPrise Systems:
- Supply Chain Management (SCM)
- Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
- Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
- Enterprise Information Portal (EIP)