System Information Management
Introduction
During my internship at a Skeptcom Travel and Tours, I was not pleased with the manner in which activities were executed at the facility. This dissatisfaction was mainly caused by mismanagement and the inability of the leaders to engage in effective decision making. This aspect increased staff turnover and caused the organization to lose competitive advantage in the industry. After doing my research, I came across an article on information systems and how management information systems can be implemented to improve decision making and overall organizational productivity by Berisha-Shaqiri (2014) article titled, “Management of Information System and Decision-Making.” This article served as a turning point in my career in that it opened my mind to an array of methods in which organizations can implement MIS to increase operational efficiency. Organizations should implement management information systems and an array of advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence to increase productivity and operational efficiency.
Changes that Occurred in my Understanding
Although I am undertaking a major in Systems Information Management, my knowledge of MIS was limited in that I was not well informed on its impact on decision making. Initially, I was convinced that procuring advanced technologies alone was enough to increase productivity and decision making. However, what I ignored was the fact that implementing MIS contributes to overall growth in that MIS entails an integrated system with the ability to provide influential information that can support a wide array of organizational activities such as planning, organizing, directing, and control of different functions. This is because, this technology often provides information that managers require to understand their business performance in that it gathers data on different aspects of the company including profits, expenses, inventory control, debts, sales and marketing, cash balances, document flows, and taxes.
This research also enabled me to understand that data provided by MIS often goes beyond the standard reports that are prepared by accountants and feed owners with particular information with regards to the gross profits, receivables, and money in the bank account, among other pertinent details. The availability of this information provides managers with knowledge of areas that need attention and problematic areas where performance has deviated from expectations. Such information helps the managers to implement corrective actions to assist them to get back on track. Although I was struggling to understand the connection between management and MIS, this research has enabled me to understand that MIS reports are often arranged in an easy manner such that managers can evaluate different aspects of the company’s performance such as to identify and specify different metrics that they would want to analyze or understand regularly.
With MIS, organizations often have an array of information and communication channels as well as different automated information systems that can help to increase operational efficiency. As Brancheau, Janz, and Wetherbe (1996) and Lapiedra Alcamí, and Devece Carañana (2012) explain, the application of MIS helps to avail different data that can be implemented to inform the organization’s decision making such as to reduce possible wastage of resources and increase profits. The research also enabled me to understand that the implementation of MIS in an organization cannot be ignored in that, this technology often provides a wide array of analysis and representation of the enterprise’s performance which acts as a planning tool that can emphasize on the organization weaknesses and strengths. Further research on an article by Brancheau, Janz, & Wetherbe (1996) informed me that MIS is often made such as to serve different levels of management in an organization by providing the managers and pertinent management stakeholders with reports and on-line access to historical records and current performance. Through this, MIS often facilitates essential aspects of management including decision making, planning, and controlling.
Additionally, my perspective was changed after understanding that MIS efficiency is dependent on other systems such as transaction procession systems (TPS). While most people tend to appreciate the final product undertaken by MIS, it is easy to ignore the role of other systems in this process. As illustrated below, research changed my understanding in that I was able to understand that data from the TPS is often compressed and presented in reports that are then produced regularly as scheduled by the management.
Source: Alkhafaji (2011).
For instance, the figure above illustrates how MIS transforms different transaction-level data from accounting, production, and inventory files into the MIS file which are then used to provide managers with different reports. After the TPS supply summarizes information to the MIS reporting system, managers are able to access the data which then provides appropriate reports.
This understanding has altered my initial understanding of MIS and the fact that it can serve daily activities. The truth is, MIS often provides managers with monthly, weekly, and yearly results rather than daily activities in that they are often made to provide answers to various routine answers that have been specified in advance and have a stipulated procedure to answer them. Another aspect that I ignored was the fact that MIS has limited flexibility and their analytical capability is equally limited.
Change Occurrence
Change on the perception I had on MIS occurred through a series of involvement with colleagues, classmates, classwork, and research work. Change first happened during my practice at Skeptcom Travel and Tours after which I was introduced to my major in school, “Systems Management Information.” Interaction with my lecturer and classmates on the course created the need to understand how organizations can improve decision making and overall productivity. After coming across the article by Berisha-Shaqiri (2014), I was more interested in understanding MIS and how it functions. Upon further research, I realized that there are various types of information systems such as decision support systems (DSS), transaction processing systems (TPS), strategic information system (SIS), and executive support system (EIS) as explained by Hassan (2018) in the illustration below.
Further analysis of an article by Smartsheet (2020) showed that companies can use MIS to improve workflow by aligning operational processes to customer needs through the improved decision making and operational efficiency. This change was further facilitated by a research article by Jeong and Kim (2020) that explained that MIS enables managers to make decisions by applying relevant and timely information in relation to distinct operational levels. Additionally, Lapiedra Alcamí & Devece Carañana (2012) and Navas (2013) insisted that the application of MIS facilitates accurate decision making through the provision of timely, reliable, and accurate information that necessitates the implementation of improved solutions that results in enhanced execution of operations and tasks.
During the process of preparing this research, I realized that most individuals and organizations use MIS on most of their transactions without their knowledge such as filtering through a shopping category. Additionally, I realized that MIS can be applied in different settings apart from business including education sectors, healthcare, corporations, and government, among others to improve productivity and operational efficiency. For instance, organizations using tools to manage outcome information and customer data such as a brokerage company, supermarkets, and manufacturing companies, can implement MIS to increase operational efficiency.
Although the information I have on the topic was mostly informed by research, interaction with my classmates and professors played a significant role in understanding the topic. It is through the class interactions that I understood that promoting operational efficiency in the upper levels of management often creates a trickling effect on the employees, an aspect that encourages them to provide additional inputs to foster organizational success. This effect can also become evidenced in institutions in that the application of MIS in education can have a trickling effect on the performance and success of students through the improved expedition of operations.
Conclusion
Following the research and influence from my peers and lecturer, I am confident that organizations and institutions should implement management information systems among other advanced technologies to streamline human activities and increase productivity. With the current understanding of MIS and how it works to improve decision making, I will endeavor to advise my supervisor at Skeptcom Travel and Tours to consider the implementation of MIS to improve decision making and overall productivity. However, it is important to note that MIS is expensive to implement and maintain in that the managers must have the necessary skills to understand and use MIS. Additionally, advancement in technology will require a continuous upgrade of the system to avoid becoming outdated. From this research, I have managed to identify skills to understand current events through in-depth research and analytical undertakings. In conclusion, I am confident to state that the research I have done in WRTG 112 was a worthwhile activity that has opened my creativity and mind to aspects that I did not know before engaging in the activity.
References
Alkhafaji, S., (2011). Review of Information Systems and Business Challenge. Research Gate. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/318528596_Review_of_Information_Systems_and_Business_Challenges
Berisha-Shaqiri, A. (2014). Management of Information System and Decision-Making. Academic Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, 3(2), 19. doi:10.5901/ajis.2014.v3n2p19
Brancheau, J. C., Janz, B. D., & Wetherbe, J. C. (1996). Key issues in information systems management: 1994-95 SIM Delphi results. MIS quarterly, 225-242. https://www.jstor.org/stable/249479
Hassan, A., (2018). Management Information Systems. Retrieved from https://medium.com/@AbdulHassan0021/management-information-systems-b46c19f952a9
Jeong, T., & Kim, C. S. (2020). Establishment of strategic agility through a management information system: A case study of Journal of the Korea Society of Digital Industry and Information Management, 16(1), 131-147. https://doi.org/10.17662/ksdim.2020.16.1.131
Lapiedra Alcamí, R., & Devece Carañana, C. A. (2012). Introduction to management information systems.
Navaz, V. M. (2013). Concepts and Applications of Management Information Systems. Oman Chapter of Arabian Journal of Business and Management Review, 34(975), 1-10. https://platform.almanhal.com/Files/2/41942
Smartsheet (2020). Management Information Systems: In Business, in Academia, and in The Future. Retrieved from https://www.smartsheet.com/management-information-systems