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Unit 1: Management Information Systems

triangle to complete the feedback loop, you don’t accomplish much. Add the “liveware” angle Notes
with good feedback and then you have the beginnings of information literacy.
An information system differs from other kinds of systems in that its objective is to monitor/
document the operations of some other system, which we can call a target system. An information
system cannot exist without such a target system.

Example: Production activities would be the target system for a production scheduling
system, human resources in the business operations would be the target system of a human
resource information system, and so on. It is important to recognize that within a vending
machine there is a component/sub-system that can be considered an information system. In
some sense, every reactive system will have a sub-system that can be considered an information
system whose objective is to monitor and control such a reactive system.

Did u know? What is Information System?

Information system is defined as a collection of elements that capture data and convert it
in information and disseminate to the decision-makers in an organization.

Task Before discussion of information system you should know the information
technology in detail.
1.1.1 The Need for Information Systems

Ask managers to describe their most important resources and they’ll list money, equipment,
materials, and people - not necessarily in that order. It’s very unusual for managers to consider
information an important resource and yet it is. This unit will help explain why you need to
manage this resource as closely as any other in your organization.

The Competitive Business Environment

For many years computer technology was relegated to the backrooms or basements of a
corporation. Only the “techies” worried about it and were often the only ones who really knew
how it all worked. Now computers are all over the organization - one on every desk. It’s not
enough for you to know how to pound a keyboard or click a mouse. It is not even enough for
you to know how to surf the Web. Now every employee, including you, must know how to take
advantage of Information Systems to improve your organization and to leverage the available
information into a competitive advantage for your company.

Why Business Need Information Technology?

Information Technology is reshaping the basics of business, customer service, operations, product
and market strategies, and distribution are heavily, or sometimes even entirely, dependent on IT.
The computers that support these functions can be found on the desk, on the shop floor; in the
store, even in briefcases. Information technologies, and its expense, have become an everyday part
of business life. The fundamental reasons for the use of information technology in business are:

 Support of business operations
 Support of managerial decision making
 Support of strategic competitive advantage.

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