MIS - Definition

 

The Management Information System (MIS) is a concept of the last decade or two.  It has been understood and described in a number of ways.  It is also popularly known as the Information System, the Information and Decision System, the Computer-based Information System.

 

The MIS has more than one definition, some of which are given below:

 

• The MIS is defined as a system which provides information support for decision making in the organization.
• The MIS is defined as an integrated system of man and machine for providing the information to support the operations, the management and the decision making function in the organization.
• The MIS is defined as a system based on the database of the organization evolved for the purpose of providing information to the people in the organization.
• The MIS is defined as a Computer-based Information System.
• The MIS is a system to support the decision making function in the organization. The difference lies in defining the elements of the MIS.  However, in today's world, the MIS is a computerized  business processing system generating information for the people in organization to meet the information needs for decision making to achieve the corporate objectives of the organization. 

 

In any organization, small or big, a major portion of the time goes in data collection, processing, documenting and communicating it to the people. Hence, a major portion of the overheads goes into this kind of unproductive work in the organization. Every individual in an organization is continuously looking for some information which is needed to perform his/her task. Hence, the information is people-oriented and it varies with the nature of the people in the organization.

 

In order to get a better grip on the activity of information processing, it is necessary to have a formal system which should take care of the following points:

 

• Handling of a voluminous data
• Confirmation of the validity of data and transaction
• Complex processing of data and multidimensional analysis
• Quick search and retrieval
• Mass storage
• Communication of the information system to the user on time
• Fulfilling the changing needs of the information.

 

The management information system uses computers and communication technology to deal with these points of supreme importance.