In this article we will discuss about Management Information System (MIS):- 1. Meaning of Management Information System (MIS) 2. Steps in Management Information System (MIS) Development 3. Objectives.

Meaning of Management Information System (MIS):

With the coming of the computer age, management information system (i.e. MIS) is becoming popular in the corporate circle for giving quick information to the management. The purpose of MIS is reporting and is to provide the necessary information to managers and supervisors at various levels to help them to discharge their functions of organising, planning, control and decision making.

MIS is a scientific way of collecting; processing, storing and communicating information relating to the various activities of an organisation to the various levels of management so that management may be facilitated in discharging its functions efficiently and run the organisation in an efficient way for the betterment of all.

MIS enhances the quality of management and growth of the organisation by providing timely, accurate and meaningful information for planning, organisation and control. No management can ever succeed without continuous appraisal of its performance and MIS by providing timely and meaningful information can be helpful in this regard.

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MIS should be developed keeping in view information needs of all managers and it should be based on cost-benefit analysis. It should be designed in such a way that it covers all aspects of the organisation and it should be flexible to meet changing management needs and changing inputs.

Steps in Management Information System (MIS) Development:

1. Information needs of all managers should be ascertained.

2. The objectives of MIS should be written down keeping in view the information needs of all managers.

3. A preliminary conceptual design of MIS should be developed keeping in view its objectives.

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4. Prior testing of the conceptual design should be done to see that all parts work together and after that detailed design of MIS covering all aspects should be prepared.

5. MIS should be flexible. It should be changed keeping in view changing management needs and future challenges facing the firm.

6. MIS should be based on cost benefit analysis. Cost of developing MIS and its value to decision makers should be compared regularly to ensure that the information supplied to decision makers has more value than its cost.

7. Active involvement of all managers in developing and monitoring MIS is an important prerequisite to get the desired results of MIS and to make it successful.

Objectives of Management Information System (MIS):

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Following are the objectives of a management information system:

1. MIS is very useful for efficient and effective planning and control functions of the management. Management is the art of getting things done through others. MIS will be instrumental in getting the things done by providing quick and timely information to the management.

2. Reports give an idea about the performances of men, materials, machinery, money and management. Reports throw light on the utilisation of resources employed in the organisation.

3. MIS is helpful in controlling costs by giving information about idle time, labour turnover, wastages and losses and surplus capacity.

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4. By making comparison of actual performance with the standard and budgeted performance, variances are brought to the notice of the management by MIS which can be corrected by taking remedial steps.

5. MIS brings to the notice of the management strengths (i.e., strong points) of the organisation, to take advantage of the opportunities available.

6. MIS reports on production statistics regarding rejection, defective and spoilage and their effect on costs and quality of the products.

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