1. LO3 – Understand Business IT Systems
3.5 – Business Systems

2. Management Information System (MIS)

3. Business systems Businesses have developed many systems to manage and manipulate data and aid business practices.
MIS
All organisations need information with which to make decisions. The type of information they need will depend on the purpose and role of the organisation. Some companies are vast, for instance a supermarket chain has millions of customers and consequently the data they hold is also vast. To handle this deluge of information it needs to be summarised, collated, graphed and charted, trends need to be noted, competitor actions need to be understood, opportunities and threats need to be discussed. All this is handled by a management information system.
The MIS usually consists of two parts:
One or more computer systems that hold, analyse and present data
A human component in the form of one or more analysts that make sense of the information along with understanding what needs to be collected.
The main purpose of a management information system is to make managers' decision-making more efficient and productive. By pooling information from a range of sources into a single database and presenting the information in a logical format, an MIS can provide managers with everything they need to make highly informed decisions and perform in-depth analysis of operational issues. The system continuously gathers internal and external data, and refines and organises it in one or more databases where it can be interrogated by those with access rights. An MIS can collect nearly any type of information managers require. They can view financial data such as daily revenues and expenses at a glance and attribute them to specific departments or groups. Performance indicators such as the timeliness of projects or the quality of products coming off an assembly line can help managers pinpoint areas of needed improvement. Staff can manage schedules for work shifts,
incoming deliveries and outgoing shipments from any place linked to the MIS. A management information system can facilitate collaboration and communication as well. Employees can edit and share documents and communicate relevant information on anticipated developments and warnings across the organisation.

4. MIS cont….
The data can be downloaded, for example for:
reports and other documents
spreadsheets and strategic decision support systems
functional systems such as those for marketing, sales or production.
Used wisely, an MIS can provide evidence of:
the status of the organisation
areas of improvement, e.g. rising sales
areas of risk, e.g. falling sales, loss of market share
personal or group responsibility for success or failure.
Benefits include:
Front-line employees can use an MIS to perform their jobs more effectively as well. For example, employees at all levels can consult an MIS to check on the status of inventory items, view stats related to their specific department or group and request internal transfers of materials.
Limitations of MIS systems are:
cost of creating and installing the system
poor or inflexible design which does not meet current or future needs of the organisation
data that is out of date, incomplete or incorrect because of poor error checking facilities
end users who do not use the system properly; this is often caused by lack of training
it does not make judgements; it only provides the information needed for decisions

5. How an MIS is organised?
The diagram below shows the shape of a typical Management Information System
This shows that every MIS needs to have a means of gathering data. Systems then need to be in place to retain that data.
The data system should include facilities to present data in a human friendly manner such as tabulation and graphing.
The MIS staff will then collate reports in an agreed standard format. They will also put ad-hoc reports together as required
Eventually, management are presented with the information and make decisions based upon it.

6. MIS in context – example 1 A small company selling carpets
This company has only 12 staff including the managing director. They cannot afford a dedicated MIS expert or the complex systems of a large organisation. And yet they need to be aware of how competitive they are and what opportunities there may be. In this case, one person is given the task of putting together an MIS system to help them make decisions. These are the things she decides to put together as an MIS.
She starts up a spreadsheet that tracks their sales over time She collates the prices of their local competition in a database She purchases some relevant ready-made reports from a market research company to spot industry trends.
She logs into the public local planning authority database to keep an eye on new house builds being approved. (houses need carpets)
She uses the land registry database to see which houses have been sold recently in the area. (new buyers like to improve their new house)
She makes a questionnaire for each customer to fill in that captures what they think of their service and their products. The results are kept in a database
You can see that this does not need anything more complicated than a standard office suite and she is also taking advantage of government public databases to help gather data. These become part of her MIS.
This shows that a very useful MIS can be put together for a minimal budget - you just need a clever person to run it.
Here is list of information that the MIS provides and the decisions they need to make

7. MIS in context – example 2 School administration: MIS
With hundreds of students passing through the school electronic records need to be kept for every student.
The records are kept in a database called a Management Information System (MIS).
Details stored are likely to include:
Student name
Home contact details and emergency contacts
Date of birth
Medical information such as allergies, serious illnesses
Links to school attendance records
Links to class registers
The system is able to summarise data for the senior management team in the school. For example,
Class attendance record over time.
Examination results.
Trends in students being off ill.
The team will be looking to improve the way the school works based on this information and to address any problem trends that they are made aware of such as rising truancy.

8. Customer Relations Management (CRM)

9. CRM
To ensure that customer needs are met, data must be gathered, analysed and shared. Customer Relations Management (CRM) is a process that tracks how the business interacts with current and potential customers. A computer-based CRM system supports such activities by holding records of client communications, meetings and documents. This information is available to those with access rights.
A CRM system allows a business to centrally hold customer information
such as:
contact details
customer histories
leads for new customers
leads for new services
Although CRM is primarily aimed at sales and customer support functions, marketers also use CRM to aid their understanding of current sales, prospective sales and forecasting future trends.
Limitations to CRMs include:
Software issues, such as limits on data storage size or s.
Integration difficulties with other organisational systems.
Lack of training leading to poor data entry and incorrect data.
Resistance by sales staff who believe that using digital information rather than face to face meetings with clients reduces their ability to understand subtle communication behaviours

10. Standard Operating Procedures / Sales Operating Procedures (SOP)

11. SOP
Standard operating procedures or Sales Operating Procedures (SOPs) are detailed step-by-step guides to how functions should be carried out within an organisation to ensure that they are carried out accurately and in the same way each time. The outcomes from each activity should always be the same, leaving an audit trail in case of disputes or external investigations by regulatory bodies. SOPs should also be created for business systems such as those outlined above, to ensure that the data and resulting information remains accurate and useful. Software can aid the production of SOPs.
Limitations of SOPs include:
Imposing restrictions and details which result in inflexible practice and a lack of innovation.
Too much time being spent on the admin rather than doing the job.
The necessity of updating the SOP to reflect new statutory or regulatory requirements.
Lack of version control. If updates to the SOP are not recorded with a date and a brief statement about the changes, individuals could be working to different versions, which can cause serious problems

12. Help Desk

13. Help desk
When a user of a large, complex or widely spread system has a technical problem, it is useful to have a knowledgeable person ready to solve it. For straightforward problems, instructions can be given to the user and the issue resolved immediately, but complex problems can be actioned by a technician visiting the location and resolving the problem or providing a temporary fix. This is normally managed through agreed levels of support for departments or customers.
Limitations include:
Cost of setting up an in-house help desk with hardware, software and staffing.
Cost of buying help desk services from an external source (third party).
Issues with availability of the help desk, for example, the need for 24-hour call out; availability during bank holidays.
Loss of service through breakdown of communication systems