Management Information System for Effective and Efficient Decision Making: A Case Study

Abstract

Decision making is an integral part of the functioning of any organization. To facilitate decision making in this ever-competitive world it is imperative that managers have the right information at the right time to bridge the gap between need and expectation. To facilitate better flow of information adequate Management Information Systems (MIS) is the need of the hour. Thus it is important to have an understanding of the MIS followed in an organization by all levels of management in order to take effective decisions.

A management information system collects and processes data (information) and provides it to managers at all levels who use it for decision making, planning, program implementation, and control. The MIS has many roles to perform like the decision support role, the performance monitoring role and the functional support role.

To get a realistic and holistic view of the MIS, MIS of MCC Limited (name disguised) was taken as a case study. To get a more detailed understanding of a particular function of the company, we studied the need, uses and benefits of MIS with respect to the Material Department of the company. Inventory Management was of prime focus in our study.

MCC Limited is one of the first Indian companies to realize the potential and importance of information technology and adopt automation and IT. The organization started computerizing its systems as early as 1968.

The organization has traveled a long way from the days in 1968 when it was using simple keypunching machines. Significant improvements have been made in the application systems and infrastructure. From Batch processing to on-line systems, from IBM1401 to the latest UNIX and Windows 2003 based machines it has made timely transitions determined by available technologies and business requirements. The MIS has greatly facilitated and synchronized the information flow in the organization and the management feels that is has played a role in the growth and increased performance of the company.

Keywords: MIS, decision making