Management Information Systems in Tourism

Overview of Management Information System (MIS)

• The tourism & hospitality industry caters to various guest types.
• Different market requirements need to be addressed in tourism & hospitality.
• Careful planning & implementation is needed to address the number of guests varying and the type of information & services needed.

What is MIS?

• It is the study of people, technology, organizations and the relationships between them all.
• Emphasis on people, technology, and services.
• A computerized database of financial information is organized and programmed to produce reports.
• Reports are produced on the operations at every level of management.
• Represents the approach a company uses to collate information necessary to make business decisions.
• Used to collect, process, and store data necessary for feedback mechanism.
• Makes information available to users with similar needs.
• Describes the organization or major systems in the organization.
• Manages, aggregates and disseminates data needed to carry out daily operations of the business.
• Allows top management to monitor the organization and see how the business is doing.

Origin and Evolution of MIS

• In the 1880s automation emerged as tabulating cards, also called punch cards
• Herman Hollerith is the father of modern machine data processing.
• His invention of the punched card machine marked the beginning of the automatic data processing age.
• He developed an electrical counting & sorting system in 1880, while working for the U.S. Bureau of the Census.
• He designed a machine that could evaluate data fast and completed his first punched card system by the mid 1880s
• In 1889, he presented his invention at the World Exposition in Paris, rising to fame
• Elements of information are captured by cards keyed in on the punch-card or tabulating machines.
• Those machines were first used in a major project for the 11th Census in the USA in 1890
• 43 Hollerith machines evaluated 62 million punch cards
• This census was completed in three years, while the tenth census had taken eight years
• After World War II first computers emerged and punch card systems disappeared until 1970
• Personal computers appeared in the 1970s and spread widely in the 1980s becoming more famous
• Networked personal computers developed into systems.
• Networked personal computers caused the displacement of midsized and small computers.
• In the 1990s, The World Wide Web (WWW) came of age and morphed into the internet
• Interwebs connected with a visual interface and connected other systems

MIS in Small Business

• Businesses use MIS in consulting, marketing, sales, research, and communications
• Service industries use MIS with large computer networks, which they deploy substantial databases.

Components of MIS

• Hardware, software, data, procedures, and people are components

Hardware

• It can include input and output devices
• Tangible in nature
• Examples include computers, desktops, laptops, video monitors, magnetic disk drives, optical scanners and printers

Software

• Programs and applications convert data into machine readable language.
• Are not tangible in nature.

Application Software

• It helps people complete different tasks at faster speeds
• Services existing within the electronic equipment are also included
• Application Software does not exist in the comupter
• It needs downloaded from the internet.
• Provides additional capabilities to the outer parts of a system
• Examples include VLC Media Player, Picasa Photo Viewer, WhatsApp

Operating system

• The operating system becomes the basis of a device
• It helps with all the functions of said device irrespective
• The operating system is the critical part of a computer and usually comes preinstalled
• Operating systems helps with the working of a computer and performs the basic tasks
• Examples include Ubuntu, Microsoft, and Linux.

Data

• Raw details are used to produce the information, facts and figures entered into computers for processing.
• Customer records, inventory databases, product descriptions, and employee files are examples.

Procedures

• A set of guidelines is followed to use the other components effectively and efficiently.
• Without standard procedures, the use of the other components may create confusion for the user.

People

• Users may include specialists, executives, managers, analysts, programmers, database managers.

Significance of MIS

• Supports strategy decisions of an organization.
• Improves accuracy/integrity of financial statements and performance reports.
• Brings together massive amounts of data needed by top-level management.
• Provides a central location to store business data.
• Provides a common language for managers to understand processed information.
• Increases sales and makes the business grow better.
• Provides a company with a greater market share.
• Improves people's performance.
• Anticipates future problems/trends.
• Helps in controlling various operations of an organization.

Features of MIS

• Capable of handling voluminous data.
• Storing data for organizations would be difficult without a system.
• Considering the complexity of hotel business operations, data storage is a challenge.
• Helps an organization store data for management's use.
• It stores input and then relates that information to other information and puts it into graphs.
• Generates reports for management's use.
• Uses stored data to create/generate reports and specific templates available within the system
• User prompts the system with the data and print the report for management with the data required
• The report analyzes the information for decision-making to solve issues, update lines, add services as necessary.
• It is convenient to be accessed and can be integrated with other systems.
• Users accesses it functions with open access, and integrates with other systems within the organization.

Flexible

• Flexibility can be either increasing data capabilities and adds items that can be added to a system.
• The flexibility eliminates the need to purchase an entirely new system every few years.
• Facilitates quick search and retrieval of information.
• Provides quick search and retrieval of information whenever needed.
• Management-oriented.
• Designed from the top down, so others can access it if they need it.

Limitations of MIS

• Output is dependent on the input entered and its process.
• It's not as effective when information is not shared across organization.
• It cannot substitute judgments of managers in decision making.
• It is not that valuable for making non-programmed decisions.