Tactical Information Systems for Managers

Tactical Information Systems

• Manages can make decisions with a large impact on the organization.
• Information technology allows for various applications at the managerial level to handle specific functions.

Tactical Accounting and Financial Information Systems

• Tactical information systems support management decision-making by providing reports such as summary, exception, and ad hoc reports.
• Information in reports helps managers control areas of responsibility and allocate resources.
• Tactical information systems focus on resource allocation and management, unlike operational systems that focus on task completion.
• Tactical accounting and financial information systems are types of budgeting systems that track and compare actual revenues and expenses.
• Allows managers to produce estimates for expected revenues and expenses.
• Enables comparison of current budget amounts to prior fiscal periods, other divisions, departments, and industry data.
• Comparisons of budget data against standards enables managers to assess the use of resources to achieve goals.
• Systems help managers make decisions based on data provided.
• It is a decision support system, not an automated decision system.

Applications of Tactical Accounting and Financial Information Systems

• Applications vary based on the type of cash-based asset handled.
• Cash Management System produces cash flow reports, showing estimated incoming and outgoing cash for a specific timeframe (usually monthly).
• Allows managers to manage cash to ensure continued operations or expansion.
• Capital Budgeting System focuses on producing information for the acquisition or disposal of assets for a given timeframe.
• A manager can compare information from current and previous timeframes, using evaluation tools and data, to evaluate possible plans of asset acquisition (purchasing, leasing) and disposal (selling, refurbishment, or repurposing).
• Investment Management System produces reports that allow managers to oversee an organization's investments in stocks, bonds, or other securities.
• Trading data managed by the system will allow management to ensure the achievement of organizational goals without compromising financial assets.

Tactical Marketing Information Systems

• Tactical marketing information systems generate reports and create expected/unexpected output, like comparative and descriptive information.
• Processes summarized data versus detailed data
• Employs data sources, and information processed from subjective and objective data.
• Tactical marketing information systems work with operational information systems for marketing and finance.
• Allows tactical decision-making by marketing management, such as implementing marketing plans to reach sales and profit margins set by higher management.

Applications of Tactical Marketing Information Systems

• Tactical Accounting and Financial Information Systems have different applications according to a particular process in an enterprise.
• Sales Management System allows managers to assess sales force productivity/profitability of locations.
• It tracks activities, sales, orders, and customer activity to identify points of interest in terms of location, performance, and demographics.
• Enables comparisons of performance to goals of a salesperson, analyzes activities within operating territories or demographic, identifies customer trends, and identifies potential supply and demand issues.
• Advertising and Promotion System governs advertising and promotional tactics to achieve sales goals set by upper management.
• Managers decide which advertising media and promotional devices to use, when to use them, and what mix of promotional activities to deploy.
• Pricing System provides information to managers that allows them to set prices for products and services.
• Managers employ marketing strategies to determine sales volumes and profitability margins based on market volatility.
• Distribution Channel System provides information on costs for using various distribution channels.
• Information includes timeframes for deliveries, time lags caused by use of certain channels, reliability ratings for channels based on delivery efficiency, and the market segment situation provided by the channels.
• Data used with demand and inventory of items across all levels of all channels so that the manager can anticipate shortages or oversupply of items.
• Competitive Tracking System ensures an organization's marketing strategy can continue to satisfy customers by monitoring market volatility.
• Gathers information about major competitors and their activities.
• Allows managers to create a marketing strategy that matches a given market's needs, enabling the enterprise to avoid falling behind the competition.