Unit 2: MIS and Enterprise Applications

Unit 2: MIS and Enterprise Applications

• Overview: This unit elaborates on different information system types and their use at various management levels. It examines Supply Chain Management Systems, Customer Relationship Management Systems, Knowledge Management Systems, and Enterprise Systems, highlighting their roles in business growth, efficiency, and competitive advantage.

Learning Outcomes

• Students should be able to identify business challenges related to information systems.
• Students should be able to describe management levels.
• Students should be able to list different Management Information Systems (MIS).
• Students should be able to show how MIS are used at different management levels.
• Students should be able to define enterprise applications and identify different types.
• Students should be able to explain the characteristics and use of each enterprise application type.
• Students should be able to evaluate the suitability of enterprise applications in different business scenarios.

Management Levels in an Organization

• Experts define 3 main management levels:
  • Strategic Level: Top-level managers set company goals and policies. Decisions often involve risk and uncertainty.
  • Management Level: Mid-level managers ensure strategic goals are met. Decisions are typically medium-term.
  • Operational Level: Supervisors and managers handle day-to-day/short-term activities to ensure efficient operations.
• A fourth level, the Knowledge Level, includes data and knowledge workers in new information economies. These focus on managing, organizing, and distributing knowledge, as well as creating new knowledge.

Types of Information Systems

• Transaction Processing Systems (TPS): Handle day-to-day transactions. Examples include payroll, sales orders, and inventory.
• Office Automation Systems (OAS): Used by data workers for clerical tasks and communication, like memo writing and presentations.
• Knowledge Work Systems (KWS): Used by knowledge workers to create new knowledge. Examples are specialized software like CAD/CAM.
• Management Information Systems (MIS): Provide summaries and reports for medium-term planning. Includes internal data sources from TPS.
• Decision Support Systems (DSS): Assist in complex modeling and statistical analysis for unstructured decisions and "what-if" scenarios.
• Executive Support Systems (ESS): Combine MIS and DSS functionalities to provide highly summarised reports and graphical information to top-level management, allowing drill-down to explore detailed data.

Enterprise Applications

• Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP): Supports core business processes (Sales, Manufacturing, Accounting, Finance, Human Resources) across various departments and branches, automating tasks and managing information in a single integrated system. ERP systems must be understood as interconnected processes managed by people within a firm.
• Supply Chain Management (SCM): Manages the flow of goods from source through consumption. Ensures products reach customers efficiently and ensures effective relationships with suppliers.
• Customer Relationship Management (CRM): Supports businesses in understanding customer needs and wants to provide products and maintain customer relationships.
• Knowledge Management (KM): Manages knowledge within the organization by using intranets, portals, and expert systems to encourage the sharing and use of knowledge by employees.

Summary

• The unit provides details about MIS and their role in management, addressing challenges like business processes, globalization, and IT advancement.
• The unit also introduces types of information systems and their respective levels of usage within an organization.
• The unit concludes with an examination of enterprise applications like ERP, SCM, CRM, and KM.