organisations and people using information

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CMI Unit 7004Strategic Management and

Leadership

Section 1 The impact of management information

Topic 2: Managing information systems

` In this topic you will explore how to manage information. You’ll start by considering an information system as a way of managing information within an organisation and look at the concept of Information Systems management.

` You will look at some definitions of Information Systems, their purpose and how they impact on the organisation.

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` You will then look at how business information is managed, at the transformation process and how you need to consider it as a strategic resource. You’re consider the information lifecycle and the strategic importance of business information management.

` Next you’re consider a specific example of an information system used for business information management: the management information system (MIS). You’ll look at some definitions, the nature and attributes of an MIS and consider strategic Information Systems.

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` Finally, the topic looks at evaluating management information systems- assessing the impact of an information system on the organisation and as a framework for considering the effectiveness of Information Systems overall.

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The UK Academy for Information Systems defines information systems as follows:

` Information Systems are the means by which

` You’ll notice the focus on information technologies. Technology doesn’t have to be used to manage these processes but in today’s business environment, the majority

organisations and people using information

are. It may be that there are some manual

technologies, gather, process, store, use and disseminate information.

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or paper-based systems used in someorganisations- these are still systems, but arejust not technology-based. In this topic, weassume that the processes managed by theInformation Systems are technology-based.

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collect process store and disseminate

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Laudon and Laudon define information systems as follows:

…interrelated components working together to collect, process, store and disseminate information to support decision-making, coordination, control, analysis and visualisation in an organisation.

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` They highlight that an information system (IS) may also help with analysing problems, understanding complex subjects and designing new products or services.

` A typical IS is shown on the next slide.

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` The input component captures data from the environment or internally from within the organisation.

` Processing converts this data into a meaningful form which we call information.

` The output component transmits the processed information to people within the organisation who use it in conjunction with their skills and experience to solve problems and make decisions.

` An IS is more effective with the feedback subsystem that returns information back to the people involved in the input element

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Environment

Organisation

Information system

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d

procedures are interdependent with the

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Cashmore and Lyall the purpose that an information system is made up of different subsystems with different functions and purposes. Typical purposes are to:

` Collect and store data which may be converted into information at some later point in time

` Provide operational information to ensure that everyone can do the job as well as possible and to assist in the general running of the organisation.

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` Extend the value chain of the business so that the organisation’s information system andlink with the Information Systems of customers and suppliers. This should resultin benefits and improved information flows.

` These purposes are reflected in the following diagram.

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` Cashmore and Lyall go on to discuss that in the past the emphasis was placed on collecing and storing data. This wasbecuase of manual nature is of much of the operational and transactional work. Intoday’s business climate, when much of this work is now processed by information technology, there is a greater focus on gaining good quality information that canbe used for strategic purposes to gain competitive advantage.

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` Laudon and Laudon discuss how the interdependency between the organisation and IS is increasing. They describe how organisational business strategy, rules and procedures are interdependent with the organisation’s IS. They suggest that changes to strategy would require changes in software, hardware, databases and telecommunications.

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` Sometimes, existing systems can be a constraint as they then it all the organisation wants to do, without making a major investment. This interdependency can be represented in the following diagram

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