PRODUCTION/MANUFACTURING INFORMATION SYSTEM

Production/Manufacturing is an important function in all the industrial 0r manufacturing enterprises. Most of the other activities in these enterprises revolve around this function. It is noted an activity of every enterprise selling goods.

Some of these enterprises are only in the business of trading(i.e, buying goods from one concern and selling it to customers, thus performing the function of a retailer / wholesaler.)such enterprises are also known as merchandising concerns.

The concept of production is also extended to the service concerns. In these concerns, production is understood as a discharge of some function having some utility.Eg: Repair of an automobile, legal service to a client etc.

Main decisions to be taken in the production system are: Product Design Plant Location and Layout Production planning and Control Quality Control

Information required for manufacturing decisions is processed from data which are gathered from the following sources:

Production Data – production orders, assemble orders, finished items, scrap etc.

Inventory Data – consist data on inventories of raw materials, in process and finished goods

Supplier Data – give information about the source of raw materials

Work force Data – compare data about the labour market , performance of workers etc. Such data are required for production scheduling and plant utilisation.

Environment Data – Data on technology trends, raw material prices, labour force ,economics and dynamics.

Transaction Processing – Transactions to be processed are production orders, sales orders, assembly orders,etc. Operational Control – Requires detailed reports for comparing actual performance with the production schedule. Management Control – Requires detailed reports comparing overall planned or standard performance to actual performance. Strategic Planning – Alternative manufacturing approaches and alternative approaches to automation.

Marketing INFORMATION SYSTEM

This subsystem of MIS provides information about various functions of the marketing system of an organisation.

It is the managerial process by which products are manufactured in accordance with the needs of the consumers and after production their ownership is passed on to the final consumer for whom it is produced. Thus the work of marketer starts long before the firms work of production starts and continues long after their sales are consummated.

The important functions of the marketing process :

1) The Market Identification Function

where the buyers are located when do they buy how frequently do they buy in what quantity do they buy

2) The Purchase Motivation Function3) The Purchase Adjustment Function4) The Physical Distribution Function5) The Communication Function6) The Transaction Function7) The Post Transaction Function

Information required for marketing decisions is processed from data which are gathered from the following sources:

Transaction Data – reports on orders, sales price, inventory levels,receivables,etc. obtained from internal records.

Marketing research Data – need when the marketing managers need some focussed studies of specific problems and opportunities. Gathered through Market Survey, product preference test.

Marketing Intelligence Data – Related to some important developments in the marketing environment. collected through reading newspapers,books, talking to customers,suppliers,distributors,etc.

Transaction Processing – Transactions to be processed are promotion orders, sales orders,etc. Operational Control – Hiring and training of the sales force, day to day scheduling of sales and promotion efforts and periodic analyses of sales volume by region, product,customer,etc. Management Control – Comparison of overall performance against a marketing plan. Strategic Planning – Consideration of new markets & new marketing strategies.

FINANCIAL INFORMATION SYSTEM

Financial information system is a sub system of organisational MIS.It supports the decision making process of financial functions of an organisation.

Finance is considered to be the life blood of any business.

It is defined as the provision of money at the time it is needed.

Basic financial decisions are : 1. Investment Decision2. Financing Decision3. Dividend Decision

In order to perform the aforesaid fuctions, the finance manager is required to obtain:

Transaction Data – credit applications,billing, vouchers,stock transfers,cheques,etc.

Financial Intelligence Data – Data collected from banks, govt., stock markets etc.

Organisational Plan – Objectives are revealed.Many software packages which provide complete financial accounting information are Tally ,PeachTree,etc.

Transaction Processing – Uses Transaction Data Operational Control – Records of processing delays, reports on unprocessed transactions. Management Control – Utilizes information on budgeted versus actual cost of financial resources,cost of processing accounting data and error rates Strategic Planning – Long range tax accounting policy to minimize the impact of taxes and planning of systems for cost accounting and budgeting.

Personnel INFORMATION SYSTEM

The Personnel Information System supports the functions of personnel Management of an organisation.Personnel/HRM is a science and an art for controlling man power.

Functions : Man Power Planning Staffing Training & Development Performance Evaluation Separation Activities

In order to perform the aforesaid functions, the HR manager is required to obtain:

Transaction Data – Employee Number,Name,Qualification,experience,joining date , etc.

Environment Data – Availability of personnel trends in labour force,competition,market offerings to the employees, govt. and labour laws.

Organisational Plan – On the basis of org. Plan ,future planning for recruitement, job assignment,etc is made.

Transaction Processing – The transactions result in documents describing employment requisitions, job descriptions,hours worked,benefits and termination notices. Operational Control – Decision procedures for action such as hiring,training,termination.changing pay rates & issuing benefits. Management Control – Utilizes information on budgeted versus actual performance. Strategic Planning – Evaluating alternative strategies for recruiting ,salary,training,benefits.

LOGISTICS SUB SYSTEM

Logistics is the management of the flow of goods between the point of origin and the point of consumption in order to meet some requirements, of customers or corporations. The resources managed in logistics can include physical items, such as food, materials, animals, equipment and liquids,etc.

Transaction Processing – The transactions to be processed include purchase requisitions, purchase orders, manufacturing orders, receiving reports, shipping orders, Bill of lading etc. Operational Control – Uses information contained in reports such as out of stock items,over stocked items, inventory turnover reports. Management Control – overall comparson between planned and actual inventory levels, inventory turnover etc. Strategic Planning – Analyses new distribution strategies, new poicies with regard to vendors and “Make verses Buy” strategies. Information on new technology , distribution alternatives etc.

INFORMATION PROCESSING SUB SYSTEM

The information processing function is responsible for ensuring that the other functions are provided the necessary information processing services and resources.

Transaction Processing – Typical transactions for information processing are requests for processing, requests for corrections or change in data and programs, reports of hardware and program performance and project proposals. Operational Control – It requires information on the daily schedule of jobs, error rates and equipment failures. Management Control – overall comparison between data on planned verses actual utilization , equipment cost, overall programmer performance . Strategic Planning – It involves the organization of the function (such as centralized or decentralized ),the overall information system plan, selection of strategic use of information and the general structure of the hardware and software environment.

TOP MANAGEMENT SUB SYSTEM

Top management function ( Chief Executive Officer plus staff ) operates separately from the functional areas, but also includes the functional vice presidents acting in a top management capacity such as in management committees.

o Transaction Processing – The transactions processed by top management are primarily enquiries and making decisions.o Operational Control – Conducting meetings and ensuring the implementation of plans.o Management Control – By analysing the plans and actual performanceo Strategic Planning - Relate to matters such as direction of the company (which business it should be in ) and plans for ensuring necessary resources.