الفهرس 
Historical ReviewOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
The concept of information system can roughly be defined as that aspect of an
organization that collects, provides, uses and distributes information.
Management information system or MIS provides information and processing
support for management and decision functions.
Any organization has many transactions that must be processed in order to
carry out its day-to-day activities. The payroll must be prepared, sales and
payments on account must be posted: these and others are data processing
activities and might be termed clerical in nature; they follow rather standard
procedures. The computer is useful for these clerical data processing tasks, but a
management information system performs other tasks as well and is more than a
data processing system. It is an information processing system applying the
power of the computer to provide information for management and decision
making.
Management’s attempt to control information systems has been directed at
the symptoms rather than the problems. Management has established elaborate
approval procedures for new applications. Users of the computer are charged for
that use so that they are aware of, and are charged for, the cost of their
applications. Management has frequently slowed the use of new technology by
vetoing plans to install new equipment until it has been proven by several years
of use.
Information technology was justified solely on its ability either to reduce
operating expenses (through automation of information) or to help people make
decisions. Information processing has a very important role to play. This role is
played out in three fundamental ways.
First, ”in-process” monitoring can be done. As a process is being used,
computers can track its effectiveness, generating data that allows a process owner
to improve the process itself. For example, telephone systems can tell how many
rings it takes before a phone is answered or how many suggestions management responded to and by when.
Second, computers can store in data bases information useful in executing
tasks or processes important to a customer. For instance, having on-line access to
information on your products and their availability makes it possible to explain
immediately to a customer the features of your products and when they can get
them. IS can tell their end users what data is available or use the information to
analyze how to improve an application’s performance.
Third, they can shorten lines of communication and speed up how things are
done, buying you cycle time reduction. Electronic mail systems (all computermanaged)
allow people to communicate instantaneously across the enterprise
regardless of its organization, bringing together product designers, manufacturers,
and sales people. These systems can also be linked to customers and vendors. In
each instance, communications which are a very time-consuming part of most
processes are shortened dramatically.