Management Information System and Decision making

Editor's Notes

• #8: Information is data that have been shaped into a form that is meaningful and useful to human beings.
• #16: For instance, a hospital will have a medical records system, police departments will hold criminal records, all companies will have a payroll system, supermarkets will use inventory systems, offices will have office automation systems, etc.
• #17: Value chain activities fall into two main categories: primary and support activities. Primary activities are more closely related to creating value. Support activities allow primary activities to take place by providing the necessary inputs and infrastructure. This tells us that all the value chain activities need support based on the information system. Because all the support activities sustain each other, the information system’s role is to interact with all the company’s activities, The primary activities are shown in the bottom part of figure and include: – Input logistics: the procurement of raw materials and supplies from suppliers. – Operations: the transformation of raw materials into finished products with the appropriate quality, time and cost conditions. – Output logistics: the transport of products to customers. – Marketing: to detect customers’ needs and procure orders. – Service: activities designed to maintain the conditions of use for the sold product. Support activities are presented at the top of figure and include: – Company infrastructure: the organisational framework that impacts all primary activities in a generalised way. These include all managerial activities, such as drawing up strategies, planning and control. – Human resource management: all activities related to the selection, training and motivation of the company’s staff. – Technological development: all activities designed to procure and subsequently manage technologies. – Purchasing: procurement of the elements needed to carry out the production process.
• #18: Organizations are trying to become more competitive and efficient by transforming themselves into digital firms where nearly all core business processes and relationships with customers, suppliers, and employees are digitally enabled. A marketing strategy where a service supplier or product retailer gets close to their clients. The benefits of greater customer intimacy for a business might include improved highly tailored problem solving capabilities and greater adaptation of products to customer needs, as well as higher customer loyalty levels. Read more: http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/customer-intimacy.html#ixzz3o6T0Qw5g Although information technology has become more of a commodity, when coupled with complementary changes in organization and management, it can provide the foundation for new products, services, and ways of conducting business that provide firms with a strategic advantage.
• #19: Business processes are concrete workflows of material, information, and knowledge. They also represent unique ways in which organizations coordinate work, information, and knowledge, and the ways in which management chooses to coordinate work. Managers need to pay attention to business processes because they determine how well the organization can execute its business, and thus be a potential source of strategic success or failure. Although each of the major business functions has its own set of business processes, many other business processes are cross-functional, such as order fulfillment. Firms can become more flexible and efficient by coordinating their business processes closely, and, in some cases, integrating these processes so they are focused on efficient management of resources and customer service.